From Virginia
Elijah Sarratt began his collegiate career at a school with fewer than 2,500 undergraduates. Now, the Hoosiers star has his sights set on the NFL.
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As a high school senior, he had no Division I offers. He sent out emails to junior college programs across the country, hoping for someone to take notice. Nobody replied. He would step into his coach’s office each week hoping to hear some good news, but the responses from college coaches were blunt and discouraging.
“I don’t know if you can play here. I don’t know if you can do this or you can’t do that,” Sarratt recalled of those conversations.
He was left questioning what his future in football would look like. Yet, he refused to fold under that weight.
“That’s really where I feel like I got my hard work from,” Sarratt said. “Nobody was calling, but I was still outside every day by myself on the field — grinding — and it eventually worked out for me.”
When Saint Francis came calling, Sarratt finally had his shot. And once he got on the field, he didn’t waste it. As a true freshman in 2022, he caught 40 passes for 700 yards, ranked fifth nationally in the FCS with 13 touchdowns grabs and started the final four games of the season. He became a FCS Freshman All-American.
It was the breakthrough he had been waiting for, validation that his lonely summer sessions in high school were worth it.
Even with that success, Sarratt knew he wasn’t done climbing. He transferred to James Madison, where he played the 2023 season alongside his brother, Josh “Cheese” Sarratt. That year was a turning point for Sarratt personally and professionally.
Playing with his brother deepened their bond, and Cheese became both mentor and motivator. When Elijah needed someone to show him how to take his game to the next level, Cheese was there.
That bond didn’t end when Cheese’s playing days did. Today, they live together in Bloomington, where Cheese continues to push him daily. If Elijah comes home bragging about the extra work he put in, Cheese is the first to humble him, reminding him there’s always more to do. It’s the kind of brotherly accountability that keeps Elijah from getting complacent.
....Sarratt’s determined to elevate his game beyond his junior-year production, and he knows what it will take. His offseason regimen has gone beyond extra routes or weight room reps. He’s poured hours into film study, recovery and detailed work on his craft.
He sees his senior season not only as another chance to prove all those who have doubted him wrong, but also as an opportunity to put himself in the best position possible for the NFL.
“I’m nowhere near where I want to be right now; all I can do is keep on improving,” Sarratt said. “The goal is the NFL. I don’t just want to be [in the NFL], I want to be a guy in it.”
That dream feels closer than ever. Once, he wasn’t sure if he’d even got a scholarship offer to play Division I football. Now, he enters 2025 recognized nationally and sitting on the brink of a professional career.
“It’s crazy how close it is. I try to tell myself not to think about it,” Sarratt said. “I just focus on game in and game out doing what I have to do, and everything else will fall into place.”
What’s striking about Sarratt is that through it all — the rejections, the transfers, the instability — he has not let bitterness define him. Instead, those bumps in the road have shaped his mentality. They made him tougher, more adaptable and more appreciative of the journey itself. He has emerged as both one of the nation’s best wide receivers and a respected voice among his teammates.
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