2026 MAC Football Preseason Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas

The 2025 edition of the Central Michigan Chippewas came in with a plan: punch people in the mouth in the run game and play fundamental defense.

CMU checked off both the boxes by season's end, qualifying for a bowl game for the first time in four years and ending up one game short of a potential trip to Detroit for the MAC Championship– all a year removed from a nightmare 4-8 season which saw injuries ravage their potential.

The offense established itself to the tune of a top-five unit in the MAC in both rushing yards and touchdowns, while also sitting 21st in the NCAA in time of possession (32:03 per game on average.) The defense improved their numbers too, going from five total turnovers in 2024 to 21 in 2025– quadrupling the prior season's production– while settling into respectability elsewhere, falling no lower than 93rd in any major statistical category.

But that was then, and this is now.

CMU brings back only five starters on offense (three of which are on the offensive line) and two full-time starters on defense in 2026, and lost some expected contributors to season-ending injuries during camps.

As Drinkall and his staff continue to try and lay the groundwork for a team that can compete for the MAC title in the near future, they'll have to quickly address short-term problems in order to ensure their vision can come to fruition.

What’s New?

Staff-wise, there's been some minor changes from last season, as the Chippewas welcomed new running backs coach Charles Walker, added two strength-and-conditioning assistants and two co-senior football analysts in early August.

Walker arrives in Mt. Pleasant after a six-year stint as an assistant at Penn State, most recently as an assistant running backs coach under James Franklin from 2022-25. Walker also has experience as an offensive assistant in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and with his alma mater UMass, where he spent four seasons as a defensive assistant (2014-15, 2017), recruiting coordinator (2015-17) and special teams coordinator (2018).

As for the roster, Central experienced a major leadership loss on the defensive side of the ball in the offseason. This was not unexpected, considering CMU's defense was one of the most senior-laden in the MAC in 2025, but still a major blow nonetheless.

CMU brought in experienced transfers at the linebacker and defensive back spots to try and seal up the experience vacuum (and might be in a position to take advantage of the Wisne ruling regarding fifth-year players), but on the whole, that side of the ball will see a youth movement that will ultimately take time to really know if it is working as intended.

The offense is in a better spot– though still largely dependent on development of their depth pieces. Five offensive linemen who collected starts in 2025 return, as do three quarterbacks with significant game experience. The halfback room sees their top three rushers depart, but the staff has prepared for this by signing two productive senior transfers to compliment an intriguing on-roster option.

Head coach Matt Drinkall stated at CMU's Media Day one of his main aims for 2026 will be to unify the offensive philosophy, clarifying CMU ran certain looks under certain quarterbacks due to their analytics in 2025 and have since worked on getting every quarterback to run the same system.

Drinkall also noted his desire to return to the pistol and shotgun looks within the offense and rely less on the under-center looks they employed in 2025 now that the team has had a year to work. That seems to be a confirmation the team will run more power spread concepts like Drinkall worked with in his previous stops, as opposed to the more traditional pro-style offense they ran last season.

Offense

• Key arrivals: HBs Vaughn Blue (Liberty), Jayden Clerveaux (Holy Cross) and Tre Evans (true freshman); TE Jaden Allen (Fordham), OC Losini Maka (Georgetown)
• Key departures: QB Joe Labas (graduation), HBs Nahree Biggins Jr. (graduation) and Trey Cornist (UConn), TE Decorian “DC” Temple (Oregon State), IOLs Ryan Blum (Fordham) and Apisa Poumele (Coastal Carolina)
• Key incumbents: QBs Angel Flores, Marcus Beamon and Jadyn Glasser; OLs John Iannuzzi (returning from injury), Jacob Booth, Dasan Smith, Brady Ploucha, Jacob Russell and Martin Koivisto; WR Langston Lewis, HB Brock Townsend

Head coach Matt Drinkall promised to run the ball going into the 2025 campaign, and boy did he!

The Chippewas were one of the heaviest non-academy running offenses in the country last season, with over 70 percent of their snaps ending in a run play. On the year, CMU's power spread look accumulated 163.5 yards per game (60th in the NCAA) and 17 rushing touchdowns, with a choke-the-ball approach meant to limit opposing touches.

In all, 15 players notched at least one carry in a game for the Chippewas in 2025, with three players (Angel Flores, Nahree Biggins and Trey Cornist) logging triple-digit carries and an additional four players logging double-digit totes.

Dual-threat back Brock Townsend (82 carries, 418 yards, four touchdowns; 13 receptions, 145 yards, four TDs in 2025) is the leading returnee in the backfield with the departures of Biggins and Cornist. To supplement the depth, Drinkall brought in two senior backs from the transfer portal in Vaughn Blue and Jayden Clearveaux.

