IU's Donaven McCulley is a Football Player, Will be Used Whenever and Wherever Needed

Written by: @zachegreene

Former QB and four-star recruit Donaven McCulley decided to change positions this spring. He bet on himself and was the one who contacted his coaches about position change. McCulley played in seven games last year with four starts at quarterback. He threw for 475 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 135 yards for two touchdowns.

“It wasn't like 'Nah I'm done' kind of thing.” Indiana head coach Tom Allen said. “He did come to me, that's very accurate. No, it's not like a guy comes to me and says, 'hey I want this spot.' I had another kid come to me, other positions within the last few months about switching and we usually sit down as we do we have a conversation with the staff about it, that are affected by that position and in this circumstance, you contact family and talk to them, and I just think that it's a major shifting in a lot of ways.”

Moving from quarterback to wide receiver is not an easy move but has been done before. Guys like Julian Edelman and Anquan Boldin are former Quarterbacks who turned into amazing wide receivers. Head Coach Tom Allen likes McCulley's work ethic and wants to maximize his potential as well as the team.

“I think there was a lot of discussions that went into it.” Allen explained. “It was a very gradual process for us to go through and just kind of see how things played out from that perspective. Even talking to others, his high school coaches, and just different things. For me, it wasn't a quick decision by any means. [We are] just trying to find the best way to help him and help our football team maximize our roster. To me, that's what I see from him, and I feel like that's going to be a great opportunity for him.”

 McCulley is an amazing athlete and has an outstanding frame. Standing at 6’5, 210 McCulley has the size to become a great wide receiver. Allen admits that it will take time to develop McCulley as a wide receiver so don’t expect to hear his name called on this season.

Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell was pushed on the decision to make McCulley a wide out and was asked if he was just a quarterback playing receiver or vice versa.

“No, he's a receiver. But don't be surprised if you ever saw him back there.” Bell said with a smile. “I mean, you don't want he have a he's a football player. You know, and wherever we need him to play he can play.”