Who Will Start at QB for Western Michigan at MSU?
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Michigan State's season-opening opponent still has not revealed who its starting quarterback is going to be next Friday.
Western Michigan's Hayden Wolff, the Broncos' starting QB from last year, exhausted his NCAA eligibility in 2024, which means that WMU was going to have to figure out who to turn to next.
Western Michigan's Options
Based upon the makeup of their roster, the Broncos' quarterback competition will likely come down to redshirt sophomore Broc Lowry and junior JUCO transfer Brady Jones.
Broc Lowry
Lowry, who began his collegiate career at Indiana, was Western Michigan's No. 2 quarterback last year. He never really got many opportunities to show off his arm, as the Canfield, Ohio native only went 4-for-8 through the air, picking up 21 yards.
Instead, Lowry's main contribution to the Broncos' offense came from him using his legs. Despite being the backup quarterback, Lowry actually finished fourth on the team with 133 rushing yards. That number came on 25 total carries (5.3 YPC), and Lowry was able to find the endzone three times.
Coming out of high school, Lowry was a three-star recruit that ranked 54th among quarterbacks in the class of 2023, per 247Sports Composite. Beyond Indiana, Lowry had received offers from Western Michigan, Iowa State, Toledo, and several other Group of Five and FCS schools.
Brady Jones
Jones came up to Western Michigan after absolutely annihilating everybody at the junior college level.
While at Riverside Community College in 2024, Jones completed 64% of his passes en route to throwing for a total of 4,456 yards, 44 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. Like Lowry, Jones is also a willing runner, as he picked up another 377 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
The Murrieta, California native also had a game against a nationally-ranked JUCO opponent where he threw for 523 yards and seven touchdowns during a 70-45 win.
Check out my Regular Season Highlights on @Hudl https://t.co/jLyrgPrpIP
— Brady Jones (@Brdy_5) November 27, 2024
🔸6’4 200 lbs Dual Threat
🔸3723 Passing yards, 42 Tds
🔸338 Rushing yards, 5 Tds
🔸December Grad@CoachPaychek @GenoRamsey @iAM_CAM_
As Jones' former JUCO status implies, he was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school.
Complications for Michigan State
Not knowing who the starting quarterback of the team you are facing, of course, makes things a bit more difficult.
The other added layer is that there really is not that much film on either option for Western Michigan. It's tough to learn much about Lowry since he's thrown nine career passes in college (one at Indiana, eight at WMU).
As for Jones, while he does have a full season of starting at Riverside Community College, how much is that going to change when he's facing a Big Ten defense featuring much bigger, faster, stronger, and more experienced players?
Whether it's Lowry or Jones, it'll be interesting to see who Western Michigan goes with next Friday.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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