The IU football program saw an influx of talent all across its roster this offseason. But, there may not have been a bigger step taken than at the wide receiver position.
Indiana brought back guys like Donaven McCulley, Omar Cooper, EJ Williams, Andison Coby and others.
McCulley and Cooper — specifically — would’ve garnered high interest from a handful of major programs around the country if they decided to look elsewhere. That was the case for McCulley, who entered his name in the transfer portal before returning.
It also added veterans from numerous conferences. Miles Cross, Myles Price, Elijah Sarratt and Ke’Shawn Williams all join the IU football program looking to add another level to their game.
“They all are high character guys, positive influences and come ready to work,” IU football offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan said of the transfer additions. “They’ve done a good job to get to know the other guys in the room that were here and on the team. They have good chemistry, and bring good positive energy — that’s first and foremost. Through the recruiting process, they’re all guys that have been very productive, have caught a lot of passes, scored touchdowns, played in big atmospheres and have kind of proven to do it over their two, three, four years of college.”
That group of transfers have combined for over 5,700 total yards in their careers thus far.
With so many players who have already produced at a high level — it’s certainly going to be a delicate process to find snaps for everyone in the room.
But, that’s where the team-first mentality comes in, as well as the versatility that Indiana has at the position.
“I understand there’s only one ball to go around and all those guys want to make plays and have an impact, so we are going to do our best to create roles and maybe when we call a certain play to get a guy in there,” Shanahan said. “ … the benefit we have is we will be able to roll guys. So instead of having them play 70-75 plays in a game where some of these guys may have done here or some of these other places — they may not have to do that (now). They have 45-50 plays out of them at their top level.”
“I don’t think it’s anything that’s difficult,” Cooper said of the rotations. “I think it helps us actually because we can all just stay fresh and continue to rotate and help us be better at our game. When it comes to the plays, it’s basically we’re just flipping sides. It’s not as difficult as it may seem. But, I think it will be really good for our offense and help us be really successful.”
For McCulley, who caught a team-best 48 receptions and 644 yards last year, he heads into year three at the wideout position looking to compete as one of the best players at the position in the conference. And, he’s already seeing early results from this new coaching staff.
“Coach Cignetti and Coach DO (Derek Owings), Coach (Mike) Shanahan were showing me numbers and that the proof is in the pudding,” said McCulley. “I was just like I’m going to take a chance on them, and I think I made the right decision (to come back).”
Not only is the wide receiver room extremely competitive amongst themselves, they’re also going against a hungry secondary unit in practice everyday — headlined by Freshman All-American D’Angelo Ponds.
All of the reps through spring and fall practice are a plus — so is the fact that the room has been relatively healthy up to this point.
With two weeks before the Curt Cignetti era and the ‘new look’ IU football program takes the field, one thing is for certain.
This looks to be the most talented group of playmakers at the position that Indiana has had in quite some time.
“We’re extremely deep at the receiver position. I feel like we’ve got an entire room of guys that can go out and make a play and really take over the game,” McCulley added. “I feel like us having a deep receiver room is going to really affect DBs because it’s just going to keep rolling. We’ve got guys rotating.
“I think we can go as far as we want to go.”
Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.
Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.
