Central Michigan University Athletics
Seniors Moment: Home Finale Truly Special
11/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Corey Willis has been through some ups and some downs, and then some more ups at Central Michigan.
Same could be said for his two dozen or so fellow seniors on the Chippewa football team.
The diminutive and speedy Willis caught a 29-yard touchdown pass with just 1:31 remaining on Friday, giving the Chippewas a dramatic 31-24 come-from-behind victory at Kelly/Shorts Stadium over Northern Illinois in CMU's final home game of the season.
The win was CMU's fifth straight, it's longest win streak since 2009. And it was the Chippewas' eighth win of the season (against four losses), marking the program's winningest season since '09.
The Chippewas overcame a 17-0 halftime deficit to beat the Huskies, forging a tie with NIU at 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference West Division. CMU was picked to finish fifth in the division in the preseason poll.
Willis leads the Chippewas with nine touchdown receptions and ranks second in catches (42) and receiving yardage (625). Among the Chippewas with at least 10 catches, Willis shares the team lead with fellow senior Mark Chapman at 14.9 yards per catch.
"This whole college experience has been a growing experience," Willis said on Friday during the post-game press conference, when he stood at the podium alongside Willis. "I remember coming in with Chap and E Coop (fellow senior Eric Cooper). We thought we knew it all. We thought we had it all figured out.
"But honestly when you're 18 years old you're so young you really don't know what you're getting into. I feel like I've had a lot of experiences here, ups and downs, and I feel like now I can go and take those into account any time I'm making a decision."
Like Forest Gump's proclivity for being in the room during history-making moments, Willis has played a leading role in several of the program's most memorable moments since John Bonamego took the reins of the program before the 2015 season.
He scored the game-winning touchdown on the Hail Mary pass last season at Oklahoma State, and he caught the game-winner nearly a month ago when the Chippewas won in the cold and rain at Western Michigan.
Listed at 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, Willis carries a million-dollar smile and sports impressive flowing dreads. The hair and the smile are harbingers for the charisma that lies beneath.
"Corey's just a playmaker," Bonamego said. "He's a leader on the team just by virtue of his personality. He really wears his emotions on his heart and on his sleeve.
"I'm really proud of Corey because Corey's really grown up. I'm just proud of the man he's becoming. You can ask him, we've had our back-and-forth, but every time he's come back and we talk things out. It's just like a family. The dynamic of a team is exactly like a family. Every day is not roses and sunshine. There's times that we disagree; guys get upset with one another. It happens in every organization, in every team I've ever been a part of."
Willis is not unlike many on the Chippewa roster: Overlooked and under-recruited coming out of high school. In his case, it was Holland High School, where he became just the second player in that school's history - behind former CMU teammate Nathan Ricketts - to earn a football scholarship to a Division I program.
For others, the details of the backstory differ, but the ultimate destination the same.
• Quarterback Shane Morris arrived on campus as a graduate student after four largely disappointing years at Michigan, was handed the keys to the Chippewas' new spread, uptempo offense and made it go to the tune of nearly 400 yards per game.
• Defensive lineman Joe Ostman had one Division I offer coming out of relatively tiny St. Ignace High School, and that offer came from CMU. He is among the nation's sack leaders and ranks second all-time in sacks in program history.
• Tight end Tyler Conklin played basketball for a year at Division II Northwood before deciding that football was his game and that CMU was the place for him. He, like Ostman, has developed into one of the best at his position in the nation.
• Chapman arrived from Port Huron High School, where he put up video-game-like numbers and hours of YouTube highlight videos and has developed into a steady and dependable threat as a receiver and as a return man throughout his collegiate career.
• Safety Josh Cox played high school football with Morris at powerhouse Warren De La Salle, and leads the Chippewas with six interceptions this season.
• Cornerback Amari Coleman came in from small-school power New Lothrop, where he returned six touchdowns - all of them for touchdowns - during his senior year, and is now one of the best at his position in the MAC with, perhaps, a future playing on Sundays.
• Lineman Derek Edwards and J.P. Quinn, who have developed into solid, dependable starters along the offensive line, combining to start more than 60 career games.
The growth over five years cannot be measured, and the bonds are solidified forever. There will be one more game, a bowl game sometime around Christmas.
On Friday, they walked off the field at Kelly/Shorts Stadium -- as winners -- for the final time after mounting a comeback for the ages.
"It meant the world to us, our team, to go out there, finish with a win, end it the right way," Ostman said. "Coming in with these seniors five years ago - we've been through a lot.
"Tradition. Football's important at Central Michigan. Just playing with my brothers, the guys that I've been with for five years. I love all those guys. Playing together in Kelly/Shorts, we have a lot of memories, whether it's playing on game days or practicing or working throughout the summer, it's been our home and it's meant everything to us the last five years. I'm thankful for it all. I love this place. Love football and I love Central Michigan."
