As difficult as it is to generate success after 11 dormant seasons, the true challenge for Ball State's football team will be continuing its quality play over the span of several years.
It's not enough to have one fluke year of triumph. Staying at the peak of the mountain is always the hardest part.
The toughest challenge for any mid-major is reloading each season with a solid recruiting class. To continue the success Ball State experienced last year, this particular class carried more weight than in a typical year.
As much as we love watching Nate Davis befuddle big-name defenses in front of raucous and hostile crowds, next season will be our last chance to see him do it in a Cardinal uniform. Davis' work during his first two years has impressed NFL scouts so much, Scout.com ranked the junior as the third-best pro quarterback prospect in his class.
Ball State's signal caller only ranks behind Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, who led his team to a win in the Sugar Bowl last season. Given the concerns about Tebow's throwing technique and Stafford's fortune of playing with one of the most feared running games in the country, who knows if Davis will still climb higher on that chart.
It's natural for any Ball State fan to beg for a kid with Davis' talent to hang around Scheumann Stadium for a senior season. But that's way too much to legitimately ask. Not only will Davis be a minimum mid-second-round pick following his junior season, he's also going to lose the most dynamic duo of receiving targets Ball State has ever seen - seniors Darius Hill and Dante Love. That fact, added to the guaranteed money the junior will be offered, doesn't make it hard to predict Davis will jump ship. He should!
If the Cardinals had any chance of maintaining a winning team two seasons from now, they seemed to lose it when high school quarterback Paul McIntosh decommitted late last year. McIntosh, Indiana's Mr. Football this year, was Davis' heir apparent, the guy who was supposed to carry the torch for the next class of Ball State football players.
After McIntosh flip-flopped like John Kerry, it appeared Ball State blew its chance to see the dividends of last season's success pay off in recruiting. Then Hoke and his program caught a stroke of luck.
Texas quarterback Kelly Page, a three-star recruit on Rivals.com, headlined this year's recruiting class, ensuring life for the Cardinals' program after Davis makes the jump to play on Sundays. Page's three-star rank should look familiar to Ball State fans. It's the same rank given to Davis during his senior season at Bellaire High School.
"I think [Page's role next year] really depends on Kelly Page and how he physically and mentally gets ready to play," Cardinals coach Brady Hoke said. "You can't guarantee a guy's ever going to play or a guy's ever going to be redshirted."
Don't let Hoke's hesitancy fool you. Page is easily the most important recruit Ball State has landed since, well, Davis.
After playing all of last season without a legit backup quarterback, Page will at least occupy that void in 2008. His propensity to take care of the ball - Page finished with 16 touchdown passes compared to four interceptions during his final two seasons in high school - should ease his transition into Ball State's spread offense. Most importantly, Page's arrival in Muncie will make it easier for the Cardinals to stay perched at the peak of the mountain it climbed last season.
Write to Ryan at rtwoody84@aol.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
