Central Michigan
Chippewas

Central Michigan Team Report

Updated: February 06, 2012 10:44 EST

Maybe the best thing coming out of Central Michigan's 3-9 campaign was the extra time for the coaching staff to evaluate the program and players.

The Chippewas were one of the earliest teams to finish the 2011 season, playing their final game on Nov. 18 against Toledo. The Chippewas lost their last three games of the 2011 season to finish with the second losing season in a row, both under third-year Coach Dan Enos.

Enos, though, expects the Chippewas to compete for a conference title this year and remains focused on restoring pride back to the program despite consecutive 3-9 campaigns.

"Just stay the course. We have to stay the course," Enos said. "We have to understand that the program wasn't exactly where everybody thought it was at that time. There is going to be transition in this league. There are big transitions in this league from year-to-year in regards to who is winning and who is losing. We need to stay the course with what we are doing. People should be very optimistic.

"We are building a football program here that is going to stand the test of time in my mind. We are building a program that is not going to be fragile, but have a great foundation and be able to be good for a long period of time."

The Chippewas have several positives to build upon for next year. The Chippewas play seven home games next fall and several freshmen, including wide receivers Titus Davis and Courtney Williams developed into go-to players last season. The most anticipated home game is a battle with Michigan State. Last year, the Chippewas were the lone conference team to defeat Northern Illinois.

"It is going to be great. We are excited," Enos said. "Last year's schedule was difficult to manage. To have the seven home games, our players are really excited about it and I know our coaches are too. To have Navy, Michigan State, and Western Michigan all come is great. It should be a great environment for each game and some exciting home games."

The Chippewas have to improve on the defensive side and decide whether junior quarterback Ryan Radcliff is the right player to start. Radcliff has played terrific at times, but been plagued by interceptions.

Enos told the Morning Sun Newspaper that he "would anticipate that Ryan will be the starting quarterback" back in mid-January. But junior college standout Cody Kater joined the program in the spring semester and highly touted freshman Alex Nizak is expected to compete for snaps.

Kater signed a letter of intent in December, concluding a whirlwind career that finally had him come to Central Michigan. Kater had planned on attending CMU out of high school, but elected to go to Cincinnati. Kater redshirted his lone year at Cincy and then transferred to play at Grand Rapids Community College, leading the team to an 11-0 record. He threw for 2,218 yards and 19 touchdowns. Kater enrolled in the spring semester and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

"I was very impressed with him," Enos said of Kater. "We all were. He is in the right frame of mind. He really wants to be here. He will be given an opportunity like the rest. I think he immediately gives us some depth at the position and is another guy that has the right mentality. He wants to be great. He wants to be pushed. He can run a little bit too like Alex (Niznak) and that gives us another dimension we are excited about."

Enos expects big things out of the rest of the 25-player class, inking 19 players from the state of Michigan. The class includes five defensive backs, four offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, three receivers, two quarterbacks and two running backs.

"Hopefully a few will compete and start," Enos said. "Physically, there's a lot of development for them to do. But, no doubt, some will surprise us. Our goal is to get a chance to contend for the MAC title. I believe, with the addition of this 2012 class, this can be the best team on the field since I've been here. Of course, we have to go out and prove that."

TOP OF THE CLASS

--QB Cody Kater (Grand Rapids CC, Grand Rapids, MI) -- The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder is expected to compete with Ryan Radcliff for the starting position. A proven winner -- led Grand Rapids Community College to an 11-0 record and won back-to-back state championships in high school -- Kater spent a season at Cincinnati and enrolled at Central Michigan in the spring semester.

--SS Jordan Fields (Grand Blanc HS, Grand Blanc, MI) -- Listed as an athlete, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder fits that description to a tee. Fields had 1,088 receiving yards last year, but projected to play in the secondary. Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Syracuse and Toledo were among the schools to offer Fields.

--DL Jabari Dean (Detroit Renaissance HS, Detroit, MI) -- At 6-foot-2, 290 pounds, Dean must reshape his body to become faster and shed blockers in college. But there's no denying his size and potential to become a fixture along the defensive line.

--Wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield left the staff in the offseason to join New Mexico after one season at Central Michigan. Stubblefield made a big impact in molding freshmen wide receivers Titus Davis and Courtney Williams into playmakers last year. Mose Rison, a former CMU player and coach, returned to the program to take over Stubblefield's position as wide receivers coach. Named CMU's MVP in 1977, Rison has the experience to become an ideal coach for the young wide receiving corps. With coaching stints at CMU, Navy, Rutgers and Stanford before coaching the wide receivers for the New York Jets, Rison also spent time at Arizona.

--QB Cody Kater joined the Chippewas in the offseason, further complicating the picture at quarterback. The former Cincinnati quarterback is coming off a stellar season at Grand Rapids Community College, where he led his team to an 11-0 record. Kater is a proven winner, leading his high school team to back-to-back state championships.

"He is going to come in and provide depth immediately," Enos said of Kater. "He is an older guy. We didn't really want to recruit two freshmen for this class. We wanted to have five on scholarship and didn't want a bunch in the same class. We wanted to spread them out."

SPRING SNAPSHOT:

Practice begins/ends: TBD.

Practice priorities: Deciding if quarterback Ryan Radcliff is the future of the program. Radcliff has put up some big numbers, but threw too many interceptions. The offense should be tough to stop this year with several talented wide receivers in the fold. Shoring up the defense is another key. The Chippewas have given up too many big plays in the last two years.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I thought we made a lot of progress in a lot of areas. Obviously the record wasn't what we all wanted but as a coach you take everything into account and I thought we did a lot of things well. We got better in a lot of areas but we still need to improve in a lot of areas. We took some real positives from it. I thought our football team practiced really well throughout the year. I think our mindset was good. We established a very bright future." -- Central Michigan Coach Dan Enos on looking at the positives from last year's 3-9 season.

KEY LOSSES: Tight end David Blackburn emerged into a go-to player during his senior season, showing his worth to the offense and helping open up the field for the young wide receivers. The Chippewas will miss cornerback John Carr, who had the game-saving play in CMU's win at Akron. Linebacker Mike Petrucci's toughness and leadership leaves a void on defense.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012:

WR Titus Davis -- Coming off a stunning season as a true freshman in which Davis led the Chippewas with 751 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches. Davis showed a penchant for making big plays, averaging 18.8 yards per catch. He caught 40 passes and looks to be part of an excellent trio of receivers, joining fellow frosh Courtney Williams and soon-to-be senior Cody Wilson, who had a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2010.

QB Ryan Radcliff -- The question whether Radcliff is the starter remains after he put up better numbers in his junior season running the pro-style offense. Radcliff threw 25 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 12 starts. Radcliff endured a rough stretch early in the season, causing some concerns whether he would be pulled full-time as the starter. But Radcliff lowered his interceptions and dealt with some young wide receivers and a make-shift offensive line to complete 56.7 percent of his passes for 3,286 yards.

RB Anthony Garland -- Played in eight games as a freshmen, but managed to provide some hope for CMU's up-and-down rushing attack. Garland finished second on the team with 378 yards on 83 carries. He shined in a couple of games, but a late-season injury derailed his progress.

DB Jahleel Addae -- Turned into one of the few consistent playmakers on defense, leading the Chippewas with 107 tackles and four interceptions. Addae's four picks were half of CMU's total interceptions. His confidence from a big season will help a young team next year.

PLAYER NOTES

--WR Cody Wilson could not get in sync after dealing with injuries throughout the 2011 following a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2010. Wilson is expected to be a key cog in a stellar wide receivers unit next year.

--QB Alex Kater joined the program in December. Kater was a high school star at local Montague High School, where he won back-to-back state champions. He decided to sign with Cincinnati to join former CMU coach Butch Jones, but left following his redshirt season. He piloted Grand Rapids Community College to an 11-0 record last year.

--DT John Williams, who missed the final eight games of the 2011 season because of a knee injury, might suit up next year for the Chippewas. Williams played in four games last year, his eligibility remains uncertain at this point.

--RB Austin White, a former Michigan transfer, who was suspended last year, is part of the equation in a crowded running backs competition. White was suspended for violating team rules last year, but didn't miss any action due to being forced to sit out a season after arriving from Michigan.