The depth chart released Sunday lists upperclassmen as starters at 19 of the 22 offensive and defensive positions.

The exceptions are three sophomores: linebacker Shamari Benton, free safety Avery Cunningham and fullback Tyler Lombardo.

“You want your third, fourth and fifth year guys playing as much as they can,” said head coach Dan Enos. “We’re looking to get to that point because guys learn from their experience when they have played.”

Senior nose guard John Williams pointed out the importance of having experienced players out on the field.

“One thing that’s always been the same since I came here is it’s good to have older guys on the defensive side, that way you can taper the young guys and help them out,” he said. “Even when I came as a freshman, we had a bunch of older guys helping me tremendously.”

Of the 52 players on the depth chart, 27 of them are freshmen or sophomores, and 17 have never played in a collegiate game.

On top of having new guys stepping up on the field, three new coaches joined Enos’ staff this offseason.

Quarterbacks coach Morris Watts, wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield and defensive line coach Vinson Reynolds will all be making their CMU debuts on Thursday.
True freshmen

It’s common for freshmen to redshirt their first season on a collegiate sports team to fully grasp the transition, but occasionally a player skips that step.
This season, six true freshmen made the depth chart for CMU.

“We’re very confident and we wouldn’t put them out there if we weren’t,” Enos said. “We have a very talented freshman class and there are other guys who very easily could have stepped up. We try to redshirt as many as we can, but some of them will end up playing.”

Defensively, Cody Lopez and Ryan Petro each earned backup spots at linebacker.

“I work with Petro personally, and he’s making strides,” said senior linebacker Armond Staten. “Like any other freshman, he came in and made mistakes, but he’s getting better and better.”

Freshmen Jarret Chapman and Dennis Nalor each earned backup safety spots.

“(Chapman and Nalor) are very physical and will come up and hit guys,” said junior safety Jahleel Addae. “Also, they both can cover, and have showed a lot of talent. Those guys are going to do a great amount of good this year.”

Offensively, freshmen Titus Davis and Jason Wilson may see playing time at wide receiver.

“We’ll see a couple of those guys (Thursday), Titus Davis and Jason Wilson for sure,” Enos said.

If you watched a Central Michigan football game last season, more than likely you heard this line leave the announcer’s lips.

Of junior Ryan Radcliff’s 3,358 passing yards in 2010, 1,137 belonged to junior wide receiver Cody Wilson. His top target earned 34 percent of his passing yards, which indicates a pretty strong bond.

“(Our relationship) is pretty big and we’re a lot more comfortable this year than even last year,” Wilson said. “We’re on the same page as far as experience and we aren’t perfect, but it’s nice for the wide outs to have a good connection with the quarterback.”

Both offensive weapons are expected to reach milestones early in the season, as they climb up the all-time statistic leaders at CMU.

Radcliff is eight completions away from reaching 300 in his career and 28 away from moving into seventh all-time at CMU. He’s also 10 pass attempts and three touchdowns away from moving into ninth all-time in both categories.

The junior looks at taking the number eight spot all-time in passing yards, needing 227 yards to reach that mark.

Wilson, on the other hand, needs five receptions to move into 10th on CMU’s career receptions list. A repeat of his 2010 receiving statistics would move him to fifth all-time in receiving yards at CMU.

While statistics are huge if you ask any sports fan, quarterbacks coach Morris Watts said they don’t mean as much to athletes like Radcliff.

“Statistics are great, but unless you get ‘W’s’ with them — and Ryan will be the first one to say this — they become meaningless,” Watts said.

And Radcliff agreed.

“It’s cool to see how you stack up with people who have played here in the past, but when it comes down to it, the only stats that matter are wins and losses,” Radcliff said.

The time off was crucial for the Sherwood, Ohio native, who struggled with turning the ball over last season, throwing 17 interceptions despite putting up strong passing numbers.

