Free on Saturday’s MAC Football Watch List 2017

We’ve reached the point of summer where watch lists for end of season college football awards are released daily, giving football-crazed Americans something to think about instead of baseball. These lists are very inclusive, and contain so many players from all across the country that one can’t help but feel the season is just around the corner.
In the spirit of that feeling, Free on Saturday put together a watch list of its own. There’s no award to play for here (yet), but it’s a list of players you should quite literally take the time to watch in 2017, be it in person or at home on a cold November Tuesday.
FoSat’s First Annual MAC Football Watch List
Quarterbacks
Brogan Roback — Eastern Michigan
A quarterback who hi-fives the refs? Are you really not going to watch that?
Roback is one of the more exciting players in the MAC, hi-fives or not. Logan Woodside will get much of the buzz as the MAC’s best at the position, but Roback should be right there in the conversation.
Just ask Ohio, who was on the receiving end of his best game in 2016 when taking into consideration the quality defense trying to stop him. The Eagles notched a win against the eventual East division champions behind Roback’s 29–39 passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns, all of which came without an interception. If the senior can turn in performances like that all year, the Eagles could go bowling for a second straight season.
Logan Woodside — Toledo
Woodside was the best quarterback in the MAC in 2016, and comes into 2017 with most of his major weapons at wide receiver back in Rocket uniforms, so it’s going to be a long year for MAC secondaries trying to stop him.
Woodside could be the face of the conference come November if he puts up numbers like last season, in which he threw for over 4100 yards and a school record 45 touchdowns. He may not be the next MAC quarterback invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony, but he will create some buzz nationally that the conference craves.
Gus Ragland — Miami
Here’s a tip: if your team starts 0–6, just find a Gus Ragland. That usually fixes things right up.
Miami was 0–6 when Ragland returned to the lineup in 2016, and then casually rattled off six straight wins and a near bowl victory over Mississippi State behind the play of their young quarterback. The RedHawks even had a shot at a MAC East crown going into the final week of the season, which would have been quite the accomplishment for Chuck Martin’s squad.
If you like watching teams take care of the football, then Ragland’s your guy. he threw 17 touchdowns to just one interception in his seven games last season, and returns most of his receiving weapons, including James Gardener and Jared Murphy. With a full 12 games in 2017, Ragland could lead Miami back to Ford Field.
Receivers
Scott Miller — Bowling Green
And after waiting his turn as a freshman, Miller wasted no time announcing his arrival as a potential star. In the second game of 2016, miller broke out against North Dakota, averaging 30 yards per catch in the game. About midway through the season, Miller had a stretch of four games where he hauled in 42 passes, seven of which ended up touchdowns, including an eight catch, 149 yard performance against rival Toledo.
For the season, Miller caught 74 passes for 968 yards and 10 touchdowns, and returns as starting quarterback James Morgan’s favorite target. With a bulk of the passes being thrown his way in 2017, Miller could find himself on the All MAC First Team.
Cody Thompson — Toledo
It’s pretty easy to forget that Cody Thompson was the MAC’s second leading receiver last season, what with that guy in front of him getting all the attention, but if he can improve on that performance, he’ll be unforgettable in 2017.
Thompson finished 2016 with over 1200 yards receiving, impressive in it’s own right, and he did so on just 64 catches. At 19.8 yards per catch, Thompson is one the MAC’s top big play threats in the conference’s best offense. With Logan Woodside back for a final season, and weapons like Jon’Vea Johnson drawing some coverage as well, Thompson should be even more effective this season.
Papi White — Ohio
White can do it all for the Bobcats. With his team struggling through some running back injuries last season, white stepped up to be a bit of a Swiss army knife solution for Frank Solich’s team. He can jump over defenders, or he can go around them, but you can bet he will find a way.
White accounted for 878 yards from scrimmage and 9 touchdowns in 2016, averaging around 10 yards per play, an explosive player that’s always a threat to ruin a defense’s hard work. Of course, if that’s not enough to convince you, you can at least have the chance to admire a player named Papi that isn’t this one*:
*Sorry to Tigers fans for doing this, I’m trying to delete it, hold on, I th —
Running Backs
Shaq Vann — Eastern Michigan
One of the truly unfortunate things about last year’s MAC football season is that in the midst of a however brief Eastern Michigan Renaissance, Shaq Vann was confined to the sidelines with Injury.
Vann is an explosive player. Even as a freshman he successfully found holes, hit them hard, then danced around defenders that dared to meet him in space. The South Bend, Indiana native was so fun to watch in 2015, racking up 611 yards rushing at six yards per carry while backing up Darius Jackson. He was no slouch receiving, either, adding 221 yards through the air giving him over 800 all purpose yards and six touchdowns for the year. Vann may have missed out on EMU’s best season in years, but we should all be happy we don’t miss out on Vann this year.
James Gilbert — Ball State
There was no sophomore slump for Gilbert in 2016. In fact, it was quite the opposite, as Ball State’s workhorse racked up over 1300 yards and 12 touchdowns. Gilbert is emerging as one of the MAC’s stars and, depending on who you talk to, is already the conference’s top running back.
Peak James Gilbert came in the game against Buffalo a season ago, where he turned in perhaps one of the best rushing performances in Ball State history, ripping off 264 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns. That includes an 80 yard touchdown to make the game 21–14 and put away the Bulls for good.
Ball State may not make a leap to being competitive in the MAC this season, but Gilbert is going to cause a lot of trouble for some very good defenses, and it will be extremely fun to watch.
Jamauri Bogan — Western Michigan
If you want to know what makes Jamauri Bogan so special, just go back and watch WMU’s game against Toledo from 2016. Bogan went into that game having seen very limited action for five straight weeks with an injury, and responded by carrying the ball 31 times for 198 yards and a score in a must win game. The Broncos kept their undefeated season alive, and went on to win their first MAC title since 1988.
