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Belt Loops: Position battles heat up across the MAC

CMU and UMass each have a position battle a brewin in camp this fall and the Zips might have a fearsome new defensive weapon in our MAC news roundup.

By Bryan M. Vance

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Cody Kater appears to be the front runner in CMU's QB battle, but not by much.
Cody Kater appears to be the front runner in CMU's QB battle, but not by much.
Mike Carter-US PRESSWIRE

Belt Loops is our roundup of Mid-American Conference news from around the wonderful world wide web.

φ There's a quarterback battle brewing in Mount Pleasant, Mich. — After three years with Ryan Radcliff under center, the Chippewas find themselves looking for a new quarterback. Cody Kater, a junior with four attempts in his career is the presumed starter heading into camp, but it appears he has some competition. Redshirt sophomore Alex Niznak (awesome name, right?) and freshman Cooper Rush are right in the thick of it according to Chips' head coach Dan Enos. Considering Kater's very limited game time, it would appear all three are on equal footing right now.

φ The Minutemen have a position battle of their own going on — ...at running back. With last year's leading rusher, Michael Cox, in the NFL, the Minutemen are looking for a new feature back. They've opened up a five-man position battle, headed up by the team's No. 2 rusher from a season ago, Jordan Broadnax (138 yards in 2012). A pair of highly touted freshman are also in the mix, and considering Charley Molnar's propensity to play freshman, we could very well wind up seeing a brand new face lining up behind Mike Wegzyn. Considering the Minutemen finished near the bottom of the FBS in rushing last season, Molnar should take his time making a decision.

φ The Zips defensive line could see a huge boost this fall — Florida State transfer Moses McCray, a dominating interior defensive lineman plagued by injuries, hasn't played in two years. A highly talented player, McCray has been battling injuries his entire collegiate career. But at 6-foot-2, 318 pounds, if fully healthy he could provide the Zips with a secret weapon on a defensive line full of question marks.

φ Jordan Lynch finished seventh in the Heisman voting last season — ...and with a Heisman campaign well underway, was named as one of USA Today's early contenders for the award. After a season that saw Lynch set a new record for rushing by a quarterback, while also adding 3,138 yards and 25 touchdowns through the air, it's hard not to include Lynch in a list of pre-season contenders. But still, the NIU quarterback faces an uphill battle. The highest a MAC player has ever finished in the voting is No. 4, and that was Randy Moss.

φ Tyler Tettleton's dog might be the cutest thing in the entire MAC —

φ Jahwan Edwards has a decent start to a beard going on, a few more months and he could look like Ricky Williams, circa 2011 —

Send any news tips or neat tweets to @HustleBelt or FanShot them. You're also welcome to write a FanPost if you have a cool opinion on something that affects the MAC.

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