Drew Esper

Position:
Linebacker
Height:
6-1
Weight:
210
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Traverse City, Mich.
High School:
Traverse City West H.S.
Twitter:
@DrewEsper
Instagram:
@drewesper24

Will enroll at Central Michigan in January.

HIGH SCHOOL

Will graduate in December 2025 from Traverse City West High School, where he played three years of varsity football for head coach James Wagner … Two-time First Team Division 1-2 All-State honoree … Named First Team All-State by the Detroit Free Press and Associated Press in 2024 … Two-time MHSFCA Team All-Region selection (2024 and 2025) … Named the 2025 Saginaw Valley League Player of the Year … Two-time MLive Traverse City Dream Team honoree on defense … Three-time First Team All-Saginaw Valley League selection (2023, 2024, and 2025) … Voted team Most Valuable Player as a junior … Two-year team captain … Named team’s Defensive Player of the Year … Played both safety and linebacker on defense and wide receiver and running back on offense for the Titans … Concluded his career with 319 total tackles (168 solo), six interceptions, 14 pass breakups, 6 tackles for loss, fumble recoveries, one forced fumble on defense, rushed for 827 yards on 122 carries, caught 67 passes for 996 yards (14.9 average per catch) with 11 receiving touchdowns and totaled 2,616 all-purpose yards in 28 games … Registered 153 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups, two blocked kicks on defense and 1,259 yards and 19 total touchdowns on offense as a senior … Averaged 15.3 tackles per game and led the state in tackles … Finished with 86 tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, five blocked kicks on defense and 1,272 yards and seven touchdowns on offense … Also scored four receiving touchdowns, two return touchdowns and passed for another touchdown … Led the Titans to a second place finish in the SVL as a junior … As a sophomore, finished with 80 tackles, two interceptions, one blocked kick, and one reception in eight games played … Finished as the second leading tackler in all of Division II and led his team in tackles … Named the Traverse City West Player of the Week three times … As a freshman, scored 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1124 yards and finished with eight interceptions … Rated a three-star recruit by 247sports.com, On3.com, Rivals.com, and ESPN.com … Ranked the state’s No. 24 recruit by 247sports.com … Also competes in track and field, wrestling, basketball … Won the Division 1 regional championship and was a state finalist in the long jump and also competed in the 100-meter and 200-meter (23.14) dashes, shot put (38-10), discus (108-8), and pole vault … Ran a personal-best 10.62 in the 100-meter dash … Set school-record in the long jump (20-10) and pole vault as a freshman … Honor roll student … Earned the Bronze Pin in 2024 … Took several AP classes: World History and pre-Calculus.

PERSONAL

Born Drew Esper on April 24, 2026 … Son of Joe and Jaime Esper … Has a sister Avery and brother Luke … Hobbies and interests include football, basketball, track, hiking, chess, and cards … Chose Central Michigan because of the special relationship between the players and coaches and the fact that the program is focused on the right things with an emphasis on developing players out of high school … Committed to Central Michigan on May 20, 2025 … Selected Central Michigan over offers from Eastern Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wayne State, and Northwestern.

ARTICLES
CMU the top choice for TC West football playmaker
Traverse City West junior Drew Esper commits to Central Michigan for football – 910News.com
Traverse City West Football's Drew Esper talks about how the season is going so far and more