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Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Wide Receivers Preview: Chippewas Return Players Coming Off Injury
8/6/2025 3:03:00 PM | Football
Veterans Tyson Davis, Langston Lewis and Tommy McIntosh return with experience to lead youthful unit.
MOUNT PLEASANT—Three veterans including Tyson Davis, Langston Lewis, and Tommy McIntosh are back for Central Michigan this year at wide receiver. Last year's wide receiver corps was hit hard by injuries as Central Michigan's top 6 players were sidelined for the majority of the year.
Because of the uncertainty, it's a group that is searching for an identity and Wide Receivers Coach Brandon Johnson-Farrell believes that it's an exciting thing.
"We've made a ton of progress," Johnson-Farrell said. "The biggest area has been the mastery of the playbook. They've taken ownership of learning the ins and outs of the offense and they have done a great job of taking the reigns and becoming the most knowledgeable that they can be. We have a lot of unanswered questions. I told our guys before camp, because no one knows what to expect, 'don't look at it as a negative.' That's not always a bad thing. With that being the case, it's all about who are we going to be? I told them that they have the ability to show them who we are. We have challenged them to go out there and play the way they want to be known for."
"The three older guys—Langston Lewis, Tyson Davis, and Tommy McIntosh—have been the ones pulling the sled. We have three very capable leaders and their styles all mesh together while trying to bring this group along. Langston's energy and presence goes a long way, he comes out of his personality, gets guys focused and is very vocal. Tyson is a bit of the same but very composed and very mature. His approach to the game of football, being in the weight room, routine maintenance, he's been doing an excellent job of that. Tommy is my silent assassin. He truly has a 'just watch me' mentality. You can turn on Tommy's tape and teach a younger receiver off his film alone."
"As for the rest of the group, it's really up for grabs," Johnson-Farrell said. "This is a proving ground stage. We have a depth chart but what we have is a line, above the line and below the line. Are you ready to help this team and can we trust you, then you're above the line. Until you check that box, you're below the line. All of our players are looking to cross that threshold in fall camp from a scheme, trust, and confidence standpoint."
"They have all areas of strength. Camden Kruisenga has done a tremendous job; he plays with a lot of effort. Tayte Vanderleest is probably our most physical blocker on the perimeter. Our two new transfers are very good additions. Kendall Jones' attention to detail and outlook on the game is great, football means a lot to him. You can tell football means a lot to him in how he practices and approaches the game. Collin Payne has been doing a great job. From an intelligence and learning the playbook standpoint, he's been a big surprise in how quickly he's been able to pick things up. Today, he played a completely different position, and he didn't miss a beat. Nasir Williams is coming along too; he's put together a couple of nice practices. Braylen Naves has shown flashes of his athleticism; he just needs experience like any true freshman. Josiah Booker and Justin Ruffin, Jr., are two of our more explosive guys. Braden Tillman-Jones has been steady, Mr. Consistent, that's what we need from him. Jordan Kelly has given us some good juice."
2025 WIDE RECEIVERS PERSONNEL ROSTER
3 | Tyson Davis | 5-10 | 175 | R-Jr. | Flint, Mich.
84 | Jordan Kelly | 6-0 | 160 | R-Jr. | Beaumont, Texas
20 | Langston Lewis | 6-0 | 195 | R-Jr. | Savannah, Ga.
18 | Kendall Jones | 6-2 | 175 | Jr. | Valrico, Fla.
19 | Tommy McIntosh | 6-5 | 210 | Jr. | DeWitt, Mich.
86 | Collin Payne | 6-2 | 205 | Jr. | Lake Forest, Calif.
43 | Braeden Tillman-Jones | 5-11 | 180 | R-So. | Novi, Mich
81 | Tayte Vanderleest | 6-3 | 210 | R-So. | Muskegon, Mich.
11 | Josiah Booker | 5-10 | 150 | R-Fr. | Sarasota, Fla.
35 | Camden Kruisenga | 6-2 | 175 | R-Fr. | Rockford, Mich.
16 | Nasir Williams | 6-1 | 195 | R-Fr. | Tallahassee, Fla.
17 | Braylen Naves | 6-2 | 190 | Fr. | Davison, Mich.
9 | Justin Ruffin, Jr. | 5-9 | 160 | Fr. | Buckner, Ky.
Redshirt junior Tyson Davis, who was sidelined for the 2024 season with an injury, is back with the most experience at wide receiver. Da vis, who suffered his injury in preseason, has played in 15 career games with 32 receptions for 498 yards and five touchdowns (15.6 average). Last year he was a consensus preseason All-MAC selection.
Also returning after missing the entire 2024 season is redshirt junior Langston Lewis. In his career, Lewis has seen action in nine career games and has made four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown with a long catch of 45 yards.
The tallest player in the wide receiver room is 6-foot-5-inch junior Tommy McIntosh. McIntosh begins his second season at Central Michigan after transferring from Wisconsin. He saw action in nine games last year with three starts and finished with two receptions for 15 yards with a long of 10. He started the season's final three games.
Six other players return to the unit in redshirt junior Jordan Kelly, redshirt sophomores Braeden Tillman-Jones and Tayte Vanderleest, and redshirt freshmen Josiah Booker, Camden Kruisenga, and Nasir Williams. Of those players, Vanderleest (11 games) and Tillman-Jones (one game) saw action primarily on special teams.
The Chippewas added two transfers to the team in Kendall Jones and Collin Payne. Jones played two years at New Mexico Military Institute, where he caught 59 passes for 858 yards and seven touchdowns. Payne transfers from Golden West C.C. where he caught 21 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns.
