Quote:MUNCIE — Throughout preseason camp, Ball State football coach Pete Lembo laid out a straightforward mantra when asked about the timing on naming his starting quarterback. He wanted to reach the point where there really wasn't much of a decision at all.

Turns out that came in the past few days, with a local thrower taking the position all to himself.

When the team released a fresh depth chart Monday morning, the absence next to Ozzie Mann's name told the tale. Ball State's QB1 was no longer Mann OR Jack Milas, but Mann alone, two weeks before the season gets under way.

Lembo confirmed as much, that the former Delta Eagle will be the Cardinals starter when the team takes the Scheumann Stadium turf Aug. 30 against Colgate. The competition opened as a four-man derby, but Mann slowly took command of the position, through the spring and preseason, before locking it down in recent practices.