Trust Builder – Becker Takes Lessons Learned to Elite Level
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A hamstring has done what defensive backs from Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Miami couldn’t do:
Stop Charlie Becker.
For now, the Indiana junior receiver watches as teammates practice and drill their way into winning form. That will likely continue until spring practice ends with the April 23 spring game.
Head coach Curt Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan are very aware of what Becker can do. His days of being an overlooked backup are gone, and it goes well beyond last season’s final numbers of 34 catches for 679 yards (a team-leading 20.0 yards per catch average) and four touchdowns.
Defensive backs and defenses beware.
“The way he finished the season,” Cignetti says, “he was one of the best receivers, certainly in the Big Ten.”
Becker was healthy during IU’s Pro Day, when he helped warm up quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and then at the start of spring practice, and if he’s banged up now, it’s nothing the Hoosiers haven’t seen before.
“Tweaked his hamstring (in early April),” Cignetti says. “He did the same thing last August. I don’t know if he’ll be back the rest of the spring. We miss him being out there right now.”
There’s a lot to miss.
For the first nine games last year, Becker’s receiving contributions were minimal -- seven catches for 157 yards and one touchdown. Injuries forced Becker into a bigger role at Penn State, and he delivered a next-man-up performance for the ages – seven catches for 118 yards, including a clutch reception during IU’s game-winning drive.
He lit up Wisconsin with five catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, Ohio State with six catches for 126 yards, Alabama with two catches for 51 yards and a TD, Oregon with two catches for 48 yards and a touchdown, and Miami with four catches for 65 yards in the national title game.
Becker’s impact was magnified because the Hoosiers weren’t throwing the ball all over the field given the dominance of their running game.
“He was another guy who took advantage of his opportunity,” Cignetti says. “Then, we couldn’t take him off the field.”
The 6-foot-4 Becker’s knack for spectacular catches reflects the work he puts in and the lessons learned from watching receiving standouts Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr.
“Coach Shanahan and Coach Cig focus on making contested catches,” Becker say. “They have to have a lot of faith in you.
“Coming in here and learning from Elijah and Coop. They’d be on the jugs machine all the time. Catching with them and seeing how they do all the small details has helped me a lot.”
Besides the jugs machine, which fires footballs at receivers in the same spot, IU also has Monarc machines, robot-like devices that can shoot balls to a variety of spots.
“That’s really useful,” Becker says. “It’s able to put the ball in different spots as opposed to the jugs machine which puts it in one spot every time.
“Then, we’ll have people swatting at the ball so we can focus and make the catch. Having good teammates who help you out and want you to succeed goes a long way.”
Becker was basically a special teams player as a true freshman, getting in 123 special teams snaps between kickoff returns, kickoff coverage, and punt returns. He did score a touchdown on a three-yard fourth-quarter run against Western Illinois.
He continued to play on special teams last season and recorded tackles against Ohio State and Oregon in the postseason.
The result -- Becker encourages young players to make the most of their special teams opportunities because you never know where it will lead.
“Special teams are super important,” he says. “Trying to make sure you do your job correctly on special teams allows you to gain the coaches’ trust. After you gain trust, they're going to put you on the field in your position, defense or offense. You just have to continue to build that trust.”
Becker’s IU success wasn’t totally unexpected. He won Tennessee state track titles in the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and the 400-meter relay at Nashville’s Father Ryan High School while being a consensus three-star football prospect.
He’s also from an athletic family. His brother, Cole, is a linebacker at Appalachian State. His father, David, lettered in football at Ohio State and spent three years in the Toronto Blue Jays organization as a catcher in the 1990s.
As IU’s Pro Day showed, the connection between Becker and Mendoza remains strong. Becker says he tries to duplicate the lessons learned from the Heisman Trophy winner.
“Fernando is the hardest worker I’ve ever encountered,” Becker says. “The preparation he puts in; the amount of film he watches; just how much he loves the game in general. I try to follow his love of the game and the way he prepares.”
Lessons extended to off the field.
“Before Fernando go here, me and Alberto (Mendoza) would go out wherever and we wouldn’t get noticed,” Becker says. “Being roommates with Fernando and going out to dinner with Fernando and going to church with Fernando and seeing how people swarmed him, it was nuts. I felt bad for him at times, but he dealt with it unbelievably. He was so nice and genuine with everybody. That’s another thing that I learned from Fernando -- how good of a person he is to everyone."