COLUMN: Why Charlie Frye's personnel driven offense will help Chippewas this season


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Running back Jonathan Ward runs into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game on Nov. 10 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Central Michigan's offensive efficiency and explosiveness was at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference, and all of college football, in 2018.

There are only 130 Division I FBS teams, and CMU found itself in the cellar of the rankings in several statistics on the offensive side of the ball.

According to NCAA S&P+ ratings for offense, the Chippewas held a 9.0 offensive S&P+ (No. 130), 31.7 percent success rate (No. 129), 0.92 IsoPPP (No. 129), 85.3 rushing S&P+ (No. 126) and 76.3 passing S&P+ (No. 129).

Without explaining what each category means, it's easier to state the offense was awful in the 2018 season. The numbers don't lie, and anyone with eyes would tell you the same just from watching the 1-11 campaign.

However, offensive coordinator Charlie Frye (coach Jim McElwain's right-hand man) is here to change things in Mount Pleasant.

McElwain and Frye are building a "personnel-driven" attack for the offense, which basically means riding the hot hand and putting the most explosive, athletic players on the field.

"Trying to keep the defense off-balance, mixing in run and pass, we are going to do what our team does best," Frye said. "We've got some really good running backs. We've got some guys that have big-time playmaking abilities outside. I think our quarterbacks are doing a good job commanding and leading their units."

Most teams in college football have a style or scheme before the season even starts, but it doesn't seem like that's how CMU plans to operate. 

For example, if the running backs are operating well, more carries will come. If the tight ends are disrupting defenses as blockers and pass catchers, more two tight end sets could be used. If receivers are proving their dominance, a four wide-out set might be used more often than in previous weeks.

The point of the personnel-driven look on offense is that the way players perform in practice will dictate who sees the field and what packages are used. It's selection by ability shown in practice.

Under former coach John Bonamego in 2018, it almost seemed as if the Chippewas tried to do too much with the same exact players all season long. From the first to last week of the campaign, the scheme stayed the exact same even through multiple changes at quarterback.

Loss after loss, it was the same plays with the same athletes on the field for Bonamego and former offensive coordinator Chris Ostrowsky. 

Frye's outlook changes that.

The best players will get the ball, rather than isolating things to the anticipated top targets on the week one depth chart. 

When prominent players assert themselves this season, they will receive the ball and be highly involved in the offense. The nice thing is that in a personnel-driven offense, the rotation could change week-by-week based on what best moves the chains.

Also, it's important to realize the Chippewas play in the MAC, which automatically means CMU isn't far from a rebound because there isn't much that separates teams in the middle of the pack.

The offensive mentality Frye and McElwain bring to the table has a good chance to turn CMU back into a championship program.

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