Central Michigan University Athletics
Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22
Football 2022: Chippewa Offense In Capable Hands Of QB1
8/12/2022 9:15:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – There's something to be said for stability, particularly at the quarterback position.
The Central Michigan football team has it in 2022 in Daniel Richardson, the clearcut starter who is referred to by teammates as QB1.
He's a sophomore in his fourth year – he redshirted in 2019 and the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign did not count against his eligibility – and now a veteran who last year led his team to nine victories and a win in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
"I think the first thing you like about him is just his love of the game, his love to compete," first-year CMU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Paul Petrino said. "He's really smart, he has great knowledge, he's easy to teach, very coachable.
"He's really accurate, he's got a strong arm, he can make all the throws."
It's not as if Richardson – D-Rich to his coaches and teammates – was anointed when he came to Mount Pleasant in 2019 after a brilliant high school career in Miami, where he put up eye-popping numbers playing against some of the best prep competition in the nation.
He bided his time behind the veterans early on before claiming the starting job in 2020. An injury ended his season after four games and then in 2021, he found himself coming off the bench early in the Chippewas' 'first four games.
The breakout moment came in the fourth quarter of the Chippewas' fourth game of 2021, a 31-27 victory over Florida International. Richardson came out of the bullpen to toss three fourth-quarter touchdown passes and rally his team from a 27-10 deficit.
Richardson started every game for the remainder of the season, completing 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,633 yards and 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions.
The Chippewas finished 9-4 in 2021 – 7-2 with Richardson calling the signals – came within a whisker of winning the Mid-American Conference West Division, and won their first bowl game in a decade.
Richardson triggered an offense that ranked third in the MAC.
"At the end of the day, the personal stats will take care of the team goals," Richardson said. "Winning is the No. 1 goal; … if you're not a winner, none of that stuff matters."
It's about so much more than the measurables. Richardson, coach Jim McElwain said, possesses the difficult-to-define it factor.
Though Petrino is in his first year on McElwain's staff, he has some 30 years in the coaching business both as an assistant and as a head coach.
He knows what he's got in Richardson, whom he compared favorably to Stefan Lefors, a former Louisville standout when Petrino was an assistant there.
Lightly recruited out of high school, Lefors completed a Louisville-record 66 percent of his career passes and led the Cardinals to an 11-1 finish and a No. 6 ranking in the final Associated Press poll in 2004 before going on to a five-year career in the NFL and CFL.
Lefors was 6-foot, 200 pounds; Richardson is listed at 5-10, 204. Both players, Petrino said, possess the aforementioned it factor, get the job done, lead and win.
"They're a little bit different players (but) he reminds me of (Lefors) in how he just really understands what the defense is doing and takes what the defense gives him," Petrino said. "Stefon was a little bit better runner, D-Rich has got a little bit stronger arm, but just the way they play the game and the way they understand the game remind me of each other."
Redshirt freshmen Jace Bauer and Tyler Pape along with true freshman Bert Emanuel Jr. complete the depth chart at quarterback.
The 6-4, 222-pound Pape, who prepped at Parma Western near Jackson, is a conventional drop-back passer with a big arm, while Iowa native Bauer, 6-3, 215, is "is very athletic, does a good job of being able to move and do things with his feet," Petrino said.
Emanuel, who hails from Houston, brings a "ton of talent, speed and throws well," Petrino said. He also brings a pedigree as the son of Bert Emanuel who played eight seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL.
It's critical, of course, that all three develop and are ready to go at a moment's notice. They are, after all, an injury away from being on the field and holding the fate of the 2022 Chippewas in their hands.
"It comes down to how the team moves when they're in the huddle, or when they're behind center," McElwain said.
The Central Michigan football team has it in 2022 in Daniel Richardson, the clearcut starter who is referred to by teammates as QB1.
He's a sophomore in his fourth year – he redshirted in 2019 and the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign did not count against his eligibility – and now a veteran who last year led his team to nine victories and a win in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
"I think the first thing you like about him is just his love of the game, his love to compete," first-year CMU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Paul Petrino said. "He's really smart, he has great knowledge, he's easy to teach, very coachable.
"He's really accurate, he's got a strong arm, he can make all the throws."
It's not as if Richardson – D-Rich to his coaches and teammates – was anointed when he came to Mount Pleasant in 2019 after a brilliant high school career in Miami, where he put up eye-popping numbers playing against some of the best prep competition in the nation.
He bided his time behind the veterans early on before claiming the starting job in 2020. An injury ended his season after four games and then in 2021, he found himself coming off the bench early in the Chippewas' 'first four games.
The breakout moment came in the fourth quarter of the Chippewas' fourth game of 2021, a 31-27 victory over Florida International. Richardson came out of the bullpen to toss three fourth-quarter touchdown passes and rally his team from a 27-10 deficit.
Richardson started every game for the remainder of the season, completing 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,633 yards and 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions.
The Chippewas finished 9-4 in 2021 – 7-2 with Richardson calling the signals – came within a whisker of winning the Mid-American Conference West Division, and won their first bowl game in a decade.
Richardson triggered an offense that ranked third in the MAC.
"At the end of the day, the personal stats will take care of the team goals," Richardson said. "Winning is the No. 1 goal; … if you're not a winner, none of that stuff matters."
It's about so much more than the measurables. Richardson, coach Jim McElwain said, possesses the difficult-to-define it factor.
Though Petrino is in his first year on McElwain's staff, he has some 30 years in the coaching business both as an assistant and as a head coach.
He knows what he's got in Richardson, whom he compared favorably to Stefan Lefors, a former Louisville standout when Petrino was an assistant there.
Lightly recruited out of high school, Lefors completed a Louisville-record 66 percent of his career passes and led the Cardinals to an 11-1 finish and a No. 6 ranking in the final Associated Press poll in 2004 before going on to a five-year career in the NFL and CFL.
Lefors was 6-foot, 200 pounds; Richardson is listed at 5-10, 204. Both players, Petrino said, possess the aforementioned it factor, get the job done, lead and win.
"They're a little bit different players (but) he reminds me of (Lefors) in how he just really understands what the defense is doing and takes what the defense gives him," Petrino said. "Stefon was a little bit better runner, D-Rich has got a little bit stronger arm, but just the way they play the game and the way they understand the game remind me of each other."
Redshirt freshmen Jace Bauer and Tyler Pape along with true freshman Bert Emanuel Jr. complete the depth chart at quarterback.
The 6-4, 222-pound Pape, who prepped at Parma Western near Jackson, is a conventional drop-back passer with a big arm, while Iowa native Bauer, 6-3, 215, is "is very athletic, does a good job of being able to move and do things with his feet," Petrino said.
Emanuel, who hails from Houston, brings a "ton of talent, speed and throws well," Petrino said. He also brings a pedigree as the son of Bert Emanuel who played eight seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL.
It's critical, of course, that all three develop and are ready to go at a moment's notice. They are, after all, an injury away from being on the field and holding the fate of the 2022 Chippewas in their hands.
"It comes down to how the team moves when they're in the huddle, or when they're behind center," McElwain said.
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