MAC Daddies Gone Wild: Part One (QB)
The 2024 iteration of the MAC Daddy series kicks off with a feature on the QB position.
Guess who’s back?
- Eminem, musician
Pigs, welcome back. It’s with great excitement that I announce to you that today is a special day. Those of you who were around this publication last summer may recall this series, aptly named the MAC Daddy Series, which kicked off last July. Given that it is such an exciting and important series, you may be wondering: why wait to this time of the year to drop it?
Well, for starters I believe July is the time for fun. Pool parties… Alcohol… Beach volleyball… whatever. It’s the official “how did this person fund that Europe trip” on Instagram month. And what’s more fun than the MAC football conference? My answer is: nothing. Indeed, everybody loves a MAC Daddy summer.
And sure, maybe the MAC has lost some of its lustre from a CFF perspective—at least, it has the last couple of seasons—but I think the rumours of the MAC’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. It’s entirely possible that the days of the 70-41 score lines we used to enjoy are over (shoutout to my boy Lance Leipold); but at the same time, maybe not. Who's to say? The transfer portal has wreaked some havoc, that’s undeniable. But, more player turnover means more opportunity for new names to step up.
Note: the points are quoted in four-point passing TD formats.
Toledo — Tucker Gleason (6’3, 235)
2023 PPG: 2.3
It’s the worst kept secret in the MAC that Tucker Gleason is the man expected to replace CFF darling De’Quan Finn, who defected to Baylor via the transfer portal this offseason. Originally beginning his career at Georgia Tech, the Tampa Bay native is entering his fifth season of CFB and fourth with Toledo.
Those of who have been around the game of CFB for the last decade or so will already be aware of the fact that although the MAC is probably the worst FBS conference, Toledo is one of the blue bloods of the league. The Rockets are usually one of the top teams year-in-year-out within the MAC, and that means their players are usually a good place to look when assessing where the value in this conference may be.
We will have to disregard Gleason’s PPG average from last year as he was not the starter. The one game where he did appear to start was the bowl game vs. Wyoming. He had a pretty forgettable day, passing for only 184 yards and no scores to 1 INT, however he did demonstrate his rushing upside with seven carries for 42 yards. Gleason has the size profile to potentially be a dual threat workhorse for Toledo this year, and if the last few years are any indication, there should be plenty of scoring opportunities to go around.
CMU — Bert Emanuel (6’3, 220)
2023 PPG: 8.6
Another 6’3 inch tall workhorse, Emanuel’s biggest issue in his career so far has been the fact that he has a hard time completing forward passes. That being said, the Houston native is only entering his third season after spending his last two with CMU, so there’s plenty of time for improvement.
Something to note is that Emanuel averaged a solid 22 PPG as a true freshman in 2022; granted that was only over a four game stretch. During that season he passed for three TDs to three INTs on 19/37 passing, but his rushing production was stellar. He scored seven times on 67 carries for 496 yards, averaging almost two rushing scores per game and well over a hundred yards.
Early indications are that he has the inside track to the starting job, but that it isn’t decided yet who will be the starter. If he can figure out the whole forward pass thing in addition to his legs, watch the fuck out.
EMU — Cole Snyder (6’2, 208)
2023 PPG: 10.8
OK, so things didn’t exactly work out as planned last year for the upstate NY native. Snyder—a two time entrant on this list—was given the reigns to the UB offence by now Alabama secondary coach Mo Linguist, but ultimately failed to make a mark in the MAC in 2023.
Now, the former Rutgers/UB passer finds himself in greener pastures (literally) where he’ll be playing for a club that is a little more known for being successful in this conference. That’s no shade at UB, I used to love the Bulls, but they just didn’t know what they were doing over there under Linguist.
EMU, on the other hand, is a scrappy club who know what their identity is. Unfortunately, Snyder isn’t really a runner. So, if there is going to be any value here it will have to be because Snyder is slicing and dicing with the precision of your local neighbourhood butcher. That’s not great considering Snyder has never passed for more than 18 scores in a season before. But, you know what they say, sixth time is the charm…
AKRON — Ben Finley (6’3, 195)
2023 PPG: 4.2
It’s not currently clear who will win the starting Akron QB job, but I’m just going to roll with Finley for now. Like so many MAC players, the fifth year player started his career in the P5 at NC State, where he played from 2020 to 2022, before taking a brief sabbatical at Cal for one year in 2023. Now, he finds himself competing in the big-boy league—an arena forged through the fires of mediocrity spanning multiple decades.
Akron’s DJ Irons was a huge disappointment with the Zips last year, as despite strong usage volume, the team was so poor that they failed to convert first downs and scores on a regular basis. That does tend to be a problem in this game of ours.
Now the Zips have brought in one of the most successful OCs from the FCS last year, where he coached Montana State to a top offence in the country. I won’t pretend to be an expert on Montana State’s 2023 tendencies, but you have to think that Akron is going to figure out a way to put the ball in the end zone eventually; and when they do there should be value at the QB position.
