Indiana football's season opener against Florida International has continued to creep closer and closer as each day comes and goes. With the season right around a month away, TheHoosier.com's staff predicts who will be Indiana's leading receiver for the 2024 season.
JIM COYLE
To say that Indiana has a very talented receiving corps might be an understatement. Curt Cignetti might have the best in the Big Ten for his first season as Indiana's hand man.
It starts with the in-state product Donovan McCauley who decided to return to Indiana and play for Cignetti. But transfers Elijah Sarratt from JMU and Myles Price from Texas Tech are top receivers who will be very important cogs in Mike Shanahan's offense.
Last season McCulley pulled down 48 passes, 6 for touchdowns. Sarratt had nearly double that with 82 catches for just under 1,200 yards, and eight TD's at JMU.
With the familiarity between Shanahan and Surratt, I expect that latter will lead the Hoosiers in receiving yards for the 2024 season.
ZACH BROWNING
The crop of pass catchers Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers will have at their disposal this season is deep, talented and experienced.
Led by the two-headed monster of Elijah Sarratt and Donaven McCulley, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke should have no shortage of options whenever he drops back to pass.
I think Myles Price will have an excellent season in the slot for the Hoosiers, and I believe in the depth throughout the receiving corp, but my decision is ultimately between Sarratt and McCulley.
Both are primed for monster seasons, but I'm going to give the edge to Sarratt as of right now. The tipping point for me was Sarratt's prior experience in Cignetti's offense.
Just a season ago, Sarratt recorded 82 receptions for 1,191 receiving yards and eight touchdowns playing for Cignetti.
I don't think he'll be able to repeat those numbers agains this year against largely tougher opposition, but Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan have some familiarity with Sarratt and know how to get the most out of him.
JOSH POS
Indiana has a surplus of talent in the wide receiver room this upcoming season.
There has not been this much parity at the receiver position in Bloomington since the 2020 season that Curt Cignetti alluded to in his media day availability on Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis.
Elijah Sarratt obviously has numbers that jump off the page from his days at JMU, but there’s a question as to whether or not he will be able to translate that game from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten, arguably the toughest conference with the four additions this season.
With that being said, I still have faith in Donovan McCulley to lead the room this season.
His abilities as a playmaker has vastly improved since making the change to the position from quarterback after his freshman year. Last year was the breaking out party for the Lawrence North grad, but this year he’s primed for even more.
COLIN MCMAHON
Indiana’s wide receiver room is filled with talent, experience and, possibly most importantly, depth. This depth should certainly play to the Hoosiers’ advantage, but for deciding who will be the leading receiver in 2024, it makes things a little tricky.
IU brought in a remarkable transfer class, the wide receiver position included, as two of the three projected starters at the position are from other schools. These two guys, Elijah Sarratt from JMU and Myles Price from Texas Tech are outstanding talents, but I’m going with the in-state returnee, Donaven McCulley, as my projected leading receiver.
McCulley, the former QB, only has two years of receiving under his belt, but in 2023 things really came together for him in his new position. He racked up 48 receptions for 644 yards, including six touchdowns. These were all leading statistics for the ‘23 Hoosiers, all by a wide margin, showing he used to the WR1 role, one I think he will continue to have this season.
While there is talent all over the position for IU, McCulley brings what I believe to be the best mix of talent, poise and experience, specifically Indiana experience, to the table, which is why I believe he is the right choice for the Hoosiers’ leading receiver in 2024.
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