Unpacking CMU's Week 1 QB plan: Angel Flores to start, expect Jadyn Glasser to play

Mt. Pleasant — There is still much to unpack as it pertains to Central Michigan’s quarterback situation, one that is far from settled. 

A competition between Angel Flores, Jadyn Glasser and Marcus Beamon over the offseason resulted in Flores being named the starter on Thursday. That came after head coach Matt Drinkall said on Friday, Aug. 21, after a scrimmage that he hopes to settle on one quarterback, but that CMU is open again to playing a second guy. And at the beginning of camp, Drinkall offered up a lengthy bit of praise for Glasser as maybe the most talented player on the team. 

And after practice on Friday, Drinkall explained further that there’s a plan for Glasser to play significantly at quarterback in the opener against New Mexico, along with Flores. 

But that snapshot is more of a starting point for the quarterbacks for Central Michigan, not an ending.  

“So the plan will be, this is where they have settled thus far, but we're gonna compete every day in practice, and we're not gonna change, like, who the starter and rotations are before the first game,” Drinkall said. “But after that, that's the greatest assessment tool. And keep practicing throughout the next month. We can see what happens.”

In short, this might look a lot like CMU’s quarterback situation a year ago, but with two instead of three quarterbacks. But there also seems to be a distinct possibility that Drinkall and Co. could be swayed by good game performances to elevate one quarterback above the rest.  

Let’s unpack it. 

Flores provides steadiness as the starter

Mitten Football wrote about this on Thursday, speaking with offensive coordinator Jim Chapin about the decision to name Flores the starter. 

“I was happy to see everything come full circle, all the work we put in,” Flores said on Friday. “Not just myself, but all my teammates and stuff, and just a really exciting moment.”

And the gist of it, generally, is that Flores is a steady, consistent presence running the ship and was the best of the Chippewas QBs in a few key metrics, especially his explosive play-to-turnover rate. 

The CMU staff also believes there’s a lot more that Flores can do as a passer that hasn’t been shown off in game action, a result of the role they asked him to fill in 2025 as a primary running quarterback threat spelling Joe Labas. 

And after having been, effectively, the No. 2 quarterback for 2025 until he got hurt, Flores was always a likely candidate to take over this role. 

That does not mean it was handed to him, or that he could be complacent in chasing it. 

“Coming into fall camp, in spring ball, I knew I had to bring my best every single day,” Flores said. “There were no days that, like, ‘Oh, OK, I can kind of chill. I played last year, I did this, I did that.’ Like, no, that does not matter. Every day, they pushed me to be a better version of myself. So yeah, there were no easy days, by no means.”

Glasser is going to play, too

Much like Flores was the changeup to Labas, Glasser will get to carve out a role on the field for CMU despite not being the officially named starter. The expectation is the snap load, at least early on, will be significant. 

And the reason for coaches wanting to get Glasser on the field is less about diverging skillsets (a la Labas and Flores) but just that Glasser is too physically talented not to use in some way. 

“We would be foolish based on what he has done so far,” Chapin said on Thursday. “We would be foolish to not put him in a position to help our football program win games.”

After practice on Friday, Glasser shared that the message from Chapin was short and sweet, and focused on the quarterback still having an opportunity to help his team win games. 

“He basically just said that we're both gonna be given the opportunity, and, you know, just go out there and compete,” Glasser said. “He kept it short and simple like that.”

Glasser also in essence had to play catch up this offseason as he rehabbed a knee surgery from October. He practiced in a limited capacity through the spring and wasn’t able to go full-contact until this fall camp. 

With more time and runway to get entirely back up to speed, especially with game reps, there’s optimism around the third-year QBs trajectory. 

“He's going to be in a position to help us win football games this year and beyond,” Chapin said on Thursday. 

What, exactly, the coaching staff wants to try and do with Glasser as opposed to Flores, and what they think both can do, is a bit murky. The offense itself is also evolving from what it looked like in 2025, which further complicates any projection.

But regardless of the how, Glasser is going to play and Central Michigan is clear on the why: He’ll help them win games. 

A starter for Week 1 is named, but the competition isn’t shelved

Not that this isn’t the case with most football teams, but the various roles aren’t carved in stone. 

Particularly strong performances from any of the quarterbacks, or a string of struggles could result in the depth chart shifting. And, of course, there’s also the possibility of injury. 

The evaluations do not stop because the games have started. 

“We went through as much evaluation as you possibly could, as long as you possibly could, and these guys just don't have, there's such little breathing room,” Drinkall said. “They're all elite leaders. They're all elite players.”

So while Flores is the starter right now, that’s a job he’ll have to work at keeping, because others are gunning for it. 

The Central Michigan staff is bullish on Flores and Glasser (and Beamon, too), and Drinkall has said they basically have three starter-caliber quarterbacks in terms of ability, experience and leadership. 

And in spelling Flores with Glasser, it might not be a true rotation. But it's evident that whatever desire there is to settle with one quarterback, it was outweighed by what the coaches think both those quarterbacks can offer. 

One quarterback has earned the right to start for Central Michigan this fall, but there’s a ways to go before any of them cement themselves as a full-time installment under center. 

“The margin is just very small,” Drinkall said.