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Photo by: Josie Ransley '25,M'27 - @josieransmedia
Linebackers Preview: Talented and Experienced Group Ready to Make Impact
8/18/2025 2:39:00 PM | Football
Four experienced seniors—Jordan Kwiatkowski, Dakota Cochran, Lawai’a Brown, and Fernando Sanchez III—return to lead the defense.
MOUNT PLEASANT—Linebacker may be Central Michigan's most talented, experienced, and deep position as the Chippewas return four experienced seniors in 2025 All-MAC Second Team honoree Jordan Kwiatkowski and starters Dakota Cochran, Lawai'a Brown, and Fernando Sanchez III.
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Sean Cronin is looking forward to a lot of production out of his unit in the coming season.
"The linebackers are doing an unbelievable job," Cronin said. "We have a great group, they're tremendous. I'm really excited to be coaching these guys. They're really starting to get a good feel for the system. We are senior-laiden, we're really excited about our senior group. We have a lot of veteran players."
"Lawai'a Brown, he has played a lot of football and playing really well right now. Dakota Cochran is a super talented player, along with Jordan Kwiatkowski. All three of them are super talented, super instinctive, and really, really smart. You can coach those guys on the finer points and in-depth techniques. Fernando Sanchez III is another veteran guy for us. He can do a lot of things, he has size and the athleticism to play certain roles. We have a lot of flexibility with him and he can help us be multiple."
"They are backed up by some really talented young guys. Xavier White is really coming on, he is super talented, has a knack for finding the football, and we're really excited about him and his future here. He's going to play a big role this year. Andre Thomas, Jr. and Victor Earl are both super talented guys, can really run, they're explosive. The game hasn't really slowed down for them yet, but they're getting close. They're getting a little better every day. Once it clicks for them, wow, they're going to be special players."
"Jeremiah Alston is a converted safety, he's got an athletic skill set that you really like. He can really run with players and another talented player that we're excited about. Jeremiah McKenzie is a freshman who also has an athletic skill set. Cairo Rhodes is another guy who's really improved since the spring. He's taken coaching and grown as a player. He could potentially have a role. Khari Johnson, is really smart, and while he hasn't been able to practice lately, he's been paying attention to what's going on."
2025 LINEBACKERS PERSONNEL ROSTER
40 | Lawai'a Brown | 6-0 | 230 | R-Sr. | Honolulu, Hawaii
1 | Dakota Cochran | 6-2 | 240 | R-Sr. | Shaker Heights, Ohio
14 | Fernando Sanchez III | 6-3 | 250 | R-Sr. | Loganville, Ga.
12 | Jordan Kwiatkowski | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. | Sterling Heights, Mich.
26 | Cairo Rhodes | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. | Grand Rapids, Mich.
37 | Jeremiah Alston | 5-11 | 210 | R-So. | Detroit, Mich.
53 | Khari Johnson | 5-11 | 220 | R-So. | Wixom, Mich.
45 | Xavier White | 6-0 | 235 | So. | Los Angeles, Calif.
33 | Victor Earl | 6-2 | 215 | R-Fr. | Romeo, Mich.
36 | Jeremiah McKenzie | 6-2 | 195 | Fr. | Starke, Fla.
29 | Andre Thomas, Jr. | 6-1 | 210 | Fr. | Detroit, Mich.
.
Senior Jordan Kwiatkowski will enter his final season at Central Michigan as a Butkus and Rotary Lombardi Award watch list member. A consensus preseason All-MAC selection, he was recently named a preseason G5 Second Team All-American by Hero Sports and to the preseason East-West Shrine Bowl Top 1000 pick. A Second Team All-MAC selection last year, Kwiatkowski led the Chippewas with 96 tackles (48 solo), finished with 14.5 tackles for losses, intercepted one pass and broke up another. A three-year letterman, Kwiatkowski has made 138 total tackles (69 solo), 14.5 tackles for loss with four pass breakups in his career spanning 34 games and 10 starts.
Senior Dakota Cochran is in his final season and enters the year after earning several all-conference honors. He is a big play performer who ended the 2024 season ranked No. 5 on the team in tackles with 54 (29 solo), ranked No. 2 on the team in tackles for loss (10.5-52), and finished with 3.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and forced a team-high two fumbles. In his career, he has made 135 tackles (80 solo), 15.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and five pass breakups. Cochran is a three-time Academic All-MAC selection and two-time CSC Academic All-District team selection.
Senior Lawai'a Brown also enters his final season after appearing in 34 career games with three starts at linebacker. Brown has made 66 career tackles (36 solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups. The 2025 Academic All-MAC honoree finished with 38 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss while making at least one tackle in all 12 games.
Also returning is senior Cairo Rhodes, who transferred to Central Michigan prior to the 2024 season from College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Three sophomores return to the mix in Jeremiah Alston, Xavier White, and Khari Johnson. A redshirt sophomore from Detroit, Jeremiah Alston is a converted defensive back. He has yet to see game action. A Los Angeles native, White played in nine games as a true freshman, primarily on special teams where he made five tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss. A Wixom, Mich. native, Johnson has yet to see game action.
Redshirt freshman Victor Earl played in three games last year, primarily on special teams, and earned a redshirt.
