by The 2025-26 Ball State football roster is returning only one rushing touchdown, zero passing touchdowns and only eight touchdown catches from last season’s 36 total scores.
As a result, many new names and faces will suit up for the Cardinals and make their debuts in Muncie this fall. While there are some returners from the last few seasons, most of this year’s team finds themself taking the field under a brand new coaching staff, including first-year Ball State head coach Mike Uremovich.
Here is how each offensive position group looks going into the new season.
Quarterbacks
The QB1 position was announced by Uremovioch publicly at the Mid-American Conference Media Day July 24, and it was given to redshirt senior Kiael Kelly. One of the longer-tenured players on the roster, Kelly played in all 12 games and started six in 2023 before being named the Cardinals’ backup in 2024.
“That’s all I could ask for,” Kelly said. “It’s been a lot of work, and it’s the first time I’ve known I was starting. This offseason has been about keeping that [motivation] and using my voice more to get the team where we need to be.”
During his time in Muncie, he has 608 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. A scrambler and dual-threat athlete, Kelly also has 898 rushing yards and eight touchdown rushes to his name.
Last season, Kelly played multiple positions other than quarterback. That included taking snaps as a receiver. After the first week of fall camp, he said that experience helped him connect with this year’s receiving core much quicker and that it allowed him to know what his targets need for success.
“Being in that room helped me get to know them more,” he said. “When you’re in that position room, that’s all you know. We became family, and now that I’m at quarterback, I still feel like I’m with them. It gave me a chance to see the quarterback position through a different lens … Now I can help them understand my position so they can be better with their routes as well.”
First-year Ball State quarterbacks’ coach and pass game coordinator Craig Harmon said he had no worries about Kelly jumping back into the starting job.
“Kiael’s always been a quarterback,” Harmon said. “Ever since I’ve been here, he’s been phenomenal.”
Behind Kelly will be some new faces. Redshirt junior Walter Taylor comes to Ball State after the lefty’s previous stops at Colorado (2024) and Vanderbilt (2022-23). Other names at the position include redshirt junior Aidan Leffler, redshirt freshman Bodie Derrer and freshman Khael Wright.
Running Backs
Like most of Ball State’s position groups, there is newness in the air for Ball State’s run game. That starts with running backs’ coach Madison Bunch.
“It’s a fun group to coach,” Bunch said. “They come in and do their work. They all care for each other, and there’s no envy or jealousy amongst them. When I first came here, I said we’re going to be helpful, open to each other and we’re going to be tough. Those are three things I harp on.”
The red and white will see two returning backs to the team in 2025, with those being redshirt sophomore TJ Horton and redshirt freshman Jalen Alexander. While Alexander did not play in 2024, Horton made multiple contributions for the team. He finished the season with 23 carries for 107 yards.
He said this group has had no problem when it comes to their chemistry.
“Outside of football, we all spend time together,” Horton said. “That has really helped with the chemistry, and even inside of football, we just laugh all day long … You don’t have to look out for one back. You have to watch out for all of us.”
Ball State’s run game will also see some new Cardinals carry the pigskin. One of those includes a Purdue transfer, redshirt sophomore Elijah Jackson. The former Boilermaker — who the Cardinals will play in week one of the season — rushed six times for 97 yards with a touchdown.
In his short time in Muncie, Jackson noted the group’s versatile skill set as something he’s noticed throughout practice.
“We all have different attributes for the team,” Jackson said. “Everyone can do anything in their own sense. It’s a special room.”
Another new transfer to the room is redshirt junior Qua Ashley, a Kennesaw State transfer. Ashley led the Owls in receptions and all-purpose yards in 2024. He had 122 carries for 436 yards — which was second on the team — and a touchdown. He also had 28 receptions for 255 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m from down south and don’t really know about people around here, but we have some dogs,” Ashley said. “Fall camp can be bad for good teams because guys start dying down, but not this team. Everyone is still trying to get better.”
Wide Receivers
Ball State’s longest tenured player finds himself in his sixth season and is the last Cardinal from the program’s 2020 MAC Championship team. That is none other than redshirt senior receiver Qian Magwood.
“I’m just enjoying it every step of the way,” Magwood said. “With it being my last season, I’m just trying to enjoy the process.”
Magwood has recorded 565 receiving yards and five touchdowns after seeing important playing time the last two seasons. He said he and Kelly are best friends off the field, and having that past experience playing with the Cardinals’ QB1, he believes that bond will once again be a threat for opponents.
“It helps with chemistry on the field and the communication piece,” Magwood said. “He can communicate with me with just his body … That’s one thing that has definitely helped us in our connection.”
Another returner to the Cardinals’ receiving core is redshirt junior Ty Robinson. In both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, injuries plagued him. He’s hoping that 2025 will be a different story.
“This is probably the most excited I’ve been [to play],” Robinson said. “The past two seasons, I haven’t even played a full season, and I’m focusing on staying healthy … I just learned to not take things for granted [because of that] and I’m trying to do all the things to take care of my body.”
Though Magwood and Robinson have worn a Ball State uniform the last few years, there are some new additions to the room. Two that have stuck out during fall camp have been Bucknell redshirt junior transfer Eric Weatherly and freshman Elisha Durham.
