Long before the nation knew about Charlie B. from Nashville, Tennessee, wide receiver Charlie Becker was making splash plays at IU football practice.
“His true freshman year, before he was even playing, we had a walkthrough practice on a Monday, and Kurtis (Rourke) threw him a ball to the outside on the sideline, he jumps up and snags it one-handed right about like this (catching ball without turning his body around to face it, arm fully extended),” offensive tackle Carter Smith said. “I’m pretty sure he caught it like that right in front of Cignetti. It was wicked.”
The buzz about Becker’s speed, athleticism and skill would occasionally trickle out of practice. He’d make a play on special teams that would catch your eye. Head coach Curt Cignetti would mention him as a young player on the rise.
But Becker had one problem when it came to seeing the field early in his college career. No actually several — Omar Cooper, Jr., Elijah Sarratt and E.J. Williams, who are all currently in NFL training camps. And two more receivers from his freshman season played in the NFL in 2025 — Myles Price and Ke’Shawn Williams.
While they stood in his way, Becker made sure to follow the example of the proven players in his position room.
“I will tell you what, it is weird. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was sitting in that room with Elijah, E.J., Coop, and all of these guys that were teaching me how to become a leader. I kind of got bits and pieces from each one of them,” Becker said this week after practice in Bloomington.
Opportunity arrived for Becker in game nine of his sophomore season, when Sarratt went down with an injury.
The 6-foot-4 and 204-pounder would go on to have a breakout 2025 season, with 34 catches for 679 yards and four touchdowns, with almost all of that production coming over the last eight games.
Now with the benefit of hindsight, head coach Curt Cignetti acknowledges Becker was ready to be a major contributor at the start of the 2025 campaign.
“I thought he had a pretty good camp last year,” Cignetti said of Becker. “Maybe the biggest change is how we look at him. He was just a guy who needed an opportunity. He was a special teams demon for us in ’24, and early in the year when he got in the games, he took advantage of his opportunities.
“When Sarratt got hurt, the guy was our leading receiver seven of the last eight games.”
The change in the year-over-year outlook for Becker is dramatic.
Last year at this time, no one knew who he was.
Now he’s on 2027 NFL Drafts boards, and just about every preseason watch list and All-American team you can find.
Becker credits his preparation and his coaching staff for making sure he was ready for the moment his number was called.
“Last year I put in the work and I’m just happy that I was able to get that opportunity,” he said. “Coach (offensive coordinator Mike) Shanahan does such a great job of making sure that everyone in the receiving room knows what to do at every single position so that when their number does get called they’ll be able to go out there and make plays.”
Under Cignetti, Indiana has emphasized the transfer portal and his “production over potential” mantra.
It isn’t easy for a young player to break through in his program.
But Becker has become the poster boy for the patience and perseverance it takes to eventually seize on an opportunity when it arrives.
“Keep working,” is his message to his younger teammates. “Eventually your number will get called.”
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