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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….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-football-packed-receiver-room-080652496.html
Author : The Herald-Times
Publish date : 2024-04-05 08:06:52
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