Six Chippewas Earn CSC Academic All-District Honors

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Thursday, December 25

1/6/2026 4:00:00 PM | Football

CSC Academic All-District Teams (PDF)

Central Michigan’s Maddix Blackwell, Dakota Cochran, Henry Dryden, Michael Heldman, Ben Pratt, and Jacob Russell earn the prestigious academic award; Cochran and Pratt earn the honor for the third straight season.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Six Central Michigan football student-athletes—senior defensive back Maddix Blackwell, senior linebacker Dakota Cochran, senior tight end Henry Dryden, senior defensive lineman Michael Heldman, senior long snapper Ben Pratt, and redshirt sophomore Jacob Russell—were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District football team, the organization announced on Tuesday. All six players are now eligible for Academic All-America honors.

Cochran and Pratt both earned the honor for a third straight season.

To be nominated for the team, student-athletes must accumulate a cumulative GPA at or above 3.50 while being a starter or key reserve. For football specifically, a player must have competed in 90 percent of the team's games or have started at least 66 percent of the squad's contests. Transfers are eligible while counting their cumulative grade point average from the previous school. A list of all student-athletes who earned Academic All-District honors are posted at this link.

Senior defensive back Maddix Blackwell ranked No. 10 on the Chippewas in total tackles with 42 (26 solo) while playing in all 13 games and starting two at safety. Blackwell had registered at least one tackle in 12 of 13 games and had five games of four or more tackles. He intercepted a pass and made a career-high six tackles in a win over Eastern Michigan. In his five-year career at Central Michigan and Indiana State, Blackwell accumulated 290 total tackles (143 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, intercepted five passes, forced four fumbles and recovered three fumbles. A Bloomington, Ind. native, Blackwell majors in Intelligence Analysis.

Senior Dakota Cochran is a three-time CSC Academic All-District honoree. In November, he earned Second Team All-MAC honors at linebacker. A top playmaker, Cochran led the Chippewas in defensive touchdowns (2, 30-yard INT, 85-yard FR), ranks No. 2 on the team in tackles with 82 (42 solo) and totaled 60 tackles for loss for 17 yards, 0.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, two fumble returns for 85 yards and a touchdown, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. Currently in national statistics, Cochran ranks No. 12 in fumbles recovered (2) and ranks among MAC leaders in tackles (No. 22), fumbles forced (No. 13), fumbles recovered (No. 9), and fumble returns (No. 19). His top performances came at Western Michigan (career-high 11 tackles, 2.5 TFL, forced fumble), Wagner (30 yard INT return for TD), Buffalo (85 yard fumble return for touchdown, five tackles, at Kent State (five tackles, 1.5 TFL, forced fumble), and Toledo (nine tackles, 1.0 TFL, two QB hurries, blocked kick). In his five-year, 49-game career, Cochran has totaled 217 tackles (122 solo), 21 tackles for loss for 82 yards, five sacks for 40 yards, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three blocked kicks. In Central Michigan career records, he currently ranks No. 10 in forced fumbles (4), No. 4 in blocked kicks (3), and No. 3 in most defensive touchdowns (two). In season records, Cochran ranks No. 4 in blocked kicks (2 in 2022) and No. 1 in defensive touchdowns (2 in 2025). His 85-yard fumble return ranks as the No. 3 longest fumble return in school history and No. 9 longest defensive touchdown in school history. A Shaker Heights, Ohio native, Cochran is a Sport Management major.

Senior Henry Dryden saw action in all 13 games with five starts at tight end. He finished the year with eight receptions for 70 yards with a long reception of 23 and made one tackle on defense. His eight receptions ranked second among tight ends on the squad. Combining his career at Central Michigan and South Dakota School of the Mines, Dryden caught 84 passes for 853 yards and 14 touchdowns with a 10.2 yards per reception average. An NCAA Division II All-American in 2024, Dryden was a CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-League First Team honoree last season. An environmental/metallurgical engineering major, Dryden is a Boise, Idaho native.

A team leader and captain from his defensive end position, Heldman earned First Team All-MAC honors in 2025. A four-time Academic All-MAC honoree, Heldman earned the MAC Defensive Player of the Week award on Nov. 17 and became the first defensive lineman to earn All-MAC First Team honors since Thomas Incoom in 2022. The 2025 season has been Heldman's most dominant yet as he totaled 48 tackles (23 solo), a team-high 16.5 tackles for loss for 64 yards, a team-high 10.5 sacks for 48 yards, four pass breakups and a team-high nine quarterback hurries with two forced fumbles. Currently in national statistics, he ranks No. 8 in sacks (0.88 per game) and No. 10 in tackles for loss (1.33 per game), and in the MAC, he is ranked No. 4 in tackles for loss and No. 3 in sacks. His top performances came vs. Buffalo (four tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2.0 TFL, two QB hurries and two pass breakups), vs. UMass (four QB hurries, two breakups, one tackle), vs. Toledo (three tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack), at Kent State (five tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, one QB hurry), and vs. Wagner (five tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2.0 TFL, forced fumble). In his five-year, 53-game career, Heldman has made 120 tackles (62 solo), 34.0 tackles for loss for 133 yards, 19.5 sacks for 99 yards, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles, and 28 quarterback hurries. He is the school record holder for quarterback hurries in a career (28), season (10 in 2023), and game (4 vs. UMass, Oct. 25, 2025). In career records, he ranks No. 16 in games played (53), No. 6 in sacks (19.5), No. 10 in tackles for loss (34.5), No. 10 in forced fumbles (4), No. 14 in yards from tackles for loss (135), and No. 11 in yards from sacks (99). In season records, he ranks No. 4 in sacks (10.5 in 2025), No. 14 in tackles for loss (16.0 in 2025), and No. 2 in quarterback hurries (9 in 2025). The Romeo, Mich. native entered the year as an AFCA Good Works Team, Wuerffel Trophy, and NFF William V. Campbell Trophy watch list member. Heldman is a Communications major.

The Normal, Ill. native, Pratt earns CSC Academic All-District honors for the third consecutive season. As CMU's long snapper for the third consecutive season, Pratt finished his 12-game season with 54 snapped punts, 16 field goals, and 29 point after attempts. He also made one tackle on the year. In his 37-game career as CMU's long snapper, Pratt has snapped 171 punts, 88 point after attempts, and 46 field goals. Pratt is a Sport Management major.

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Russell started all 13 games at left tackle on the Central Michigan's offensive line. Russell was part of a Central Michigan offensive line that allowed just 24 sacks on the year, rushed for 163.5 yards per game, and averaged 330.5 yards of total offense per game. He has played and started all 24 career collegiate games spanning his career at Central Michigan and Valparaiso. Russell is a native of Glen Ridge, N.J.

—CMU—