MUNCIE — Ball State football held its annual spring showcase at Scheumann Stadium on Saturday, April 18, to wrap up its spring practice portion of the offseason.
The Cardinals kept the entire practice outside despite a decent amount of rain and cool winds. Players contended with the elements well, as did several fans who caught their first glimpse of the team as it prepares for year two of the Mike Uremovich coaching era.
“Today felt like a MACtion game in the middle of November with the rain and cold and all that,” Uremovich said. “They were excited to play today. It’s probably best that it was today, because if it had been a practice day, I don’t know that they’d be as juiced to be out in this stuff, but you know, they handled it well.”
Here are five key takeaways from Ball State football’s spring showcase:
Ball State football defense dominates spring showcase
The defense was absolutely lights out and clearly won the day. Every player at every position group — from the defensive line to the linebackers to the defensive backs — was flying around and making tough, physical plays. The unit also plays with an undeniable swagger, putting their confidence on display with fiery celebrations and a little bit of trash talk here and there — nothing too crazy, but enough to let the offense know who was dominating who.
Of course, the defense has been studying and reacting to the same offensive plays for over a month now, so the defense probably should be dominating practices at this point. The elements also made things much tougher on the offense. Nevertheless, for a unit with so many moving parts and new faces — especially in the front seven — early returns are very positive.
“There’s a lot of new guys out there between the freshmen that came in early and the portal guys that came in, so we really stressed this — we have to reteach the defense from scratch,” defensive coordinator Jeff Knowles said. “We really wanted to get back to the basics and get our guys playing as fast as they could, whereas last year, I think we had a few returners, and you could throw a little more install at them. We really had to slow it down, so that was our biggest thing.
“I think it shows today that when they get lined up and they get their eyes right and they know where they’re going, they can play fast.”
Ball State football QB competition remains a close race
Ball State will have a new quarterback under center in 2026, and the competition has narrowed itself down to two strong candidates — Texas State transfer Keldric Luster and Concord (D-II) transfer Tyler Mizzell. Both redshirt juniors rotated first-team reps and took some lumps during the defense-dominated spring showcase — Luster threw an interception in 7-on-7s and Mizzell threw one in 11-on-11 work — but they also flashed some of the abilities that make them each enticing potential starters.
At 5-foot-10, 248 pounds, Luster is built like a tank. A former 3-star recruit and track star in high school, he has plus-athleticism and showed some good mobility on Saturday. Passing-wise, Luster attacked the middle of the field and executed the redzone offense well. The opportunity to compete for a starting role was a priority for Luster when he entered the transfer portal, and he is firmly entrenched in that conversation in Muncie.
“It’s truly a blessing,” Luster said. “It’s been kind of tough the last few places I’ve been, but I’m confident at Ball State. It’s kind of fun, splitting it with Tyler, we come out here every day and compete, making each other better each practice. It’s been fun doing what we’re doing with all the pieces we’ve got, new faces, it’s going to be scary.”
Mizzell offers a more traditional quarterback build at 6-1, 176 pounds. He doesn’t quite have Luster’s athletic ability but still has flashed some good movement and willingness to tuck it and run. Mizzell was very accurate throwing outside the numbers and seems to be a more aggressive downfield passer than Luster, though he did take longer to go through progressions and make a decision at some points during the showcase.
As a D-II transfer with more freedom in the transfer portal, Mizzell was able to commit to Ball State on the same day as the Cardinals’ 2025 season finale. He cited a strong relationship with Uremovich and QBs coach Craig Harmon as the primary factor that brought him to Muncie.
“That was my second time being in the portal when I committed here, so the first time around, I had kind of already formed a relationship with Coach U and Coach Harmon, so that played a big part,” Mizzell said. “They called me, and I had never been up here, but I knew who they were, so I came up. I loved Muncie, the facilities were awesome, so honestly, it was going to a program that I felt like had a good coaching staff and something that fit me.”
It doesn’t seem like either one has separated himself just yet, and Uremovich has declined to officially name a starter to this point. During Uremovich’s last season at Butler, the Bulldogs rotated two quarterbacks and still ran a very effective offense, so it wouldn’t be totally outside the box for Luster and Mizzell to both see significant snaps once the season begins. The two have formed a strong friendship in their short time together and plan to support one another no matter who ends up winning the starting role.
