Donaven McCulley (born January 15, 2003) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. He previously played for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, as both a receiver and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Early life and high school

McCulley attended

Lawrence North High School Lawrence North High School is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The school was founded in 1974 and graduated its first class in 1976. Lawrence North is one of two high schools in the Metropolitan School District of Law ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. As a junior, he completed 63% of his passes for 1,958 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also adding 563 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Coming out of high school, McCulley was rated as a four-star recruit, the 3rd overall player in Indiana, the 23rd overall quarterback and the 319th overall player in the class of 2021. McCulley committed to play

for the in-state

over offers from schools such as Purdue, Iowa, Missouri and Ole Miss.

College career

Indiana

McCulley enrolled at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in 2021. In week 10, McCulley made his first collegiate start as a freshman, completing 14 of his 25 pass attempts for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing 11 times for four yards in a 38-35 loss versus

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. In his first season, he completed 35 of 82 passes for 475 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, also rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns in seven games for the Hoosiers. Before the 2022 season, McCulley switched his position from quarterback to wide receiver. That season he hauled in 16 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown. In 2023, McCulley totaled 48 receptions for 644 yards and six touchdowns in his second season as a receiver, earning an All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

honorable mention. After the season, he entered the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

after head coach

Tom Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy * Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England ...

was fired. McCulley soon exited the portal and returned to the Hoosiers under new head coach

Curt Cignetti Curt Cignetti (born June 2, 1961) is an American football coach who is currently serving as the head football coach at Indiana University. He has previously held head coaching positions at James Madison University, Elon University, and Indiana ...

in 2024. Midway through the season, McCulley left Indiana and entered the NCAA transfer portal again, using the year to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

. He played in four games and had two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan

On December 13, 2024, McCulley transferred to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

to play for

Sherrone Moore Sherrone Banfield Moore (first name , born February 3, 1986) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Michigan. Moore served as Michigan's acting head coach in four games during ...

and the Wolverines.

Personal life

McCulley's older brother, Derin, played college football for the

Ball State Cardinals The Ball State Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals are part of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference. Charlie Cardinal is the team mascot. The Ball State Univer ...

as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

References

External links

Indiana Hoosiers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCulley, Donaven 2003 births Living people American football wide receivers American football quarterbacks Indiana Hoosiers football players Michigan Wolverines football players