Ranking the 10 Best Wide Receivers in Indiana Football History

With five All-Americans, eight first-team All-Big Ten selections, and 16 NFL Draft picks, Indiana has never had a problem coming up with tremendous college football wide receivers.

Some have been special, some have earned more decorations than others, but there have been plenty of great ones in the school's history.

Who have been the ten best Indiana wide receivers of all-time?

Indiana Top Wide Receiver Quick Hits

- Indiana's wide receiver history has hidden gems among the ten greatest
- Omar Cooper was Indiana's first first-round wide receiver since Thomas Lewis
- Pete Pihos is an 'old school' pick who needs more recognition.

Ranking the Greatest Wide Receivers in Indiana Football History

Nov 10, 2007; Evanston, IL, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver James Hardy (82) runs past Northwestern Wildcats linebackers Prince Kwateng (36), Eddie Simpson (40) and Adam Kadela (43) during the third quarter at Ryan Field. Northwestern beat Indiana 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-Imagn Images | Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

10. Pete Pihos

Hoosier Career: 1943, 1945-46
Career Stats: 24 receptions 352 yards, 5 TD (14.7 ypc), 108 rushes 478 yards 9 TD
Honors: First Team All-American (1943, 1945), College Football Hall of Fame (1966), Pro Football Hall of Fame (1970)

Pihos was an All-American at two positions, fullback and end. And that's the problem. He was a great all-around player - and will get more credit as one of the top Indiana players of all-time - but he wasn't necessarily the best wide receiver.

He played positionless football, so it is difficult to pencil him into just one position. His time at IU was interrupted by World War II, but he was part of the 9-0-1 1945 team that won a Big Ten title. He is the only former IU player in both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

9. Courtney Roby

Hoosier Career: 2001-2004
Career Stats: 170 receptions 2,524 yards, 12 TD (14.8 ypc), 31rushes, 207 yards 2 TD
Honors: Third-Round NFL Draft Pick, 2nd Team All-Big Ten (2004), Second in IU history for receiving yards.

Roby was the best player on a stretch of bad IU teams. He led the Hoosiers in receiving yards from 2002-04 and finished his career second on the all-time receiving yards list in program history.

He was also an excellent returner, accounting for 567 return yards. His talent shone through the fog of Bloomington enough to be a third-round NFL Draft pick.

8. Duane Gunn

Hoosier Career: 1981-1983
Career Stats: 116 receptions 2,235 yards, 14 TD (19.3 ypc), 27 rushes, 150 yards 2 TD
Honors: First Team All-Big Ten (1982, 1983), Second Team All-Big Ten (1981), 1984 First Round NFL Draft Pick

Duane Gunn was a weapon for the early 80's Hoosiers. He is still fifth on the Hoosiers' career receiving yards list and he was a terrific kick returner with 735 career return yards.

A three-time All-Big Ten selection, Gunn put together a career that saw him picked 23rd overall in the 1984 NFL Draft.

7. Ernie Jones

Hoosier Career: 1984-1987
Career Stats: 125 receptions 2,200 yards, 19 TD (17.6ypc), 30 kick returns, 639 yards
Honors: First Team All-American (1987), First Team All-Big Ten (1987), 7th Round NFL Draft Pick (1988)

Jones still sits third in career receiving yards in IU history, and his 1,265-yard season in 1987 is the most yards an IU wide receiver has had in a single season.

He helped lead IU to two bowl games. In the 1988 Peach Bowl, Jones made seven catches for 150 yards and scored a touchdown.

6. Bill Malinchak

Hoosier Career: 1963-65
Career Stats: 115 receptions 1,686 yards, 14 TD (14.7 ypc)
Honors: First Team All-Big Ten (1964), Second Team All-Big Ten (1965)

Malinchak can be lost to the history books, but he led the Big Ten in touchdown receptions in 1964 and 1965. He led the Hoosiers in receiving in each of his three seasons at IU.

