The 100th season of Ball State football kicks off this Saturday at Scheumann Stadium when the Cardinals take on Missouri State, an FCS team from the Missouri Valley Conference, in the season opener.
It will be Ball State's first season opener at home since 2021.
"Our guys obviously relish the opportunity to play here at home," coach Mike Neu said at the Cardinals' first press conference on Monday. "When the stadium's full and the students are here, it's an awesome environment. That's what we're hoping for, and we're just going to continue to prepare one day at a time here and make sure we're ready for a good football team."
Neu returns for his ninth season coaching the Cardinals with new offensive and defensive coordinators. Also new in 2024: a significant portion of the roster. Ball State welcomes 44 new faces — 28 of them are freshmen while 16 are transfers, many of whom will be thrust into immediate starting roles.
Here's a quick breakdown of Ball State football on both sides of the ball, based on the first official depth chart:
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Ball State offense: Experience surrounds a young QB
After starting him for three of the first four games as a true freshman in 2023 before ultimately preserving his redshirt, the Cardinals will turn to Kadin Semonza as the starting QB in 2024. Semonza completed 50 of 82 passes for 480 yards and 3 touchdowns across four games last year.
Kiael Kelly, who took over at QB after the decision was made to redshirt Semonza, remains with the team after a position change to defensive back.
Semonza's supporting cast is flushed with experience and depth, especially important for a young QB. Eastern Kentucky transfer Braedon Sloan is expected to be the workhorse out of the backfield after a junior season that saw him earn FCS All-America honors for EKU. Qian Magwood, last year's leading receiver, returns as the primary slot receiver and punt returner. Ty Robinson also returns after his 2023 season ended with a broken thumb in Week 2. The 6-foot-3 Robinson should pair nicely with 6-foot-4 Eastern Illinois transfer Justin Bowick as the outside receivers. At tight end, Tanner Koziol returns after leading the team with 3 touchdown catches in 2023.
Ball State's offensive line is perhaps its strongest unit. Four out of five 2023 starters return on what is one of the most experienced lines in all of college football.
"Anytime you can say you have an offensive line that returns 117 starts, you can't just go find that in the portal," Neu said. Those 117 career starts among the starting five linemen is the highest number in the MAC and the 12th highest in DI-FBS.
The offensive staff also saw a key offseason change. Jared Elliott is now the full-time offensive coordinator and tight ends coach after spending the last two seasons as a co-offensive coordinator with Kevin Lynch. Lynch remains on staff as the assistant head coach and QBs coach.
Ball State defense: Fresh faces ready to make an impact
Ball State welcomes a new coordinator on the defensive side of the ball as well. Former Northern Illinois defensive coordinator Jeff Knowles returns to the MAC after two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Butler, where he coached one of the top defenses in the FCS. In 2017, Knowles' NIU defense led the MAC in total defense and scoring defense.
Linebacker Keionte Newson returns as the leader of the defense after logging a team-high 81 tackles in 2023, and his leadership will be a huge asset in developing chemistry amongst a defense full of new starters. Joey Stemler at inside linebacker and Brandon Berger at rush linebacker will move into starting roles alongside Newson after playing as rotational linebackers in 2023.
The starting defensive line includes Drew Hughes at nose tackle with Dakari Frazier and Riley Tolmsa on the ends. Like Stemler and Berger, Hughes and Frazier were rotational players last year, while Tolmsa joins the team as a graduate transfer from Hillsdale College.
The defensive backfield features an almost entirely new group of starters. Thailand Baldwin returns after drawing four starts at corner last year, while Iowa State transfer Myles Norwood will start on the other side. Jordan Coleman will assume a starting role at safety after seeing time in every game last year, while Illinois transfer DD Snyder joins him as the other starting safety. Cincinnati transfer George Udo is listed as the starter at the "sniper" position, a nickel defensive back in Knowles' scheme.
Former QB Kelly is listed as the top backup cornerback and could see some snaps on both sides of the ball this year.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State football: Breaking down the new-look Cardinals ahead of Missouri State opener
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