Charlie Becker went from three-star to the face of Indiana – USFTB

A year ago, Dave Becker would attend Indiana‘s games, not sure what version of his son, Charlie, he would see afterward.

Charlie Becker was working hard and gained an increased role on special teams. He had impressed coach Curt Cignetti and Indiana’s assistants behind the scenes, validating their decision to retain him from the previous staff’s recruiting class. But he was also stuck in a wide receiver room with future first-round NFL draft pick Omar Cooper Jr. and the highly productive Elijah Sarratt, who had starred for Cignetti at both James Madison and IU.

Becker even lived with Fernando Mendoza, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 NFL draft pick. But as October rolled along, Becker wasn’t on the field much with the offense.

“He was getting a little frustrated,” Dave Becker recalled. “He said, ‘I just want my chance. I want my opportunity to be out there.’ And I just kept telling him, ‘Buddy, just hang in there. It’ll come. I promise you, it’ll happen. You’ll have your shot.'”

The father proved to be right, and the son capitalized, perhaps more than any other college football player in the past calendar year. Charlie Becker became Mendoza’s go-to target during the stretch run and throughout the postseason.

On this date in 2025, Becker had four career receptions. On May 11, he was standing on the South Lawn at the White House, thanking the president for welcoming the national-champion Hoosiers.

“That was pretty crazy,” Charlie Becker said. “Not gonna lie.”

In 13 games, covering two seasons, Becker has gone from role player, best known as Mendoza’s housemate/buddy, to one of the frontmen for Indiana, both during the national championship run and now the encore season. He has 57 receptions for 1,051 yards and 11 touchdowns during the span, and has been one of the top receivers through the first half of the 2026 season, ranking fourth nationally in touchdown catches (8) and tied for 22nd in receiving yards per game (88.2).

ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid lists the 6-foot-4 Becker as his No. 8 overall prospect and No. 2 receiver behind Ohio State‘s Jeremiah Smith, whose team visits Indiana on Saturday (noon ET, Fox).

“It’s been fun seeing Charlie be on billboards and be the face of Indiana on things,” Dave Becker said. “You walk into the Indiana airport, and there’s Charlie’s face. It’s a joy, it’s a blessing, it’s hilarious.”

How did it all happen? Becker had the traits even when recognition came gradually. He just needed a chance.

“He’s the hardest-working guy on the team,” Cignetti said.

Will Cignetti want me?

For a week in late 2023, Becker wasn’t sure he would even become a Hoosier. In June, he committed to Indiana and coach Tom Allen. ESPN rated the Nashville native as the No. 185 wide receiver and No. 45 prospect from Tennessee.

Five months after Becker’s pledge, Indiana fired Allen and hired Cignetti, leaving all the recruits in limbo.

“I was like, ‘Uh-oh, am I still going to have a spot? Am I going to have to go through this whole recruiting process again, in less than a month?'” Becker recalled.

He immediately sent a message on X to offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who was following Cignetti from James Madison to IU, congratulating him and offering to get on the phone. Shanahan texted back right away.

Cignetti evaluated all the committed recruits and didn’t keep them all. Becker had been limited by injury as a high school senior, but Cignetti liked his junior-year film, and the fact Becker had won several state titles in track.

Plus, Dave Becker had played football for Ohio State and spent time in pro baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Charlie’s brother Cole played linebacker at App State.

“He had athletic bloodlines,” Cignetti said of Charlie Becker. “We thought he was a guy that could develop.”

The green light from Cignetti brought relief and validation to Becker, whose recruitment didn’t match the player he would become. He attended high school at Father Ryan in Nashville, which plays other notable private schools such as Brentwood Academy, Lipscomb Academy and Baylor (where Peyton Manning’s son currently plays).

