When Indiana football senior receiver Donaven McCulley entered the transfer portal after the end of last season, he had no shortage of options from big-brand schools.
McCulley received offers from the likes of Michigan, which won the College Football Playoff National Championship a month after offering McCulley, and Florida State University, which went undefeated in the regular season and narrowly missed the playoffs.
But McCulley, an Indianapolis native, gave his home state school and its new coaching staff a second chance. With the door cracked, Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and director of athletic performance Derek Owings kicked it wide open.
“They were just showing me numbers and stuff, showing me that the proof is in the pudding,” McCulley said Wednesday in the Hoosiers’ team room at Memorial Stadium. “I was just like, ‘I’m going to take a chance on them,’ and I think I made the right decision.”
The trio of coaches who sat down with McCulley each arrived in Bloomington last winter after holding their same respective role at James Madison University. Indiana hired Cignetti on Nov. 30, and he added Shanahan and Owings to his staff shortly thereafter.
At James Madison, they built a track record for fielding productive receivers. In 2023, the Dukes had two receivers — junior Elijah Sarratt, who is now at Indiana, and Reggie Brown — eclipse the 1,000-yard threshold. Only three other teams across the Division I level can make the same claim.
The 6-foot-5, 203-pound McCulley had a breakout junior year, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after posting 48 receptions for 644 yards and six touchdowns. He enjoyed a strong close to the campaign, notching 28 grabs for 420 yards and five scores.
McCulley knew he could play at that level since he transitioned from quarterback to receiver in spring practice 2022. Still, he wanted more — and upon announcing his return to the Hoosiers in December, he told Cignetti as much.
“Coach me hard,” McCulley said to Cignetti. “Do what you’ve got to do.”
So, Cignetti did. Quickly.
During spring practice, Cignetti publicly called out McCulley, saying he needed to pick up his play. Such a move isn’t commonplace for Cignetti, who said he only did it once at James Madison.
It worked with the Dukes, as the player — quarterback Jordan McCloud — proceeded to win conference player of the year. Thus far, it’s been similarly beneficial to McCulley.
“Him getting on me in the spring and challenging me, it helped me learn how he operates and how the team operates,” McCulley said. “I really just took the initiative to get in my playbook more and try to master the playbook.”
Redshirt sophomore receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who has known McCulley since middle school and played alongside him at Lawrence North High School, believes McCulley has responded well to the new staff’s intensity, and he has progressively added speed.
And while McCulley said Cignetti’s tough-love coaching style required an adjustment, the 22-year-old has embraced it, according to Cooper.
“I think that’s something he likes a lot,” Cooper said. “He likes being fueled, and when coaches got on him and [are] being hard, it fuels him up and makes him angry — but when he plays angry, he plays better. So, I think that’s something that helps him play even at a higher level.”
The change in coaching staff not only brought another playbook but also a new receivers coach to learn. Fortunately for McCulley, those two are one in the same, as Shanahan leads the receiver room meetings.
Shanahan is McCulley’s third receivers coach in as many seasons since becoming a full-time wideout. While the lack of continuity can be viewed as a negative, McCulley has found the positives, too — and he’s enjoyed his first eight months working with Shanahan.
“In a positive way, I kind of just take little nuggets from every coach I’ve heard from and just put it together,” McCulley said. “With Coach Shanny, he’s about mastering the playbook and being efficient in your routes. He has a lot of experience, so he really knows what he’s talking about.”
For as much new as there is around McCulley — from head coach and assistants to quarterbacks and everything in between — the most important prospective change hasn’t yet had a chance to show: Indiana’s win column.
The Hoosiers went 3-9 last season and are just 9-27 since McCulley stepped foot on campus in 2021. Across the 31 games in which McCulley has played, Indiana is 7-24.
Internal expectations are higher this year. Cignetti has made sure of it, instilling confidence in his remodeled roster by pointing to his 53-9 record at James Madison University and the rebuilding jobs he did beforehand at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Elon University.
So, how will 2024 unfold? McCulley didn’t have a great way to answer that, but he knows this much: Indiana controls its own destiny. And if the Hoosiers’ spring-to-fall growth proves as large as McCulley’s, the team may ultimately look at its record with a smile on its face this winter.
“I think we can go as far as we want to go,” McCulley said.
Daniel Flick covers Indiana football and men’s basketball for the Indiana Daily Student. Follow him on X @ByDanielFlick, or reach him via email at DanFlick@iu.edu.
