Post-portal roster, superlatives: CMU stocks up in 1st full recruiting cycle under Drinkall regime
The Chippewas return 54 players from the 2025 team and add 48 new faces, as the second-year coaching staff makes this roster increasingly theirs, so to speak.
Note: This is the third of five stories digging into the makeup and changes of the rosters of the five FBS teams in Michigan. The publicly posted rosters — if available — are largely accurate but incomplete, and this series will compile from those, signing and transfer class announcements, and other available info to put together a fairly comprehensive breakdown for each team.
Read about Western Michigan here and about Eastern Michigan here. Michigan and Michigan State are set to publish later in the week.
Year 2 of the Matt Drinkall regime is underway at Central Michigan, and the roster is starting to be made in the image that the head coach desires.
Things aren’t going to be drastically different in 2026 from 2025, Drinkall said, but there will be some noticeable differences as the roster starts to align more closely with what the coaching staff hopes to do on the field.
“It'll be a lot a bit new, it'll be awesome,” Drinkall said in an interview with Mitten Football early in February. “Very cool, we're adjusting not quite a bit schematically, but enough that you'll notice a difference in the sense of like what we're going to settle into in this league and be more of a power spread approach. The first year it was kind of just take the air out of it, play clean football and now that we're recruiting to fit a little bit better, we'll evolve.”
All told, Central Michigan brought in 24 new, non-freshmen players on the roster, with seven JUCO signees and 17 transfers to go along with 54 returning players and 24 freshmen.
And with about half the roster churning, things will surely be different in Mt. Pleasant, from a new balance in the quarterback room heading up a slightly new offensive personnel grouping to a defense that's going to look drastically different in terms of personnel.
With spring football fast approaching, here’s a look at who is on the Chippewas now for 2026.
The team
Quarterback (4): Joe Labas graduated and it’ll be some combination of Jadyn Glasser, Angel Flores and Marcus Beamon playing quarterback for the Chippewas come fall. Glasser — who missed most of the 2025 season with a knee injury — is healthy again and jockeying with Flores as the top two in the competition. Beamon will also be a factor, and can benefit a lot from an offseason of Division I nutrition and weight training to bulk up. Daniel Gomez also returns to the QB room.
Running back (9, plus a fullback): Brock Townsend is your leading returning back, and will be supplemented by a pair of transfers: Jayden Clerveaux from Holy Cross and Vaughn Blue from Liberty. The Chippewas also added John Stowers from the JUCO ranks and signed a pair of freshmen, including the intriguing Trav Moore from DeWitt. Rusty VanWetzinga is also rostered as a fullback and will get used regularly.
Wide receiver (14): Pulling Langston Lewis back out of the transfer portal is a big benefit for the Chippewas, who will have a nice 1-2 punch at receiver with Lewis and Tommy McIntosh returning. Justin Ruffin Jr., Nasir Williams and a handful of other returners will compete for reps in the rotation, as will some newcomers. CMU added Dontae Robinson from Sacramento State (prior to them being a MAC foe) and Shawn Foster II from MSU, along with three freshmen.
Tight end (9): With Henry Dryden and Decorion Temple moving on, CMU has to replace most of its tight end receiving production from 2025. Nathan VanTimmeren might be the top returning tight end, and he splits time at defensive end. The other returners are largely young and light on experience, and will be competing with the likes of Gavin Spillers, Jaden Allen and Myles Peters, who all either transferred in or signed from a junior college, in Peters’ case. CMU also signed a pair of freshmen.
Offensive line (19): Central Michigan made some notable additions on the line while bringing back a fair bit of starting production. It should be a solid mix to form a five-man starting unit, anchored by both tackles from 2025 returning, Jacob Russell, who started at left tackle, and Martin Koivisto, his opposite on the right. The interior is a bit more of a mixed bag, but with Brady Ploucha, Dasan Smith, Matthew Nehf and a healthy John Iannuzzi, CMU brings back some starts. Factor in Losini Maka, Nic DiSanto and Trevor Swan transferring in, plus JUCO signee John Williams, and CMU has the pieces of the puzzle. The Chippewas also signed five freshmen.
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Defensive line (12): Korver Demma, Quavion Bird, Joey VanWetzinga, Landon Swanson and JJ Douglas (who has also played tight end) make up the core returners, with some new additions via the portal and junior college supplementing this group. Gabe Zirkle and Max Van Fleet arrived as transfers, and Jaxon Cherry signed from the JUCO level. The Chippewas also signed four freshmen on the defensive line.
Linebacker (10): CMU returns a handful of linebackers who were largely reserves and special teamers so far in their careers, with Jeremiah Alston, Jeremiah McKenzie, Victor Earl and Xavier White all back. Central Michigan signed a pair of junior college linebackers, Antonio Cherry Jr. and Donovan Brown, and added transfer Charlie Smith. And out of three freshman signees at linebacker, Elijah Reynolds is one of the highest-rated prospects that CMU has signed.
Defensive back (21): Jaion Jackson is the lone player returning with starting experience in the secondary. There’s a glut of returning defensive backs with rotational and special teams experience, like Jamari Allen and Keyton Jones, but it’ll be newcomers in 2026 that likely fill out the secondary for CMU. The Chippewas added five transfers: Darrell Bryant Jr., Donavan Philord, Justin Taylor, Matthew McKenzie and Ty Williams. CMU also signed five freshmen to the secondary.
Specialists (3): Central Michigan does not have a listed long snapper, and has three specialists, all returners. Declan Duley is back and in line to be the starting punter again, and there will be competition between Zac Chapeau and Caden VanHuis for the kickoff and placekicking duties.
Superlatives
Top returner: OTs Jacob Russell and/or Martin Koivisto
Perhaps a cheat to make this two players but bringing back a starting tackle pairing is a nice place to start for any offensive line, and gives some more flexibility to try different combinations inside if they’re playing well. And it’s especially the case for a CMU program that wants to play what head coach Matt Drinkall has called a “power spread” offense that offensive line play will be critical.
Honorable mention: DB Jaion Jackson
Top addition: LB Charlie Smith
A transfer from Colorado Mesa, Smith will have a shot to earn big snap shares at a linebacker spot for Sean Cronin’s defense. There is a big void, and Smith is a prime candidate to fill it with Jordan Kwiatkowski and Dakota Cochran exhausting eligibility. The pair of JUCO signees will also likely be factors, too.
HM: DB Darrell Bryant Jr.
Instant impact transfer: RB Jayden Clerveaux
Blue could also earn this title, but one of the two transfer tailbacks seems like a good bet to make a big splash, eating up carries in a No. 2 role (or perhaps as the starter) and adding production at a key spot for the Chippewas. Clerveaux is coming off a strong couple of seasons at Holy Cross in 2024 and 2025, and has the versatility to not just carry the ball put play as a pass catcher out of the backfield.
HM: DL Jaxon Cherry
Up transfer primed to break out: TE Jaden Allen
Much like Clerveaux, this could also be fellow transfer Gavin Spillers or JUCO signee Myles Peters. The long and short is one of the new tight ends that CMU signed from a lower level is highly likely to be a starter or a significant part of the rotation. And with Nathan VanTimmeren more of a blocking, inline tight end than pass catcher, there will be a lot of opportunities for one of the new tight ends to cement themselves as a pass catching threat — all while doing the necessary work as a blocker.
HM: OL Losini Maka
