After seasons ‘marred by injury,’ banged up Jalen Buckley paces WMU in MAC title game

Detroit — Jalen Buckley’s best play on Saturday might’ve been one that didn’t technically count. 

Western Michigan quarterback Broc Lowry had been slung down in the backfield on a goal-to-go play, and what appeared to be a fumble got scooped up by a Miami (OH) defender who chugged down the field, eying a scoop and score.

WMU led by less than a touchdown at that point. And while the fumble would be overturned after review — Lowry’s leg was down — Buckley didn’t know that. 

So from the opposite hash, Buckley tracked back, angling past a handful of potential blockers to track down and knock the ball carrier out of bounds inside the WMU 10. And the otherwise forgotten moment encapsulated Buckley’s performance on Saturday in the MAC title game. 

“I love Jalen Buckley,” head coach Lance Taylor said postgame. “He's got the heart of a warrior.”

Buckley played Saturday, and much of the second half of the 2025 season with a fractured right wrist that required him to wear a protective brace, and still excelled to help lead Western Michigan to a MAC championship win over Miami (OH), 23-13, at Ford Field. Buckley had 193 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns which came on carries of 67 and 64 yards, respectively. Buckley earned offensive player of the game honors for his performance.

“It's obviously a change,” Buckley said. “You don't dream of playing with a wrist brace on. But just like everybody up here and everybody in that locker room, we adapt. That's really it.” 

When Buckley’s injury first cropped up, surgery was presented as an option, according to the ESPN network broadcast of Saturday’s game. But Buckley didn’t want to miss any time, and decided to try and grit out the latter stages of the season. 

It did require the brace on his wrist, but that was only a minor hardship for Buckley. And it was certainly worth it to be in the action versus on the sidelines given much of this and last season had been injury filled. 

Buckley won MAC freshman of the year in 2023 after getting put on scholarship just before the start of the season. An early success story in Taylor’s tenure in Kalamazoo. 

“Since then, the next two seasons have been marred by injury,” Taylor said on Saturday. “And, not minor injuries. Injuries that keep most people out of games and out of practice.”

Despite the physical and mental burden of these injuries, Buckley never wavered. 

“I bought into this process, I know what this group and this team and this coaching staff and what he put together,” Buckley. “It's going to be something special. You see it here. And then yeah, they gave me a chance. So why not give them a chance to just keep playing. I used to be a walk on. Like I used to have nothing. They took a chance on me, so I just stayed here.”

And while the injury slowed Buckley, never would it stop him. 

In four games after the Broncos lost to Miami (OH), Buckley closed the regular season with 353 yards and five touchdowns. 

Then he busted the game open on the third play on Saturday, running for 67 yards through a chasm opened up by his offensive line. A second-level defender got a hand on him, but he was otherwise untouched racing away from the defense. 

And on the second play of the second half, Buckley burst through the left side of the line again, got the corner, and raced 64 yards into the end zone, right in front of the Western Michigan band and students. 

“They were able to move guys inside, open up holes,” Buckley said of his offensive line. “All I gotta do is run fast and get to the end zone. So I really appreciate those guys.”

And while Buckley demurred credit to his offensive line, quarterback, receivers and coaches, the man sitting to his right in the postgame press conference happily got on the stump for his star running back. 

“When you know you're not able to play to your capabilities, whether it's whatever injury, I think it affects ya',” Taylor said. “But he did a really nice job managing that, staying focused on the long-term goals, which is really hard nowadays, but really proud of him. He had a big night tonight, I think the last three or four weeks we've really seen the old Jalen Buckley. He was running hard, he was running pissed off.”