Chippewa Offense: Plenty Of Weapons, Plenty Of Promise

Ty Scott (left) and Kalil Pimpleton are among the many offensive weapons the 2020 Chippewas possess.

Photo by: Allissa Rusco

10/19/2020 8:38:00 AM | Football

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – When people talk about a football team, the focus generally is on the offense.

With Central Michigan in 2020, there's plenty to talk about.

The Chippewas enjoyed an incredible turnaround a year ago, increasing their win total by seven games and earning the Mid-American West title for the first time in a decade. There was plenty of sizzle with the steak as CMU led the league in total offense and rolled up 424 points, the fourth-highest total in program history.

Two Chippewa running backs posted 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2019, the first time ever that two CMU runners had done that in a single season, and two 2020 returnees – receivers Kalil Pimpleton and JaCorey Sullivan – earned First Team All-MAC honors.

Certainly, there are question marks entering 2020. There are in any given season. But with the weapons that return, there's no reason to believe that the Chippewas won't be every bit as dangerous and explosive as they were a year ago.

Running back
Lewis, who rushed for 1,074 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago, is CMU's top threat in the backfield. His 2019 running mate, Jonathan Ward, is now with the Arizona Cardinals.

"He's an explosive runner," said Charlie Frye, CMU's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, of Lewis. "He's an every-down back. We ask him to (block), we ask him to catch, we ask him to run. He can do all three things. He's as good as you're going to get."

Lewis, a junior, proved his explosiveness, versatility and durability in 2019. He added 23 receptions for 163 yards while posting five 100-yard rushing games. Redshirt freshman Lew Nichols should also see a lot of playing time in spelling Lewis.

"With me being the No. 1 back and Lew being a freshman, I'll be depended on a lot this season," Lewis said. "I know that my body has to be right. This whole quarantine and COVID thing my focus has been getting bigger, faster and stronger and I've done that."

The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Nichols flashed potential while appearing in four games in 2019. With the emergence of the Lewis-Ward combo, the Chippewas had the luxury of limiting Nichols in 2019 to four games, the maximum number he could play while still preserving his redshirt.

"Lew's a powerful runner," Frye said. "He's got great hips so he's able to get that in-and-out cut, that jump cut, and then he's able to go downhill on linebackers and safeties."

Receivers
Pimpleton and Sullivan, who combined for 1,702 yards and nine TDs on 139 receptions a year ago, are the headliners in a very deep and very talented receiving corps. Sophomore Ty Scott, who had 37 catches for 650 yards in 2019, is among that group and Frye said that junior Dallas Dixon, a transfer from Northern Michigan, has impressed.

"It's an elite group of guys," Frye said. "They each have their own skill set. It's kind of like when you're building a basketball team. You've got a point guard that can be the distributor, he can take you to the hoop or he can dish it off and then you've got a shooting guard who specializes in 3-pointers and you've got a forward who can post up and you've got a center who can post up and isolate one-on-one.

"I look at our receivers in that kind of way. You put that all together in a pot and it's a special group."

Pimpleton, a junior, sat out the 2018 season after transferring from Virginia Tech. He showed in 2019 what an explosive and special talent he is, also earning First Team All-MAC honors as a punt returner.

"We'll use KP in any way we can," Frye said. "It's our job to get him the football, whether that's direct snap, whether we hand it to him, whether we throw it to him -- however we can get him the ball, however we can get him in space. Nothing's off the table, not just with KP, but with any of our guys."

Quarterback
It's a three-man battle at quarterback as the Chippewas look to replace the graduated Quinten Dormady. That trio comprises senior David Moore, redshirt freshman Daniel Richardson, and junior Ty Brock, a transfer from Sam Houston State.

Moore was highly effective in four starts a year ago, completing 57.3 percent of his passes for 1,143 yards and five touchdowns when Dormady was sidelined with an injury.

In 2018 at Sam Houston State, Brock was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which goes to the top freshman in Football Championship Subdivision. He threw for 2,417 yards and 15 touchdowns that season.

Richardson has progressed nicely in his time as a Chippewa, Frye said, and was a standout in spring practice that was cut short by the quarantine.

"They're doing everything that you want your quarterbacks to do, which is getting guys out there and throwing routes and taking leadership of and accountability for your unit, making the guys around you better and being a positive voice on and off the field," Frye said. "We treat every one of them like they're starters. That's the expectation and that's what's going to help them go out and perform when their number is called. Really proud of the group as a whole as they go about their business and go out and do their work and do all those things that it takes to be a quarterback."

Tight end
It may be tight end-by-committee for the Chippewas in 2020 as CMU looks to replace all-leaguer Tony Poljan, who transferred to Virginia. The most experienced at the position is sophomore Joel Wilson, while Hunter Buczkowski and Oakley Lavallii, both seniors, are converted fullbacks. Junior Austin Hergott is a converted quarterback.

"My whole thing is not about position but taking advantage of the skill set that each player has," Frye said. "We're going to put guys in position to make plays. That's the expectation … when your number's called, you've got to go out there and make those plays."

Interior Line
Effectively, two starters – junior center Jamezz Kimbrough and senior guard Derek Smith -- return along the front five while sophomores Deiyantei Powell-Woods and Danny Motowski are among those who appear poised to move into the starting lineup and become mainstays up front.

Kimbrough started as a sophomore in 2018 and missed the 2019 season with an injury. Smith started all 14 games at left guard in 2019 and has made 24 career starts.

Junior Bernhard Raimann, who has moved to tackle from tight end, is among those who could make an impact.

"Being in the game as a long as I was," said Frye, a former star at Akron who played in the NFL for five years, "I've got a special place in my heart for offensive linemen. That's where it all starts for me. That's who I was taking out to dinner the night before games. I'm an O-line lover. I think they're the best human beings on this Earth.

"You never hear about these guys in newspapers or stat lines. The only thing you hear about them is when something bad happens. These guys are the best. It all starts with them. If you don't have them, you don't have anything. I don't care how good your quarterback is, if you can't protect him, he's no good. I don't care how good your running backs are, if you can't make holes and you can't move people up front, then you don't have a run game. As good as our skill players are, it all starts up front and it always will."