Indiana's Elijah Sarratt (13) celebrates a touchdown during the Indiana versus Purdue football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. Subscriber Content The following is what I wrote in the “Wide Receiver Preview” prior to the 2024 season: “Indiana’s passing attack was nowhere near good enough in 2023. The lack of consistency and explosiveness in the pass game was one of the many issues Indiana had a season ago and IU’s new coaching staff knew a lot of change was needed on that side of the ball. Hoosier fans are hoping the 2024 attack is unrecognizable as the wide receiver room was addressed in the transfer portal and a new offensive system has been installed by offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and head coach Curt Cignetti. Wide receiver has gone from a big question mark to what is, on paper, a real strength for the Hoosiers. Indiana can favorably matchup their group of wide receivers with anyone’s in the Big Ten outside of Columbus (Ohio State) and it’s not insane to claim Indiana has a top three wide receiver room in the conference. The Hoosiers will likely be in three or four-wide receiver sets in most situations this season and there will definitely be times where Shanahan deploys five wide receivers and an empty backfield.” Expectations were high but the passing game somehow over-delivered last season. Indiana had six pass-catchers with more than 20 receptions and five receivers racked up more than 320 yards. Elijah Sarratt had eight touchdowns and Omar Cooper Jr. was right behind him with seven scores. Myles Price had three, Ke’Shawn Williams had five and Miles Cross had four of them. All of that came despite Donaven McCulley, a player expected to be first or second on the team at the position, playing in only four games before leaving the team and ending up at Michigan ahead of this season. To put it mildly, Mike Shanahan and Curt Cignetti know what they are doing with the passing game and the top two receivers from last season’s team are back to lead the unit in 2025. There are some questions beyond them but IU has a lot of personnel to find some solutions. Expected Starters (3 WR/1 TE/1 RB base) -Elijah Sarratt - #13 – Senior – 6’2”/209 pounds Senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt is one of the best receivers in the Big Ten and the returning alpha on this offense. He transferred to IU from James Madison and made his presence known in week two with 137 yards and a touchdown against Western Illinois. Sarratt coined himself “Waffle House” because he believes he is open 24/7 and it’s hard to argue with the moniker. Sarratt does not have top-end speed but he is physical, quick enough off the line to create a bit of separation from defenders and he has outrageously good hands and rarely drops a pass. Pro Football Focus graded him the fourth-best wide receiver in the Big Ten. Another strong season in Bloomington will have him on NFL Draft boards (although he likely won’t go early due to a lack of straight-line speed). -Omar Cooper - #3 – Redshirt Junior – 6’0”/201 pounds IU’s most explosive receiver during the 2024 season was Indianapolis native Omar Cooper Jr. As a sophomore, Cooper exploded for 594 yards and seven touchdowns with a ridiculous 21.21 yards per catch (team-high). He’s lightning quick and has “home run” ability every time he touches the ball. All of the pieces are in place for Cooper to have a huge season but he does need to increase his volume after having two or fewer catches in seven of IU’s 13 games last season and never surpassing four receptions in a game. Indiana’s offense can reach a new level if they can unlock the next gear in Cooper’s progression. Both Sarratt and Cooper can be written in pen on IU’s depth chart. The third spot in the projected starting lineup is far less certain. -E.J. Williams - #7 – Redshirt Senior – 6’4”/203 pounds “If he can stay healthy” is the most common phrase surrounding the football career of E.J. Williams and it certainly applies to his projected spot in the starting lineup. I’m an optimist and want to hope for the realistic best-case scenario and if E.J. Williams can remain healthy and on the field, he can be IU’s third-best receiver this season and a very valuable member of the attack. Williams is 6’4” and his size and length can present real matchup problems for opposing defenses. He’s not the size of a normal slot target but IU could use him in the slot some and also slide him to the outside with Cooper or a quicker player like Lebron Bond in the slot. The former Clemson Tiger entered the transfer portal but wanted to get healthy and rejoin the program. Curt Cignetti let the locker room decide if that was agreeable and they welcomed him back with open arms. To me, that is a telling sign and Williams is a player I am absolutely rooting for to have some long-awaited good luck and