Most of the playmakers from 2023 are back in 2024! That’s great news for a team who hopes to emerge after a rebuilding year.
In an era when MAC rosters are being picked clean in the transfer portal, Western Michigan has kept its roster mainly intact. That usually means one of two things: the players are bought in and want to stay in Kalamazoo, or no one is contacting them with NIL offers to get in the portal.
I believe that the continuity of the WMU football team is a positive thing and player development will lead to an improvement on the 4-8 record from 2023. The returning players include a quarterback that completed nearly two-thirds of his pass attempts, a 1,000-yard rusher and a receiver that led the conference in catches and yards. That’s a much better starting place than they were in a year ago.
The Broncos were active on the recruiting trail, especially in the days leading up to Early Signing Day, and in the transfer portal. Could some of the new players be the difference that gets Western Michigan to a bowl game in 2024?
Quarterbacks
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In the first year under Lance Taylor, the starting quarterback changed multiple times throughout the year. Jack Salopek started the first game, by the third game Treyson Bourget was starting and by the week eight game at Ohio, Hayden Wolff had won the job. Wolff had played in games leading up to that point but hadn’t done enough to earn starts.
This season, he’s the only returning quarterback with any passes attempted in 2023. Treyson Bourget transferred to BYU and Jack Salopek to FCS East Tennessee State. Close followers of the WMU quarterbacks will recognize that Mareyohn Hrabowski is still on the roster but has moved to tight end. Stone Hollenbach left the team and Arik Moyers moved to a student coaching position on the Bronco staff.
Despite not playing a full season, Wolff represents one of the better statistical passers returning in the MAC. The transfer portal plays a major role in the accuracy of that statement but only three other programs will have a quarterback with more passing yards in the MAC from the 2023 season.
Wolff’s best games had great highs, but that version of Wolff didn’t show up every week. He came off the bench against Mississippi State to throw for 262 yards and three touchdowns to keep the game close enough to make the Bulldog fans uncomfortable in the fourth quarter. Wolff had a similar performance against Central Michigan and led the Bronco offense to their final win of the season. He threw three touchdowns in each of those games with high completion percentages to athletic receivers.
The next two games were against Northern Illinois and Bowling Green where Wolff struggled. The efforts combined for 305 yards on 58 passes without a touchdown and adding two interceptions.
Western Michigan fans shouldn’t have Wolff at the top of their concerns. If there is continuity in the offensive scheme, Wolff should take a step forward and operate more comfortably and faster than in 2023. Is the WMU offense due to change with a new offensive coordinator or is the offense Lance Taylor’s vision? Change always presents a risk but the offense can improve due to the change as well. Time will tell.
The Broncos add three quarterbacks to the team, two freshmen and one transfer. JD Davis II has already enrolled and participated in the spring practices, and Mason Reynolds is another prep recruit. Davis played well in the spring game opposite Mark Konecny the only other returning quarterback on the roster.
Broc Lowry transferred to WMU after one season at Indiana, where offensive coordinator Walt Bell came from. Plan A is for Wolff to stay healthy and be a top passer in the MAC with young players developing for future seasons. The quarterback depth is untested but could be serviceable if Plan A isn’t available.
Running backs
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The strength of the offense was, without question, the running game. Jalen Buckley exploded onto the scene in game one against an FCS opponent and never looked back. He missed the Mississippi State game and still rushed for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns. Buckley entered the season as a redshirt freshman and the story was how hard he worked to get his body ready to be an FBS running back.
It showed immediately.
Western Michigan was trying to kill the clock in their season opener against FCS Saint Francis but Buckley was busy running for 194 yards. Buckley took the first play from scrimmage against Syracuse 75 yards to the house. He should be the starter for the season opener at Wisconsin, but he was hardly the only contributor.
Zahir Abdus-Salaam was the second option for the Bronco running game and he had the most productive season of his career. He ran for 470 yards and five touchdowns, plus he was a productive returner in six combined punt and kick returns. He more than doubled his output from his previous two seasons combined.
CJ Hester is no longer with the program but provided some pop in 30 touches. Taylor brought one Power Five transfer running back into the program before the 2023 season in Keshawn King, but his season was cut short by injury early. On a yards-per-touch basis, King was as productive as Buckley in his 15 touches.
Buckley, Abdus-Salaam and King are all back and two more Power Five transfers are going to compete for touches this fall. Jaden Nixon from Oklahoma State and Mario Agyen from Louisville join the Broncos. Nixon was the running back to give Ollie Gordon a break in 2023 but didn’t want to spend his final college season behind a potential Heisman Trophy winner. He rushed for nearly 200 yards and averaged 10 yards per catch on 10 catches.
Mario Agyen struggled to get on the field at Louisville, but his story is uncommon. After he finished high school without getting attention from the next level, he was approached and played for the high school program that turned into Bishop Sycamore. His first-hand account of the experience and life story is a truly fascinating read.
Sophomore Tre’ Hartwell returns as well as the main kick returner from 2023, Jamal Hailey. The running back room has a great mix of young talent with experience and new, older players from Power Four programs hungry to make a dent. Add in that the majority of the offensive line is back and the running game should be a force in the MAC.
Wide receivers
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Wide receivers are the first position on the offense with significant turnover for Western Michigan. The losses are not staggering in terms of lost production, but 12 players listed on the ‘23 roster as wide receivers are not back. Leroy Tomas and Jehlani Galloway were contributors, especially Thomas’s 37 catches for 403 yards. The other 10 were a majority of underclassmen that didn’t see the field.