“This offseason we focused a lot on decreasing turnovers,” Radcliff said. “We just had a lot of film study. I watched the interceptions and just saw times that I forced passes and could have avoided it.”

CMU finished last in the Mid-American Conference in turnover margin (-15), an area that head coach Dan Enos has pointed out this offseason.

Wilson earned the role as the team’s top receiver, but Enos said numerous times he expects good things out of the other receivers on roster as well.

Junior Jerry Harris appeared in all 12 games last season, bringing in 30 catches for 332 yards and three touchdowns as Radcliff’s third most popular receiver.

Senior Cedric Fraser caught 16 passes for 210 yards.

Enos also said he expects true freshmen Titus Davis and Jason Wilson to step up this season, both earning spots on the depth chart leading into the team’s season opener, 7 p.m. Thursday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

It will be the third straight year that CMU will play its home opener against an FCS team.

“(SCS) is a very good football team that was 9-3 last year,” said head coach Dan Enos. “They’re coached well and it’s going to be a challenge.”

Last season, CMU opened the season with a 33-0 victory over Hampton — a team that also finished 9-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Returning as the starting quarterback in his junior season, Ryan Radcliff is more confident in Enos’ offensive scheme and quarterbacks coach Morris Watts said is shows.

“He’s throwing the ball on time and getting it to the right receivers,” Watts said. “There are very few throws he makes now without his feet under him, though of course he’ll throw incomplete passes like any quarterback.”

Despite suffering a thumb injury during the last weeks of practice leading up to the season opener, Enos said there is no health concern and that Radcliff will be at 100 percent come Thursday.

Radcliff’s top target — junior Cody Wilson — will return after a career season in which he caught 83 passes for 1,137 yards and five touchdowns.

The Chippewas bring in four running backs that expect to earn carries, led by senior Parris Cotton, who registered 651 yards and six touchdowns last season.

CMU finished fifth in the Mid-American Conference West last season, which included a 3-9 record, finishing 2-6 in the conference play.

SCS finished quite the opposite, going 9-3 and 7-1 in the MEAC, securing an FCS playoff berth.

“We don’t underestimate anybody,” Enos said. “When you’re coming off a 3-9 season, we’re preparing for this game like it’s the Super Bowl.”

The Bulldogs are led by junior quarterback Derrick Wiley, whose speed and scrambling ability makes him a threat on the ground as well as through the air.

Playing a backup role in 2010, he threw for 103 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 158 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore Tyler McDonald and junior Thomas Williams, are both returning after 250+ yard seasons, each finding the end zone twice.

Two of the team’s top three rushers from 2010, Asheton Jordon and Chris Merrill, who combined for 999 yards and 13 touchdowns, are returning.

CMU starts 10 upperclassman on offense and nine on defense, while SCS’s starters include seven upperclassmen on offense and eight on defense.

“I think we look really good,” Wilson said. “I’m really excited to get out there and play.”

The night game against the Rockets is CMU’s first conference game since playing Bowling Green on Oct. 24.

Toledo comes into Mount Pleasant having dropped its last two conference games after beginning 2-1.

CMU, which lost 31-10 to Boston College — its first loss since the season opener on Sept. 5 against Arizona — still holds a perfect conference record through five games.

The team feels no ill effects from the long break, said junior linebacker Matt Berning.

“We’ll come out a little more hungry,” Berning said. “We all sat around on Saturday and watched other teams going to work and you think, ‘That’s usually us.’ So we’re all excited to come back home.”

Toledo also is coming off of a 10-day break, and CMU coach Butch Jones looks past the team which lost its last two to one that is going to be a tough opponent and possesses statistically the MAC’s best offense.

“They’re in the upper echelon of teams in the country in (terms of) their pass offense,” Jones said. “And they’re a team that possesses a lot of weapons.”

The Rockets’ main passing weapon is senior quarterback Aaron Opelt, who has thrown for 1,863 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions in seven games.

