Indiana Wide Receiver Elijah Sarratt Comes Alive In Record Victory Over Western Illinois

A highly-touted transfer from James Madison, Elijah Sarratt had his breakout game as a Hoosier against the Leathernecks.

Indiana's Elijah Sarratt (13) celebrates a touchdown during the Indiana versus Western Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – One of the few disappointing aspects of Indiana’s season-opening victory over Florida International on Aug. 31 was that fans never really got to see what wide receiver Elijah Sarratt could do.

The James Madison transfer had just 2 catches for 12 yards in the 31-7 victory over the Panthers.

Given that Sarratt rolled up 1,191 yards and had 82 catches during the 2023 season with JMU, one in which he never had less than 29 receiving yards in a single contest, this was a bit underwhelming.

The junior from Stafford, Va. made up for lost time on Friday against Western Illinois.

He demonstrated to Indiana fans what he was all about as he had 6 catches for 137 receiving yards and a long touchdown catch in the Hoosiers’ 77-3 victory over the Leathernecks at Memorial Stadium.

It didn’t take long for Sarratt to get involved. He was targeted on the very first play of the game. While Myles Price and Andison Coby took care of the catches after that on the first series, Sarratt started cooking on the second series.

He caught a 23-yard pass from Kurtis Rourke to put Indiana in position to eventually score via a Justice Ellison touchdown run.

On the third series? Well, Sarratt was the series.

Working on the left side of the field, Sarratt bounced off of  bump-and-run coverage and didn’t let it disturb his deep route up the middle.

Sarratt beat Western Illinois defensive back Tyler Henry, and Rourke patiently let Sarratt run his route before he lobbed a perfect strike to him in space. Sarratt raced the rest of the way untouched for a 71-yard touchdown reception.

Sarratt went on to have another 15-yard reception later in the first quarter. He completed the first period with 3 catches for 109 yards.

“It felt great,” Sarratt said. “I always like being involved early. Shoutout to my coach (wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan) for putting me in a position to get me the ball.” 

Sarratt had two more catches in the second quarter and one in the third quarter to reach his game total.

Sarratt feels good about the relationship he’s built with Rourke. He likes how direct he is in his dealings with his teammates.

“It’s always fun playing with him. Never not have fun playing with him. He was clicking on all cylinders. He just has to keep that up,” Sarratt said.

Rourke isn’t shy about leading and directing his receivers, which Sarratt has zero issue with.

“One thing I like, I know I’m not perfect, so I like when someone other than myself is telling me how to do something. He’s good at telling me where to run a route, telling me where to line up. He’s a leader out there. He’s a great quarterback,” Sarratt said.

As for the quiet start? That follows his pattern in 2023 at JMU. His game-low of 29 yards came in JMU’s opener against Bucknell. He had another 2-catch game against Virginia in the Dukes’ second game, but then he took off. In the next 11 games, Sarratt never had less than four catches in a game or less than 45 yards.

He really came alive in the second half of JMU’s season. Of his six 100-yard-plus receiving games, five of them came in the final six games of the season.

Indiana will be hoping for the same pattern from the talented receiver as it begins Big Ten play at UCLA next week.

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• TODD'S TAKE: Indiana got an easy win and Western Illinois got paid. It was a record night at Memorial Stadium, but at some point? The domination is diminished given the weakness of the opponent and fans are left watching a game that just doesn't have much in it for them. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Read every word Curt Cignetti said about Indiana's 77-3 win over Western Illinois. CLICK HERE.