Jeremiah McKenzie and Andre Thomas, Jr. join the team as true freshmen. McKenzie is a two-time All-Area selection from Starke, Fla. who totaled 177 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, and four sacks in his four-year varsity career. Thomas, who graduated high school early and joined the team in January, was an AP All-State honorable mention pick and All-Region selection for state power Belleville.
Follow Central Michigan Football: TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
—CMU—
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Sean Cronin is looking forward to a lot of production out of his unit in the coming season.
"The linebackers are doing an unbelievable job," Cronin said. "We have a great group, they're tremendous. I'm really excited to be coaching these guys. They're really starting to get a good feel for the system. We are senior-laiden, we're really excited about our senior group. We have a lot of veteran players."
"Lawai'a Brown, he has played a lot of football and playing really well right now. Dakota Cochran is a super talented player, along with Jordan Kwiatkowski. All three of them are super talented, super instinctive, and really, really smart. You can coach those guys on the finer points and in-depth techniques. Fernando Sanchez III is another veteran guy for us. He can do a lot of things, he has size and the athleticism to play certain roles. We have a lot of flexibility with him and he can help us be multiple."
"They are backed up by some really talented young guys. Xavier White is really coming on, he is super talented, has a knack for finding the football, and we're really excited about him and his future here. He's going to play a big role this year. Andre Thomas, Jr. and Victor Earl are both super talented guys, can really run, they're explosive. The game hasn't really slowed down for them yet, but they're getting close. They're getting a little better every day. Once it clicks for them, wow, they're going to be special players."
"Jeremiah Alston is a converted safety, he's got an athletic skill set that you really like. He can really run with players and another talented player that we're excited about. Jeremiah McKenzie is a freshman who also has an athletic skill set. Cairo Rhodes is another guy who's really improved since the spring. He's taken coaching and grown as a player. He could potentially have a role. Khari Johnson, is really smart, and while he hasn't been able to practice lately, he's been paying attention to what's going on."
2025 LINEBACKERS PERSONNEL ROSTER
40 | Lawai'a Brown | 6-0 | 230 | R-Sr. | Honolulu, Hawaii
1 | Dakota Cochran | 6-2 | 240 | R-Sr. | Shaker Heights, Ohio
14 | Fernando Sanchez III | 6-3 | 250 | R-Sr. | Loganville, Ga.
12 | Jordan Kwiatkowski | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. | Sterling Heights, Mich.
26 | Cairo Rhodes | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. | Grand Rapids, Mich.
37 | Jeremiah Alston | 5-11 | 210 | R-So. | Detroit, Mich.
53 | Khari Johnson | 5-11 | 220 | R-So. | Wixom, Mich.
45 | Xavier White | 6-0 | 235 | So. | Los Angeles, Calif.
33 | Victor Earl | 6-2 | 215 | R-Fr. | Romeo, Mich.
36 | Jeremiah McKenzie | 6-2 | 195 | Fr. | Starke, Fla.
29 | Andre Thomas, Jr. | 6-1 | 210 | Fr. | Detroit, Mich.
.
Senior Jordan Kwiatkowski will enter his final season at Central Michigan as a Butkus and Rotary Lombardi Award watch list member. A consensus preseason All-MAC selection, he was recently named a preseason G5 Second Team All-American by Hero Sports and to the preseason East-West Shrine Bowl Top 1000 pick. A Second Team All-MAC selection last year, Kwiatkowski led the Chippewas with 96 tackles (48 solo), finished with 14.5 tackles for losses, intercepted one pass and broke up another. A three-year letterman, Kwiatkowski has made 138 total tackles (69 solo), 14.5 tackles for loss with four pass breakups in his career spanning 34 games and 10 starts.
Senior Dakota Cochran is in his final season and enters the year after earning several all-conference honors. He is a big play performer who ended the 2024 season ranked No. 5 on the team in tackles with 54 (29 solo), ranked No. 2 on the team in tackles for loss (10.5-52), and finished with 3.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and forced a team-high two fumbles. In his career, he has made 135 tackles (80 solo), 15.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and five pass breakups. Cochran is a three-time Academic All-MAC selection and two-time CSC Academic All-District team selection.
Senior Lawai'a Brown also enters his final season after appearing in 34 career games with three starts at linebacker. Brown has made 66 career tackles (36 solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups. The 2025 Academic All-MAC honoree finished with 38 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss while making at least one tackle in all 12 games.
Also returning is senior Cairo Rhodes, who transferred to Central Michigan prior to the 2024 season from College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Three sophomores return to the mix in Jeremiah Alston, Xavier White, and Khari Johnson. A redshirt sophomore from Detroit, Jeremiah Alston is a converted defensive back. He has yet to see game action. A Los Angeles native, White played in nine games as a true freshman, primarily on special teams where he made five tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss. A Wixom, Mich. native, Johnson has yet to see game action.
Redshirt freshman Victor Earl played in three games last year, primarily on special teams, and earned a redshirt.
Jeremiah McKenzie and Andre Thomas, Jr. join the team as true freshmen. McKenzie is a two-time All-Area selection from Starke, Fla. who totaled 177 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, and four sacks in his four-year varsity career. Thomas, who graduated high school early and joined the team in January, was an AP All-State honorable mention pick and All-Region selection for state power Belleville.
Follow Central Michigan Football: TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
—CMU—
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