Finley, like Snyder, is not really a runner, so his upside is limited. Akron do have some good receivers this year, and the aforementioned new OC should breathe some new life in the offence too. This program could be a sneaky play in CFF.
BALL ST. — Kadin Semonza (5’11, 195)
2023 PPG: 5.1
It’s tough to know what to make of Semonza—the 5’11 Californian king—as he enters only his second year of CFB after playing in a limited capacity last year. I can’t say he is a dual threat player based on the four game sample size, but he very well could turn out to be (yea, thanks for enlightening us, VP). Kial Kelly was his main competitor last year, and it appears the staff have gone all in on Semonza being the guy this year with Kelly switching positions.
Ball State is another program like Toledo with a track record of success in this conference under head coach Mike Neu. Typically, the CFF value in this program has come through virtually every other position besides the QB position, but 2024 might change that.
Of all the MAC programs, Ball St.’s OOC schedule might be the most forgiving with Miami, Missouri State and Vandy on the docket. Only Miami scares me there, but I’ll never put it past those tossers to find themselves in a close one vs. Ball-so-hard University aka Ball St. of the MAC.
BGSU — Connor Bazelak (6’3, 225)
2023 PPG: 10.5
Like so many MAC QBs that came before him, Bazelak has seemingly been playing CFB since the days of leather helmets. Originally a freshman in the class of 2019, the Ohio native played three seasons at Mizzou, before transferring to WKU, and then to Indiana, before ultimately transferring again to Bowling Green. Indeed, it seems like the MAC was in his heart all along. Many are called, but few are chosen, as they say.
Bazelak is something of a statue in the pocket, which makes it unlikely that he’ll be a valuable commodity in CFF this season. But, he’s at least a returning starter and BGSU’s got some good receiving options this year, including at TE.
UB — CJ Ogbonna (6’2, 212)
2023 PPG: 5.4
There are a lot of question marks with the UB football program this season. New head coach Pete Lembo is a veteran in the MAC, and previously served as the head coach of Ball State in the early 2010s. His Cardinal teams produced some strong performances at RB and WR, but the QB play was largely unremarkable, save for a monster 2013 season from Keith Wenning when he accounted for 40 total TDs to only seven INTs.
Ogbonna is a similarly unknown commodity as he completed his first and only season of CFB last year behind Cole Snyder. In his limited action he immediately demonstrated his rushing upside with performances of 12-47-1 and 16-50-1 rushing in back-to-back games.
KENT ST. — Tommy Ulatowski
2023 PPG: 6.4
Tommy Touchdown as he’s known in Chicago, Ulatowski is entering his third year of CFB with K-State—no, not Kansas St., the real K State. The Golden Flash were in a transition year last year, replacing the starting QB, RB, multiple offensive linemen and top three WRs, in addition to the coaching staff (I wouldn’t rule out the waterbody leaving too at this point). As such, the results on the field suffered (proper hydration is important).
Now we enter year two for the resurgent program, and the offence should be better. Ulatowski showed what he could do vs. Akron last year with a 29.5 point performance where he accounted for four TDs; we’ll be holding our breath this year to see if he can do that on a more consistent basis.
MIAMI (OH) — Brett Gabbert (6’0, 210)
2023 PPG: 16.9
Another multi-year entrant on the MAC Daddies list, Gabbert is the brother of the one you’re thinking of. And, surprise surprise, he’s entering his… *drum roll*… sixth year of CFB. Christ all mighty, at this point the MAC should just rebrand itself to the retirement league of collegiate football.
Gabbert returns with the best PPG average from 2023 of all the QBs on this list, which admittedly is not saying much. His best year was in 2021 when he played in 11 games and averaged a solid 20 PPG.
He had some good games last year but was still very inconsistent. Could the sixth time be the charm?
NIU — Ethan Hampton (6’3, 215)
2023 PPG: 2.5
I have now reached the point where I am getting physically ill from writing this article. There’s only so many repeated body blows one can endure before succumbing to his wounds, and I fear that point is soon approaching for me.
Speaking of soon approaching, NIU’s QB Ethan Hampton was not good last year when he got his opportunity vs. Tulsa, but who knows what talent he can unlock with a full offseason as the starter. That sentence doesn’t actually make any sense, but it almost reads like it does, right? I don’t have anything more to say here.
OHIO — Parker Navarro (6’0, 203)
2023 PPG: 5.9
Navarro began his career at UCF in 2020, and then later joined the MAC in 2022. His bowl game vs. Georgia Southern put me on notice when he ran 15 times for 71 yards. That’s the sort of rushing upside that can win leagues in November. He’s a name to keep tabs on but not a guy who is worth drafting in most formats.
WMU — Hayden Wolff (6’5, 235)
2023 PPG: 12.2
Besides the fact that he’s really big (pause), the other notable thing here is that WMU as an offence moves fast and runs a lot of plays per game. The question is more so on the efficiency end of the equation with Wolff. He’s not a runner either. ◾
Till next time, pigs. Happy MAC Daddy Summer.
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