Bogan splits time with Jarvion Franklin in the backfield, but is typically the team’s best runner between the tackles which is really saying something for an athlete that stands at 5'7" 192 pounds.
Defensive Backs
Darius Phillips — Western Michigan
Phillips could very well end up on the All MAC First Team at two positions, as a punt returner and a defensive back. On special teams, programs have learned that kicking to Phillips is a horrible idea. He was kicked to just four times in 2016, but that didn’t stop him leading the conference in average kick return yardage with 65.8.
This isn’t a new thing, either. Against Michigan State in 2015 he opened the season with a 70 yard kick return, following that up with a 100 yard kick return for a touchdown on his very next attempt.
On defense, Phillips was responsible for three WMU touchdowns in 2016, all three of which were interception returns of at least 70 yards. This is not a player you should be kicking to or throwing at, but somehow Phillips finds a way to make plays in all facets of the game.
Amari Coleman — Central Michigan
However good you think you were at sports in high school, or anything for that matter, stop to consider that Amari Coleman received a scholarship offer from Central Michigan before his 17th birthday. You have to be pretty special to be considered scholarship ready at age 16, and what Central Michigan saw in Coleman is showing up on the field.
2016, Coleman’s junior season, was clearly his best, with 15 passes defended and four interceptions, two of which went for touchdowns. He added 48 tackles and two tackles for loss to his resume last season as well, and is one of the best all around corners in the conference, and throwing at him means risking the Chippewas taking it back for six.
Shawun Lurry — Northern Illinois
If you don’t make your best throws, Lurry will gladly catch them for you. In 2015, he did it nine times to go along with 15 passes defended — good enough to earn him the title of First Team All American.
He averaged over 30 yards per interception return that year, and was understandably a feared corner in the MAC. In 2016, the takeaways weren’t there, but Lurry battled injury late in the season, still managing to record 11 passes defended. Don’t let the lack of interceptions fool you. Lurry has set a high bar for himself from 2015, and you’ll likely see similar production this season.
Linebackers
Malik Fountain — Central Michigan
Like Papi White, Malik Fountain is a fantastic football player in addition to having a really cool name. If defense is your thing, Fountain is a joy to watch, and has the stats to prove it. Fountain is only entering his junior season but already has 157 tackles to his name, including 14.5 for a loss. Fountain will likely be right there at the end with an opportunity to be named to his second straight All-MAC First Team in 2017.
Ulysees Gilbert — Akron
Gilbert played in every game for the Zips last season and averaged 11.5 tackles in those games. He’s a versatile ball hawk who forced three fumbles and recorded three passes defended in 2016, and it was good enough to land him on the All MAC First Team.
The best part for Akron is that Gilbert is entering just his junior season and is already the Zips’ best defensive player, and could lead the team in sacks once again in 2017 from the linebacker position.
Quentin Poling — Ohio
Poling didn’t record an interception in 2016, and while that may not be strange for most linebackers, this is a player who in his first two seasons recorded seven interceptions, even taking two back for touchdowns in 2015.
A duplication of his tackle total from 2016 (109) would put Poling into the top ten all time at Ohio University in tackles, some deserved company for a senior who has been one of the MAC’s best linebackers over the last two seasons.
Lineman
OL Chukwuma Okorafor — Western Michigan
Western Michigan has had a good run of things on the recruiting trail over the last few years, but “Chukes” Okorafor may be the very best. We spend a lot of time talking at length about position players and their performance on the field, but teams like WMU aren’t playing in the Cotton Bowl without a stacked offensive line, and Okorafor is one of the best in the country.
Coming out of high school in Southfield, Michigan, Okorafor had offers from some programs you may have heard of, like Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa and Arkansas. He decided to stay close to home and attend WMU, and fans in Kalamazoo are glad he did. It should turn into a nice payday for the senior, as he’ll be an early offensive line selection in next year’s NFL Draft.
DL Joe Ostman — Central Michigan
Here’s a nice stat for the Twitter crowd: In 2016, Ostman finished the season with 69 total tackles.
42 of those nice tackles were solo, and 13.5 for loss. He ranked fourth in the MAC in sacks last season with eight, and is a huge piece in a Central Michigan defense that is improving. Ostman is strong and makes big plays, and should be one of the conference’s top defensive lineman once again in 2017.
DL Jeremiah Harris — Eastern Michigan
Oh, you thought the nice jokes ended with Joe Ostman? Well, guess how many tackles Jeremiah Harris had in 2016 on the defensive line?
Of his 69 tackles, Harris had four sacks and nine total tackles for loss in 2016 and was a big part of an EMU running defense that improved drastically from 2015. Harris was fourth on the team in tackles a year ago, and hopes to follow up his selection to the All MAC Third Team with another all conference year.
Special Teams
P Joeseph Davidson — Bowling Green
To love the MAC, you’ve got to be okay with a little punting from time to time, and there aren’t many better than Joe Davidson. He’s a third team All-American punter, and averaged 48.5 yards per punt in 2016 — five yards per punt better than the next closest.
Of course, to punt 61 times in a year means your team spends quite a bit of time stranded on third down (Western Michigan’s James Coleman punted just 28 times in 2016), but Bowling Green looks to be quite a bit improved this season. That means Bowling Green will be watchable between punts as well.
K Louis Zervos — Ohio
I know, I know, “#MACKickers.” But Zervos is a very large exception to the rule that kickers in the MAC will do bad things at bad times to do bad things. Zervos was 29–35 on field goal attempts in 2016 with a long of 51 yards, setting the NCAA record for made field goals by a freshman. When it comes to Zervos, you can just save your hashtag for some other poor soul.

