Western Michigan camp notes: 2 starting OL still rehabbing, Lance Taylor bullish on RB room
The Broncos are reigning MAC champions and returned the core of that championship roster to chase a repeat and more — but there's plenty of ground to cover starting with camp opening Wednesday.
Kalamazoo — With MAC championship rings in their possession and a “2025” emblazoned on the facade of the Waldo Stadium press box along with the previous conference title years, Western Michigan football has a clear standard to live up to in 2026.
The reigning MAC champions opened fall camp on Wednesday with lots of promise, big goals, and evidently plenty to work on after spending just over two hours on the field at Waldo Stadium. It’s the first of countless practices for the Broncos to get game-ready before travelling to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in a season opener on Sept. 5 under the lights on NBC.
And though the pads have yet to go on, head coach Lance Taylor is still hoping to make hay with these early practices.
“It's not what we do, it's how we do,” Taylor said. “It's really about the habits that we build, because the habits become our heartbeat, and who we wind up becoming. And so today is really about the effort, the toughness, the finish and strain that it takes to win football games. I thought it was a good Day 1.”
Here are some notes and takeaways from Western Michigan’s first practice of 2026 fall camp.
Two starting OL still working back from surgery
A pair of linemen who opened the 2025 season as starters for WMU are still being held back from participating fully in practice as camp opened on Wednesday, as Chad Schuster and Jeremy Schleicher continue to wind down their respective rehab stints.