success. Main Rotation Options These players might not start but they will likely all see snaps. Some of them will probably see nearly as much as the starting wide receivers given how often IU will go four-wide. -Makai Jackson - #2 – Senior – 6’0”/200 pounds The Indiana Hoosiers love the former St. Francis (PA) receiver they have on the roster so they went portal shopping and found another one. Yes, Makai Jackson and Elijah Sarratt were teammates in 2022 at St. Francis in the FCS. The two are now together again in Bloomington after taking circuitous routes to IU. Makai Jackson transferred from St. Francis (PA) to Appalachian State and starred for the Mountaineers for two seasons. He appeared in 25 games for App State and actually finished the 2024 season by posting back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. He’s a quick and explosive weapon that profiles similar to somebody like Ke’Shawn Williams from the 2024 Hoosiers. -Jonathan Brady - #0 – Senior – 5’10”/180 pounds Jonathan Brady did not join IU until after spring football practice but his relationship with starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza should help ease the transition and make up for missing that valuable time. Brady played the 2024 season with Mendoza as a starting receiver for the Cal Golden Bears. He was behind both Nyziah Hunter and Trond Grizzell but still managed 36 receptions for 386 yards with three touchdowns. Brady is a possession receiver that doesn’t really offer much after the catch (10.72) but he should be a reliable veteran that can operate in the slot or on the outside to help move the chains. -Charlie Becker - #80 – Sophomore – 6’4”/204 pounds The 6’4” sophomore does not have any receptions yet but Charlie Becker is considered by many to be a breakout candidate for the 2025 season. Becker has great size and really good straight-line speed. The Tennessee-native was a good recruiting win for IU and he impressed during spring ball with good buzz from Bloomington that he’s expected to step into a larger role. From a physical profile standpoint, Charlie Becker compares to E.J. Williams and I believe he’ll start the campaign as a backup with a lot of opportunities in early games to showcase what he can do and earn more time heading into Big Ten play. Looking to the future, this is a critical season for Becker to show the coaches that he’ll be ready to be a feature piece as early as 2026. -Lebron Bond - #6 – Freshman – 5’9”/175 pounds IU has three true freshman this season and any of them could end up playing a larger than expected role. I’ve bought property on “Lebron Bond Island” and believe his quickness and big-play ability plus the injury to Michigan transfer Tyler Morris open the door for Bond to contribute the most of the trio. The coaching staff will not want to burn any redshirts for the freshmen unless they are confident it is necessary and unless they believe the player is ready but Lebron Bond’s high school highlight film showed a player that can change games with the ball in his hands. Mike Shanahan fought hard to win the recruiting battle for Bond and I believe he’ll find a way to utilize his skillset in a role this season. Expected to Redshirt -Davion Chandler - #4 – Freshman – 5’11”/180 pounds Lawrence North High School has produced some really good receivers recently (Donaven McCulley and Omar Cooper Jr.) and Davion Chandler was next in line after gaining 2,696 all-purpose yards and 27 career touchdowns. He was a four-star recruit and kept the LN to IU pipeline flowing, a pipeline that IU hopes continues for 2027 wide receiver recruit Monshun Sales. Chandler is another very quick receiver that compares in playing style to former high school teammate Omar Cooper Jr. I think he’ll play against Indiana State and Kennesaw State but will ultimately redshirt. -Myles Kendrick - #82 – Freshman – 6’0”/181 pounds The third member of the freshman receiving class was Myles Kendrick from Riverside High School in Florida. He’s the biggest of the three but is still listed at only 6’0” so there are no huge targets in this class. Kendrick was a three-star prospect and it would be a major surprise if he broke through to earn significant playing time this campaign. Walk-ons Jackson Wasserstrom, Ace Ciongoli, Cade Kaiser, Hunter Stroud, Bruno Massel IV, Camden Jordan are all listed as wide receiver walk-ons for the 2025 season. Camden Jordan is a redshirt senior entering his fourth season with the program. Rotation Prediction WR1 – Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper, E.J. Williams WR2 – Makai Jackson, Jonathan Brady, Charlie Becker WR3 – Lebron Bond Hoosier Huddle will have ongoing season preview content as we continue to churn towards the 2025 season! Preseason Position Previews Cornerbacks Subscribe to get access Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Log in
