Charlie Becker Trusted the Process and Now He’s the Face of Indiana’s Receiving Room

At this point last year, Charlie Becker was our candidate for breakout player of the year, but he may not have been on everyone’s radar and it wasn’t until Elijah Sarratt went down with an injury that Becker had his chance to shine.

This season, Becker is the face of the Indiana receiving room, which is loaded with stars. While he built trust with the coaching staff by being a special teams ace, his production on offense soon followed. Now his confidence has risen.

“I think as I get older and continue to grow and know more about the offense and able to read defenses, just seeing how I’ve improved, I think my confidence has also gone up. [It’s also helped] being able to trust myself and trust my teaching.” Becker said on Thursday.

Becker was arguably Indiana’s best receiver in the second half of the season and in the postseason as he became Fernando Mendoza’s go-to target in big spots. He made 34 catches for 679 yards and four touchdowns in 2025.

Familiar faces Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper and EJ Williams are off to the NFL and now it’s Becker’s turn to be the elder statesman in the room. He enters his third season with IU now putting to use the lessons he learned from his predecessors, even if it feels a little weird.

“I feel like it was just yesterday that I was sitting in that room with Elijah [Sarratt], E.J. [Williams Jr.], Coop [Omar Cooper Jr.], and all of these guys that were teaching me how to become a leader. I kind of got bits and pieces from each one of them.” Becker said. They were all such great leaders, and they taught me so much, so just being able to take pieces from them and put it into my own leadership and help out these younger guys to try and make them the best man that they can be.”

Becker and the receivers will have a new quarterback distributing the ball around in Josh Hoover and the connection still needs to be built. Becker missed most of spring practice with a hamstring injury, but put in the work this summer with Hoover.

“Josh [Hoover] is one of the hardest workers. He texts me all the time – like every weekend and during the weekdays. He always wants to throw and work on our connection. He texts out to all of our wide receivers. We are out there doing spot catches, making sure our legs aren’t dead.” Becker said. “Josh just really wants to see all of us succeed and build connections with all of us. Because you never know what could happen. That’s just a testament to how much of a hard worker Josh is.”

Becker is a preseason All-American, but the hype and newfound stardom have not gone to his head. “I wouldn’t say my life has necessarily changed. I think I’ve always been the same person before or after football. I think I will always be the same person. I’m extremely blessed that I’ve been put in this position. I just have to remember to you know I’m one of 11 out there.” Becker said.

Becker will be one of 11 players on an offense that should be one of the nation’s best again in 2026.