MUNCIE ― It’s no secret that the Ball State football offense is going to look very different in 2025.
Almost everyone from the 2024 offense is gone. The Cardinals lost their starting quarterback, top three rushers, top five receivers and four out of five starters on the offensive line to either graduation or the transfer portal — not to mention the near-complete overhaul of the coaching staff.
However, Ball State‘s 2025 offense might look more similar to its 2023 one thanks to the return of two veterans who both explored options in the transfer portal during the coaching change but ultimately decided to return for their final college football seasons.
Quarterback Kiael Kelly is back for his fifth season of eligibility, while wide receiver Qian Magwood returns for his sixth season in the red and black. The two redshirt seniors have developed a strong rapport on and off the field over the years — Magwood led the team in receiving in 2023 with Kelly starting most of that season, and the two have been roommates for the last three years.
“Just knowing that there’s somebody out there that I’ve known since we were 18 years old, like I can definitely trust them on the field,” Kelly said. “It makes it easy knowing that you got him at receiver.”
Why Kelly, Magwood returned to Ball State
It was a strange 2024 season for Kelly. The starting QB for the majority of 2023, Kelly switched to defensive back during the offseason before moving back to offense as a wide receiver at the beginning of the season, but he didn’t get enough snaps there to make a significant impact.
Kelly entered the transfer portal with one game left in the season and had an offer from Toledo to play wide receiver. But when new Ball State coach Mike Uremovich made it clear he wanted Kelly back as a quarterback, the decision was a no-brainer.
“I wanted to be in the best situation so I can showcase my abilities,” Kelly said. “I came in to play quarterback, and that was a real big thing for me. To hear from Coach U that he wanted me still to play quarterback, that was very big for me.”
Kelly officially announced his return to Ball State on Dec. 17. Eighteen days later, on Jan. 4, Magwood did the same.
Like the rest of Ball State’s primary 2024 receiving corps, Magwood entered the portal at the end of the season. However, he was the only one of the team’s top five pass catchers who returned.
Kelly’s decision played a large part in that.
“Kiael is one of my best friends on the team, and really one of my best friends in life,” Magwood said. “When he first came in, it was the year after me, so we kind of like built that chemistry on scout team, basically getting our confidence together.”
Magwood is the longest tenured Ball State Cardinal and the last remaining player from the 2020 MAC Championship team. Although he did not see game action that year, being rostered during the 2020 COVID season gave him an additional season which he will exercise this year.
Magwood’s experience on that 2020 team also played a role in his decision.
“I feel like Muncie really had that home feeling, that family feeling for me,” Magwood said. “I remember being that young guy, talking to Justin Hall from that 2020 team and him telling me certain things that I could do and how to navigate this process. I just felt like, if I go somewhere else, I wouldn’t be able to really pay that forward because it’s kind of like a six-month rental. They really don’t know me, they don’t really have that chance to develop the chemistry with me that fast.”
Another major factor in both players’ decisions was, of course, Uremovich. Both players praised their new coach for his honesty with them throughout their re-recruitment process and afterwards.
“What he says is what he means,” Kelly said. “I trust him, trust everything that he says. He’s a true players’ coach, he knows how to connect with all of his players.”
Uremovich’s ability to connect with his players will certainly help him in the long run, but connecting with two veterans like Kelly and Magwood and convincing them to finish what they started in Muncie could help the Ball State football program turn around faster than anyone expects.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.