BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football receiver Elijah Sarratt kept an open mind when he hit the transfer portal after James Madison’s 31-21 win over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. 
It took one conversation with his former coach Curt Cignetti on his official visit in Bloomington to change all that. 
“They told me they were going to keep everything the same,” Sarratt said. 
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That sounded like a good plan to Sarratt, who followed his brother Josh to play for Cignetti after a standout freshman season at St. Francis. The decision paid off — Elijah was one of the JMU’s breakout stars in 2023 with 82 catches, 1,181 yards (ranked 11th in the country) and eight touchdowns. 
He was the fifth different receiver to reach the milestone during Cignetti’s tenure that included Sarratt (2023), Reggie Brown (2023), Kris Thornton (2022 and 2021), Antwane Wells Jr. (2021) and Brandon Polk (2019). 
“They move us in different spots, they know our strengths and try to play our strengths,” Sarratt said.  
Indiana’s new offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan was Cignetti’s wide receivers coach during that entire stretch and has the same duties in Bloomington. The only offensive assistant Cignetti didn’t bring over with him from JMU was offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski. 
The continuity has allowed Sarratt to pick up right where he left off in the fall while Cignetti has expressed optimism about the group’s overall potential. The Hoosiers have 10 scholarship receivers competing for playing time during spring camp and three-star signee Charlie Becker will enroll this summer.
“I’ve seen a couple guys starting to really step up, Sarratt, Miles Cross, (Myles) Price have been good,” Cignetti said. “Ke-shawn (Williams) when he’s out there. (Omar) Cooper has made some nice plays, just a little more consistency.”
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Cross (Ohio), Price (Texas Tech) and Williams (Wake Forest) were all additions out of the transfer like Sarratt. The trio brings a ton of experience and production to the team. Price leads the way with 42 career appearances with 161 catches, 1751 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s had at least 300-plus yards in four straight seasons. 
Cignetti said former Clemson transfer E.J. Williams got off to a strong start to the spring before he suffered a leg injury that’s limited his reps in recent practices.
The coach’s tone changed a bit when he brought up IU’s leading receiver last year Donaven McCulley. McCulley took his name out of the transfer portal after Cignetti was hired. He had 48 catches, 644 yards and six touchdowns last season.
The 6-foot-5, 203-pound former quarterback is a Lawrence North grad who was part of the team’s 2021 signing class. 
“I think Donaven needs to pick it up a little bit,” Cignetti said. 
Sarratt, who has emerged as a de-facto leader thanks to his experience playing for Cignetti, has shared a message with his new teammates about patience that he hopes will keep everyone on the right track.
“Some days are not going to go how they want,” Sarratt said. “You just got to be consistent every single day. You might catch one pass today, you might catch eight passes tomorrow. You just gotta weather the storm and just try to get better everyday.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

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