2013 Central Mich Spring Football Analysis

Central Michigan Chippewas 2012 ... Head Coach: Dan Enos

Central Michigan Chippewas

2013 Schedule
8/31 at Michigan
9/7 New Hampshire
9/14 at UNLV
9/21 Toledo
9/28 at NC State
10/5 at Miami Univ.
10/12 at Ohio
10/19 Northern Illinois
10/26 OPEN DATE
11/6 at Ball State
11/9 OPEN DATE
11/16 at Western Michigan
11/23 UMass
11/29 Eastern Michigan

Why To Be Excited ... The Chippewas roared over the back part of the 2012 season winning four of their final five games. While there’s work to be done on offense, and a new starting quarterback has to emerge, Zurlon Tipton is a terrific back to revolve the offense around, while Titus Davis leads a strong group of receivers. The linebacking corps improved as the season went on, and now it welcomes back all three starters along with all the key backups. There are enough good pieces in place to hope for the momentum to continue.

Why To Be Grouchy ... Why did the offense improve so much over the second half of last year? Eric Fisher and the offensive line started to dominate, but he’s gone along with two other starters up front. Losing quarterback Ryan Radcliff will be a step back for the attack, while the defense that didn’t rush the passer last season has to try to improve despite losing Joe Kinville and Caesar Rodriguez on the outside. Making matters worse is the loss of playmaking strong safety Jahleel Addae and corners Anthony Young and Lorenzo White

What Needs Working On ... The defensive front has to make a play behind the line of scrimmage. Losing both starting defensive ends might not be the end of the world considering the Chippewas finished second-to-last in the nation in tackles for loss and couldn’t generate any semblance of a pass rush. The secondary didn’t struggle too much, but it could’ve used some more help. This spring, it’ll be vital to come up with a few new wrinkles and get more creative, and fortunately, the veteran linebackers are in place to utilize more.

Non-Conference Games: at Michigan, New Hampshire, at UNLV, at NC State
Games Against The East: at Miami Univ., Ohio, UMass
Realistic Best Case Record: 6-6
Worst Case Record: 2-10
Likely Finish: 3-9

Pre-Preseason Projected Wins: New Hampshire, UMass, Eastern Michigan

Pre-Preseason Projected Losses: at Michigan, at UNLV, Toledo, at NC State, at Miami Univ., at Ohio, Northern Illinois, at Ball State, at Western Michigan

Schedule Analysis: The Chippewas will have a hard time capitalizing on a strong end to last season with a road game at Michigan to kick things off and dates at UNLV and NC State making it a rough September. Five of the first seven and seven of the first ten games are away from Mount Pleasant, and while getting ten days off to prepare for Western Michigan will be needed, it might not matter. Closing out against UMass and Eastern Michigan at home should help end things on a high note, but they’ll come after a rough overall road.

Team Concerns For 2013: The pass rush has to show up. 100th in the nation in sacks, the front four failed to do nearly enough to bother the quarterback, while there weren't enough tackles for loss to help out a mediocre run defense. The offense was fine, but the ground game needs to be more effective behind a solid offensive line. The punt return game has to improve after averaging a miserable 2.58 yards per try. The punting could stand to be better after netting just 35.6 yards per try.

The 2013 Class Is Heavy On ... Offensive linemen. Getting defensive tackle Michael Steinhauer and safety Josh Cox should help out a defense full of decent prospects. The defensive backfield should turn out to be one of the biggest keys to this class, while linebackers Jeffrey Perry and Joey Ostman will eventually be factors. Mark Chapman leads an excellent haul of receivers, and Darrien Boone is a good looking passer, but the class is most helped by the offensive linemen. Derek Edwards is a terrific guard prospect and tackle Jack Ford and guard J.P. Quinn should eventually be a key part of the puzzle.

2012 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 77. That Class Was Heavy On ... The secondary needs a lot of help. Head coach Dan Enos has struggled in his first few seasons and needs as many options as possible to battle for jobs right away. This is a huge class with a little something for all spots, but safety will be the strongest position and the offensive line will get a big boost. The receiving corps is apparently set with just a few prospects coming in. 

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 90. That Class Was Heavy On ... Tight ends. Apparently, head coach Dan Enos thinks the team needs more options for the offense with four tight ends coming in to go along with Jason Wilson and some nice wide receivers. Ben McCord, Blake Serpa, and Ben Randle are good pickups, but there should be some moving around of positions. The spotlight, though, will be on QB Alex Niznak, a 6-4, 225-pound passer who could get a long, long look right away. Defensive tackle was a target led by 6-1, 300-pound Shafer Johnson.
 
2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 112. That Class Was Heavy On ... The defensive front seven. New head man Dan Enos had roughly ten minutes to work, and it showed with a mediocre class that will need some developing. The one positive area was up front on defense with Kevin Henry a near-certain all star end with the potential to bulk up into a tackle. Caleb Southworth is a nice speed rushing prospect, while linebackers Tyler Lombardo, Andy Phillips, and Nores Fradi will be a big deal in three years.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 75. That Class Was Heavy On ... Running backs. The idea is to get as many good athletes as possible and find positions for them, and the Chippewas have brought in four good backs, led by the small, but speedy, Malek Redd, along with two good receivers in Cody Wilson and Ronny Kennedy who aren’t all that big, but can be used in a variety of ways.