5. Omar Cooper

Hoosier Career: 2022-2025
Career Stats: 115 receptions 1,798 yards, 22 TD (15.6 ypc), 5 rushes, 97 yards 2 TD
Honors: Second Team All-Big Ten (2025), First Round NFL Draft Pick (2026)

Omar Cooper owns the best catch in the history of Indiana football, and his legacy will last a long time. Cooper's journey from a four-star in-state commit to a first-round NFL draft pick is as impressive as any.

Cooper stuck around after Tom Allen was fired and took huge developmental steps every year.

After showing some promise in 2023, Cooper broke out in 2024. He showed off his clutch gene with catches on money downs and in the red zone. In 2025, Cooper led the Hoosiers in receiving yards en route to a national championship.

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THROW OF THE YEAR!
CATCH OF THE YEAR!

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Omar Cooper Jr. make an unreal play for a go-ahead TD vs. Penn State with 36 seconds left.

🎥 @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/mX4qr3AOe1
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 8, 2025

4. Elijah Sarratt

Hoosier Career: 2024-2025
Career Stats (at IU): 118 receptions 1,787 yards, 23 TD (15.6 ypc), 5 rushes, 97 yards 2 TD
Honors: Second Team All-Big Ten (2025), Third Team All-Big Ten (2024), Fourth Round NFL Draft Pick (2026)

Nicknamed 'Waffle House', Elijah Sarratt became one of the most dependable wide receivers in Hoosier history.

His ability to make contested catches is unmatched. His journey from FCS St. Francis to James Madison to Indiana, Sarratt was a star at every level.

Sarratt only spent two seasons at IU, but he's third in school history with 23 receiving touchdowns. His 15 touchdowns in 2025 led all of college football

3. Thomas Lewis

Hoosier Career: 1991-93
Career Stats: 142 receptions 2,324 yards, 16 TD (15.1 ypc), 11 rushes, 145 yards 1 TD
Honors: Second Team All-Big Ten (1993), First Round NFL Draft Pick (1994)

Lewis was the leading receiver on some very good Indiana teams in the 1990's. He was part of two bowl seasons, and he still holds the Indiana record for the most receiving yards in a bowl game with 177 (1993 Independence Bowl).

He is fourth on Indiana's career receiving yards list with 2,324. In 1993, he finished with 55 catches for 1,058 yards and seven touchdowns. Before Fernando Mendoza, Lewis was Indiana's last first-round selection in an NFL Draft.

2. James Hardy

Hoosier Career: 2005-2007
Career Stats: 191 receptions 2,740 yards, 36 TD (14.3 ypc)
Honors: Second Team All-American (2007), First Team All-Big Ten (2007), Second Team All-Big Ten (2005, 2006), Second Round NFL Draft Pick (2007)

James Hardy is still the Hoosiers' career leader in touchdown catches with 36. He will go down as one of the greatest players in Indiana football history.

His 2,770 career receiving yards and 36 receiving touchdowns are records that haven't been close to being touched, even with IU's success on offense this century.

He is at the top of nearly every receiving category in the IU record book, and his performance in the 2007 season while leading IU to their first bowl game in over a decade will forever be memorable.

🚨82 days until Big Ten football🚨

Who remembers #82 WR James Hardy for the Hoosiers?
👉IU's all-time leader in catches (191), receiving yds (2,740) & receiving TDs (36)
👉3x All-Big Ten
👉2 sport athlete (played 23 games for @IndianaMBB in 2004-05)@IndianaFootball #iufb🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/JoLjVawOmr
— The Floor Slap (@TheFloorSlap) June 8, 2024

1. Jade Butcher

Hoosier Career: 1967-1969
Career Stats: 116 receptions 1,876 yards, 30 TD (16.2 ypc)
Honors: First Team All-American (1969), First Team All-Big Ten (1968, 1969)

Butcher was a key part of the 1967 Hoosier team dubbed the 'Cardiac Kids' as they rolled their way to a Big Ten championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. Butcher had 10 receiving touchdowns in each of his three seasons with the Hoosiers.

In 1969, he came up with his best season of the three with 37 catches for 537 yards and 10 scores to finish off an amazing career. Remembering the era, his career receiving touchdown record stood for nearly 40 years before being broken in 2007.

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