“At the end of the day, you just got to do your job and leave it up to the coaches,” Mizzell said. “Me and Keldric are really good friends, and whatever that decision is by the coaches, we’re still going to be friends at the end of the day. It’s honestly just getting each other better, so that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
Isaiah Thacker in line for breakout season at wide receiver
Both quarterbacks seem to have developed a strong rapport with one particular wideout. Isaiah Thacker has been making plays throughout spring practice and put his strong hands and crisp route running on full display Saturday. A former standout at perennial Indiana high school football powerhouse New Palestine, Thacker first joined the Cardinals as a member of the 2023 recruiting class and has stuck around for three seasons.
Thacker redshirted as a true freshman and has only logged five total touches in the two seasons since, but he seems like Ball State’s best candidate for a breakout season after the spring and has the support of the coaching staff.
“After our season last year, Coach U talked to me about how I’m going to be a starting guy, the main guy for next season,” Thacker said. “That really helped me stay. I really trust this coach and staff. I feel like we don’t really change stuff around next year, so that’s really why I stayed.”
For a team that added four transfer wide receivers, Ball State’s returning wideouts really stood out Saturday. In addition to Thacker, redshirt sophomore Donovan Hamilton took a majority of first-team reps as the X-receiver after breaking out down the stretch last season. Redshirt senior Jamarion McDougle also took a large share of the first-team reps and showed some great route running and deep threat ability. Among the transfers, CJ Nelson from Eastern Illinois was the biggest standout and had one of the highlights of the day, dragging his feet in-bounds to secure a sideline catch on a 20-yard out delivered by Mizzell.
Thacker believes the explosiveness of the receiver room — and the offense as a whole — will help the Cardinals take a big offensive leap from a year ago.
“I’m really happy to have a very explosive offense,” Thacker said. “We’re going to have a lot of explosive plays come week one. I feel like that’s my favorite part about the offense.”
Veteran defensive backs show out
In the transfer portal and NIL era, it has become a rarity in college football for players to establish themselves as veterans at one institution, especially in the Mid-American Conference. However, Ball State’s defensive back room features two returning starters — junior Willizhuan “Will” Yates and redshirt junior Derek “DJ” Fields — who are entering their third and fourth seasons in Muncie, respectively.
Both players made highlight plays during the spring showcase. During 11-on-11s, Fields intercepted Luster on a throw to the end zone. Later, Yates broke up a fade intended for Hamilton in the end zone, ripping the ball free as Hamilton came to the ground after the 6-4 receiver went up for the jump ball.
Fields and Yates both entered the transfer portal during the offseason but ultimately decided to return to Muncie. Their decision to return and become veteran leaders in the DB room should pay dividends for the Cardinals’ defense this season.
“I just feel like I had unfinished business here,” Yates said. “All my goals just haven’t been accomplished yet, and I just want to reach those and have them accomplished here. I got all the little guys looking up to me, so it’s crazy, I was just a freshman two years ago, so it’s a fast transition, but I see that they look up to me now. I’ve got to be the guy, got to be the leader, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
New-look linebacker corps shines
Linebacker was the position group with the most offseason turnover for Ball State. Joey Stemler, Jack Beebe, Jackson Wiegold and Alfred Chea all started games last year and have all graduated, while Caden Johnson, one of the top rotational players, transferred away. The Cardinals are expected to have an entirely new group of starters at LB, but if the spring showcase is any indication, they’ll be just fine.
Ball State prioritized experienced players when recruiting transfer linebackers and signed two players with four years of college football experience — Gavin Forsha from Tennessee State and Cincear Lewis from Cincinnati. Both took first-team reps, making some tackles in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage, and they seem to be in line for big roles in the middle of Knowles’ defense.
“I really only had two guys coming back in the room with Lucas Szymborski and Mikeah Webster, and they’re doing a good job, but they are only in their second year,” Knowles said. “We needed some guys with some playing experience. Obviously, they had to relearn it and start over that way, but as far as getting guys who have played college football already, that experience shows for those guys.”
Despite their inexperience relative to the new faces in the room, Webster and Szymborski both showed flashes of becoming impact players. Webster had one of the most electrifying plays of the day for the defense, blowing up a running back in the backfield immediately after a reception. Szymborski, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, took more second-team reps but showed off some good blitzing ability.
Whoever ends up seeing the field at linebacker, it will be a very fiery and physical unit.
“That’s our standard, just to come out here and play physical every single day,” Webster said. “Giving it all every single rep, get to the ball, punch it out. That’s just who we are as a defense, and that’s what we’re going to continue to be. I feel like the more physical you are, the more you’re going to be able to win a game — be able to go out there on third and fourth downs when it’s late in the game and it’s hard, having that physicality is going to make you win games.”
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: 5 things we learned about Ball State football in 2026 spring showcase
Reporting by Cade Hampton, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
