Amidst a 5-0 start to the season, Indiana is losing its top receiving target from a season ago to the transfer portal.
Senior wide receiver Donaven McCulley is entering the transfer portal, a source confirmed to TheHoosier.com on Tuesday.
McCulley was a former four-star recruit at quarterback out of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although McCulley was the Hoosier's leading receiver a year ago under Tom Allen, the senior only had 2 receptions for 21 yards during the current 5-0 start for IU under Curt Cignetti.
The Lawrence North product hauled in his lone TD of the season, a 12-yard pass from Kurtis Rourke, last Saturday during the 4th quarter of Indiana's 42-28 win over Maryland.
The Hoosiers have 14 other receivers on the stat line, six of them with 8 or more catches. Elijah Serratt leads all Indiana receivers with 22 receptions for 378 of the teams 1512 passing yards.
Originally committing to Indiana as a quarterback out of the 2021 high school class, McCulley made the transition to wide receiver ahead of his sophomore season in 2022.
In 2023, McCulley was the Hoosiers' top pass catching options. The 6-foot-5 wideout tallied 48 receptions for 644 yards and six receiving touchdowns a season ago at Indiana.
Following the firing of Tom Allen, McCulley elected to enter the transfer portal. However, in what was one of the most important early wins for Cignetti as the Hoosiers' head coach, McCulley decided to return to Bloomington for his senior season this year.
During the spring, McCulley was publicly challenged by his new head coach who said the wideout needed to "pick it up a little bit."
Since then, McCulley has dealt with early season injuries issues. He's recorded just two receptions throughout the first five games of the season, catching his first touchdown pass of the year last weekend against Maryland.
McCulley enters the portal with one season of eligibility remaining.
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