Indiana 'very dangerous' duo of Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper headline WR pairs nationally. Is it the best? : 'In my opinion, yeah.'

Jealousy is a dangerous emotion. Especially in sports and between teammates. In today’s world of social media and national recognition everywhere players turn, highlights and praise are everywhere. But for Indiana‘s wide receiver duo of Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr, it’s anything but and that’s led that pair to being one of the most dominant groups in the country.

Both have had different paths to Indiana. Sarratt started at Saint Francis (Pa.) then James Madison and then Indiana. Cooper, a four-star recruit, committed to Indiana and began his career with the previous staff and Tom Allen.

Now, both are thriving and have spearheaded Indiana to a national championship contender.

“I would say just how hard we work each and every week. Coming out, knowing that there’s some way, somehow, that we can still get better. So we try and push each other, and making sure that each one is not being complacent or settled with what we’ve done so far,” Cooper said of how he and Sarratt work together. “So I feel like the fact that me and him just go at it with each other, and we also compete with stats, that also is a better way for us just to go out there and just go play hard, in my opinion.”

Sarratt has totaled 603 yards and nine touchdowns on 43 receptions. Cooper has 37 receptions for 581 yards and seven touchdowns. Both rank top-20 nationally in receiving yards, while Sarratt is first in the nation in receiving touchdowns and Cooper is tied for sixth with just two less.

Want all of your Indiana news in one place? Sign up for the daily TheHoosier.com newsletter!

In four Big Ten games, Sarratt has 28 receptions for 439 yards and 6 touchdowns. Cooper has 24 receptions for 282 yards and three touchdowns.

On the season, Sarratt has two 100+ yard games with two more of at least 90 yards. He also has two games with two touchdowns and a three-touchdown outing.

For Cooper, he has a 200+ yard game that included four touchdowns and has scored a touchdown in three of the last four games, which also includes another 100+ yard game. He also has a 75-yard rushing touchdown earlier in the season.

What makes them so successful? Their ability, yes. Also having a Heisman Trophy candidate — and potential front runner — in quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

“It makes it a lot more easy. Just know we gotta be in a certain position and he’s gonna get it to us,” Cooper said of Mendoza. “So it just makes it, like you said, easier for us and allows us to just go out there and be comfortable with knowing he’s back there.

“I feel like honestly, don’t ever tell him I said this cuz he hates here. But I feel like we got the best quarterback in college football.”

“Man, without him, we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of stuff that we’re doing,” Sarratt added. “He’s a great quarterback, and he puts the ball perfectly almost every single time. I’m glad I got two other guys beside me that are very good receivers as well, so we click pretty good.”

While Cooper and Sarratt get the attention, that third wideout that Sarratt mentioned is EJ Williams. Williams, a former top-100 recruit, always had the potential to be a star but injuries have limited his availability. After entering the transfer portal last year and then returning to Indiana, his emergence as a consistent and available threat has allowed this offense — and Sarratt and Cooper — to thrive.

“It’s very dangerous,” Cooper said of IU’s wide receiver room. “A lot of people sleep on EJ because of me and Elijah. But EJ’s a really good player, and he was able to show you all that today (Saturday). I feel like that second touchdown he was in, but just the fact that it’s three of us, it allows us to go out there and play more free. And knowing that you can’t just double team one person cuz we got more weapons than you can hold with just a double team.”

Williams has added just 19 receptions for 212 yards and three touchdowns, but has stepped up in major moments for the Hoosiers and the passing game. He has multiple receptions in all but one game.

“Well, you can kind of focus in on one guy, but it’s hard to focus in on two because if you’re three by one, that guy might be number three, number two, number one on the field or into the bench. So you can focus in on one guy, but it’s really difficult to focus in on two,” Cignetti said of the passing game. “But there’s other guys that make plays, like Riley Nowakowski. How many big plays has he made in the pass game? And EJ Williams obviously is a threat.

“Then some of the — Charlie Becker has made plays. Hemby has made some big plays in the pass game. Then you’ve got to deal with Fernando’s feet if he works up into the pocket. So you can’t really focus on one guy.”

It’s a two-way street — while Indiana’s wide outs are recipients of Mendoza’s play, the receiving core has elevated Mendoza as well.

“Yeah, I think that it really just shows the multiplicity of our offense and how we’re able to game plan and how we’re able to attack the defense,” Mendoza said. “We’re not a one-way street, hey we can only do RPOs, hey we can only do drop back pass, hey we can only run. With those receivers, we can do so many different things on our offense, which allows us to be very successful.”

As Indiana keeps winning and the expectations grow, so will the discussion around IU’s offense and specifically, its duo of Sarratt and Cooper.

Do they think it’s the best receiving pair in the nation?

“In my opinion, yeah,” Cooper said. “But we’re just gonna keep going out there and showing what we’re capable of and letting other people say what they wanna say.”

Not yet a member of TheHoosier?  Join our community for Just $1 for your first week and get a complimentary year of The Athletic included with your membership. Join here!

Use the code “IND20” on Rhoback.com for a generous 20% off for all new customers through the end of this week. Rhoback — Best Fit, Best Feel.