Wolverine Digest

Michigan wide receiver's basketball roots could boost Wolverine offense in 2025

The Michigan Wolverines haven't had a big bodied wide receiver like Donaven McCulley in quite sometime, and his basketball background could prove fruitful for the offense this fall.
Chris Breiler|
Christopher Breiler

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It's been a while since the Michigan Wolverines had a big bodied target at wide receiver like Donaven McCulley. Listed at 6-5, 203 pounds, the former Indiana wideout transferred to Michigan for his final year of college ball in hopes of winning a championship.

It remains to be seen how big of a role he'll play in the Michigan offense this fall, but there's no question his experience could prove beneficial for an offense that struggled mightily through the air in 2024.

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Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

McCulley began his collegiate career at Indiana as a quarterback, accounting for 542 yards with three touchdown passes in four starts as a freshman. He then made the switch to wide receiver for the next three seasons, racking up 834 yards and eight touchdowns on 66 receptions. For his efforts, McCulley earned All-Big Ten selection honorable mention by the coaches and media in 2023. But during his final season in Bloomington, McCulley suffered an injury in the season opener and struggled to work his way back into Indiana's rotation after that.

With a fresh start in Ann Arbor, McCulley says he's entering this season with a chip on his shoulder. And although he's got big individual goals for the season, McCulley said he's completely bought in to Michigan's 'team-over-me' mantra. He also says that his basketball background could prove valuable in his new role at Michigan, serving as a big target who can high-point the ball.

"I just think of the ball in the air as a rebound or an alley-oop a little bit," McCulley said. "I played basketball in high school, so I'm kind of used to going up for boards and stuff like that."

Michigan Football
Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As far as what to expect from OC Chip Lindsey's Michigan offense in 2025, McCulley says its fast-paced and designed to get the ball down the field - something that was a glaring issue for the Wolverines last season.

"Fast-paced," McCulley said. "We're going to throw the ball down the field. And I think that's his vision. Of course, we're going to set the line of scrimmage and stuff like that with the run game, of course. But I think he really wants to get the ball down the field a lot more."

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

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Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.

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