The Ball State University football team will be transitioning from a player who was eighth in the 2008 Heisman Trophy balloting to a player who hasn't taken a snap in more than two years.
Kelly Page - one of the three candidates to replace all-conference starting quarterback Nate Davis - is considered by many to be the front-runner for the starting spot.
"I'm not Nate Davis," Page said. "Nate Davis was a special player. Nobody can replace him. We're not rebuilding, we're reloading. There is a whole new group of talented core players."
Page, a redshirt freshman from Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Texas, could potentially take over for Davis who left Ball State after his junior season and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Davis left Ball State as the school's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes.
Page, along with senior Tanner Justice and freshman Aaron Mershman are competing for the starting job at quarterback.
Page said he is focused on who is here as opposed to who isn't. Notable returnees include running back MiQuale Lewis and wide receiver Briggs Orsbon. Page said instead of trying to emulate Davis, he will look to put his own stamp at Ball State.
Page, who passed for almost 3,000 yards during his high school career, turned down scholarship offers from Army, the University of Tulsa and the University of Oregon to come to Muncie and compete for Ball State. He said the Cardinals' family atmosphere was the biggest draw - something other places don't offer.
"At schools like Tulsa and Oregon, it's all about business," Page said. "Sometimes coaches and players don't even speak to each other. But here, you walk in the office and all of the coaches are welcoming to you. It's something I hadn't seen before."
Page, who has played football since the fourth grade, cites Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as his favorite NFL players. Charisma and competitiveness and most importantly humility are what Page said he admires most about Manning and Favre, not statistics.
Page said similar to Favre and Manning, he does not care about individual accolades. Being named to an All-Mid-American Conference team doesn't matter, he said, but winning the MAC Championship Game - something Davis never did -ยก- does matter.
"I could care less if I get an All-MAC selection," said Page. "I'm just gonna go out there and try to win games and if the accolades come, then the accolades come."
Scheumann Stadium had a record attendance last year, and season ticket sales are on track to surpass last year's total of 4,000. That's just the way Page said he likes it. He said he is hopeful that the team's desire to win a MAC Championship will translate into a larger number of fans in the stands.
However, Page said fans should not focus on him, but to concentrate on the team as a whole instead.
"There's no I in team and there's no Kelly Page in team," he said. "If you keep winning games, fans will come. Fans are our backbone, kind of like our 12th man."
Regardless of how many fans fill Scheumann Stadium, Page said he's happy to be at Ball State and is looking forward to the upcoming season.
"Coming to Ball was a blessing for me," he said. "All of us have one common goal, and that's to win games. We're a team here. The team is tight knit and so are the coaches."
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