MAC country home to healthy crop of top-notch signal callers
DETROIT — The Miami sports information office released a poster to media members last week of Ben Roethlisberger, hyping the quarterback for postseason awards and announcing the slogan for his 2003 season: “Where have you Ben?”
For those who haven’t noticed, the junior has “Ben” lighting up MAC scoreboards for the past two seasons, as he has passed for 6,343 yards and 47 touchdowns in that span.
“Ben should win the Heisman,” said Marshall Head Coach Bob Pruett. “I’ve had two of them (Heisman candidates) in (former Marshall quarterbacks Chad) Pennington and (Byron) Leftwich and he is no different than either of them.”
The MAC is full of signal-callers with big-time numbers and expectations for the coming season. While Midwest football is known for hard-nosed running games and limited air attacks, the MAC is carving its own niche, playing southern football in traditional Big Ten territory.
Akron junior Charlie Frye, UCF senior Ryan Schneider, Kent State junior Joshua Cribbs and Bowling Green senior Josh Harris join Roethlisberger as the elite quarterbacks in the pass-happy conference.
“We all know the league has great QB’s. Nothing really separates me from the rest,” Schneider said.
Frye disagrees with Schneider, as he has his own formula for determining the best quarterback of the bunch.
“Whoever leads his team to the championship is the best,” he said.
Both players could make an argument for conference, and even national, honors.
Frye ranks fifth in MAC history in completion percentage and is the second leading passer in school history after just two seasons.
“We go as far as he takes us. He has lived up to his expectations so far,” said Akron Head Coach Lee Owens.
All Schneider did was break Minnesota Vikings star Daunte Culpepper’s UCF record for single-game and single-season passing yardage and touchdown passes. His 69 career TD passes and 151.62 passing efficiency is tops in the nation among returning quarterbacks.
Harris and Cribbs bring another dimension to their teams with their advanced mobility.
Harris set a MAC record for most combined rushing and passing touchdowns in a season last year and was named preseason All-American by College Football News. He accounted for six touchdowns in a 72-21 rout against Ohio last season.
“It is encouraging to be a QB in this league right now. With all of the attention the league is getting because of QB’s, it makes you want to compete even harder,” he said.
Cribbs is looking to become the first player in Division I history with three seasons of more than 1,000 yards rushing and passing. He ranks ninth all-time on the Golden Flashes rushing list, unheralded for a quarterback entering his junior season.
“Josh’s best runs were not designed, they were strictly scrambles,” said KSU Head Coach Dean Pees.
Among other experienced signal callers are NIU’s Josh Haldi, Western’s Chad Munson and Ohio’s Freddie Ray.
This creativity among the athletes and the pass attacks have gradually forced their ways into Big Ten country causing records to shatter and NFL scouts to gather north for the fall.