Anthony Sambucci and Kenneth Womack lead the group of returning receivers and they both showed they are productive MAC receivers in 2023. Womack led all MAC receivers with 76 receptions and 691 yards, yet only two touchdowns. The Broncos used him as an extension of the run game with horizontal passes and yards after the catch. Sambucci missed two games in the middle of the season and wasn’t as explosive in the second half of the year, but he still led the team with five touchdowns.
Malique Dieudonne returns with 20 catches for 197 yards and he looks like the incumbent for the #3 receiver spot. He will have competition in transfers Bugs Mortimer from Louisiana-Monroe and Jordin Parker from New Mexico State. Both are the short, quick receiver type that could provide explosiveness in a similar way to Gage Larvadain for Miami last year. Mortimer averaged 19.4 yards on 15 catches and Parker had one catch in six games that averaged 39 yards per catch.
Kaeveion Mack wasn’t on the roster in ‘23 after signing in the 2020 class, and now he’s back. Najiib Anderson is an interesting freshman that 247 Sports rated a four-star prospect. The composite score didn’t have him as a four-star player, but at least one site had him as a player that would impact a MAC roster immediately.
If the offensive line is as good as expected, the runningbacks are productive and Hayden Wolff is what he was last year then the wide receivers should be able to figure out something that works. The coaching staff has brought in a bunch of players and it will be their failure if they cannot find receivers to complement Sambucci and Womack. This is their first full offseason to show how they can build a program and fill gaps, the pressure is still relatively low.
Tight ends
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The Broncos used their tight ends as much as any MAC school did in 2023. Their tight ends totaled 45 receptions, 592 yards and five touchdowns and that’s good for third-most receptions, second-most yards and a tie for the second-most touchdowns.
Austin Hence finally got on the field after an injury ended his 2022 season before it started. He led the tight ends with 25 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns in 2023. He transferred from Mercyhurst University after the 2021 season and seemed like a perfect fit for the Tim Lester offense. He stuck around for Lance Taylor’s first season and had the best season of his college career.
Hence departs Kalamazoo and there is a pass-catching tight end role to fill. Blake Bosma stepped up in the second half of the season and finished the year with fewer receptions but more yards. Bosma had a catch in 11 games with 12 of the 20 coming in the second half of the season.
Bosma looks like TE1 coming into the season but will have some competition. Chris Toudle transfers in from NC State looking to make an impact in the passing game. He stepped into the starting role in 2022 when Trent Pennix was injured and caught 30 passes for 320 yards and five touchdowns. In ‘23 Toudle appeared in 11 games but didn’t record a reception. Coming to the MAC as a Power Four transfer and having the combination of blocking size and production in the ACC makes him a player to watch on the Bronco offense.
Mitch Bartol was the blocking tight end in 2023 and he transferred out to FCS Illinois State. That role could be filled by Kadinn Morris who is listed at 15 pounds heavier than any other returning tight end.
Mareyohn Hrabowski is a tight end this year instead of being a quarterback used almost exclusively for running the ball. I expect him to be an athlete in that position but I don’t have high hopes for being a polished blocker.
Brennan Wooten, Will Gerig, Nathan Sines and Ryan Brotherton are a mix of underclassmen fighting for playing time. Wooten saw the field six times as a freshman and was at the top of the ‘23 recruiting class. This could be the year for him to make an impact on this offense.
Offensive Line
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The offensive line for Western Michigan returns 38 of 60 starts from the 2023 season. The basic stats and the advanced stats paint a picture of the Bronco offense that has them in the middle of the pack. They were fifth in sack rate with the second most pass attempts, fifth in line yards (a rushing stat that attributes a portion of the rushing yards to the line), fourth lowest havoc rate allowed, second in stuff rate and seventh in sack adjusted yards per rush.
Those stats suggest the unit and the offense were a top-half group in 2023, but not a dominating force. The Broncos return quality offensive linemen, and if their play matches expectations, they could take a major step forward.
Center Jacob Gideon, right guard Addison West and right tackle Ted Kushi combined for 33 starts and Gideon and West made the All-MAC teams. Gideon has 35 career starts under his belt and has been named to the Outland Award watch list for the best offensive lineman. West is in a similar position with 24 career starts coming into 2024. Kushi joined the team as a transfer before the 2023 season and appeared in 11 games with nine starts. Athlon has each lineman in their preseason All-MAC teams. Gideand and West on the first team and Kushi makes the fourth team.
That’s a strong starting position for the Broncos, but both players on the left side graduated and take good experience with them. Adam Vandervest, Jack Sherwin and John Hofer appeared frequently but didn’t start many games, but could be the players in the mix for starts. Jack Sherwin was named to the Athlon All-MAC third team despite only two starts last year.
The only transfer brought in during the offseason is Quinn Murphy from Notre Dame. He’s got the size to play, but has not seen the field much. It’s clear that he’s coming to Kalamazoo looking to get on the field and make an impact in his final year of eligibility.
In addition to Murphy, five other players return as a mix of juniors and sophomores. Seven freshmen join the squad and one tight end from ‘23 is transitioning into the group. Freshmen usually do not have the size required by FBS football and it’s usually not just weight that needs to be added. Adding weight is one thing, but the best linemen add muscle to get up to around 300 pounds. Joshua Thoman, Conor Kenzinger and Gavin Dabo have the numbers on paper to fit in, but I wouldn’t expect any of them to break onto the field in year one.
Continuity is important along the offensive line and the Broncos have it. The icing on this cake is that the returning ingredients are the best ones from the previous year. Injuries are always a threat to any football team, but if they have average attrition they could have the best offensive line in the MAC this season.