It will be very difficult for a true freshman to break through and see meaningful snaps at wide receiver for Indiana in 2025.
The Hoosiers have five veterans with an impressive resume of proven production over their careers. And as you know, that’s music to Curt Cignetti’s ears. Each has played at least the equivalent of two full college seasons at the FBS level, with some seeing more snaps at lower levels too:
(FBS stats shown)
-
- Elijah Sarratt – 135 catches, 2,148 yards, 16 TDs (26 games)
- Jonathan Brady – 98 catches, 1,317 yards, 10 TDs (41 games)
- Makai Jackson – 73 catches, 1,163 yards, 7 TDs (25 games)
- E.J. Williams – 65 catches, 772 yards, 2 TDs (45 games)
- Omar Cooper, Jr. – 46 catches, 861 yards, 9 TDs (26 games)
But we learned quickly last year under Cignetti and offensive coordinator (and receivers coach) Mike Shanahan, things aren’t always what they seem.
Donaven McCulley was coming off a breakout second half in 2023 and had major star potential going into the 2024 season. Instead, in part due to injuries, he barely cracked the wide receiver rotation and transferred out of the program midseason. He’s now at Michigan.
Williams is a former 4-star Clemson recruit. He had injury issues last year (and prior years), and he fell down the depth chart and transferred too — before transferring back.
The receivers who won snaps over McCulley and Williams last year were proven veterans — Myles Price, Miles Cross, and Ke’Shawn Williams, along with Sarratt and Cooper.
No freshman or second-year receivers even caught a pass for IU last year. And the rotation looks just as difficult to crack this time around.
“When you compare the freshmen — when you’ve been used to like the COVID extra year guys, for instance, and you’re in the portal and you’re coaching 25-, 24-, 23-year-old kids, you forget what coaching 17-, 18-year-old kids is like, especially ones that come in and enroll in school in January in the NIL era,” Cignetti said in the spring.
IU has three true freshman wideouts on this year’s roster. And there is one who has consistently stood out going back to the spring.
Lebron Bond is tied with cornerback D’Angelo Ponds as the second shortest player on the team this year. If Bond is anything like Ponds, his 5-foot-9 frame serves as a source of motivation after enduring years of doubt because of his physical stature. Ponds played and starred as a true freshman, and there are signs the two are wired in a similar fashion.
Bond caught four passes and scored a touchdown in the spring game, and his everyday effort and focus had Cignetti singing his praises early.
Watching fall camp this month, the former high school track star from Virginia is clearly one of the fastest players on this Indiana team. That, along with his passion for the game, has Bond standing out with a chance to breakthrough in year one, despite the obstacles.
Indiana may have five proven veterans, but Cignetti believes he has a freshman ready to contribute.
“It’s really important to him – football. He has picked up where he left off [in the spring] and gotten better,” Cignetti said of Bond Monday. “Still [need to see] a little bit more consistency needed, but he is in the position to help us this fall.”
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Join our Premium Discord Chat by GOING HERE.
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