Seven of those touchdowns were thrown to wide receiver Eric Page, who averages 101 receiving yards per game (909 receiving yards total).

“I think (Opelt’s) a really good quarterback and I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves,” said junior linebacker Nick Bellore. “Last year, he really tore us up, I thought. But we don’t really think of them as combos. Obviously, that’s his favorite target but, they have a lot of other weapons out there that can hurt you, so we can’t really focus on Page too much.”

Opposite of Page, Stephen Williams has caught 60 passes for 885 yards and five touchdowns. But Toledo running back DaJuane Collins will keep CMU’s defense honest. He has 733 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

Opelt had missed two games this season after an injury to his throwing shoulder, but Bellore and the Chippewas expect him to be prepared and to spread the ball around.

On offense, Jones said it is going to be critical that the team executes defensively, as the Rockets will show the Chippewas a number of different looks.

“They produce so many different things schematically that we have to make sure that we’re fundamentally sound,” he said. “In our blitz pick-up schemes and our one-on-one matchups in man coverage, it’s going to be critical that we execute, because they’re talented.”

But the Braves have close connections the Mid-American Conference.

Offensive coordinator Dino Dawson has seven years coaching experience at Bowling Green and Toledo — both MAC schools — and, after coaching under Ron Zook in Illinois, he implements a spread offense at ASU ran by senior quarterback Tim Buckley.

“We have to do a great job of containing (Buckley),” said CMU coach Butch Jones. “He’s going to present our defense (with) some challenges that we have not been presented so far; a person who could beat you both with his arm and his feet.”

Buckley led the Braves in passing and rushing last season. Despite throwing 13 interceptions compared to 11 touchdowns, he added 418 rushing yards.

ASU lost its opener two weeks ago 52-0 to Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles were able to hold Buckley to -7 yards rushing.

Jones said there are things the team can take from the Southern Mississippi game plan.

“I think (Southern Mississippi) did a good job of winning the battle up front and establishing the line of scrimmage,” he said. “Southern Miss was disciplined in how they defended him.”

Senior corner Josh Gordy said it benefits the defense to see the spread attack every day in practice.

“We see the spread every day against our offense,” Gordy said. “(We have to be good at) recognizing routes and route concepts.”

Gordy said stopping Buckley from running will be crucial.

“When (they) are running the spread, they are trying to spread you out and run that QB around, so that’s going to be a big emphasis this week.”

Offensive control

The USM offensive line had success controlling the line of scrimmage as well. The Golden Eagles rushed for 398 yards, totaling 631 yards of total offense. Of its four starting defensive linemen, ASU has only one lineman listed above 250 pounds.

CMU senior offensive guard Allen Ollenburger said the ASU defensive linemen do not lack athleticism, however.

“Their quickness is going to be a little bit of a change in pace,” he said. “(ASU Right defensive end Brandon Morris) has some decent size and some decent quickness.”

Despite USM rushing for 398 yards, Jones said CMU will use its short passing game to supplement the running game.

“All the bubble screens or the quick screens and the quick passes and every type of screen, that’s like a run,” Jones said. “We’re going to do what we do.”

Alcorn State’s defense is coached by former CMU secondary coach Zach Shay (2005-2006).

The freshman quarterback from Downers Grove, Ill., had yet to achieve one thing at Central Michigan University and had yet to adjust. He was facing a strong bout of homesickness, and the internal battle put a large burden on his shoulders.

“I’d say every freshman goes through it,” LeFevour said. “It’s hard to like it at a place if you’re not having any success on the field and, especially during camp, (when) you can’t escape football. It’s football all day.”

He approached Brian Kelly’s office with a firm grasp of his decision.

He wasn’t nervous for what he was about to do. After all, Kelly was not only his head coach, but his position coach, and he saw him every day.

This meeting culminated from a difficult three-day stretch of camp. He made up his mind, and picked his direction.

Dan LeFevour quit the football team.