Weatherly was an all-conference player last season in the Patriot League. Over the last two years, he had a catch in every game for the Bisons.
Durham comes from Pontiac, Michigan. During two varsity seasons at West Bloomfield High School, he had 2,041 receiving yards and 22 touchdown catches.
Tight Ends
The Cardinals’ tight end room comes into the year with a brand new look. Last season, Tanner Koziol and Christian Abney led the way. However, both Koziol and Abney hit the transfer portal, allowing new names to rise to the occasion.
First-year tight ends’ coach Sean Chase spent the last two seasons at Butler under Uremovich. He said since arriving at Ball State, he’s seen the Cardinals’ tight end unit stepping up to help others throughout the offense.
“They just have experience doing things, whether that’s alignment, assignment or technique,” Chase said. “They’re helping guys out a lot.”
One of those transfers included redshirt senior Drew Cassens, a former Butler Bulldog. Playing for Uremovich in the past was a key reason he moved over to Delaware County.
“I knew I’d have a chance to play,” Cassens said. “It also allowed me to introduce [Uremovich’s] culture to the rest of my teammates.”
In his lone season with the Bulldogs, Cassens caught 10 passes for 126 yards. Another transfer is redshirt senior Koby Gross. He said even though he’s in a new program, he wants his leadership to continue with the Cardinals throughout the season, both on and off the field.
“I was a leader in my last spot (Florida A&M),” Gross said. “It hasn’t been that hard to own that leadership role here.”
During his time with Florida A&M, Gross grabbed 36 catches for 381 yards and scored six touchdowns.
Offensive line
The Cardinals’ men up front is a unit that has still been changing throughout camp. Last season, Ball State featured many upperclassmen and a solid unit that didn’t see much change. This year, that’s a different story with so many new faces.
“They’re competing right now and they’re competing for opportunities to play, and they’ve done a nice job,” first-year Ball State offensive line coach Alex Barr said. “They’re in the mix, and we’ll see how it shakes out in the next couple of weeks.”
Another coach who spent time with Uremovich at Butler for the last three seasons, Barr said he wants to see the group continue to improve in every aspect. One returner from last year’s line is redshirt junior Chris Hood.
Last season, Hood played in nine games and started eight of them. With so many new pieces, he feels that he needs to be there for the group.
“I think it’s definitely more of a lead-by-example type role. Playing the game is different from playing practice,” Hood said. “Since we don’t have a whole lot of guys who have big-time games, I think being able to lead by example and being the most vocal person [is best].
But while he believes it will take time for others to get comfortable with more playing time, he
said this is a chance for everyone to get better.
“The opportunity presents itself for us all to be out in the field together, so we have to have great communication,” Hood said. “I think having the bond that we have … we’re there to communicate and we’re literally lifting each other up.”
Two other Cardinals making their way back to Muncie are redshirt junior Cole Mosier and redshirt sophomore Isaac Lucas.
Though Mosier missed the entire 2024 season due to injury, while Lucas only played in two games, both are names Barr mentioned when asked about guys who have stepped up the last few weeks. Mosier said this team has differentiated itself from last year’s roster in multiple ways.
“Everybody’s getting in the playbook and guys are helping [new and younger players] with certain plays,” Mosier said. “We’ll ask them what the play is and kind of help their knowledge so we can help them walk through the plays and stuff.”
Special Teams
Following the departure of former Ball State kicker Jackson Courville, Ball State brought in redshirt senior DC Pippin while retaining redshirt junior Carson Holmer.
The starting job is still to be decided.
“Both those guys are awesome and both those guys have hit some really big kicks throughout camp up to this point,” first-year Ball State special teams coordinator Nick Fiacable said. “They’re both competitors, and they push each other every single day. Since they’ve both been here, they’ve made each other better. I’ve seen both of them take strides getting better, which is what you want to see. Competition brings out the best in you, and it’s brought out the best in them. They’re pushing each other every day, and they make it really hard on me as a coach because you have to pick one.”
Fiacable hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and said the opportunity to be closer to home was a good opportunity. When asked about what he thought of following a special teams unit that saw success, he said the past is the past. He only wants his group to focus on chasing perfection.
“A lot of people just see the ball go through the uprights or not through the uprights. And there are a lot of things that go on in between the whistle that dictate whether or not that happens from a good snap to a good hold,” Fiacable said. “There’s so much detail and finesse that goes into kicking, punting and snapping that the common fan doesn’t really see.
“We chase perfection in our drops, in our holds, in our snaps … When all that stuff is good, then the result at the end of the day is going to be good, which is what people care about.”
Previously at Southeast Missouri State, Pippin said he wanted a challenge for his last year of eligibility. So far, the battle with Holmer has been just that.
“At the end of the day, our overall goal is to help the team win however we can,” Pippin said. “We’re just out there to put points on the board for the Cardinals and to wake up every day and figure out how to do that.”
Holmer — who listens to Morgan Wallen’s “Cover Me Up” before practice to calm his nerves — agreed with his fellow kicker. He also said the way this team has come together is a good sign of what’s to come.
“I know there’s, what, 54 new guys in this locker room? And the way that they’ve become this close this fast, it’s awesome to see,” Holmer said. “You guys see it too. There are splashes of excellence out there, and a lot of people are going to be surprised. I’m excited to get this going.”
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X
