MAC Football News & Notes: Eastern Michigan QB Preston Hutchinson enters the transfer portal
MAC Football News & Notes: Eastern Michigan QB Preston Hutchinson enters the transfer portal
This year's MAC Freshman of the Year leaves Northern Illinois, Akron gets busy finding transfers to jump-start the Joe Moorhead era.
Transfer Portal Update
EMU: QB Preston Hutchinson out
Eastern Michigan quarterback Preston Hutchinson entered his name to the transfer portal Tuesday. Hutchinson, with one year of eligibility remaining, was a 2017 signee for the Eagles as a two-star recruit out of William Mason HS (Mason, Ohio). Hutchinson rode his time out on the bench, was the team’s offensive scout player of the year in 2017, and finally got the starting QB job in the pandemic-laden 2020 season.
In 2019, the then-backup Hutchinson made a surprise start over an injured Mike Glass in a weeknight home game against Western Michigan, and helped the Eagles rally to a 37-34 victory. In the game, Hutchinson was 31/36 passing (86.1%) for 357 yards, 3 pass TD and 1 rush TD.
Over his EMU career, Hutchinson is 192/295 passing (65.1%), for 2,340 yards (7.9 Y/A), 16 TD, 9 INT, rushed for 249 yards on 134 attempts, and 11 rush TD. In 2020, Hutchinson’s 8 rush TD was second-most by a MAC player that season.
NIU: MAC Freshman of the Year Ducker out
Jevyon “Jay” Ducker wasn’t Northern Illinois’ starting running back coming into the year, but by the end of it he was a big reason why the Huskies became Mid-American Conference champions.
That, and Ducker earned MAC Freshman of the Year accolades for the way he filled in for an injured starter. Ducker, in his second year with NIU, played in all 12 games, ran for 1,184 yards on 218 att., and scored 3 TD.
This is the second time in recent years where NIU failed to keep a MAC Freshman of the Year Award winner through their graduations. QB Marcus Childers, who won the award in 2017, left the program during the head coaching change. Now, Ducker leaves NIU after just two seasons with the program.
NIU’s got a loaded running back room, especially with Harrison Waylee set to return as the team’s starter next season, and Antario Brown’s been getting some attention this year too. Regardless of how good NIU’s running back room is, Ducker wants to be part of something more now that he’s already accomplished a MAC championship at his first school.
Akron: WR Konata Mumpfield MAC’s most popular name
Akron’s stud freshman receiver might’ve been the true snub from the MAC Freshman of the Year Award this past season. In his true freshman season with the Zips, Mumpfield hauled in 63 catches for 751 yards (11.9 avg.) and scored 8 times. Mumpfield entered the portal at the beginning of the month, and his list of offers is nothing short of impressive thus far: Georgia Tech, Houston, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Pitt, UCF, USC, Utah and Vanderbilt.
Mumpfield’s clearly destined for more at a higher level of football, and a coaching change after his true freshman season isn’t a bad time to start looking for a new home.
Akron: Up to five transfers for Moorhead
Akron didn’t sign anybody on Early Signing Day because of the timing of the new coaching hire of Joe Moorhead. The good news is that Early Signing Day isn’t a true deadline for football programs to live and die by, so the new head coach has spent time getting, what looks like, pretty promising transfers to come in. The 2022 signing class is five commits big so far, all of them transfers — one from the junior college ranks.
DT, Curtis Harper (from Syracuse) — Committed to Akron Dec. 21. Harper’s a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining.
S, Kerry Martin Jr. (from West Virginia) — Committed to Akron Dec. 20. At West Virginia, Martin played in 12 games as a true freshman in 2019 (4 starts, 50 tackles), and was a Pro Football Focus All-Freshman Third Team honoree that year. Martin sat out the 2020 season, and only appeared in five games in 2021 (3 tackles, 1 TFL). Martin has three years of eligibility.
DT, Devon Robinson (from Memphis) — Committed to Akron Dec. 13. Robinson started out his collegiate career at Mississippi State when Joe Moorhead was still the coach of the program. For the 2021 season, Robinson transferred to Memphis (his hometown) and joined the team as a walk-on. He joins Akron with two years of eligibility remaining.
CB, Cam Threatt (from Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.) — Committed to Akron Dec. 16. Threatt, a Mississippi native, signed with Mississippi State in 2020, then transferred out in June 2021. Threatt has three years of eligibility remaining.
RB, Cameron Wiley (from Minnesota) — Committed to Akron Dec. 16. Wiley has three years of eligibility remaining. Wiley’s career stats: 12 games, 46 rush att., 215 yards, 1 TD.