Becker, who was 6-foot-3 by his junior year, excelled in track, winning state titles as a junior in the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and the 400-meter relay, while long-jumping nearly 22 feet and high-jumping 6 feet. If Becker had been fully healthy as a senior, Father Ryan track coach Doug Jones thinks he would have run the 110-meter hurdles in less than 14 seconds. Brian Rector, the football coach at Father Ryan when Becker played, said Becker ran a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash for most of high school, but Rector clocked him a few times under 4.3.

“When you find a football player who has that athleticism to high jump or long jump … that’s a different type, and Charlie had all that,” Jones said. “When he gets on a game field or on a track, he wants to win no matter what. Even the basketball coach here said he’s the only person in the school who could probably walk onto the court and help us.”

But he received only four Power 4 offers besides Indiana — Northwestern, Iowa, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt — as well as Group of 6 inquiries from App State and others. Tennessee stayed away. So did Ohio State, the team Becker and his family rooted for.

“I’ve never seen a more undervalued and overlooked recruit in my entire 30 years of coaching, it’s not even close,” Rector said. “I don’t think it’s sad. I think it’s awesome, because look what happened. But at the time, was I a little perturbed? You betcha.

“I was pretty dadgum perturbed.”

Cole Becker agreed with Rector. His own recruitment had been different, but he knew how top prospects looked — skill-wise and with their understanding of the game — and saw those qualities in Charlie, who was “always just a little bit twitchier, a little bit faster.”

Asked about Charlie’s recruitment, Dave Becker called it “a good question, a deep question, an interesting question,” but declined to say more.

“I don’t think necessarily that I was ever asking, ‘Where are all the schools? Where are my offers?'” Charlie Becker said. “I don’t think I was ever frustrated. I was always just blessed to have the opportunity.”

‘We have a competitive family’

Charlie is the middle child in the Becker household, about a year younger than Cole and a year older than his sister, Gracyn. All three became Division I athletes. (Gracyn played soccer at Miami University last year.) Guided by two athletically inclined parents in Dave and mom Tracy, an avid CrossFitter, their fires ran hot.

“When people say, ‘I have a competitive family,’ I’m like, ‘No, you don’t. We have a competitive family,” Cole Becker said. “Every single thing is a competition in our house, from puzzles to cleaning our rooms.”

The competitions extended outside the home. On a trip to Disney World, Tracy needed to occupy the kids — aged 8 to 10 at the time — while waiting in lines for rides, so she had them do air squats, with the one who lasted longest getting ice cream.

“We’d be screaming at each other if we’re not in perfect alignment,” Charlie said. “It was so much fun.”

When Charlie started playing football, he expected to be a linebacker like his dad and Cole, who had similar body types. But then Charlie started growing more vertically than horizontally. Dave, who coached the boys in middle school, always had Charlie play with older kids, and recognized his younger son was a natural receiver.

“He was always catching balls, no matter where they were — competitive, crazy, twerking of the body, high balls,” Dave Becker said. “At that point, I was like, ‘If Charlie stays healthy and continues to develop and work hard, he might have a chance.'”

Becker spent his freshman season at IU almost exclusively on special teams, logging 123 snaps on three units. He had a 3-yard rushing touchdown but did not record a catch. Becker had a 4-yard reception in the 2025 opener against Old Dominion and his first touchdown grab the following week, but didn’t catch a pass in Indiana’s first four Big Ten games.

His opportunity came, as is often the case, because of a teammate’s injury. Sarratt hurt his hamstring against Maryland and Becker had a 52-yard touchdown. He then produced consecutive 100-yard receiving games, featuring catches of 48 and 53 yards.

“From that point on, he was a starter,” Cignetti said. “Sarratt was still hurt, and [Becker] was a guy that, all of a sudden, you had to get him the ball. That guy can really get vertical, get behind people, and make contested catches.”

Wanting to be a Buckeye, but finding a home

Indiana completed the regular season at 12-0 and reached the Big Ten championship, where it would face Ohio State in a No. 1 vs. 2 matchup. Becker had appeared in Indiana’s loss at Ohio Stadium in 2024, but only on special teams. The title game would be different for him and his family.

