Indiana may have just found their next great wide receiver in Charlie Becker. When Elijah Sarratt went down against Penn State, many were wondering who would step up to fill his shoes. They didn’t have to wait long, as sophomore Charlie Becker answered the call without missing a beat. Becker finished the game against Penn State with 7 catches and 118 yards, both career highs. Becker followed this impressive performance with another equally impressive performance on Saturday.
Speaking about the opportunity to start and show what he is capable of, Becker said, “It’s been awesome. Our coaches have done a great job preparing me for these kinds of moments, and it means the world learning from Elijah [Sarratt], E.J. {Williams], and Omar [Cooper Jr.] and all the guys from last year who are in the league now. It just means a lot to be able to come out here and show what I can do.”
With Sarratt out for another game, Becker picked up right where he left off, ending the day with 5 catches, 108 yards, and a touchdown. The sophomore wideout opened up the scoring on Saturday as he connected with QB Fernando Mendoza for a 31-yard pitch and catch touchdown, his second of the season.
“We had been talking about that play all week; they brought a corner cat, so I had a post, and I had to do a little stuff off the safety, me and Fernando had been connecting on that all week, so it was really good to see that.” Becker said after the game.
For Becker and Mendoza, their connection goes deeper than the football field; the two share a house. Speaking about their connection after the game, QB Fernando Mendoza said, “Yeah, Charlie Becker, I call him Chuck, but he has been fantastic. He is Alberto and I’s roommate… but we’ve seen the work Chuck’s put [in], through catching balls for us at 7am on summer mornings on random Sundays… and just his work ethic—and all it’s accumulated to—is so special to see that he’s making huge plays on the field, getting a lot of targets, getting a lot of catches, and really contributed to our already elite receiving corps.”
Becker echoed this, saying, “Me and his brother were roommates our freshman year in the dorms, so when Fernando came we would always be in the indoor, running through routes, just getting extra work in, so it’s [been] really good to see us connecting on these passes.”
Becker now has 226 receiving yards through just the past two games, and his confidence and connection with Fernando Mendoza continue to grow week after week. With a bye week looming next week, it seems like the perfect time for Becker to reflect upon what has made him so successful these past few weeks and continue to build his chemistry with Mendoza ahead of Indiana’s regular season finale against Purdue.
If Elijah Sarratt can get healthy during the bye week, then opposing teams face a scary proposition; Indiana has four starting receivers who can make you pay on any given play. Though, given how Charlie Becker has been playing these past couple of weeks, it may be a good idea to cover him.
Now the only question that remains is, if he keeps playing like this, what breakfast restaurant will be Charlie Becker’s nickname? We are open to suggestions in the comment section.