Reconsidering

Kelly, who coached CMU from 2004 to 2006 and now coaches the Cincinnati Bearcats, dealt with similar situations in the past. This was not the first time a freshman walked into his office and conceded his efforts.

“Most of the time, when a guy comes to my office, he’s done,” Kelly said. “He’s ready to go home. I’ve never really, as a head coach going on 19 years, talked somebody out of quitting.”

But Kelly saw past that. LeFevour showcased traits he did not see in other people.

He told his freshman quarterback he would be a captain one day.

“He couldn’t see that, obviously, because he was certainly thinking about other things,” Kelly said. “That meeting and its substance (happened) because I felt so strongly about his ability to be a leader in our program.”

After the meeting, LeFevour called his father, Jack, and told him of his decision.

Jack was at work at the time. The last thing he expected was a call from his youngest of five children who was halting his pursuit toward what he worked so hard to achieve through high school.

“He called me up and he told me he had just quit,” Jack said. “He had just gone into Kelly’s office and quit.”

Getting his son to reconsider and go to the team’s afternoon practice was his only goal. He and his wife, Judy, were making the trek to Mount Pleasant immediately.

Kelly also knew how to handle the situation.

“Coach Kelly said, ‘I’m not going to let you quit in the middle of the day. You have to finish the day out,’” LeFevour said.

With his parents on a four-hour drive to CMU, LeFevour obeyed the wishes of his family and coach. He showed up to practice.

Arriving in Mount Pleasant, Judy said she knew he would be fine if he stayed put for one season. They urged him to be patient and play a year. After the season, if he still felt Division I football was not for him, they would accept his decision.

The trip he and Judy made was the best time investment they could have made. A day later in Chicago, they received a phone call from their son with a simple message. He was going to gut it out.

Making the adjustment

That is not to say things went smoothly after his parents left.

LeFevour still did not know many people. He was out of his comfort zone and had not established himself on campus.

“He truly did have a tough time up there,” Jack said. “He had just left his girlfriend. You could probably count on one hand the number of kids from Illinois at Central Michigan.”

All three of LeFevour’s roommates in Thorpe Hall were from Michigan.
They were redshirted as well, and that allowed them to leave on weekends.

When his roommates left for the weekend or had girlfriends visit, it intensified the nostalgia for life near Chicago. LeFevour was still homesick.

He vividly recalled the weekend of Sept. 17, 2005, when CMU faced Penn State in University Park, Penn. While his team was losing 40-3, he was taking advantage of being redshirted and not traveling with the team.

LeFevour found a ride to East Lansing and got on a train heading home.
“It took like seven hours, but it was worth it,” LeFevour said. “I would go home any minute I actually could.”

Becoming Mr. Relevant

LeFevour began to settle in during the second semester of school.

He said it was clear he would live a life his friends from high school were not.

“You had to make a decision,” LeFevour said. “Am I going to go out Thursday night and then have a workout at 7 a.m.? Probably not.”

But as he began to embrace his role and mesh with teammates, opportunity followed.

Kelly named sophomore quarterback Brian Brunner the starter prior to the August 2006 home opener against Boston College. But a concussion on the third play of the game forced Brunner out.

Suddenly, LeFevour became relevant. And, after a 31-24 loss in which he almost led a stunning comeback, his legacy began.

LeFevour’s 72 yards on 14 rushes against an Atlantic Coast Conference team raised eyebrows. He was quickly labeled a dual-threat quarterback.

The following week, he was awarded his first start against Michigan in Ann Arbor. But this was no Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Big House seats more than 110,000 people. LeFevour was more than nervous.

“It was awful,” he said without hesitation, regarding the pressures of playing in the biggest stadium in America.

Naturally, a glimpse of doubt crept into his head.

“Could I be productive every game? I wouldn’t say I did a great job against Boston College,” LeFevour said, “but I did pretty well for my first time ever playing.”

Michigan’s defense featured future NFL players at nearly every position.

