Open or Not, Sarratt and Fellow IU Receivers Make Big Plays
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The truth, so it is said, will set you free. It might even, if you’re Indiana receiver Elijah Sarratt, get you open.
Sarratt is a standout on a receiving room full of standouts, of guys who make big plays, game-winning plays, plays that define this most unprecedented of Hoosier seasons.
Their next chance is the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl when top-seeded IU (13-0) faces ninth-seeded Alabama (11-3) in a playoff quarterfinal matchup.
Sarratt continues to say, partly in jest, partly in truth, that just like a certain restaurant, he’s always open, even when he’s not
“Being a receiver, you have to have that (I’m-always-open) mentality,” he says with a smile. “I have the belief in myself that I can make the tough catches. I’ve been doing that a big part of my career. I know the guys around me believe in me. Even when I’m not open, I feel like I am.”
The 6-foot-2, 213-pound Sarratt’s numbers back him up. Despite missing two full games, and most of another, with an injury, he has 51 catches for 687 yards and a Big Ten-leading 12 touchdowns. He caught the game-winning TD passes against Iowa, Oregon and Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.
“Elijah is always at his best at big moments – Oregon, Iowa, the Ohio State touchdown in the corner of the end zone,” offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan says. “He has a clutch factor about him.
“It’s his ball skills. He’s a really intelligent receiver. He can diagnose coverages. He anticipates well. He understands when to find voids in the zone and does a good job of separating man-to-man to make tough catches.”
Adds head coach Curt Cignetti: “Sarratt is a guy that just loves football. He's a football guy. He's got great hands. He's really good at contested catches. He's an extremely intelligent football player. He's got good size and has made a lot of big plays for us.”
Beyond that, Sarratt understands he is part of something bigger, a college football turnaround like never before seen in the sport for its speed as well as its exceptional play.
Sarratt was part of the wave of players and coaches coming from James Madison, all under the direction of Cignetti, determined to turn IU into a football powerhouse that drew sellout crowds while winning by blowout and cliffhanger.
And so, it is.
“I remember when I first got here the excitement about the team after things hadn’t gone well the previous couple of years,” Sarratt says. “Week after week, as we continued to keep winning, the fans showed tremendous love.”
Sarratt reflects on that Big Ten title game at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, when a 13-10 victory was secured and the stadium rocked with Hoosier players and fans sing the IU fight song, “Indiana, Our Indiana.”
“It was like a movie,” Sarratt says. “Without them, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
Sarratt was once a do-it-all all-state player out of Virginia’s St. Frances Academy who generated zero major college recruiting buzz. That changed during his first season, at Saint Francis of Pennsylvania, where he earned freshman All-America honors followed by an All-Sun Belt Conference sophomore season at James Madison before making the move to IU and emerging as a key player on a potential national championship squad.
“It's crazy,” he says. “I'm still processing it. It's a surreal feeling. I’ve got to thank the man above for allowing me to be in this position because there were a lot of times where I didn't know what was going to go on with my football career.
“To be here right now, this is a blessing. All these little moments that I've been going through, I appreciate it. I appreciate it a lot.”
Appreciation includes being part of perhaps the best overall group of receivers in the playoffs with Omar Cooper Jr. (58 catches, 804 yards, 11 touchdowns), E.J. Williams Jr. (34, 416, five) and Charlie Becker (26, 515, two), plus a dynamic receiving tight end in Riley Nowakowski (25, 316, two).
“It’s a very unselfish group,” Sarratt says. Everybody wants everybody else to succeed. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
What makes all of them special, Cignetti says, is their ability to make big plays at the biggest moments. Cooper Jr. had perhaps the biggest with his game-winning catch at Penn State.
“Omar does a good job down the field as far as explosiveness, his ability after the catch,” Shanahan says. “We don’t necessarily have to design crazy routes for him. We just have to get him the ball knowing he can break tackles and make things happen on his own. He’s done an excellent job with that this year.”
Adds Cignetti: “Cooper was on the team the year before I came and made big plays for us last year and has elevated his game this year.
“He's an explosive guy. He's really good after the catch. He has a lot of potential and ability. He's become more consistent. He still has more consistency, more steps in consistency he can take. I've seen him really progress and evolve.”
Sarratt says he’s seen that progress from all the receivers.
“The success comes from the work we put in. Coach Shanahan is a great receivers coach. I’ve been with him for three years and he pushes me every day. It doesn’t matter if I’m coming off 150 yards and two touchdowns, he will act as if I had zero yards.
“When you have someone like that in your corner pushing you like that, it helps all of us. Coop pushes me, E.J., Charlie, all of us. We’re all pushing each other. When you have great guys like that pushing you, it will create excellence.”
Williams, who briefly entered the transfer portal last season before rejoining the Hoosiers, gives IU at least three NFL caliber receivers.
“He moves great,” Sarratt says. “He’s one of the best receivers I’ve been around. The big thing is keeping him healthy. I’m glad he’s been able to stay healthy this year. He’s made big plays for us. I continue to look for him to make plays.”
Becker’s emergence over the last month -- taking advantage of more playing time when Sarratt was out with an injury -- has been jaw dropping. It goes well beyond his numbers of 26 catches for 515 yards and two touchdowns. He leads the team in average yards per catch at 19.8. The next closest Hoosier is Cooper Jr. at 13.9 yards. Becker had a clutch catch during the game-winning drive at Penn State as well as the crucial fourth-quarter, third-down reception against Ohio State that basically allowed the Hoosiers to run out the clock.
Sarratt says Becker texted him before arriving at IU about how to prepare for college. Sarratt’s advice -- arrive in shape and learn the offensive plays.
“Ever since he's been here,” Sarratt says, “his head's been down, and he's put in the work.
“This offseason, he's made a tremendous jump getting extra work in with (offensive quality control coach Eddie Burk Jr.) doing releases and stuff, and it's showing off now. He had a chance to step in when I got (injured), and he's been making the most of it ever since. Now teams have to worry about Charlie. He's just as good as me, just as good as Coop, just as good as anybody. To have him do that, it's amazing.
“The sky’s the limit for Charlie. As long as he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to continue to have great success.”
Shanahan says the success of Becker and Williams “brings a different factor in our offense.
“Charlie Becker has stepped up with his opportunities. Making the defense focus on different parts of the offense and different players allows (Sarratt and Cooper Jr.) to flourish. Both do a great job of tracking the ball and making the routine plays as well.”