Keldric Luster chose Ball State out of the portal; now both sides find out if they chose right.
5′10″ · 248 lb · McKinney, TX · McKinney HS
The story
Junior quarterback for Ball State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 256 pass yds, 3 TD, 1 INT, vs Stony Brook
His career numbers, season by seasonHow he plays
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
Interception rate: 40th percentile.
The full scouting readKeldric Luster
Keldric Luster arrives at Ball State with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mike Neu → Mike Uremovich. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Ball State
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ball State | 55 | 86 | 64.0% | 438 | 5.1 | 3 | 2 | 113.6 | 31 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Texas State | 1 | 3 | 33.3% | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 72.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | SMU | 1 | 3 | 33.3% | -- | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 33.3 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | SMU | 2 | 6 | 33.3% | 23 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 | 65.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 59 | 98 | 60.2% | 475 | 4.8 | 3 | 2 | 106.9 | 31 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ball State | 30 | 66 | 2.2 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | Texas State | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | -- |
| 2024 | SMU | 11 | 50 | 4.5 | 0 | -- |
| 2023 | SMU | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 47 | 148 | 3.1 | 0 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-56@ Ohio State | 18/33 | 89 | 0 | 1 | 2.7 | — | |
| Wk 2 | W 41-17vs Stony Brook | 27/32 | 256 | 3 | 1 | 8.0 | 48.4 | Season-high 256 yds |
| Wk 3 | L 15-51@ Liberty | 10/21 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 | 20.0 | |
| Total | 55/86 | 438 | 3 | 2 | 5.0 | 34.2 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 41–17
vs Stony Brook
256 yds · 3 TD · 1 INT · QBR 48.4 · 14 rush yds (11 car)
Dominant 24-point win at home against Stony Brook.
With T. Horton — 125 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD · C. Stumbaugh — 49.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 1 inside the 20
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +93 passing yards.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Concern: success rate (1st percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
4.10117 of 126 QBsSack rate
6.5%95 of 126 QBsSacked on 6.5% of dropbacks (95 of 126) and Adjusted ANY/A trails the field (117 of 126).
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 64.0% completion on 86 attempts · 36% completion on 11 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 69 dropbacks31Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
37.7%5th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -4.3% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
4.611th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -1.0 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
6.1%40th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.3% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (23 of 92 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 256 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Road2g | 91.0 | 0.0 | 3.6 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 146 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Uremovich
Pass share
50.0%
90 pass / 90 run
Plays / game
60.0
3 games
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Play style
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,579 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Mid-American as a junior.
Player DNA
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Phillip Walker’s 2014 season.
Matches Phillip on
Differs from Phillip on
Through 1 college season, his career arc tracks closest to RJ Martinez’s path through Texas State.
Matches RJ on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Johnathan Bennett's senior season at Liberty (2022).
Differs from Johnathan on
The Star Press (Aug. 23, 2026): Keldric Luster named starting quarterback for Ball State football The Star Press (Aug. 19, 2026): Why Keldric Luster could be the next quarterback for Ball State football Ball State All-Access (Aug. 10, 2026): Quarterback Room Preview Luster becomes the second…