CMU Football 2024: High Hopes, Plenty to Prove

Photo by: Jasper Warner '25 - @jasperwarnermedia

Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia

7/29/2024 4:32:00 PM | Football, Our Stories

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Coach Jim McElwain, players meet with the local media on the eve of fall camp opening.

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Call it the most-hopeful day of the college football season.

Everybody is undefeated, everybody has expectations, everybody has myriad reasons why they will be playing for the Mid-American Conference championship at Ford Field on Dec. 7.

Central Michigan is, of course, no different. Jim McElwain, who is entering his sixth year in charge of the program, met the media along with several CMU players at the Chippewa Champions Center on Monday as the team prepared to open practice on Tuesday.

And for all the good feelings that come with a fresh start, there is an underlying something-to-prove vibe in a program that is 9-15 over the past two seasons.

"Obviously the last couple of years have been unacceptable," McElwain said, "and I take the blame totally for the way we've played games, the way we didn't finish, the way we didn't push through struggles, that's all on my, nobody else, not the players, not the coaches; that's the head football coach.

"All the blame, it starts and stops right here. I haven't done a good job getting our guys ready to go perform; we haven't performed at the level we need to perform. We've got to teach our coaches better. These are all self-reflections and I won't ever put it on anybody else. I'm the one to blame, so blame me.

"We're here to prove ourselves in a different manner. This football program deserves a lot better than it's gotten the past couple of years and that's my responsibility and that's the direction we're headed."

🎙️ @cmu_football head coach @CoachMcElwain:

"We've got a certain desire and there's things we've got to go out and prove. I wouldn't have it any other way....We're here to prove ourselves in a different manner."#FireUpChips 🔥⬆️🏈 pic.twitter.com/BbJKuHRY7d
— CMU Football (@CMU_Football) July 29, 2024

The Chippewas, who open on Aug. 29 at home against Central Connecticut State, finished eighth in the 12-team MAC preseason poll; an understandable result, McElwain said, based on CMU's last two seasons.

CMU returns 17 starters on offense and defense, most notably at running back where the Chippewas feature the one-two punch of Marion Lukes and Myles Bailey.

The duo combined to rush for 1,213 yards, 4.9 yards per attempt, last season.

"I'll put those two guys against any (running back) room in the country," McElwain said.

CMU returns three starters on the interior of the offensive line: tackles Brayden Swartout and Davis Heinzen and center Dominic Serapiglia III.

"The most important thing (is) you've got to run the ball to win at the end of the day," McElwain said. "We've taken our lumps up front; we've played some young guys. It's time for those guys to really step up and take control.

"I really believe that that (offensive line) room is going to take the biggest step of any of our rooms to help (running backs) get that yardage, protect our quarterbacks, and allow us to throw it over the top of people's heads. I saw it being developed in the spring, the reports we've gotten from the summer have been fantastic and the way those guys have bonded together, they have something to prove."

While the Chippewas ranked fifth in total offense in the MAC a year ago, their defense surrendered a league-high 407.1 yards per game.

That, obviously, must improve, McElwain said.

"There's some embarrassing numbers and yet as long as we look at it and we're realistic and we're honest with ourselves we can remedy that pretty quick," he said, adding that creating turnovers is a point of emphasis after CMU tied for last in the league in forced fumbles (three) and interceptions (five) a year ago and finished minus-8 in turnover margin, which ranked 119^th of the 130 teams in Football Bowl Subdivision.

🎙️ @cmu_football head coach @CoachMcElwain:

"Get the ball back on defense and on offense, then maintain possession. Those are the most important things we've got to get across in order to change where we're at."#FireUpChips 🔥⬆️🏈 pic.twitter.com/D3CogLNsba
— CMU Football (@CMU_Football) July 29, 2024

Quarterback
Bert Emanuel, Jr., a redshirt sophomore, is the incumbent at quarterback. Last season he served primarily as a backup to starter Jase Bauer, who has transferred, though Emanuel saw plenty of action and continued to impress, particularly as a runner.

Redshirt junior Joe Labas, a transfer from Iowa, is among those who likely will challenge Emanuel for the starting job. Labas, who hails from Broadview Heights, Ohio, did not see any game action a year ago for the Hawkeyes, but he started and led Iowa to a 21-0 victory over Kentucky as a redshirt freshman in the Music City Bowl.

Also on the roster are redshirt freshman Ethan Lane and Tyler Jefferson along with freshmen Jadyn Glasser and Logan Borodychuk, a Mount Pleasant High School graduate.

"We've got a fantastic room there," said McElwain, who rarely discusses in depth the quarterback depth chart, particularly heading into fall practice. "Bert Emanuel, Jr. has taken the snaps and is coming back; Joe Labas has done a fantastic job picking it up and I thought in spring ball he really took off and I feel really good about the other guys in that room right now.

"I think we're going to be fun to watch. I think there's some things that are going to happen that people are going to go, hmm, that's pretty cool."

Sea change
The transfer portal and the name, image, likeness rule have changed college sports, and football in particular. The portal has allowed players to freely transfer from school to school without losing eligibility, and NIL has allowed colleges to financially compensate players.

CMU, like every program, has both lost players to the portal and gained them from it. Bauer and linebacker Kyle Moretti are CMU's most notable transfer losses from last season; Labas and 6-foot-5 wide receiver Tommy McIntosh, a DeWitt product, are among the most notable arrivals.

"I respect it," McElwain said of the portal, striking a conciliatory tone. "It's something everybody deals with and I think it's really the perspective on how you deal with it.

"I want our guys to want to be here, I want them to be Chippewas and if they make that choice to do something else, I'm not mad at them because now we're eliminating someone form the locker room who really doesn't want to be here. It allows us to bring somebody in who does want to be here. … It's the mindset. I love all our guys, I love the guys who have been here. It's know it's part of the game but believe me, it's different now.

"I've got a special place in my heart for those guys who get approached with opportunities to maybe chase a little something (and elect to remain at CMU). Really, they see the long-term value of being a Chippewa.

"If somebody ever does come to me (to transfer), I give them a hug, wish them the best, and let them know I'll be there for them. It's the way of college football now. By no means will I ever try to talk somebody out of it, because we want guys in our locker room that want to be here. … I'm proud of the guys in our locker room, there's no doubt about it."

McElwain said he attended the CMU Football Alumni golf outing over the weekend and spoke with several former Chippewas. The topic of the transfer portal came up, he said.

"They went through struggles," he said of his talks with former CMU players, "they stayed with the program and then they got their opportunity and those bonds that you make – I think some of that's being lost a little bit.

"You turn on a game and this guy's on his third school or whatever; that's the way it is. The biggest part I see that I get worried about is when you go to a new place, you're losing (academic) credits. The biggest thing that's going to change all of our lives is getting that degree and I wonder how many are getting lost in the shuffle.

"You may rent a guy for six months. Where is his home? Where does he go back to? Where does he go to homecoming? Things like that. This was just visiting with some former players … whether somebody likes (the transfer portal) or doesn't like it doesn't matter, it's the world we're living in and it's how you approach it."

Gallery: (7-29-2024) CMU Football Media Day