Blue was a trusted change-of-pace back at Liberty in Jamie Chadwell's power spread offense, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Clerveaux, a former team captain at Holy Cross, is a two-time all-Patriot League back who picked up 367 carries for 1,735 yards and 16 touchdowns over his time with the Crusaders.

Regardless of who carries the ball, the offensive line might be the best in the Mid-American Conference. The Chippewas bring back four of their starting offensive linemen, who combine 64 starts from 2025. That's continuity rarely seen at this level of football– though they'll have to find a replacement at center in camps, as both of their centers from last season transferred out.

The elephant in the room is the passing game. The Chippewas rotated between four quarterbacks by design in 2025 and look headed to do so once again in 2026, with Drinkall confirming his plans to rotate at the position– at least through the first week of the season against New Mexico– at CMU Media Day earlier this week.

"You don't want to rule out anything," Drinkall said. "If it helps you win, you just do it."

The "primary" quarterback position will be open for battle, with last season's backup Angel Flores (722 total yards, 10 total touchdowns) the likely favorite entering fall camps. Jadyn Glasser, a McElwain-era holdover, was QB3 to start 2025, but does have starting experience dating back to 2024. He's coming off an injury suffered early in 2025, but has NFL-ready size at six-foot-three, 245 lbs. and exhibited the best arm of the on-roster QBs when in action. Marcus Beamon (122 total yards, one TD) emerged as a short-yardage option last season and will have a shot at the starting role as well.

The passcatchers are, much like last year, a true mystery. 2025 third-team all-MAC receiver Langston Lewis was a pleasant surprise, leading the Chippewas in receptions (43) and receiving yards (596), while also getting three touchdowns, earning third-team all-MAC honors. However, Lewis is also about the only player with starting experience coming back. Tommy McIntosh, who was meant to be opposite Lewis as the big field-stretcher, tore his ACL in spring camps and will out for the season.

Tight end is even worse off, with DC Temple and Henry Dryden both departing the program. Jaden Allen, formerly of Fordham, has the most experience after transferring in this offseason, hauling in 34 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns over five years.

What will define the upcoming season is if depth contributors will step up to fill the gaps in the passing game and give CMU at the least the appearance of a threat through the air. If they can manage that and compliment what should be once again their run-heavy philosophy, the Chips could make some noise.

Defense

• Key arrivals: EDGEs Hunter Zirkle (University of the Cumberlands) and James Reinbold (Cornell); NT Max Van Fleet (Cornell), CBs Donovan Philord (Campbell) and Darrell Bryant (Northern Colorado); SAF Justin Taylor (Wyoming)
• Key departures: EDGE Michael Heldman (NFL), LB Jordan Kwiatkowski (graduation), Dakota Cochran and Fernando Sanchez (graduation), DBs Brenden Deasfernandes (graduation) and Kalen Carroll (TCU), SAFs Elijah Gordon, Caleb Spann and Maddix Blackwell (all graduation)
• Key incumbents: EDGE Korver Denma, LBs Xavier White and Victor Earl; CB Jaion Jackson

A near-clean sweep of the defense was expected after 2025's senior-laden lineup, but this new-look Chippewa D is young even by MAC standards, and scrubbed clean beyond recognition to boot.

Gone are the team's top six tacklers and nine of the top 10 from the 2025 season; only two full-time starters return from last year's roster, which means a lot of new faces in new places.

Korver Demma was a nice addition to the squad in 2025 along the edge after transferring in from the JUCO ranks, starting 13 games with 27 tacles, 3.5 sacks and five tackles-forloss. He'll be the most experienced returner along the line. There will be a battle opposite him; true sophomore JJ Douglas (23 tackles, two sacks) returns, while NAIA All-American Hunter Zirkle (50 tackles, 10 sacks) and Cornell up-transfer James Reinbold (74 tackles, five sacks, three TFLs in 18 starts) all look to key in.

The interior is much the same, with Cornell transfer Max Van Fleet (32 tackles, two sacks in '25) battling incumbent Quavion Bird for the starting role. Joey VanWetzinga, who featured in the rotation last season, will be out for the year due to an injury. Nose tackle is also a question mark; it's a position so bereft of experience (DJ Bennett has four starts), former center Dominque Maiava, who missed the last seven games of 2025 due to injury, switches over to defense to help fill the gaps. Junior Jaxson Cherry is also expected to compete.

