Report: Indiana Wide Receiver Donaven McCulley Expected To Play Against UCLA

Wide receiver Donaven McCulley missed one half and one full game after an injury that occurred on his first catch of the 2024 season.

Todd Golden | Sep 14, 2024

Indiana's Donaven McCulley (1) celebrates his touchdown with Andison Coby (0) during the Indiana football spring game at Memorial Stadaium on Thursday, April 18, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

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PASADENA, Calif. - Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley will play in the Hoosiers' Big Ten opener at UCLA, according to Matt Zenitz of 247sports.com.

The Hoosiers play the Bruins at the Rose Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. The game will be broadcast on NBC and its streaming service, Peacock.

Indiana standout wide receiver Donaven McCulley is expected to play in the Hoosiers’ Big Ten opener vs. UCLA tomorrow, a source tells @247sports/@CBSSports.

The 6-foot-5 McCulley, who was honorable mention All-Big Ten last year, had missed last week due to an injury from Week 1.… pic.twitter.com/CUCfX5uzPF
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) September 14, 2024

McCulley was injured during the second quarter of Indiana's first game against Florida International. On a 9-yard catch, McCulley was hit hard by Florida International safety Jojo Evans on a helmet-to-helmet hit.

"(McCulley) got dinged up on the one he caught on 3rd-and-5. It was a short pass. He was a single receiver into the bench, our bench, the safety came down and delivered a pretty good blow. He’s day-to-day. I don’t expect it to be a long term thing, but we’ll see how he is this week," Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said on his Inside Indiana Football radio show on Sept. 4 before the Western Illinois game.

The Indiana offense hasn't skipped a beat without McCulley - the Hoosiers' offense scored nine of the 10 touchdowns in the 77-3 victory over Western Illinois on Sept. 6.

However, Indiana's offense becomes a lot more dangerous with McCulley in the lineup. At his best, he's as good as any receiver in the Big Ten.

McCulley earned All-Big Ten honorable mention at wide receiver in 2023. Once then-starting quarterback Brendan Sorsby (now at Cincinnati) got into a rhythm with McCulley, they proved to be dangerous.

In the final five games of the 2023 season, McCulley caught 28 of his 48 season passes. He gained 420 yards of his season total of 644. He had five touchdown catches in those final five games. He had just one in the first seven games of the 2023 season.

Indiana's depth at wide receiver should make McCulley even more dangerous. Elijah Sarratt (8 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD), Omar Cooper Jr. (7 catches, 176 yards, 1 TD) and Myles Price (8 catches, 67 yards) have all been effective mostly without McCulley. They will benefit from McCulley's presence.

As McCulley will from theirs. At 6-foot-5, McCulley is the tallest target for quarterback Kurtis Rourke. McCulley's leaping ability also gives Rourke the chance to deliver the ball in places only McCulley can get to thanks to his physical gifts.

For McCulley, assuming he does return, this injury was just another twist in a fascinating tale for the Indianapolis native.

After beginning his Indiana career as a quarterback, he played seven games behind center, he was switched to wide receiver for the 2022 season. McCulley showed promise with 16 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown in 2022, but he didn't fully blossom until the second half of the 2023 season.

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