CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL: OREGON VS INDIANA

January 5, 2026

Elijah Sarratt

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Indiana Hoosiers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions for Elijah.

Q. You have played a couple teams here like Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, with similar rosters. What did Oregon do specifically that stood out compared to the other teams you faced?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, talent-wise they're right there with Ohio State, Alabama, some of the best teams in the college football world.

They didn't do too much different. They ran a lot of man against us than when we played them. Coach Shan was just telling us yesterday, I don't remember how many snaps, but about 70% of the snaps we were getting press. That's something different than what Ohio State, Alabama and them did.

It's a challenge that we're going to have to face this week, as well. This whole week throughout practice, we'll be able to go against press on scout team. Hopefully we'll be ready if they continue to do that against us.

Q. How much do you embrace that press coverage challenge, the man on man, one on one?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, as a receiver you got to embrace it. If you can't win those one-on-one matchups against press, you're not going to make it too far in this football world.

Is definitely a challenge going against those guys because Oregon have some long, athletic DBs. It's going to be a challenge.

It's something that I take on the challenge head on and I want to do my best against it, for sure.

Q. Very few dropped passes this year. Everybody coaches their receiving core to minimize drops. Why does it work so well at Indiana?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, I really just think the time we put in catching passes. We catch a lot during practice. Every day after practice I'm catching a hundred. All the other receivers are catching extra passes.

It's building up those reps throughout the season. It really matters. When we get in those tight situations, it's just like another day at work catching passes. Really just the time we put in after the fact I feel like makes a big difference.

Q. Having already played Oregon, are you expecting to make some adjustments, or the game plan is to make them adjust to you again?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, we'll of course make our adjustments, change some things that we maybe didn't do as well in the first game. I'm sure they're going to make their adjustments, as well.

Of course, we're still going to carry over some things we did like. Same for them.

We'll see as the game starts how they want to guard us, what they're giving us, and go from there.

Q. You're one of the guys who has been around Coach Cig the longest. How would you describe his personality?

ELIJAH SARRATT: You said personality?

Q. Yes.

ELIJAH SARRATT: Personality, real businesslike. When you come into this facility, you understand that it's time to go to work. When he comes into the team meetings, you understand what he's about, what he's saying. You believe what he's saying.

Really he's about his business and about getting better every single day. He wants to find a way to win the day every single day.

Q. Last week when we were talking with Fernando, he talked about, when he got to campus, making good relationships with everybody. Could you take me back to those first few early days when you first met him, what that was like, what, if any, role Alberto played in that?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, really my first time meeting him was when he came up here on his visit. They asked me to come out to dinner with them. It was me, him, Alberto, I think Coach Shanny and DO.

We had a great dinner. We clicked it off real good. He was more outgoing than I thought. Made sense just 'cause if you know Alberto, Alberto is super outgoing, as well.

We were cracking jokes the first time. He was trolling. Big trolls. Kind of easy to talk to them. They both funny. We clicked off well.

As he got on campus, you could see him wanting to talk to all the guys, introduce himself to everybody. It seemed genuine. Wasn't like he was trying to do too much, stepping on everybody's toes. He was just being who Fernando is. Everybody welcomed him with open arms.

Q. What's made Indiana a good place for transfers to play at? Is there something about Coach Cignetti that you think has allowed so many transfers to mesh with him?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, first, Bloomington is a great college town. One of the better college towns in the nation. That plays a big part of making yourself feel at home outside of football.

Football-wise, Coach Cig, you see the body of work that he has, the people that he develops. He's helped develop me, many other players that we have on this team. Seeing the success he's had all the way from where he's been, it's something that you want to be a part of.

Then you come to this campus and meet him, what he's saying you really believe that you can do.

One thing I can say about Coach Cig is the stuff you get in his office on a visit, he's telling you this and that, but it's actually true. You commit, you come in, and then what he's preaching is actually what you're doing.

It's not going to be easy. He's not going to say it's going to be easy. He's going to tell you you got to stack days, you got to be the best player you can be every single day. But you see the vision that he gives you, and you really believe that you can achieve it.

Q. You caught another fade ball for a touchdown against Alabama. What goes into developing that type of skill? How do you hone that skill?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, just really the work I put in in practice, the work that we all put in in practice really. Just building that time in. We knew what kind of look they were going to give us. Coach Shanny called the play at a perfect time. O-line did a great job locking. Fernando threw a dime as usual.

We practice that all throughout the week in practice. Really the time before the game is what allows me to go in there and make those catches look so routine.

Q. When you guys beat Oregon in October, the first time they lost at home in three years. Did you notice the team's confidence kind of rise and feel like at that point you could beat anybody in any situation?

ELIJAH SARRATT: I feel like before the game we were pretty confident going into that week just 'cause we had a great week of prep going into it. We really believed we belonged there before then.

Winning that game, it definitely instills even more confidence because you're playing a great team. What were they -- I forget what they were at the time, but definitely top 10 team. Us being able to go on the road in a hostile environment, pull out a win in a game that was going back and forth like that, it definitely gives you a bit of confidence.

Winning that game in October isn't going to do anything for us coming up now on Friday. It's a whole new ballgame. We have to have a great week of practice to face this great team.

Q. I'm working on a story on D'Angelo Ponds. Specifically what skills, abilities, make him an elite cover corner?

ELIJAH SARRATT: First he's an athletic freak. He's super fast. 4.4 type guy, maybe 4.3 type guy when he goes and tests. 30-something, high 38, introvert. Off that, that gives you an advantage already. You beat him off the line on a goal route, he's able to catch up just 'cause of the athletic ability.

Just his feel for the game. Even when I was with him on my sophomore year, his freshman year, it seemed like he was a vet out there on the field. I still tell people outside of this facility, he was one of the best corners I've been against in college. He's one of them that I say. I say D'Angelo Ponds, is one of the first names I say.

He's a real football guy. He's a dog. Everything that you want in a football player is what he got. He may not be 6'2", the prototype corner people nowadays. But look at the tape. The tape says all you need. His game can travel anywhere against anybody.

Q. Your perspective on Omar moving into the inside this year. Played a lot more slot. There are certain skills that translate no matter where you play. How have you seen him navigate adjusting his game to be productive from that position?

ELIJAH SARRATT: That's amazing to see someone who can start outside and move in within a season and do what he's doing.

It definitely takes a lot. You get a lot of different looks at slot. You got to read your line. Your nickel, your linebacker, your safety over the top, still see that corner in your peripheral. Block-in assignments are different in slot. You've got to determine one high safety, two high safety. Definitely takes a little more thinking and adjustment in that slot.

He's done a great job of taking it head on. He didn't complain when Coach had asked him to move to the slot. He did his thing.

He can continue. That's great having someone that can move in and out with us. If we go 12 personnel, he can go back to outside and do his thing. If we're in 11 personnel, he's in the slot doing his thing.

To have someone like that, it really puts stress on defenses.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Elijah.