A big trend that we are seeing in college football this season is players that are contributing often deciding to take red shirts so that they can enter the transfer portal when the season is over. This started with UNLV’s starting quarterback, Matthew Sluka, opting for a red shirt despite being the team’s starter and the Rebels being ranked in the top-25. His reasoning was NIL issues, but we have seen it for a lot of different reasons. Another player that we recently saw make the decision to red shirt and enter the transfer portal is Indiana football wide receiver Donaven McCulley,
It’s very normal for players to red shirt to save their eligibility, but players typically go that route because they aren’t getting any playing time. There’s no point in wasting one of your years of eligibility if you aren’t going to play at all. However, starting QBs and contributing defensive linemen opting out of the season so that they can maintain eligibility and transfer somewhere else after the season? That is something that we are going to have to get used to in this new era of college football.
Seeing Donaven McCulley decide to go this route was a bit surprising given the success that he has found with the Indiana football team, and the success that the Hoosiers are having this season. Indiana has a new coach this year as Curt Cignetti is leading the team, and he has the Hoosiers playing their best football in a while. Indiana is currently 6-0 and they are ranked #16 in the country.
McCulley was expected to be a big part of this offense this season, too. He was the leading receiver for the Hoosiers last year as he hauled in 48 receptions for 644 yards and six touchdowns. However, in his limited time this season, McCulley only had two receptions for 21 yards and two touchdowns. Still, it was early in the season, and he was definitely one of the most talented weapons on the Indiana team. McCulley is now searching for a new home in the transfer portal.
This isn't McCulley's first time experimenting with the transfer portal, however. After last season, he decided to dip his toes into the water as the Indiana football team was going through a coaching change. For a while, it didn't look like McCulley would be coming back to play for the Hoosiers, but he obviously did. Curt Cignetti was thrilled to get him back as he was thinking that McCulley was going to transfer to Florida State.
“I was extremely excited when Donaven came back,” Cignetti said, according to an article from Sports Illustrated. “We got the quarterback commitment, and about two hours later Donaven called me. That was a great day. I truly was not expecting that because the word on the street was Florida State.”
Now, McCulley is leaving the program, and there are a few schools that we should be paying attention to as McCulley looks to find his new home. According to a report from On3, there are six schools that have emerged as contenders to land his commitment. Those schools are Michigan, Colorado, Miami, Cincinnati, Missouri and Ole Miss.
Those are some early contenders for McCulley, but would they all be a good fit? Maybe, but there seem to be some schools that would be better than others. Here are the top two options for McCulley.
Michigan
One of the best options that Donaven McCulley has in the transfer portal is Michigan. The Wolverines aren't as good as they are this season, but they did win a national title last year, and they are one of the premier programs in the Big Ten. McCulley wouldn't have to change conferences if he went to Michigan, and Ann Arbor isn't too far from Bloomington, so the move wouldn't be extreme.
Some notable news involving McCulley and Michigan is that he will be visiting Ann Arbor next week when the Wolverines play Michigan State. There is definitely mutual interest here, and head coach Sherrone Moore is happy with how his staff is planning for the future.
“He’s done a great job,” Moore said in regard to general manager Sean Magee and his focus on the future, according to an article from On3. “This is a different era of football, and you’ve got to have forward thinking of what you’re doing. We’re compiling names and data, not only of college [players] but high school, and trying to build it from the high school ranks to make sure we get a core foundation of that. I think we’re doing a good job with this [2025] recruiting class, and we’ll continue to bring in the pieces that we need to help immediately … to replace and do things and sustain the success that we need to get. So, he’s done a really good job managing the numbers and the roster.”
Michigan needs wide receivers badly, so Donaven McCulley could come in and make an immediate impact. It'll be interesting to see how next weekend's visit goes.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss is another good option for Donaven McCulley because of the talent level that the Rebels have and their play style. There are typically more explosive offenses that are pass-heavy compared to the Big Ten. Ole Miss is one of them. The Rebels usually have a good, explosive offense, and McCulley would fit in well with how they run things.
Going from the Big Ten to the SEC would be a big move, but it could be the right move for a WR.
McCulley still has a lot of time to decide where he is going to play next year, and he will likely be taking a good amount of visits after the Michigan one. He is definitely one of the top portal prospects and one to keep an eye on.
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