[2024] The Bucking Bronco: Past the Three-quarters Pole

[Jieret]

Broncos WR Lorenzo Whalen is tackled by Miami(OH) CB Ryan Clayborn after a gain of 13 yards.  WMU won the game 41-26.

 

We're a third of the way through the 2024 regular season, and your Western Michigan Broncos are 2-2 (1-0 in conference).  Truth be told this is roughly where most objective observers had the team at this point, even though many WMU fans hoped they would be at least 2-1 coming out of their opening OOC slate.

Quick Game Recaps

Week 1 @ #5 Georgia (L 15-24)
Overly conservative playcalling potentially cost the Broncos 6 early points, as potentially makeable field goals were eschewed for field position instead.  Unfortunately, Georgia found ways to gash the WMU defense for numerous chunk plays of over 20 yards, and the Broncos offense didn't come alive until the second half where it was too little, too late.

Top performers:
QB OG Torres 27 of 48 for 392 yards, 1 TD/1 INT
WR Lorenzo Whalen 12 catches for 246 yards
CB Michael Gonzalez 2 tackles, 1 INT
SS Timothy Khan 4 tackles, 1 INT

Week 2 vs. #23 Wisconsin (L 15-25)
Although once again the offense didn't really show up until the second half, the Broncos held the lead in the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately Wisconsin RB Christian Jackson ran left, right, and finally through a worn down Western defense on his way to a hefty 181 yards and a touchdown.  It was his running mate Ruben Peters, however, with a 60-yard dagger of a touchdown run that put the Badgers two scores ahead, and Wisconsin DE Matt Matthews was in on both of the sacks OG Torres took on the ensuing drive to seal the victory for the away team.

Top performers:
RB (QB) David Ponce de Leon 17 carries for 61 yards, 1 TD. 6 catches for 63 yards 
WR Lorenzo Whalen 5 catches for 95 yards, 1 TD yards
ILB Robertson Moore 6.5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT
DT Denard Mattheus 7.5 tackles

Week 3 vs. Clemson (W 31-14)
Tired of being the "Bend until you break" unit, the Broncos defense decided to break the opposing offense instead.  Western held the Tigers to 176 yards of total yards from scrimmage, with a sack and a fumble recovery picked up along the way.  It would have been even less but for OG Torres throwing 4(!) picks on the day to Clemson's excellent CB duo of Wandy Jones and Demar LeMahieu.  At least Torres picked a good day to have a bad day, the way the defense was playing.

Top performers:
RB (QB) David Ponce de Leon 19 carries for 73 yards, 1 TD. 4 catches for 69 yards, 1 TD
WR Myles Osich 8 catches for 231 yards, 1 TD
OLB Seantrel Garate 4.5 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack
DE Brian Barea 5 tackles, 3 TFL

Week 4 vs. Miami(OH) (W 41-26)
Torres played much better in the Broncos' first conference game, eclipsing the 400-yard mark for the first time this season and only throwing one interception.  The Bronco defense bent (giving up 317 rushing yards), but didn't break.  With OG and the offense scoring 17 unanswered in the second quarter to put WMU up three scores, the defense was content to let the Redhawks chew up ground yards - and the clock.

Top performers:
QB OG Torres 34 of 48 for 443 yards, 3 TDs/1 INT
RB (QB) David Ponce de Leon 23 carries for 121 yards, 2 TDs. 6 catches for 48 yards
DE Will Lee 5.5 tackles, 3 TFL, 1.5 sacks
OLB Seantrel Garate 6.5 tackles, 3 TFL, 0.5 sack

Notable Individual Season Stats (Offense):
QB OG Torres: 100 of 162 (31.73%) for 1,473 yards, 8 TD/7 INT, 145.76 QBR. 4 carries for 12 yards (3.00 Yards per carry).
RB (QB) David Ponce de Leon: 75 carries for 292 yards (3.89 Yards per carry), 2 TDs. 17 catches on 21 targets (80.95 catch%) for 185 yards (10.88 YPC), 2 rec TDs.
WR Lorenzo Whalen: 27 catches on 42 targets (64.29 catch%) for 543 yards (20.11 YPC), 2 TDs.

Notable Individual Season Stats (Defense):
DE Will Lee: 14.5 tackles, 7 TFLs, 2.0 sacks.
OLB Seantrel Garate: 13.0 tackles, 5 TFLs, 2.0 sacks.
SS Timothy Khan: 16.0 tackles, 1 INT.

 

Recruiting through week 5 (#25 overall class, #4 conference):

Fans hopeful that Western would replicate their blazing start to the 2023 recruiting season were disappointed (3 5-star players signed by week 4), but there aren't any complaints from the Broncos faithful about who has committed so far.

5* WR Ismael Leon B/C Los Angeles, CA (#39 overall,#6 WR/#2 Red Zone Threat)
WMU's first-ever five-star WR recruit is the crown jewel of the class so far, and will likely be the top recruit in the class when all is said and done.  Leon told The Bucking Bronco that he plans to enroll early, intending to devour the playbook quickly and force his way into immediate playing time.

4* QB Solomon Walker B/B St. Johns, FL (#204 overall, #13 QB/#5 Balanced)
A quarterback that doesn't mind tucking the ball away for a few yards isn't one that people think of when they imagine a WMU quarterback.  But Walker was sold early on the vision the Broncos coaching staff have for his skills and committed, despite a late push from local Florida Atlantic.  The plan seems to be to give Walker a couple of years behind Willie Robinson, then turn the keys over to him.

4* FS Warren Mohsin C/B+ St. Leon, IN (#414 overall, #24 FS/#7 Man Coverage)
Even though free safety isn't a huge need, the coaching staff quickly identified Mohsin as a great fit for the Broncos defense.  He felt the same way and committed over offers from Illinois, Arizona State, and Kentucky.  Right now it seems a redshirt year is in his future, after which he'll push the safety room for playing time.

 

Thanks for reading!  We'll be back in a few weeks to check back in on how YOUR Western Michigan Broncos row the boat through a tough and exciting 2024 season!