Central won't be as bereft of experience at linebacker, but it's still going to take some time to see what it's meant to look like. Xavier White (31 tackles in two seasons) and Victor Earl (15 tackles, 1.5 sacks in 2025) project to be starters due to their game experience.

The staff also seems to be very high on true freshman outside backer Drew Esper, of Traverse City, Michigan. A two-time first-team all-state selection with accolades from the Detroit Free Press and Associated Press, Esper was Michigan's leading tackler in 2025, averaging 13 stops per game with the Titans. He enrolled early to the program, and could find himself on the field quickly.

The defensive backfield will be leaned upon early to perform as the front seven figures itself out.

Cornerback Jaion Jackson leads the room, with 22 starts on his belt as a true junior prospect. He currently sits at 86 tackles (51 solo), including 6.5 TFLs, two sacks, 11 pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a recovery over his career and was CMU's fifth-leading tackler in '25.

Joining Jackson will be a pair of transfers, including redshirt sophomore Donovan Philord (33 tackles, two INTs, at Campbell in '25) and junior Matthew McKenzie (33 tackles, three PBUs at Bethune-Cookman in '25).

Safeties turn over from last year after CMU's top three all graduated in the offseason. The Chippewas leaned on using three in most formations last season, so it will be interesting to see if that continues in 2026.

Darrell Bryant arrives from Northern Colorado, where he brings starting experience (11 games in '25) and decent production (75 tackles and three PBUs). The other safety spot looks to be up for a fight, with Wyoming transfer Justin Taylor expected to compete against on-roster options, including Tysen Campbell, Ed Conoran and Kyle Krebs.

It's going to be a tough job for Sean Cronin to get his boys operating on the same wavelength. There's a lot of potential here due to the sheer amount of youth rostered, but there's also a lot of mystery. If the front seven can develop quickly, it could be fine– but a downturn from last year's top-half unit should be expected.

Special Teams

• Key arrivals: LS Zach Curtis
• Key departures: LS Ben Pratt, PK Cade Graham, RETs Caleb Spann and Nahree Biggins
• Key incumbents: PK Caden VanHuis, PUNT/PK Zac Chapeau, PUNT Declan Duley

Central's special teams were nothing to write home about in 2025, and now look at a bit of a reset.

They'll be down their starting placekicker Cade Graham (14-of-17 field goals) and long snapper Ben Pratt going into this season.

True freshman Zach Curtis arrives and should take over snapping duties. He's a legacy recruit, with brother Grayson (now at Arizona State) formerly rostered.

Caden VanHuis redshirted in 2025, and is primed to take over the placekicking position for 2026. There could be a minor battle with true freshman Braxton Doak in camp– though Doak could be more in line for the kickoff specialist role.

Declan Duley returns after starting all 13 games at punter last year, and is the favorite to start there again. Zac Chapeau will likely back up at both kicking roles.

Returner duties are up for grabs. Caleb Spann and Nahree Biggins both departed in the offseason and were fairly average to boot. Reciever Justin Ruffin averaged 22.6 yards on three kickoffs last year and could be in line for those duties in 2026.

Outlook

The CMU team who played under Matt Drinkall in 2025 was a feisty unit who overcame their imperfections with sheer can-do attitude, and it paid dividends, as they qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2021.

It was not a perfect campaign by any stretch of the imagination; CMU played on the razor's edge in several games last season, and took nasty losses to Akron and Western Michigan which prevented them from playing for the title game near season's end.

However, despite the clear flaws on paper, there is a lot of optimism on the coaching staff this unit can make a run to Detroit.

If they do manage the feat, it will be thanks to their power spread run game, which features the most experienced offensive line in the MAC to go with as many as seven different runners to gameplan for. If Drinkall is able to establish the offense he wants to run with this crew, it'll be hard to come across a unit better equipped to choke the time of possession.

We won't know much about the defense until we actually see it in a game, but CMU's approach to 2025 was stout, and should establish a firm base of expectations for the youngsters who now sit in the starting roles to stand upon.

The schedule looks pretty feasible for a postseason appearance. CMU plays a winnable game against New Mexico on the road to start the year, then draws a clearly-rebuilding Wyoming at home in non-conference. In the conference slate, CMU also avoids Toledo outright and get tough contests against conference favorites Western and Miami at home.

Considering how close to glory CMU was in 2025, the expectation in Mt. Pleasant is that 2026 should at least be equal in performance. They'll certainly be in bowl contention, and could be in the MAC title race deep in the season if they get past a tough October slate.

Schedule

All dates and times are current as of publication. An asterisk (*) denotes a conference game.