From UCA Sports Information

CONWAY, Ark. — If there is one thing for certain in college football in the state of Arkansas, a University of Central Arkansas football team coached by Nathan Brown will never lack for quality quarterback play.

The 2024 edition of the Bears, the seventh season with Brown as head coach, is no exception.

UCA returns two-year starter Will McElvain (Des Moines, Iowa), a unanimous preseason All-United Athletic Conference (UAC) selection who threw for 2,477 yards and 24 touchdowns with just five interceptions last season, his second at UCA after transferring from Northern Iowa prior to the 2022 season. For his career, McElvain has passed for 9,022 yards, with 5,029 coming at UCA in the past two seasons.

“Our offense ticks with Will McElvain,” said Brown, the all-time leading passer at UCA and a member of the UCA Sports Hall of Fame. “He’s going on his third year starting in our program and you saw him take a step from Year 1 to Year 2. He really made a leap in some of the decision making, playmaking ability. And he was doing that in 2023 with a sore foot. He played the back half of the year with a bum foot and still had that kind of success.

“His production and his efficiency last year was what separated him. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best we’ve had here in years. I certainly hope that that continues in 2024, because if it does, I feel like that’s going to give us a chance to win every Saturday.”

Brown said he and offensive coordinator Ken Collums, also a former record-setting UCA quarterback and Hall of Famer, depend on McElvain’s intangibles as much as anything.

“I think he’s one of the better leaders I’ve been around,” said Brown. “Taking a lot of the offensive players and working on the side, doing extra, putting the work in that it requires to play the position of quarterback at a high level. He’s doing all that, in my opinion, as well as anyone in football at our level.

“Football is a quarterback sport. If you don’t have the guy behind center that can push you over the limit, then you’re probably going to struggle. So it’s obviously a blessing to have Will back for Year 3. I think the expectation level for him is an all-conference, all-American caliber season, and I think he’s excited for that.”

Brown threw for school records of 10,558 yards and 100 touchdowns at UCA from 2005-08. McElvain could easily top the 11,000-yard mark for his entire career.

“When you think about his production over his career at Northern Iowa and here at UCA… when it’s all said and done, his will go down as one of the best NCAA FCS careers that a quarterback has had. You’re talking if he just averages the numbers he’s had his first two years here, you’re talking about a 12,000-yard passer, or right at it. And that’s an amazing feat and something that he can definitely be proud of when it’s all said and done.

“But I also think Will will tell you, he cares about the wins and losses. Obviously from Year 1 to Year 2, we got better at that. And now our obvious goal is to take it a step further.”

McElvain was invited to be an instructor at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy in June, an honor that could pay dividends for both McElvain and the Bears.

“That was huge. What an honor for Will,” said Brown. “One, to get invited. That’s a personal-invite academy. Obviously the Manning name, probably the top name in the quarterback world in the history of football. It shows that you’ve put together a good enough career and 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 their way to get better that week.

“And he probably grew himself as much from the experience as any thing. I think he took some things from some of the board sessions they do, some of the drills they do. And then just the conversations with two, and you can include Archie in that, so three of the greatest living quarterbacks. What a cool deal. And then a chance to match yourself up 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 represent our logo. That’s a big deal with the national exposure that you gain at an academy like that, that has the prestige that the Manning Passing Academy has.”

Beyond McElevain, Brown said the remainder of the quarterback room is impressive.

“Excited about the quarterback position. We’ve done a good job recruiting high school talent,” he said. “Will is a unique recruit, because we brought him in as a transfer, and we haven’t done that historically at quarterback. But behind him is a group of high school guys that we recruited right out of their prep careers.

UCA quarterback Austin Myers (Ted McClenning / AllBears+ Images)

“I think Austin Myers (Vilonia) has set himself up to be in position to be a starting caliber quarterback. I think it it wasn’t for Will, we would feel great about Austin Myers going under center Aug. 31 at Arkansas State. I think he’s put the work in, I think he’s got the respect of his teammates, he’s got some physical traits that not all quarterbacks are blessed with.

“He’s long, he’s physical, he’s more athletic than a lot people will probably give him credit for. And he really has a grasp for what Coach Collums and our offense is trying to accomplish every single day. He’s really immersed himself in the playbook, he’s going into Year 3. We would have felt great with him last year getting reps, but now we fast forward another year and he’s even more advanced, more solid in the playbook, more solid with decision making.

“I know a lot of times in the world we’re in right now, you don’t talk about the future at quarterback a lot because it’s such a revolving door. But Austin Myers is a UCA Bear. He grew up being a UCA Bear, a Faulkner County guy from this area, I think it means more to him. He’s just one you root for. He’s one you want to succeed. He’s one that when he does get a chance and an opportunity to take the reins, you hope the success follows because he’s such a good kid and has put his time in and has set himself up to have success at UCA.”

Brown said the next two on the list should continue that run of talent at the position.

UCA quarterback Eric McGehee (Ted McClenning / AllBears+ Images)

“We’re excited about two young freshmen that we brought in, Jack Patterson (Marion and Eric McGehee (Little Rock),” said Brown. “Both unbelievable talents, and totally different quarterbacks. Eric is one of the more athletic quarterbacks we’ve brought in to our program. He’s a two-time state champion at Little Rock Parkview. I believe he has maybe one loss as a starter in his prep career.

“He’s just a winner. He helped turn that Parkview program into a powerhouse and what they are today, one of the premier programs in the state of Arkansas. A lot of credit goes to Eric McGehee. To keep an in-state product like that, with his upside and talent _ maybe one of the most electric arms I’ve recruited _ is exciting.”

UCA quarterback Jack Patterson (Ted McClenning / AllBears+ Images)

Patterson comes to UCA from a stellar prep career in Mississippi.

“Jack Patterson is a young man we brought in from North Point Christian High School, a private school in north Mississippi. He’s actually originally from Marion. His prep career speaks for itself. He is a guy who was player of the year in his conference, was an All-State private school player. Just a smart, cerebral kid, a big kid. And kind of like Austin, he’ll surprise you with his athletic ability, but really can make all the throws.”

When a Hall of Fame quarterback like Brown is excited about the quarterback room, that usually bodes well 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 I take personally, as one that’s coached quarterbacks, one who’s been a coordinator, one who has played the position. So hopefully we’re always going to have a lot of talent and a lot of depth in that room. I feel like we’re in a really good spot in that room right now.

“Especially when you look around the country, and you look at our depth in that room and it’s built with high school guys that we recruited and brought in from Day 1 and developed and hopefully turned them into something special.”