Indiana’s football season hasn’t panned out like many thought it might. Back in August, many prognosticators thought this should be a good season–even special perhaps. 247 Sports projected a 9 win season. IU was picked to finish 3rd in the East in this preseason poll. But, as of this writing, Indiana is in the cellar at 0-6 in conference play, and just 2-7 overall.

There are several factors to blame for Indiana’s underwhelming performance, not the least of which has to do with injury problems. Season-starter and highly touted quarterback Michael Penix was injured during a 24-0 loss at Penn State in October, and his backup, Jack Tuttle, was hurt two games later in a 52-7 loss to Ohio State. So, with both those QBs still listed as “week to week” by the Indiana football staff, Tom Allen has turned to true freshman Donaven McCulley to take the reins.

“Right now, I mean, in my mind he’s the guy,” Allen said.

McCulley started his first career college game at Maryland two weeks ago, and though Maryland has struggled overall defensively this season, McCulley shined after the first three drives. He completed 14-of-25 passes for 242 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. One could argue that’s the best stat line for any IU quarterback against a Power 5 opponent this season. Some of that may be linked to offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan spending the game on the sideline rather than in the press box like usual.

“Really, it was just to be able to look him in the eyes and ask him what he was seeing and how he’s feeling,” Sheridan said.

When McCulley was asked about his first career touchdown pass after the game, his response was remarkable.

“It was cool, but I want the win more,” McCulley said.

That tells you much of what you need to know about McCulley’s character and competitive edge. His full interview following the start at Maryland is below.

Indiana’s staff has had confidence in McCulley long before he enrolled at IU. He spent his high school days at Lawrence North in Indianapolis, where McCulley took a program that hadn’t finished with a winning record in 15 years to an appearance in a 6A sectional title game and a 7-4 season in 2020.

Sheridan was impressed right off the bat with McCulley.

“Just as his career has evolved, you’ve seen his whole program improve,” Sheridan said. “I think that speaks to the type of leader he is and the type of competitor he is.”

He was also a star on the court, where the 6’5 McCulley routinely made athletic plays for the Wildcats. The environments he faced in high school basketball, he says, have helped him prepare for Big Ten football.

“Where I’m from, basketball is big,” McCulley said. “Playing in big games is a normal thing, so that’s helped me out.”

A fuller scope of his high school highlights, which feature McCulley putting both his arm and run game on display, can be seen below.