The Beckers were Buckeyes, living in SEC country. Dave painted Ohio State’s iconic helmet stripes around Cole and Charlie’s bedroom, which contained Ezekiel Elliott decals and Ohio State-themed sheets and blankets. They attended the first College Football Playoff national title game, where Ohio State beat Oregon, and were season-ticket holders for Ohio State games.

“… We were die-hard,” Charlie said. “We had Ohio State posters up. You name it, we had it. Every Saturday, we’d be sitting down, watching Ohio State play ball, kicking everybody’s butts. That was a dream: to play for them or play against them.”

The latter came Dec. 6 in Indianapolis. When Dave attended Ohio State, Indiana was a lower-tier Big Ten team, and even though the program had risen under Cignetti, he saw the matchup as “David versus Goliath-like.” But that night, Indiana felled the giant, as Charlie led the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (126).

His leaping 33-yard catch on third-and-6 helped the Hoosiers nearly run out the clock.

“A dream come true to be put in that position,” he said. “It was surreal.”

He averaged 20.5 yards per catch during the CFP with two touchdowns. In the national championship against Miami, Becker had a 19-yard catch on fourth-and-5 that set up Mendoza’s iconic fourth-down touchdown run, and later had another 19-yard reception on third-and-7 that set up Indiana’s final field goal.

At Indiana’s White House visit in May, Becker was tabbed to speak on behalf of the team. Cignetti liked the way he presented on camera.

“You’ve seen Charlie go from somebody that wasn’t necessarily in the limelight, and never was a kid that begged for the limelight, to somebody that has stepped up in his role,” Dave Becker said. “Really proud of him.”

‘He’s a real threat now’

Charlie Becker’s big finish made him a face of Indiana’s championship run, but the 2025 Hoosiers were still Mendoza’s team, a designation Becker would not dispute. He had bonded quickly with both Fernando and his younger brother Alberto, who met Becker when they were unpacking their things after arriving at IU in 2024.

The Mendozas and Becker had similar backgrounds, rooted in faith and hard work. Last year, Becker shared an off-campus house with Fernando, Alberto and two other teammates.

“Those guys are like my family now,” Becker said. “I love them so much. I’m so grateful they were put in my life.”

Both Mendozas departed after the championship run, Fernando to the NFL and Alberto to Georgia Tech. Becker was a leftover leader for IU, a role he instantly embraced.

He didn’t know his new quarterback, TCU transfer Josh Hoover, but connected with him during the CFP run. When Hoover came to campus, Becker met him at Convenient Food Mart, a popular grab-and-go spot with the “best breakfast food,” Becker said. The two hit it off.

“With him coming in, I was looking forward to starting it all over again,” Becker said. “He’s a friend that I could see being close with for the rest of my life.”

Cignetti has seen no letup in Becker after his breakout in 2025; just the opposite, in fact. Becker, who this spring called Fernando Mendoza “the hardest worker I’ve ever encountered,” tried to emulate his friend, working on every element of his game.

“He’s really committed, he does everything right,” Cignetti said. “He’s always around here at night, him and Josh and a couple of the other guys, watching tape and preparing. It’s just important to him.”

The preparation translated to games. Becker has three or more receptions in Indiana’s first six games, three multi-touchdown performances, a reception of 35 yards or longer in all but one contest and at least 13.4 yards per reception in each one. And no dropped passes.

He’s already four receptions shy of matching his season total from 2025.

“He’s a long guy that has gotten a lot stronger and can get vertical, has made all the contested catches,” Cignetti said. “He’s a real threat now. A premier player.”

Thirteen games have changed everything for him. When Ohio State visits Saturday for a top-five matchup, Becker’s name will be right there with Smith’s, at the top of the marquee.

“God has done so many amazing things in my life, and I’m forever grateful, just for the opportunities,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we’re still working and never satisfied.”