Three New Names: Ball State Cardinals
A week after Michigan's opener against Washington, the Wolverines will host Ball State in the home opener. The Cardinals finished 5-7 last year and are expected to be slightly better in 2020, but that's why you line up and play.
It can be tough to find detailed preseason breakdowns for MAC schools but local expert Zach Piatt stepped up and gave Wolverine Digest some great insight. As the 2018 and 2019 football beat reporter for The Ball State Daily News, Piatt is the perfect person to identify three players that weren't prominent for the Cardinals last year, but should be against Michigan and in 2020.
WR Yo’Heinz Tyler
Yo’Heinz Tyler has played in all 24 games in his college career, but he has taken a backseat to more experienced receivers so far, finishing fourth on the team in receiving yards in each of his first two seasons. The junior did manage to eclipse the 500-yard mark last year, as well as score five touchdowns, but he was still primarily used in red-zone situations given his 6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound frame. With the departure of Riley Miller, expect Tyler to become more of an every-down receiver to complement Justin Hall and Antwan Davis in 2020.
LB Brandon Martin
After losing team captain and tackles leader Jacob White to graduation last season, Ball State seemed to have a big hole to fill. In reality, it was filled before the season even ended. Following the first game of 2019, redshirt senior Brandon Martin was sidelined for the remainder of the year due to injury. Martin finished fifth on the team in tackles the year prior and won the team’s Dave McLain Leadership Award. With the NCAA having granted Martin an eligibility extension, the Cardinals’ linebacking core is coming back just as strong.
RB Will Jones
The last three seasons, Ball State has used a committee of running backs in its ground game. In 2017, Caleb Huntley and Malik Dunner filled in for an injured James Gilbert. In 2018, all three were featured. In 2019, Huntley and graduate transfer Walter Fletcher provided a successful change-of-pace aspect. Junior Will Jones has sat behind every one of them for the last three years. Huntley will be the Cardinals’ workhorse in 2020, but if Ball State decides to use a two-man approach, look for Jones to be that guy.
