BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana receiver Charlie Becker started last season by fighting three more experienced NFL prospects for playing time. He finished it as one of the most essential cogs in the Hoosiers' improbable 2025 national championship run.
Now he's back to do even more in his first full season as a starter.
The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Nashville native has emerged quickly as the new leader in Indiana's receivers room by becoming the model of efficiency for a coach and program where that is regarded as the highest honor.
“There's a lot of work that we put into it,” Becker said after Saturday’s 55-0 victory. “There's a lot more left out there we can improve upon. In my route running, I think I can improve on all that to get more receptions, get open, be a better receiver for (quarterback) Josh (Hoover).”
Hoover already seems to have a great connection with Beck after just two games together. And Beck has certainly delivered on his promise.
Despite making early exits in two routs, Beck leads the team in receptions (seven) and yards (145) while being tied for the most touchdown catches (five) in the Football Bowl Subdivision. He'll be back on the field Saturday when the Hoosiers host Western Kentucky (0-2).
Improving on last week's performance won't be easy for No. 4 Indiana (2-0).
— The Hoosiers scored TDs on seven of their first eight possessions, averaging 1.0 points per minute in a game the two coaches agreed to trim by five minutes after the third quarter.
— They pitched their first shoutout of the season, preventing Howard (1-2) from crossing midfield until it recovered a muffed punt with two minutes left in the third quarter.
— Four of Hoover's six completions went for touchdowns and backup quarterback Grant Wilson's only two completions also went for TDs.
— Running backs Lee Beebe Jr. and Turbo Richard both produced their first 100-yard games of the season, needing just 16 and 11 carries to hit that mark. Richard has three TDs this season.
Yet even in the midst of such an incredibly proficient all-around performance, albeit against a Football Championship Subdivision foe, Becker's remarkable stat line — three catches, 81 yards, three TDs — elicited rare praise from Becker's harshest critic, two-time Associated Press Coach of the Year Curt Cignetti.
“Hardest worker on the team, prepares as well as anybody, nobody prepares more,” he said. “Goes hard every play, goes hard in practice. He’s a really good special teams guy, too. It’s really important to him and he does everything he can to be the most explosive player. We’ve had quarterbacks here throw more touchdown passes than incompletions in games the last two years, right? He’s got almost as many touchdown catches as receptions.”
But it’s not numbers that fuel Becker. It’s the desire to be the best.
Becker's big body allows him to shield defenders, giving him a better chance to win contested balls. His strong hands have helped him haul in 41 passes for 824 yards and nine scores in 18 games — without a drop.
Not enough?
Becker made the 51-yard catch that set up Indiana's only TD against Ohio State in the 2025 Big Ten championship game and the 33-yard catch on third down to seal the win. Against Miami in January's national championship game, he added two crucial 19-yard catches — one set up a fourth-quarter field goal, the other was a fourth-down conversion preceding Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza's final TD run against Miami.
Soon Becker could find himself back in the same stomping grounds as Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt and E.J. Williams Jr., who were all in NFL training camps this summer.
Many draft analysts project Becker to be a first-round pick — if he joins a class that could feature two Heisman hopefuls at receiver Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State and Malachi Toney of Miami.
Nobody is putting Becker in their company just yet. But Mendoza wasn't the Heisman front-runner at this point last year, and if Becker continues operating this efficiently, the once little-known receiver could soon join a conversation Becker isn't paying attention to either.
“My blocking isn't great, and I think that's an area where we can all improve because a great O-line leads to first downs and great wide receiver blocking leads to touchdowns,” said Becker, who is 11 TD catches away from the late James Hardy's single-season school record.
“I think being able to get out on the field, it definitely helps boost your confidence and going against great teams like last year like Ohio State, Miami, all the teams in the playoffs, going against great corners like that it really helped boost my confidence.”
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