Forged by Fire, Tight-Knit Senior Class Drives 2020 BSU Football Team

Forged by fire.

That's how it was for the members of Ball State's senior class when they began their careers four years ago. Forced to sink or swim, the group came through adversity stronger and is now better for it as players and as brothers.

After taking their share of lumps early in their careers, they are now leading an experienced Ball State team that was on the cusp of a major breakthrough last fall and is eager for more now that the 2020 season is set to kick off.

"Losing is always going to either bring you closer together or pull you apart," now-senior receiver Justin Hall said. "We definitely went through our ups and downs, but I feel like the guys that are still here and have really grinded it out, we have a chip on our shoulder. We have something to prove this season, and however many games they give us, we're just going to take advantage of it."

Flash back to 2017. The Cardinals opened the year with 38 true freshmen on the roster. Sixteen combined true and redshirt freshman saw action in that year's season opener at Illinois, a game the Cardinals nearly won.

The redshirt freshmen who played that year, having signed with Ball State less than a month after Mike Neu was hired as head coach, included the likes of Brandon Martin, Jaylin Thomas, Kaleb Slaven, Drew Plitt, Cody Rudy and James Jennette III.

Then there were the true freshmen who composed Neu's first full recruiting class, players like Christian Albright, Brett Anderson II, Curtis Blackwell, Bryce Cosby, Joseph Greenwood, Justin Hall, Caleb Huntley, Hassan Littles, Antonio Phillips and Nathan Snyder.

The talent level was clear, as the freshmen on that 2017 team experienced varying levels of individual success. Hall was a freshman All-American who led the team in receiving. Huntley became only the second Ball State rookie to top 1,000 yards rushing. Cosby started all 12 games at safety.

But not every game went as well as the near-win in Champaign. As a general rule, college football teams playing high numbers of freshmen tend to struggle. It typically takes time to develop their bodies and their minds to compete at this higher level of football. Ball State went 2-10 and finished winless in the MAC.

**Justin Hall, shown at Illinois in his first career game, was a Freshman All-American in 2017.**

Players like Plitt and Blackwell were thrust into the lineup because of injuries. Plitt began the year as the fourth-string quarterback but wound up starting three games. For Blackwell, the game that still stands out was the visit to Western Michigan. Lining up at right guard for just his second start that night in Kalamazoo, he found himself matched up against a big, experienced defensive front.

"We're going against probably one of the best D-lines I've played against in my career here," Blackwell said. "I walk in and their arms are all ripped up, and I'm like, 'oh man, this is what college football is.' Obviously, that game didn't go how we wanted it to. There were a lot of plays I messed up on. I just remember sitting down after that game. You really had to look yourself in the eyes and say, 'man, I have to fight through this because there's going to be a brighter day coming down the road when I'm going to be that upperclassman going against these guys.'"

Ball State lost that game 55-3. But just one year later when Western Michigan visited Muncie, the group of then-sophomores, beaten up in the previous matchup, helped the Cardinals to one of the signature wins so far in the Neu era, a 42-41 overtime victory.

While it may have seemed like it at the time, all was not lost in that 2017 season. The freshmen forced into so much action now had a year's worth of experience under their belts. They were more prepared for the rest of their careers. And they were laying the foundation for Ball State's program today, a team that was eight points away from the MAC Championship game last fall and has a clear goal in mind to get there this year.

"Looking back on it, it was one of the best things to ever happen to me because now when I go into a game, I can honestly say there's probably nothing I haven't seen in some type of variant, whether it's a game situation, close games, we're up, we're down," Cosby said. "Just the experience itself has definitely catapulted me into a mature player now that I'm going into year four. I'm thankful for it, and I know all the seniors in my class are thankful for it.

"I feel like for all of us, we all had to just sort of chalk up our mistakes, take it on the chin and use it as a learning experience. It's a credit to our coaching staff because they kept giving us opportunities even in times where we might have made the same mistake over and over. But they kept their confidence in us, and it rubbed off on us."

**Bryce Cosby, who started all 12 games as a true freshman safety in 2017, created a rallying cry for this year's team.**

Now Ball State has a veteran team and is ready to see even more fruit from its labor. The Cardinals were the top yardage and scoring team in the MAC on offense last year and the league's top team in takeaways on defense. They were right in the hunt for a MAC West Division title until a string of losses down the stretch in games decided in the final minutes.

This year's opening depth chart projects 19 upperclassmen in the starting lineup. Other seniors, like center Anthony Todd and tight end Dylan Koch, have emerged as starters. And the Cardinals have added even more experienced players over the years via the transfer route, guys like Antwan Davis and Isaac James-Gray, and new graduate transfers for 2020 in Chris Agyemang, Anthony Ekpe and J.T. Wahee.

This senior-laden team is not shy about its intended destination. You can see it on the wristbands and t-shirts they wear and hear it in the way they break their huddles in the weight room: "DOB." That's Detroit or Bust.

It was Cosby's creation, and the whole team eagerly adopted it. He couldn't even watch last year's MAC Championship game, believing the Cardinals could have, maybe should have been playing that night. So the sights are set firmly on reaching this year's game at Ford Field.

And if Ball State is to accomplish that goal, it will be on the backs of a senior class that is tougher and closer because of all it has experienced together.

"Coach Neu always talks about forged by fire," Blackwell said. "We had to go through some tough days in 2017 and even 2018, playing so many young guys. But last year and even more this year, you can see the fruit from those hard times.

"I think it made our bond so much stronger, just knowing what we've come through and what we want to get accomplished and the potential we have to get it accomplished. I think the bond is unbreakable between this group of guys."

Forged by Fire, Tight-Knit Senior Class Drives 2020 BSU Football Team

Players Mentioned

Chris Agyemang

Christian Albright

Brett Anderson II

Curtis Blackwell

Bryce Cosby

Antwan Davis

Anthony Ekpe

Joseph Greenwood

Justin Hall

Caleb Huntley

Isaac James-Gray

James Jennette III

Dylan Koch

Hassan Littles

Brandon Martin

Antonio Phillips

Drew Plitt

Cody Rudy

Kaleb Slaven

Nathan Snyder

Jaylin Thomas

Anthony Todd

J.T. Wahee

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