Two true freshmen join the mix in Braylen Naves and Justin Ruffin, Jr. Naves was a two-time All-Region and all-conference player at Davison, where he caught 28 passes for 600 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. Ruffin, who joined the squad in January, was a two-time All-State honoree who played receiver, defensive back and returned punts and kicks and led his high school team to a 29-1 record and back-to-back Class 3A state titles.
Follow Central Michigan Football: TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Because of the uncertainty, it's a group that is searching for an identity and Wide Receivers Coach Brandon Johnson-Farrell believes that it's an exciting thing.
"We've made a ton of progress," Johnson-Farrell said. "The biggest area has been the mastery of the playbook. They've taken ownership of learning the ins and outs of the offense and they have done a great job of taking the reigns and becoming the most knowledgeable that they can be. We have a lot of unanswered questions. I told our guys before camp, because no one knows what to expect, 'don't look at it as a negative.' That's not always a bad thing. With that being the case, it's all about who are we going to be? I told them that they have the ability to show them who we are. We have challenged them to go out there and play the way they want to be known for."
"The three older guys—Langston Lewis, Tyson Davis, and Tommy McIntosh—have been the ones pulling the sled. We have three very capable leaders and their styles all mesh together while trying to bring this group along. Langston's energy and presence goes a long way, he comes out of his personality, gets guys focused and is very vocal. Tyson is a bit of the same but very composed and very mature. His approach to the game of football, being in the weight room, routine maintenance, he's been doing an excellent job of that. Tommy is my silent assassin. He truly has a 'just watch me' mentality. You can turn on Tommy's tape and teach a younger receiver off his film alone."
"As for the rest of the group, it's really up for grabs," Johnson-Farrell said. "This is a proving ground stage. We have a depth chart but what we have is a line, above the line and below the line. Are you ready to help this team and can we trust you, then you're above the line. Until you check that box, you're below the line. All of our players are looking to cross that threshold in fall camp from a scheme, trust, and confidence standpoint."
"They have all areas of strength. Camden Kruisenga has done a tremendous job; he plays with a lot of effort. Tayte Vanderleest is probably our most physical blocker on the perimeter. Our two new transfers are very good additions. Kendall Jones' attention to detail and outlook on the game is great, football means a lot to him. You can tell football means a lot to him in how he practices and approaches the game. Collin Payne has been doing a great job. From an intelligence and learning the playbook standpoint, he's been a big surprise in how quickly he's been able to pick things up. Today, he played a completely different position, and he didn't miss a beat. Nasir Williams is coming along too; he's put together a couple of nice practices. Braylen Naves has shown flashes of his athleticism; he just needs experience like any true freshman. Josiah Booker and Justin Ruffin, Jr., are two of our more explosive guys. Braden Tillman-Jones has been steady, Mr. Consistent, that's what we need from him. Jordan Kelly has given us some good juice."
2025 WIDE RECEIVERS PERSONNEL ROSTER
3 | Tyson Davis | 5-10 | 175 | R-Jr. | Flint, Mich.
84 | Jordan Kelly | 6-0 | 160 | R-Jr. | Beaumont, Texas
20 | Langston Lewis | 6-0 | 195 | R-Jr. | Savannah, Ga.
18 | Kendall Jones | 6-2 | 175 | Jr. | Valrico, Fla.
19 | Tommy McIntosh | 6-5 | 210 | Jr. | DeWitt, Mich.
86 | Collin Payne | 6-2 | 205 | Jr. | Lake Forest, Calif.
43 | Braeden Tillman-Jones | 5-11 | 180 | R-So. | Novi, Mich
81 | Tayte Vanderleest | 6-3 | 210 | R-So. | Muskegon, Mich.
11 | Josiah Booker | 5-10 | 150 | R-Fr. | Sarasota, Fla.
35 | Camden Kruisenga | 6-2 | 175 | R-Fr. | Rockford, Mich.
16 | Nasir Williams | 6-1 | 195 | R-Fr. | Tallahassee, Fla.
17 | Braylen Naves | 6-2 | 190 | Fr. | Davison, Mich.
9 | Justin Ruffin, Jr. | 5-9 | 160 | Fr. | Buckner, Ky.
Redshirt junior Tyson Davis, who was sidelined for the 2024 season with an injury, is back with the most experience at wide receiver. Da vis, who suffered his injury in preseason, has played in 15 career games with 32 receptions for 498 yards and five touchdowns (15.6 average). Last year he was a consensus preseason All-MAC selection.
Also returning after missing the entire 2024 season is redshirt junior Langston Lewis. In his career, Lewis has seen action in nine career games and has made four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown with a long catch of 45 yards.
The tallest player in the wide receiver room is 6-foot-5-inch junior Tommy McIntosh. McIntosh begins his second season at Central Michigan after transferring from Wisconsin. He saw action in nine games last year with three starts and finished with two receptions for 15 yards with a long of 10. He started the season's final three games.
Six other players return to the unit in redshirt junior Jordan Kelly, redshirt sophomores Braeden Tillman-Jones and Tayte Vanderleest, and redshirt freshmen Josiah Booker, Camden Kruisenga, and Nasir Williams. Of those players, Vanderleest (11 games) and Tillman-Jones (one game) saw action primarily on special teams.
The Chippewas added two transfers to the team in Kendall Jones and Collin Payne. Jones played two years at New Mexico Military Institute, where he caught 59 passes for 858 yards and seven touchdowns. Payne transfers from Golden West C.C. where he caught 21 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns.
Two true freshmen join the mix in Braylen Naves and Justin Ruffin, Jr. Naves was a two-time All-Region and all-conference player at Davison, where he caught 28 passes for 600 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. Ruffin, who joined the squad in January, was a two-time All-State honoree who played receiver, defensive back and returned punts and kicks and led his high school team to a 29-1 record and back-to-back Class 3A state titles.
Follow Central Michigan Football: TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
—CMU—
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