After a disappointing 2023, what's next for Ball State football?
MUNCIE, Ind. — There are many questions for Ball State football this offseason.
Two were answered quickly: Mike Neu will remain the team's head coach entering 2024, and Kevin Lynch will no longer be its co-offensive coordinator and play caller.
With insights from Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell, Neu and players after BSU's final game of the season, here's an early outlook on the program's next steps:
More: Mike Neu will remain Ball State football head coach for 2024 season
Jeff Mitchell: 'We have to be better on offense'
Mitchell addressed the media Wednesday, speaking on the two coaching decisions that were first published on social media by ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The first-year athletic director explained his decision to retain Neu as Ball State's leader. He noted that the "transition cost" of moving on from Neu, who has two years left on the contract extension he signed before the 2021 season, would've been "approaching the $2 million mark," but that such financial implications didn't "necessarily" factor into his decision.
"My evaluation of the program was holistic. I went on every road trip. I attended practice frequently, had conversations with Mike, observed all year long, competitively and otherwise. The culture in the locker room was really strong. I thought we made competitive advancements, especially in the last half of the season. And at the same time, I think that we've got to examine as an institution what football is at Ball State today and where we want to be going forward and being competitive within the MAC and within FBS football, and I thought that it would have been too disruptive for the program to make a change.
"We have a standard academically that is excellent in that program. We have a level of cultural excellence with no off-the-field issues. We have open lines of communication between football and our administration. Coach Neu, in my opinion, is a good football coach ... In the last half of (this) season, played a bunch of one-possession games, some went our way, some didn't, including the two teams that are gonna play for a MAC title this weekend ... To me, I give Mike the benefit of the doubt.”
Mitchell also clarified that the decision to move on from Lynch as play caller was made by Neu and that filling that vacancy will be the head coach's responsibility.
There is also no guarantee, as of Wednesday, that Lynch will remain with the program, nor what his role would be if he stays.
In the three seasons that Lynch was both Ball State's play caller and quarterbacks coach, the passing offense ranked last (2023), seventh (2022) and 11th (2021) in Mid-American Conference play, while scoring offense ranked ninth (2023), eighth (2022) and ninth (2021).
"I think we have to be better on offense, and that's consistent with conversations that coach Neu and I have had over the course of the season," Mitchell said. "I think all options are on the table right now with who (the replacement will be)."
Mitchell also said that he's not aware of any further impending staff changes and that the program is currently in "heavy evaluation" mode as teams around the country await transfer portal and recruiting developments.
As of Wednesday, the only two Cardinals to publicly announce their entry into the transfer portal were backup running back Vaugh Pemberton (6 games, 30 touches, 172 total yards, 2 total TD's) and backup receiver Dwayne Moorehead (1 game, 0 catches).
A change to the 2024 schedule was also announced as Ball State's planned home matchup with Army will no longer be played because the Black Knights' shift to the American Athletic Conference next fall.
He said there are "a few options" to replace the game but none he felt comfortable discussing publicly, only hinting that such opponents would make the schedule "more challenging."
Mitchell confirmed that non-conference contests with Missouri State, Miami (FL) and James Madison will still be played.
He hopes, however, to lessen the difficulty of Ball State's non-conference schedules in the years to come.
"For a long time, Ball State has played very difficult schedules in my opinion, including multiple annual bye games, which puts the program, I think, at a disadvantage competitively in non-conference play, and that makes it more difficult during regular-season conference play to reach the number of games, six wins that you need to be bowl eligible," Mitchell said. "It was one of my concerns as I was looking at taking this job. Looking at future schedules, there's some concerns about the competitiveness of those schedules, and I can't suggest to you that that's going to change in the near future. But we're going to closely examine what those schedules are and what, if any, changes could be made."
More: Ball State football closes season with heartbreaking loss to Miami (Ohio): What we learned
Mike Neu, Kiael Kelly and Marquez Cooper's visions of Ball State football in 2024
Although Neu and his staff's midseason decision to name Kiael Kelly the starting quarterback and switch to an Run-Pass Option (RPO) offensive scheme saved the season from disaster, the head coach did not commit to continuing with that identity next season in his final postgame press conference.
"We want to win football games. That's the most important thing at the end of the day," Neu said on Saturday. "When you're playing quarterback, it's rare to have the kind of tools that (Kelly) has as a runner. But in order to be able to lead your team, there's going to be games when you're going to have to be able to throw the ball. It's not that far away. It's really not. It all comes down to confidence. It all comes down to footwork and being able to be consistent that way."
Kelly indicated that he has no intentions of departing the program and is determined to improve his footwork in order to become a more efficient passer. He also said he's willing to play in whatever offensive scheme the staff implements, run-heavy or otherwise.
The redshirt sophomore completed 66-of-124 (53.2%) pass attempts for 577 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing 135 times for 724 yards (5.4 YPC) and seven scores.
"I want to get this narrative out of here that I can't throw the ball," Kelly said. "That starts with me. I'm just gonna continue to be better and separate myself."
Neu commended Kelly's performance and ability to take over the team on the fly, but also did not name him the starter heading into the spring.
Kelly competed in a quarterback competition with Layne Hatcher for the starting spot last offseason, losing to the graduate transfer and eventually being demoted to third string behind true freshman Kadin Semonza.
While Hatcher is out of eligibility, Semonza took a redshirt.
"(Kelly) did a great job. Obviously, fired up about what he was able to do for six weeks," Neu said. "The things that we can get cleaned up are the turnovers, the things that when you have an opportunity to have the ball in your hands on every single play, it's a premium being able to take care of the ball and eliminate those, and he can do that. He can get that done."
Running back Marquez Cooper, who rushed for his third consecutive 1,000-yard season and thrived alongside Kelly in the run-heavy approach, was adamant about the offense building on its second-half adjustment.
He cited turnovers (15 in 12 games) and a lack of big-play ability in the passing game as the two main areas to improve, believing that sticking with the RPO style from Day 1 will help make the offense more efficient.
"We (complete deep passes) a little bit more next year and run the ball just as much, though, at the same time, we can beat anybody in college football, in my honest opinion," Cooper said. "You could know we're running the ball, but you can't stop it. So we got to keep doing that.
"We know how we're successful. We know who we're successful going to. So we got to continue to build off that and grow every single day. And from the first game to the 12th game, have the same recipe that is going to make us successful."
Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on X (platform formerly known as Twitter) @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: After a disappointing 2023, what's next for Ball State football?
