NCAA Football

LeFevour, Davis set to be next in line of highly-drafted MAC quarterbacks

The Mid-American Conference has certainly made a habit of producing pro-caliber quarterbacks in recent years. First-round picks Chad Pennington (Marshall, #18 by the New York Jets in 2000), Byron Leftwich (Marshall, #7 by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003), and Ben Roethlisberger (Miami, #11 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004) have called the conference home, and MAC alums Charlie Frye (Cleveland Browns) and Bruce Gradkowski (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) have also started in the NFL recently.

There are a couple of signal-callers that could follow them as soon as next April, and they hail from the MAC West.

The division came down to Central Michigan and Ball State last year, and a big reason why was their star quarterbacks, who are among the top quarterback prospects in the current crop of collegiate signal-callers.

CMU’s Dan LeFevour was the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2006, and all he did in 2007 was trump a sophomore slump by winning MAC Player of the Year accolades on the way to leading the Chippewas to their second straight MAC title.

At 6′3, 225, the rising junior has the size that scouts love, and has the numbers too. He’s thrown for 6,683 yards and 53 touchdowns in his first two seasons, and last season threw for 3,652 yards and 27 touchdowns for the 8-6 Chippewas.

But, what give LeFevour an extra dimension is his ability to create and dominate just as much with his legs as he can with his arm. Last season, LeFevour ran for 1,122 yards and 19 touchdowns, which made him only the second quarterback in I-A history to run for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the same season.

The other? Vince Young. That’s some lofty company, I’ll say.

Twice last season, LeFevour had four games in which he racked up more than 400 yards passing and rushing, including two in which he had over 500 total yards (Ball State and Akron).

His MAC West counterpart, Nate Davis of Ball State, finished behind LeFevour in the conference standings and was a second team all-MAC pick, but is higher-rated by some draft rankings.

Davis has put together two excellent seasons for the Cardinals (5,642 yards, 48 TD, 14 INT), and last season, threw for 3,667 yards, 30 touchdowns passes, and only six interceptions. That kind of excellent decision-making is a valuable asset on any level, and while it does help to have the likes of Dante Love and Darius Hill to throw to, the quarterback has to make good throws to get to his good receivers, right?

With two top-notch quarterbacks leading the way, the MAC West should come down to these two teams again this season, and expect their head-to-head matchup in Mount Pleasant to be every bit as explosive as it was last year in Muncie. The Chippewas won the battle on the stat sheet (658 yards to 369) and on the scoreboard (58 to 38), while LeFevour’s numbers (30 of 38, 360 yards, 5 TD, 16 carries, 146 yards, TD) convincingly trumped Davis’ (16 of 35, 204 yards, TD).

The big question is if this is the last year they’ll be terrorizing the MAC. Both will be eligible for the 2009 draft, and provided they have strong seasons, would likely be first-day picks next April.

However, if they stay for their senior seasons, we’ll be treated to two more seasons of excellence, and by that time, both could be locks for the first round, depending on how things shake out with some of the other top quarterbacks in the next couple of draft classes.

Bad news for MAC defenses, good news for each team’s fans.

However, these two aren’t the only talented junior gunslingers in the MAC, Bowling Green’s Tyler Sheehan is coming off of a monster season, and Toledo’s Aaron Opelt, Miami’s Daniel Raudabaugh, Eastern Michigan’s Andy Schmitt, and Western Michigan’s Tim Hiller are all primed for big seasons.

So from the looks of it, the MAC contingent of QBs in the NFL will have a few new members soon, and I don’t think the pipeline will be ending anytime soon, which means a few defensive coordinators will have a lot of gray hairs - and a need to update their resumes.

Related posts on The Red Zone Report

• 2008 MAC Preview Part I: Can Chippewas three-peat in crowded conference? (0)
• 2008 MAC West Preview: Three-peat for CMU, or will there be a new champ? (0)
• Which non-BCS teams could crash the BCS party in 2008? (1)
• All-non BCS team: Offense - LeFevour leads best of the best from outside of the BCS (1)
• 2008 MAC Preview Part II: Key Games, Impact Newcomers, and All-MAC Picks (0)