LaMarr Woodley, Alan Branch, Leon Hall, David Harris and Shawn Crable were all on the field, and they all play on Sundays today. LeFevour said it was one of the best defenses he ever played against.

Competition

But prior to the Eastern Michigan game on Sept. 23, LeFevour suffered an injury in practice, and the competition with Brunner was on.

Brunner and LeFevour had a complex relationship. Brunner, a year older, had taken LeFevour into his Mount Pleasant house during the first two summers LeFevour was on campus. The two also were roommates when the team was on road trips.

When Brunner excelled against EMU – he earned MAC West Player of the Week honors in a 24-17 overtime victory – it set the stage for the quarterback competition the following week on the road against Kentucky.

Brunner got the start. But things quickly went south for CMU.

After a sequence of misfortunes, Brunner was pulled, despite not being at fault for a number of miscues.

LeFevour entered the game and took advantage of the opportunity. He threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns without turning the ball over in three quarters of action.

Despite a 45-36 loss, the competition was officially over.

“That’s where it was difficult to handle, but that was more of a personal thing,” Brunner said. “It was tough to rationalize (losing the job) in my mind.”

For LeFevour, things seemed easier on the late September night. It felt natural.

“There’s just games you really feel like you’re in the zone, and that was one of them,” LeFevour said. “We were clicking.”

Kelly said both quarterbacks had the ability, but over the year since the meeting in his office, LeFevour’s attitude toward football changed. He was now a confident quarterback. One who, in the eyes of Kelly, was destined to lead CMU.

“His confidence level really to me was the tipping point between the two quarterbacks. They both had the ability to do it, but I just liked the way Dan handled himself,” Kelly said.

Handling the spotlight

In a short time, Dan LeFevour transformed from just another student to a recognizable face. His success brought celebrity status to CMU and, as the accolades piled, so did the media spotlight.

National publications seemingly swarmed to the small rural campus in mid-Michigan. ESPN, Sports Illustrated and USA Today, among others, made LeFevour the most recognizable face at the university.

The energy level surrounding him increased significantly.

Luckily, LeFevour understands the responsibilities that come with exposure.

He said he knows the attention comes with the territory of being a successful quarterback at the Division I level, and after totaling 11,702 total yards from scrimmage in his career, he has the most yardage of all active players, despite a down junior season.

“I realized (people) know me because of one thing and, if I don’t do it well, no one will care,” LeFevour said.

And now, every move is noticed. Whether he is on campus, at a bar or in class, people notice Dan LeFevour.

But he knows to stay above public opinion.

“You just really can’t care what the public opinion is in a sense. Whether that be if you go to a bar and they think, ‘Oh, he’s out partying.’ Maybe I’m not drinking,” LeFevour said. “Maybe I’m just hanging out with some people. Things like that.”

His record is clean and his academics are in check, as indicated by his 3.57 grade point average. LeFevour is just three credits away from graduation.

Now, he is recognized and identified on a regular basis. The No. 13 at CMU is synonymous with the dual-threat quarterback, and he also is on the billboard outside of Comerica Park in downtown Detroit. But LeFevour takes it in stride.

“If we go to a public place or I go somewhere (and I get identified), if it happens, it happens,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh man, poor me. People know who I am.’”

Striving for normalcy

Dan LeFevour is human.

Despite being a recognizable commodity, he is just another student athlete.

He occasionally still plays video games. LeFevour was pleasantly surprised with his 92 rating in NCAA Football 2010, but he claims he has not played the game since he was a 65 or 70 rating.

“I must be pretty good then,” he said, jokingly. “That’s crazy.”

But to his father’s appreciation, LeFevour remains humble through success.

“I think the humility is real, I really do. I think it goes back to his idolization of Walter Payton,” Jack said. “That guy, as a running back, always gave his credit to the offensive line.”

As Judy said, he will likely get the opportunity to play at the next level, which has been his dream since he was in grade school.

