Indiana football excited for Donaven McCulley to get back ‘in the swing of things’

Indiana football has had one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football this season but have been doing it without one of the best returning wide receivers in the Big Ten in Donaven McCulley.

McCulley missed Indiana’s week two win over Western Illinois due to an upper-body injury he suffered in week one.

Early in the second quarter at the 9:35 mark in the season opener, McCulley was working on the left side of the field when he caught a nine-yard curl route. He dove down towards the first down marker when he took a hard hit to the back of his head and back area. There were no additional details to specific what the injury was, but it definitely appeared to be upper body.

He returned in Indiana’s 42-13 win over UCLA in week three but was very rarely featured. Then, he was held without a catch in IU’s win over Charlotte last weekend.

On the season, McCulley has just one catch for nine yards.

So, what’s next for McCulley? Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti addressed the junior wideout on Monday.

“Yeah, he missed time. When you miss significant time in the season, sometimes it can be hard to catch up,” Cignetti said. “But he’s getting closer, tried to get him the ball a few times in the fourth quarter. Came close. Didn’t quite work out. So looking forward to him getting back in the swing of things.”

McCulley was the leading receiver for IU in 2023, totaling 48 receptions for 644 yards and six touchdowns. He had 40+ yards in each of the last five games of the season, including three 70+ yard performances. His averages over the final five games were 5.6 receptions for 84 yards. He also had five of his six touchdowns over that span as well.

“I knew I could play at that high level since I started,” McCulley said this fall. “I just felt like the last half of the season it was really the results of us getting the ball out and spreading the ball out and stuff like that.”

The Hoosiers have scored 202 points through the first four games, the most in any four-game stretch in program history. They are also were first FBS team to eclipse the 200-point mark this season.

Indiana football is averaging 513.8 yards per game, ranked 11th in the nation. It also ranks fifth in points per game.

IU’s offense is led by Kurtis Rourke who has 1,013 yards this season with eight touchdowns and zero turnovers. He’s completing 75.5 percent of his passes.

“He’s in command,” Cignetti said. “He’s playing a lot of confidence. He’s seeing the field. He’s making the throws. When the pattern breaks down, he’s running for yards, touchdowns, first downs. The guys have a lot of confidence in him. You can really see it all coming together.”

Indiana faces Maryland this weekend as it’s Big Ten play the remainder of the season.

SEE ALSO: It’s just four weeks but Indiana football continues upward trend in notable metrics

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