When Indiana football veteran receiver Donaven McCulley entered the transfer portal following the end of last season, he had no shortage of options from big-name schools.
McCulley received offers from Michigan, which won the College Football Playoff National Championship a month after his offer, and Florida State University, which went undefeated in the regular season and narrowly missed the playoffs.
But McCulley, an Indianapolis native, gave his hometown school and its new coaching staff a second chance. Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and athletic director Derek Owings opened the door a crack.
“They just showed me numbers and stuff and showed me the proof is in the bag,” McCulley said Wednesday in the Hoosiers’ team room at Memorial Stadium. “I just thought, ‘I’m going to give them a chance,’ and I think I made the right decision.”
The trio of coaches who worked with McCulley came to Bloomington last winter after holding the same position at James Madison University. Indiana hired Cignetti on Nov. 30 and added Shanahan and Owings to its staff shortly thereafter.
At James Madison, they have built a reputation for successful receivers. In 2023, two Duke receivers – junior Elijah Sarratt, now at Indiana, and Reggie Brown – surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. Only three other teams in Division I can say that.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound McCulley had a breakout season his junior year, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after catching 48 balls for 644 yards and six touchdowns. He had a strong finish to the season, catching 28 balls for 420 yards and five touchdowns.
McCulley knew he could play at that level since he switched from quarterback to receiver in spring training in 2022. Still, he wanted more – and when he announced his return to the Hoosiers in December, he told Cignetti so.
“Train me hard,” McCulley told Cignetti. “Do what you have to do.”
So Cignetti did it. And quickly.
During spring training, Cignetti publicly called out McCulley, saying he needed to improve his game. Such a move is not an everyday occurrence for Cignetti, who said he only made it once at James Madison.
It worked for the Dukes, as their player – quarterback Jordan McCloud – was named conference player of the year. It has worked just as well for McCulley so far.
“He attacked me and challenged me in the spring. That helped me learn how he and the team operate,” McCulley said. “I just took the initiative to get more into my playbook and try to master it.”
Redshirt sophomore receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has known McCulley since middle school and played with him at Lawrence North High School. He believes McCulley has responded well to the new team’s intensity and gradually gained speed.
And although McCulley said Cignetti’s rigorous coaching style required some adjustment, Cooper said the 22-year-old has embraced it.
“I think that’s something he really enjoys,” Cooper said. “He likes to be cheered on, and when coaches attack him and go hard on him, it makes him angry – but when he plays angry, he plays better. I think that’s something that helps him play at even a higher level.”
The coaching staff change brought with it not only a new playbook, but also a new receiver coach. Fortunately for McCulley, those two are one and the same, as Shanahan leads the meetings in the receiver room.
Shanahan is McCulley’s third receivers coach in as many seasons since becoming a full-time wideout. While the lack of continuity can be seen as a negative, McCulley has also found positives — and he’s enjoyed his first eight months with Shanahan.
“In a positive sense, I just take little nuggets from every coach I’ve heard of and just put them together,” McCulley said. “Coach Shanny is all about mastering the playbook and running his routes efficiently. He’s got a lot of experience, so he really knows what he’s talking about.”
As much as there is new around McCulley—from the head coach and his assistants to the quarterbacks and everything in between—the most important potential change has yet to materialize: Indiana’s track record.
The Hoosiers finished 3-9 last season and are just 9-27 since McCulley arrived on campus in 2021. In the 31 games McCulley has played in, Indiana is 7-24.
Internal expectations are higher this year, and Cignetti has made sure of that by instilling confidence in his newly assembled roster, pointing to his 53-9 record at James Madison University and the rebuilding work he previously did at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Elon University.
So how will 2024 unfold? McCulley didn’t have a good answer, but he does know this much: Indiana is in control of its own destiny. And if the Hoosiers’ growth from spring to fall proves to be as great as McCulley’s, the team could look back on its record this winter with a smile.
“I think we can go as far as we want,” McCulley said.
Daniel Flick covers Indiana football and men’s basketball for the Indiana Daily Student. Follow him on X @ByDanielFlickor contact him via email at [email protected].
