Three takeaways from Central Michigan's spring game
The Chippewas wrapped up the spring with a brief scrimmage in front of fans on Tuesday, setting the table for summer and fall camp.
Mt. Pleasant — Central Michigan capped off its second spring under the Matt Drinkall regime with an approximately 80-minute scrimmage on Tuesday night, pitting the offense against the defense for about 45 total plays.
It wasn’t an overly revelatory evening at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, as the offense kept things pretty vanilla to not tip off anything to New Mexico for Week 1, and the defense cycled through a bevy of player combinations as coordinator Sean Cronin assesses what he’s got on the roster.
And before getting into takeaways, catch up on Mitten Football's spring reporting on the Chippewas.
Andrew Graham
Andrew Graham
Andrew Graham
Andrew Graham
Here are three takeaways from the action on Tuesday evening in Mt. Pleasant.
It’s time to heal up
Central Michigan already lost wideout Tommy McIntosh to a season-ending ACL tear and Drinkall said on Tuesday that defensive lineman Joey VanWetzinga had ruptured his Achilles tendon and will require surgery. Those two will be out for the season, but the Chippewas also had a bevy of other players sitting out on Tuesday.
Some of those might’ve been effectively a coaches choice DNP, but others like Brock Townsend have been banged up through spring. Quarterback Jadyn Glasser didn’t play as he continues to be non-contact in his rehab from surgery. A bevy of offensive linemen sat out, too.
As for VanWetzinga, Drinkall shared his commiseration for a player that he has a close personal connection to. Drinkall and VanWetzinga’s dad are from the same part of Iowa and have gone back years to their own high school football playing days, he said.
“But, like, we have known this family for a long time, so it was just heartbreaking because you know how hard a kid like Joey — how hard he works, how much it means to him,” Drinkall said.
The good news is now the Chippewas get about a month off until the summer workout sessions begin and another handful of months until fall camp kicks up. The bulk of the roster is expected to be completely healthy by then.
But the two-long term injuries could also make the Chippewas candidates to add a few ready-to-contribute bodies at a few key spots over the summer. It's possible the staff was starting to lean that way as they assessed the roster through spring practice.
There are still some talented players floating around to sign as transfers — the portal only dictates when one can enter, not sign and enroll.
Trav Moore is the real deal
The freshman running back has gotten rave reviews through the winter and spring and got out of the backfield to catch a touchdown pass on Tuesday evening down the left sideline.
It’s that sort of versatility that makes Moore an intriguing young option.
“We're super diverse in what we do here with the ball,” Moore said. “So seeing that last year and then even coming here this year, even more, we're doing a lot more stuff. So that's super, super exciting to see when you're getting a running back, getting the ball in multiple different ways.”
Despite his true freshman status, Moore is expected to contribute for CMU come fall amidst a fairly crowded running back room. He’s jockeying with Vaughn Blue, John Stowers and Jayden Clerveaux, along with Townsend, eventually, for reps.
And that’s also where having positional versatility comes in handy.
Moore also spoke about his decision to come to CMU and play for the Drinkall era Chippewas.
“Felt like family to me,” he said. “Always supported me and everybody says, like, ‘Go where you’re wanted.’ And it's truly where I felt like I was wanted, and they showed the most support.”
Linebacker room finding leaders
Two of the biggest names on CMU’s defense in 2025, Jordan Kwiatkowski and Dakota Cochran, held down the linebacker position for Central Michigan almost exclusively. They are both graduated, so the Chippewas are looking at a remade room in 2026.
The transfers are all second- or third-year players, too. With a lot of youth and not a lot of returning snaps, the group went through spring with an eye on establishing themselves as leaders, and raising the overall level of the group. And much like last spring, there’s a need to teach the newcomers how the Chippewas play.
One advantage this time around is some returning players who had been with the coaching staff the year prior to show the way.
“We knew, like, we were gonna be young,” redshirt sophomore Victor Earl said. “A lot of new guys as well. So I feel like we just really emphasized getting in new playbooks and stuff like that. Like, that's gonna be the most important thing to do, especially like not knowing who's who, just reaching out, communicating to each other, making sure they know who we are and stuff like that.”
There are some returners, led by Victor Earl and Xavier White, who are mixing in with a bevy of transfers and freshmen. CMU added Antonio Cherry Jr., Donovan Brown and Charlie Smith to the linebacker room via the transfer portal.
Of the returning players, Early is a redshirt sophomore and White is a junior. Fellow returning linebackers Jeremiah Alston and Jeremiah McKenzie are a redshirt junior and redshirt freshman, respectively.
And in general, the group went through spring without concerns about depth charts or figuring out starters, part of CMU’s generally patient approach through spring. Instead, they competed on a level playing field where the focus wasn’t one's standing, but skills and abilities.
“If you're looking ahead, it's like you're adding the extra pressure for no reason because we're not playing a game this week or anytime soon,” White said. “So why add that pressure?”
