Chippewas Hit the Field as Year 2 of Drinkall Era Kicks Off

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

8/6/2026 5:14:00 PM | Football

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Trio of quarterbacks lead experienced offense as CMU preps for Sept. 5 opener at New Mexico

By: Andy Sneddon

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Year 2 of the Matt Drinkall era is underway for the Central Michigan program.

Through two practices, it's all systems go.

Drinkall and the Chippewas met the media on Thursday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium as they look ahead to the 2026 opener at New Mexico on Sept. 5. CMU's home opener is Sept. 12 against Colgate, the lone Football Championship Subdivision opponent on what shapes up to be a rugged schedule.

CMU entertains Wyoming and then goes to Miami (Fla.), the defending national runner-up before opening Mid-American Conference play at home against Akron on Oct. 3, which is also the Chippewas' homecoming game.

"The No. 1 thing that we're excited about, other than the players, is the schedule," said Drinkall, who guided the Chippewas to a 7-6 finish in 2025 and their first bowl berth in four seasons. "If you look back over the last 10 years, this is probably the most premier schedule Central Michigan has had during that time."

New Mexico has been pegged as a favorite to win the Mountain West by several publications, Drinkall noted, and then added that going to Miami is an "incredible opportunity against a program that is the best of the best at everything they do. I think that's going to be a great measuring stick for us."

Drinkall also pointed out the Chippewas' home game with rival Western Michigan, the defending MAC champion, on Oct. 17.

"The goal is to break the all-time (Kelly/Shorts) attendance record at that game, so start getting your tickets now," Drinkall said.

Quarterback
As is always the case, no matter the level, no matter the team, the early camp questions surround quarterback.

The Chippewas have six on the roster, headlined by returnees Angel Flores, Jadyn Glasser and Marcus Beamon. All three saw significant playing time a year ago and all three are cut from the same mold, Drinkall said.

"Underrecruited and, I think outside of the building, underappreciated," he said. "These are just guys you absolutely want representing you, leading you. They're all going to show up for everything, they're all going to be really good students, they're all going to take notes like robots or machines, they're all going to be perfect in the walk-throughs. Those three will compete and really bring out the best in each other all through camp.

"They all can do all of it, and they all can do all of it at a very high level."

Drinkall instituted a run-heavy offense a year ago and that offense incorporates the legs of the signal-caller as much as the arm. That may change, he said, as the Chippewas look to expand and diversify of the offense.

Year 2 Progression
As one might expect, the Chippewas are farther ahead in their preparation in Drinkall's second season than they were a year ago at this time.

"They did a great job with everything before, it's just a different process," Drinkall said. "Everybody's aligned, everybody has the same execution and standard of operation. I can't even tell you how helpful that is. That allows these guys to get more rest and recovery and get away (from football). The overall familiarity with the operation makes it less stressful on the staff and it makes integrating new players so much more seamless and that matters. It matters.

"Last year was a lot of repairs and I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm saying that you have to come in and change the operation of things. This year all of those things are up and running and now it's more maintenance of those issues."

Drinkall served a highly successful stint as the head coach at Kansas Wesleyan from 2014-19 before joining Army West Point as an assistant. He said on Thursday that he learned a valuable lesson as a head coach at Kansas Wesleyan when his program began to experience success.

He's putting that lesson into practice now as he looks ahead with the Chippewas.

"I kind of squeezed too hard and didn't let the thing bloom when I should have and I stunted the growth for a while," he said. "I've been hyper aware of that the second time around."

A Lot of New
A year ago, the Chippewas returned a boatload of experienced and talented starters on defense, and they relied heavily on that defense while the offense played a conservative, ball-control style.

It's the opposite in 2026. CMU returns plenty on offense, including the likes of receiver Langston Lewis, running back Brock Townsend, the quarterbacks, and a slew of experience on the line.

Just three starters return on defense and Drinkall and his staff are tasked with returning the likes of standouts Michael Heldman, Jordan Kwiatkowski, Dakota Cochran and Lawai'a Brown.

Drinkall said the early plan calls for the Chippewas to utilize a vast number of players on defense, situationally, to get the most out of individual skill sets.

"These guys have hit the ground running and really bought in," he said. "We're really excited about our players, we're really excited about our depth, and we're really excited about each level of our defense."

The Mantra
Drinkall said the Chippewas are 'owning the ugly,' which, he explained, means that it's all about attention to detail and paying attention to the margins makes all the difference.

"What is it that separates people?" he said. "We want to take ownership of every ugly part of our jobs that we have to do. We want to talk about it, embrace it, live in the dark spots that people don't like talking about; the ugly stuff of your job – take ownership of it and run with it and we really think that will pay dividends in the margins.

"The margins between being successful and not are so razor thin."