PART I OF A POSITION-BY-POSITION SERIES:
The quarterbacks
CONWAY, Ark. _ If there is one thing that is certain in college football in the state of Arkansas, it is a University of Central Arkansas football team coached by Nathan Brown There will never be a shortage of good quarterback play.
The 2024 edition of the Bears, the seventh season with Brown as head coach, is no exception.
UCA brings back two-year starter Will McElvain (Des Moines, Iowa), a unanimous All-United Athletic Conference (UAC) selection, threw for 2,477 yards and 24 touchdowns with just five interceptions last season, his second at UCA after transferring from Northern Iowa ahead of the 2022 season. In his career, McElvain has thrown for 9,022 yards, including 5,029 at UCA over the past two seasons.
“Our offensive is ticking with Will McElvainsaid Brown, UCA’s all-time leading passer and a member of the UCA Sports Hall of Fame. “He’s in his third year in our program now and you’ve seen him take a step forward from year 1 to year 2. He’s really taken a leap in terms of decision-making and playmaking. And he did that in 2023 with a sore foot. He played the second half of the year with a lame foot and was still so successful.
“His performance and efficiency last year is what made him stand out. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best we’ve had here in years. I certainly hope that continues in 2024 because if that happens, I think we’ll have a chance to win every Saturday.”
Brown said he and Offensive Coordinator Ken Collumsalso a former record-breaking UCA quarterback and Hall of Famer, rely primarily on McElvain’s intangibles.
“I think he’s one of the better leaders I know,” Brown said. “He takes a lot of offensive players and works on the side, puts in extra work and puts in the work that it takes to play the quarterback position at a high level. He does all of that as well as anyone in football at our level, in my opinion.”
“Football is a quarterback sport. If you don’t have the guy behind center who can get you over the limit, you’re probably going to struggle. So having Will back for year three is obviously a blessing. I think the expectations for him are an All-Conference and All-American level season, and I think he’s looking forward to that.”
Brown rushed for school records of 10,558 yards and 100 touchdowns at UCA from 2005 to 2008. McElvain could easily break the 11,000-yard mark in his entire career.
“When you think about his accomplishments throughout his career at Northern Iowa and here at UCA…when it’s all said and done, his career will go down as one of the best NCAA FCS quarterbacks. If he just averages the numbers from his first two years here, that’s a 12,000-yard passer or exactly that. And that’s an amazing accomplishment and something he can definitely be proud of at the end.
“But I also think Will will tell you that wins and losses are important to him. Obviously we’ve gotten better at that from year 1 to year 2. And now our clear goal is to go one step further.”
McElvain was invited in June to serve as an instructor at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy, an honor that could pay dividends for both McElvain and the Bears.
“That was huge. What an honor for Will,” Brown said. “First of all, to be invited. This is an invitation-only academy. Of course, the Manning name, probably the best name in the quarterback world in the history of football. It shows that you’ve had a good career and that they recognize that you have enough potential, that they see enough in you to come and represent them and tutor outstanding high school kids who paid themselves money to improve that week.
“And he probably grew from that experience as much as anything else. I think he took some of the lessons from the sessions and practices that they do. And then talking to two, and you can count Archie in there, so three of the greatest quarterbacks alive. What a great deal. And then the chance to compete with some of the best in the country, some of the top talent at the college level. The Power 4 quarterbacks, it was a who’s who list of quarterbacks there. They had the best of the best.
“And it was also a chance to showcase our logo. That’s a big deal with the national attention you get at an academy like this, that has the prestige that the Manning Passing Academy has.”
Aside from McElevain, the rest of the quarterback room is impressive, Brown said.
“I’m excited about the quarterback position. We’ve done a good job of recruiting high school talent,” he said. “Will is a unique recruit because we brought him in as a transfer, which we haven’t done with quarterbacks in the past. But behind him is a group of high school guys that we recruited right out of their prep careers.”
“I find Austin Myers (Vilonia, Ark.) has put himself in a position to be a starting quarterback. I think if it wasn’t for Will, we would feel great Austin Myers at Arkansas State on August 31st. I think he’s put in a lot of work, I think he has the respect of his teammates, he has some physical attributes that not all quarterbacks are blessed with.
“He’s big, he’s physical, he’s more athletic than a lot of people probably give him credit for. And he really has a feel for what Coach Collums and our offense is trying to accomplish every day. He’s really dug into the playbook, he’s going into his third year. We would have felt great last year if he got reps, but now fast forward another year and he’s even more advanced, more solid in the playbook, more solid in decision making.
“I know that in the world we are in right now, you don’t often talk much about the future of the quarterback because it’s a revolving door. But Austin Myers is a UCA Bear. He grew up as a UCA Bear, a Faulkner County guy from around here, I think that means more to him. He’s just one that you root for. He’s one that you want to see succeed. He’s one that you hope success comes to when he gets a chance and an opportunity to take the reins because he’s such a good kid and he’s put in his time and he’s set himself up to be successful at UCA.”
Brown said the next two on the list should continue this run of talent at the position.
“We are delighted with the two young newcomers we have brought in, Jack Patterson (Marion, Ark. and Eric McGhee (Little Rock, Arkansas),” Brown said. “They’re both incredibly talented and completely different quarterbacks. Eric is one of the more athletic quarterbacks we’ve brought into our program. He’s a two-time state champion at Little Rock Parkview. I think he’s maybe had a downfall as a starter in his prep career.
“He is simply a winner. He helped build the Parkview program into a powerhouse and what it is today, one of the leading programs in the state of Arkansas. A lot of credit goes to Eric McGhee. To keep an in-state product like him, with his potential and talent – perhaps one of the most electrifying players I’ve recruited – is exciting.”
Patterson comes to UCA after a standout career in Mississippi.
“Jack Patterson is a young man we brought in from North Point Christian High School, a private school in northern Mississippi. He’s actually originally from Marion, Arkansas. His career as a prep player speaks for itself. He’s a guy who was player of the year in his league, an all-state player from a private school. Just a smart, intelligent kid, a big kid. And much like Austin, he surprises you with his athletic ability, but can really make all the shots.”
When a Hall of Fame quarterback like Brown is excited about the quarterback department, it’s usually a good sign for the Bears.
“Those are the four guys we’re excited about,” he said. “We think we have a really good quarterback room. That’s a position that I personally hold, as someone who’s coached quarterbacks, as someone who’s been a coordinator, as someone who’s played that position. Hopefully we’ll always have a lot of talent and a lot of depth in that room. I think we’re really well-positioned in that room right now.
“Especially when you look around the country and look at the depth of our roster. It’s made up of high school guys that we’ve recruited and brought in and developed and hopefully turned into something special since day one.”
Next: Running backs
