Best Indiana Football Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 10 Donaven McCulley

Of all of the players in the top 16 Indiana football players of the 2020s list, Donaven McCulley might have had the weirdest career.

He came to Indiana as a quarterback. He was thrust into the starting role when Michael Penix got hurt in 2021, before he was ready and with the Hoosiers trying to salvage a lost season.

A position switch in 2022 to wide receiver progressed slowly, but by the last half of the 2023 season there might not have been a better target in the Big Ten. With a new coach and the highest expectations of any Indiana player who stayed to play for Curt Cignetti, it never took off for McCulley.

He got hurt in the first game, only caught two passes, and decided to leave after playing the maximum four games to keep his redshirt option alive to head elsewhere.

It was a strange career arc, and one that wasn’t always filled with success. Playing two distinct positions and playing for two very different coaches complicates McCulley’s Indiana legacy.

Some might question whether McCulley belongs in the top 16 players of the 2020s. He struggled to start, and it didn’t end well. What merits his inclusion?

For one thing, when McCulley was at his best, he was a dynamic, game-dominating type of presence. For another, some of McCulley’s rough moments weren’t entirely his fault. His stint at quarterback screams that it was a responsibility given to him before he was ready. That’s not really on him.

The question of being ranked comes down to what McCulley did at his best. That came once he got used to playing wide receiver.

It didn’t come quickly. His first season at wide receiver in 2022 was pedestrian. He did not have a game with more than three catches or for more than 53 receiving yards. It almost certainly didn’t help McCulley that four different quarterbacks threw him passes in 2022.

The 2023 season – with Tayven Jackson starting at quarterback – began with a lot more promise. In the first seven games of the season, McCulley exceeded his entire 2022 output with 20 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown.

Pretty good, but not great. McCulley didn’t ascend to an elite level until Brendan Sorsby took over at quarterback for the final five games of the 2023 season.

In those games, McCulley had 28 catches for 420 yards and five touchdown catches. He used his 6-foot-5 height and leaping ability to get to passes that were out of reach of most receivers.

McCulley’s zenith came in a wild 48-45 overtime loss at Illinois on Nov. 11, 2023, a defeat that doomed Indiana’s bowl eligibility hopes and set in motion the end of Tom Allen’s coaching tenure.

McCulley had 11 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. It was a magnificent performance that didn’t get a win.

Ty Fryfogle had a similar hot streak in 2020, but McCulley played more seasons in the 2020s, which is why he’s ahead of Fryfogle. He could also give Indiana a gadget play option with his passing ability. He threw a touchdown pass in the 2023 game at Michigan.

It didn’t end well for McCulley at Indiana. Cignetti brought in a bevy of receivers in 2024 as targets for quarterback Kurtis Rourke. While McCulley’s size stood out, his concussion in the opening game put him behind the 8-ball for good.

McCulley’s journey has taken him to Michigan, but his long, strange trip at Indiana was an interesting one. When he was at his best, he was as good as any Hoosier was in the 2020s.

Previous football top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 11 - Aiden Fisher
No. 12 - Jaylin Williams
No. 13 - Jailin Walker
No. 14 - CJ West.
No. 15 - Ty Fryfogle.
No. 16 - Mike Katic.