[2024] Bronco Bits: WMU's Quarterback Room

[Jieret]

Format mostly stolen from @BabaYaga, so thanks for the template!

 

Returning Players

3* (Sr) OG Torres - Field General B+/B-
4* (Fr) Willie Robinson - Pocket B/B+
3* (So) Quincy Velazquez - Balanced C+/B
1* So Billy Green - Pocket D/A+
2* Sr Chris Webb - Scrambler C+/C

Incoming Players
3* Fr Diego Alvarado - Balanced C/B+

The Man Behind The Man
4* (Jr) David Ponce de Leon - Scrambler A-/B+

2023 Season Stats
Torres - 338/657, 3,585 yards, 19 TD, 11 INT. 3 rushes, 10 yards
Ponce de Leon - 117 rushes, 458 yards, 2 TDs, 2 Fumbles (as RB1)

Western Michigan QB Room Breakdown

Starter battle: OG Torres vs. Willie Robinson - We've chronicled Torres' 2023 season (and his offseason) elsewhere, but tl;dr he struggled mightily to replace All-Everything Theo Scribner. Due to his experience, his vision, and his superior Throw attributes (B-/B- Power and Accuracy), he seems to have the edge over his younger teammate but it is by no means set in stone.
Coming off his redshirt freshman season, Willie Robinson (@DuckCmdrWMU) looks to unseat Torres. While it seems certain Robinson is the future, the Georgia native's best chance at being the present seems to be if the coaches decide to turbo-charge his growth by throwing him into the fire.

Redshirt Candidate: Diego Alvarado - There are at least three players ahead of Alvarado on the depth chart, so he makes a great redshirt candidate.  However if the coaching staff needs those redshirts elsewhere he could dodge that spot - for now.

Notes on others:

David Ponce de Leon - David was asked to give the Broncos a lift at running back and it went... okay.  His stats are nothing special, but considering the 2023 WMU offense it was hard for any RB to put up numbers.  Now with a year under his belt there, it seems like the position change is permanent.
Quincy Velazquez - Local boy Velazquez is WMU's first-ever QB recruit.  He provides needed depth, but doesn't look to be in line to be first under center any time soon.  It wouldn't surprise us to see him place his name in the transfer portal after the season. 
Billy Green - Green has shown flashes from time to time, but nothing sustained.  If he can actually put enough together to make that jump, he could be valuable organizational depth.
Chris Webb - Never a scheme fit, Webb came to play school and has maintained a 3.3 GPA to this point.

 

The Future at QB

Western Michigan's future at QB is... clear. It's obvious that the coaches believe WillieRob is the man from at least 2025 (if not sooner) through potentially 2027.
Robinson is also the only blue-chip QB in the room (we're not counting Ponce de Leon for reasons that should be clear) so if he struggles there aren't other options with a pedigree that would comfort anyone. The WMU coaching staff are making plans to rectify that with an early offer to local 4* Willis Humphrey.  Assuming they get Humphrey signed, the plan seems to be for Humphrey to redshirt then be the heir apparent to Robinson.

Edited March 12 by Jieret

[BabaYaga]

Very nice. Solid path moving forward although very tough to replace Scribner.