Kelly started each of Ball State’s final six games in 2023, thriving as a dynamic rusher.
Ball State officially wrapped up spring football on Saturday, Apr. 6 with its annual intrasquad scrimmage.
But when the Cardinals resume practices in the summer, the quarterback room will take on a different form. On Monday, quarterback Kiael Kelly announced his entrance into the transfer portal via Twitter.
I’ll be entering the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining‼️ pic.twitter.com/lHXTijZgYy
— Kiael Kelly (@kiael_kelly) April 15, 2024
Kelly was one of three quarterbacks in Ball State’s rotation in 2023. As a sophomore, he started each of Ball State’s final six contests, compiling a 3-3 record after the team initially stumbled to a 1-5 start. He threw for 577 yards — five short of the team-high of 582 attained by Layne Hatcher — along with two touchdowns and three interceptions on a 53.2 percent completion clip.
However, Kelly made his presence best known in the mobility department. The fleet-footed quarterback scampered for 724 yards and seven touchdowns on an average of 5.7 yards per carry. He earned his midseason promotion to the starting role after rushing for 94 yards as a reserve against Eastern Michigan in Week 6, and he wound up earning 85+ rushing yards in five of his last seven games — including a 136-yard explosion in the season finale against Miami (OH).
Ball State shifted its offense approach with Kelly in the lineup, leaning more heavily toward the run game with the dynamic mobile quarterback. The Cardinals exceeded 20 passes in each of their first six contests, but in Kelly’s six starts during the home stretch, they only crossed that threshold once, in the November rivalry win over Northern Illinois.
Kelly enters the 2024 season with redshirt junior status, possessing two more years of eligibility. With Ball State’s primary starter from the 2024 season in the portal, the Cardinals likely move forward with Kadin Semonza as the No. 1 quarterback.
Semonza, a true freshman in 2023, showed promise in his first collegiate game by completing 15-of-21 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown at Kentucky. He earned the starting role for Ball State’s second, third, and fourth games last fall before Hatcher recaptured the reins for Week 5. Semonza finished the year 50-of-82 for 480 yards, firing three touchdowns and five interceptions. He didn’t favor the ground as much as Kelly, only rushing 11 times all season, excluding sacks. By only participating in four games as a true freshman, Semonza maintained his redshirt and enters 2024 as a redshirt freshman.
With Kelly off to the transfer portal following the conclusion of spring football, three other quarterbacks remain on the Cardinals’ 2024 roster. Incumbent redshirt sophomores Colin Blazek and Aidan Leffler return to the QB room, although both primarily operated as scout teams quarterbacks behind last year’s main trio, and neither has seen in-game experience. Ball State also landed Marshall transfer Chase Harrison from the portal in December. Harrison’s collegiate experience is limited to one game against Norfolk State of the FCS in 2022, but Harrison did not log any stats in the appearance.
Last year, Ball State rotated between Hatcher, Kelly, and Semzona, but in 2024, there seems to be less of a question mark regarding the No. 1 option headed into the season. Given the comparative level of experience, expect Semonza to have the edge as the starter as Ball State prepares for its Sept. 7 opener vs. Missouri State of the FCS.