Week 1 presser news, notes: CMU, EMU pick starting QBs, WMU’s QB battle rages; Cole Cabana injury update

Kalamazoo — Brady Jones and Broc Lowry will both play at quarterback in the opener for Western Michigan at Michigan State on Friday evening, head coach Lance Taylor said on Monday during his Week 1 press conference. 

Taylor had previously said the competition would carry into this week after hoping to name a starter out of the second scrimmage prior to last week. Instead, the duo of Lowry and Jones will continue competing for the job into game reps, as Taylor and his staff feel both quarterbacks have shown enough quality to be a starter for the Broncos. 

“They've done an excellent job, really commanding the offense, being great teammates, being great leaders,” Taylor said. “And when they've had opportunities they've been efficient, haven't put the ball in jeopardy and really done a nice job of leading our offense and understanding the playcallers' purpose, what we're trying to get done. Both of those guys could start and be our starters and play the game for us. So we're going to go into the season planning on playing both quarterbacks.”

Lowry, who transferred to Western Michigan from Indiana prior to the 2024 season, played consistently last season for the Broncos, coming on in a package as a running option at quarterback. He carried the ball 24 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns.

However, Lowry’s passing acumen was largely untested, as he went 4-for-8 for 21 yards on the season. 

But after an offseason of work and a strong showing through multiple weeks of camp, Lowry had Taylor talking up how much the quarterback has progressed as a passer. 

“I think he's earned the opportunity to be more than that,” Taylor said last week. “What he showed, especially in the second scrimmage, was he has the ability to lead our first offense. He's really improved in the pass game. His footwork, his accuracy, his ball placement, his anticipation on throws has really increased and really gotten better. So he can lead the offense not only from a running aspect or an athletic standpoint, dual threat or short yardage, goal line, like, he can operate us in normal down and distance situations.”

While arriving as a transfer from Riverside City College, Jones has banked a lot more college playing time in his career than Lowry. 

Last season at Riverside CC, Jones started 12 games and completed 64 percent of his passes for 4456 yards and 44 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also carried the ball 62 times for 377 yards and six touchdowns. He led Riverside to a 10-2 final record and a berth in the conference title game, an eventual 37-35 loss.

And despite some potential game reps to differentiate them, Taylor and Co. aren’t rushing to name one the starter over the other.

“That's a great question, one that we're still evaluating and really it's still a competition,” Taylor said.

Eastern Michigan has 'direction' at quarterback, no announced starter

Head coach Chris Creighton has a quarterback starter in mind for Saturday night against Texas State, but he won’t be announcing it publicly. 

“We have,” Creighton said about selecting a starter, “but we're not announcing that quite yet. But we've got our direction.” 

Some outward signs point to transfer Noah Kim taking the reins for the first drive on Saturday. Kim was recently named one of the six captains for the Eagles.

A journeyman and a familiar name to Michiganders, Kim started his career at Michigan State before transferring to Coastal Carolina for the 2024 season. Now on his third team in three seasons, Kim brings notable starting experience to a room that didn’t have much.

Kim has played in 17 career games and completed 135-of-235 pass attempts, accumulating 1597 yards and 13 touchdowns to seven interceptions. 

Salem is a former walk-on who rose up the depth chart during his career. He eventually got put on scholarship in 2024 and got to compete for the starting quarterback job. After losing out to Cole Snyder last year, Salem came back for another season and another quarterback competition. 

He appeared in three games in 2024, going 8-for-11 passing for 126 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Joe Labas reasserts himself as Central Michigan’s QB1

It’s Joe Labas’ show to run again for the Central Michigan offense, as the redshirt senior quarterback showed the new coaching staff he was the best choice to take the reins against San Jose State on Friday night. 

Speaking on Monday, head coach Matt Drinkall said the decision came down to Labas being the best at running the offense.

“He's the best operator,” Drinkall said. “He kind of came in as the leader in the clubhouse, I guess. So it was kind of his to lose.”

Labas started the first six games of the 2024 season for Central Michigan before getting hurt, but the new coaching staff is letting the quarterbacks compete in an open format through the first part of camp before making any big decisions. 

And now Labas has retaken the starting job. 

One theme that came up in camp that Drinkall revisited on Monday was the possibility, if not probability, of multiple quarterbacks playing. 

But seeing how Labas responded to competition at the position only helped cement his status for Drinkall and Co. 

“But I'm telling you we signed some very, very talented players in recruiting right away that were ready to compete and play, and you will see them play," Drinkall said. "And then they also had Jadyn Glasser here, who is as talented of a player as you will find anywhere. So, Joe, it was going to tell us a lot about him."

Broncos backfield navigating early injury

The biggest injury news for Week 1 came out of Kalamazoo on Monday, as Taylor announced that Michigan transfer running back Cole Cabana would miss the opener against Michigan State with an injury sustained during training camp. 

Cabana’s injury is not expected to be a long-term ailment, Taylor said.

“He had an injury during training camp,” Taylor said. “It's not anything that's going to be long term. But he will not be available.” 

The Broncos should still be capable of rushing the ball, as junior tailback Jalen Buckley should be a full go on Friday after being limited in recent weeks. His status for Week 1 was never much of a concern around the Western Michigan facilities. 

And beyond Buckley, a returning starter set to headline the backfield, Taylor is bullish on the other rushing options, namely transfers Devin Miles, Ofa "Lolo" Mataele and Tre' Hartwell.

“We really love our running back depth,” Taylor said. “We love to have Cole available as soon as he gets healthy, he'll be back in the mix for us. But I think you've seen in both years, we're kind of a running back by committee. Devin Miles has done an excellent job at running back. Lolo has done a great job. Tre' Hartwell. All of those guys have taken opportunities and will have a role for us.”