Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Western Michigan Broncos season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Western Michigan Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 7-6 overall, 5-3 in MAC
Head Coach: Tim Lester, 3rd year, 13-12
– CFN Preview 2019: All The Team Previews
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WESTERN MICHIGAN OFFENSE
– The offense gets its main man back. The Broncos weren’t bad offensively – averaging 437 yards and 32 points per game – but lost QB Jon Wassink in late October for the season with a foot injury. He’s back with his efficient passing skills and good nose for the goal line when he takes off, and sophomore Kaleb Eleby returns as a veteran No. 2 guy to rely on. But …
– All of a sudden, the WMU receiving corps went from amazing to concerning. It was bad enough when fourth-leading yardage guy Keishawn Watson left for Appalachian State, and it didn’t help when leading receiver Jayden Reed decided to transfer out after leading the way with 56 catches for 797 yards and eight scores.
Second-leading receiver D’Wayne Eskridge moved to defensive back, but he could return to the offensive side, TE Giovanni Ricci it s a solid pass catcher, and there’s good young talent to get excited about.
– The transfer bug hit the running backs, too, with third-leading man Chase Brown entering the portal. 16-touchdown back Jamauri Bogan is done, but 5-9, 185-pound speedster LeVante Bellamy is back after averaging six yards per carry with a team-leading 1,228 yards and six touchdowns. However, it’s a really, really thin group of running backs.
– The O line loses two starters, but all-star OG Luke Juriga is back on the right side, and the left side should be solid with the return of OT Jaylen Moore and OG Mike Caliendo. It’s not a huge front five, but it can move.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WESTERN MICHIGAN DEFENSE
– It’s not like everyone is back on the WMU D, but 13 of the top 14 tackles and eight starters return. Now the experience has to turn into production after struggling against the better passing teams and getting rumbled on against the run a bit too often.
– The defense revolves around a pair of 6-1, 220-pound senior linebackers. Drake Spears led the team with 86 tackles, Alex Grace ended up with 83, and sophomore Corvin Moment is a 245-pound thumper rising up on the inside. Now …
– The line has to hold up a bit better and it needs to get into the backfield more. There isn’t musth star power up front, but 6-2, 240-pound junior Ali Fayad can get behind the line, and 275-pound DT Ralph Holley is a quick interior pass rushing problem. There isn’t a ton of bulk, but there’s good depth and there should be a decent rotation at all four spots.
– The pass rush has to improve to help the cause, but the secondary has to use its experience to start doing more. WR D’Wayne Eskridge might be a factor at one corner, but senior Stefan Claiborne is a 6-2 tackler at one spot.
The safety tandem of Justin Tranquill and AJ Thomas can hit, but they have to make more plays when the ball is in the air. There’s depth at safety, but the corners need work.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP WESTERN MICHIGAN PLAYERS
Best Western Michigan Offensive Player
OG Luke Juriga, Sr.
The only thing missing is raw bulk. The 6-4, 295-pounder is a technician who can move, getting the starting nod as a redshirt freshman at guard and not leaving over the last two seasons. He has seen starting time at center and might step in for All-MAC performer John Keenoy, but if he’s at right guard again, he’s the one the good ground game will work behind.
2. QB Jon Wassink, Jr.
3. RB LeVante Bellamy, Sr.
4. WR/CB D’Wayne Eskridge, Sr.
5. TE Giovanni Ricci, Sr.
Best Western Michigan Defensive Player
LB Drake Spears, Sr.
Or Alex Grace, or even inside linebacker Corvin Moment. The linebacking corps should be the strength of the D – and potentially the team – with three excellent starters, and the 6-1, 220-pound Spears the veteran former defensive back who has grown into a a big playmaker at outside linebacker. He led the team with 86 tackles with three sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss, and he and Grace should do it all again.
2. LB Alex Grace, Sr.
3. S Justin Tranquill, Sr.
4. DE Ali Fayad, Jr.
5. DT Ralph Holley, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Western Michigan Offense
Find some new receivers for the good quarterbacks to work with. If everyone had come back – and were locks to stay on the offensive side – this might have been the Group of Five’s best receiving corps. But that’s not happening.
Jayden Reed is a devastating punt returners who led the team in receiving. He transferred out along with Keishawn Watson. The Broncos spread the ball around well, but they’ll have to rely on several young players, transfers, and prospects ready to do more.
Biggest Key To The Western Michigan Defense
Make more plays when the ball is in the air. The secondary has experience, it has a terrific group of safeties – at least, it’s a promising one – and there’s potential at corner as long as injuries don’t strike. But the big plays have to start coming.
The Broncos weren’t exactly bombed on – the allowed just two 300-yard games – but they were hit for close to nine yards per pass and didn’t pick off a pass in eight games.
Late in the season, Ball State’s Drew Plitt hit 81% of his throws in a stunning win over the Broncos, but that was just a sign of things to come with BYU’s Zach Wilson connecting on all 18 of his throws – averaging 17.6 yards per pass – in the bowl game win.
There’s some tweaking to do. Which is why …
Key Player To A Successful Season
CB Stefan Claiborne, Sr.
Is the 6-2, 190-pounder really a corner? Is he a safety? Is he a wide receiver? Whatever he is, he has to rise up and become an all-star factor after finishing fourth on the season with 56 tackles with four broken up passes … and no interceptions. He’s a good hitter who’ll play where needed, and WMU needs him to shine at corner after struggling last year. It’s worth giving him another shot … but he’s a safety.
Key Game To The Western Michigan Season
at Toledo, Oct. 5
The Northern Illinois game will be a huge deal for the MAC West, but that’s the season finale. Several weeks before that, Western Michigan has to travel to Toledo for a tone-setting moment for the season.
Last year, the Broncos got their doors blown off in a 51-24 loss, and in 2017 they were rocked by the Rockets 37-10. They can still win the West if they lose for a third straight season, but it’ll be a big mountain to climb.
– Western Michigan Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Western Michigan Fun Stats
– Field Goals: Western Michigan 11-of-16 – Opponents 11-of-16
– Time of Possession: Western Michigan 33:37 – Opponents 26:23
– Sacks: Western Michigan 32 for 185 yards – Opponents 20 for 103 yards
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. WESTERN MICHIGAN WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
At Michigan State, at Syracuse, at Toledo, at Eastern Michigan, at Ohio, at Northern Illinois.
Sure, there are plenty of winnable MAC games in the mix there, but none of those four are a breeze, there’s that date up the road to face the Spartans, and going to Syracuse is a problem.
Central Michigan will be better, Miami University will be dangerous, and Ball State beat the Broncos last year. In other words, it’s going to be really, really tough to do a whole lot better than the seven regular season wins of last year, but …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 7
The Broncos are loaded with too much experience to be so mediocre again.
They’ll figure out the receiver situation after the loss of some key parts, the running game will be dangerous – as long as injuries aren’t an issue – behind one of the MAC’s better lines, and the quarterback combination of Jon Wassink and Kaleb Eleby will make up for a slew of problems.
The defense might have had major issues, but at least it’s loaded with experience. The linebackers are good, the secondary has too many veterans to be so mediocre, and any improvement overall to help the good offense should make a huge difference, but again …
At Michigan State, at Syracuse …
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
