Indiana had to turn to their No. 3 left guard on the depth chart at Penn State as redshirt freshman Adedamola Ajani got his first career start.
That move was a bit surprising after redshirt senior Zen Michalski filled in for injured starter Drew Evans at Maryland a week ago.
But IU coach Curt Cignetti revealed Michalski was also injured during practice last week, opening the door for Ajani’s start. Michalski did see one snap at Penn State, which seems to indicate whatever he’s dealing with isn’t long term.
“Zen got dinged up in practice a little bit, so Ajani got more work,” Cignetti said. “Zen was able to play in the game but didn’t get the reps during the week. And Ajani played well.”
Cignetti said Evans will be out “a few weeks yet,” which sounds like the Purdue game on Nov. 28 — at the earliest.
Meanwhile Indiana’s leading wide receiver Elijah Sarratt is going to have prove this week he’s fully recovered from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss most of the Maryland game and all of the Penn State contest.
Cignetti called Sarratt “day-to-day” as of Monday. “I’ll know more every single day,” Cignetti said.
Sarratt has caught 45 passes for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. With their offense sputtering at times at Penn State, the Hoosiers seemed to miss his ability to run crisp routes to get open against press man coverage, and make tough contested catches in those one-on-one battles.
But Sarratt’s absence did open the door for sophomore receiver Charlie Becker, who had a breakout game at Beaver Stadium with seven catches for 118 yards.
Cignetti named Becker the team’s top offensive player at Penn State.
“Becker has taken advantage of his opportunities before the Penn State game, and really proud of him to come up big the way he did in that game,” Cignetti said. “I thought he just showed a lot right there. We knew he had skills. He was long. He’s always done a great job on special teams. He made some good catches when he had a chance to play this season. But in that venue to make those plays — he was the offensive player of the game. Really proud of him, and now let’s stay humble and hungry and build on it.”
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