Yet, all of it could have been negated by an emotional decision in August 2005 inside Brian Kelly’s office.

“Whether you call it irony or destiny, that’s really what the substance of the meeting was,” Kelly said. “(It allowed) him to see that someday he was going to be a great leader, and obviously that’s worked out.”

If he followed through on his strong stance in Kelly’s office four years ago, he could be doing something else today. He would not receive the hype or scrutiny he embraces today.

“For as long as I live, I’m never going to go to a place like Georgia or Michigan and have 90,000 people hope I get hurt,” LeFevour said. “You have to take that as a positive.”

LeFevour is just a 22-year-old kid who happened to win a Mid-American Conference Championship as a freshman. He has been compared to college greats Vince Young and Tim Tebow. His face is plastered on a 30-by-60 foot billboard overlooking downtown Detroit.

But as abnormal a life he lives, make no mistake, Dan LeFevour is normal.

The football team retained its three key wide receivers from last season: senior Bryan Anderson and juniors Antonio Brown and Kito Poblah.

“We’re extremely deep at wide receiver,” Anderson said. “We have a lot of experience between me, Antonio and Kito.”

The ability to get the receivers the ball in space could hide any inexperience along the offensive line, particularly at the tackle position, where there are two new starters (Rocky Weaver and Jake Olson).

“In our offense, the wide receiver position takes on such a big role,” said coach Butch Jones.

Anderson enters his final season as the active leader in the Football Bowl Subdivision in receptions (226) and receiving yards (2,864). He was an All-Mid-American Conference first-team selection twice and an All-MAC second-team selection once. He also was named a first-team freshman All-American by The Sporting News three seasons ago.

“I have pretty high expectations for myself,” Anderson said.

The other guys

Also leading the receiving core will be the multi-threat Brown. Brown caught 195 passes in his first two years and has more than 2,000 receiving yards. Brown, last year’s MAC Special Teams Player of the Year, also threw a touchdown pass in last year’s win against Western Michigan.

Poblah, redshirt freshmen Jerry Harris and Jahleel Addae, and freshman Cody Wilson make up the rest of the wide receiving core.

Poblah finished last season third in receptions (43) and receiving yards (532) on the team, both career highs.

Also expected to contribute is Harris.

“I’m extremely excited about Jerry Harris, he’s going to push Bryan Anderson,” Jones said. “Everything is about competition … Nobody’s entitled to anything, there is no entitlement. You have to earn your spot each and every day.”

Addae is expected to be used in a similar way Brown is used. He will line up in different spots on the field as the offense tries to get him the ball in space. Jones has Addae as a work in progress as he adjusts to playing the wide receiver position.

Addae was a running back in high school, scoring 15 touchdowns as a senior.

Brown said as one of the players with experience, he has tried to look after the younger receivers.

“I’ve really tried to take on a leadership role, helping the young guys out with coverage,” Brown said.

Seniors Ontario Sneed and Justin Hoskins were supposed to lead the way.

Sophomore Carl Volny and true freshmen Bryan Schroeder and Paris Cotton were to add additional carries as needed.

But Sneed and Hoskins came into the season with injuries and did not perform as expected. Sophomore Carl Volny, who started the team’s first game, finished the year with just 41 yards.

Returning runners Schroeder and Cotton showed promising signs. After starting the season with a knee injury, Schroeder rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s win against Western Michigan. Cotton averaged four yards per carry in just 25 rushes last season.

“We do have to run the football more effectively this year,” said coach Butch Jones.

Hurting the team’s rushing game even more was the injury to quarterback Dan LeFevour. LeFevour, now a senior, rushed for 763 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers paled in comparison to his 1,267 rush yards and 19 rushing touchdowns his sophomore year.

The rushing game will again look to LeFevour to lead in those categories, but Schroeder, Cotton and freshmen Tim Phillips, Malek Redd and Zurlon Tipton all are expected to contribute.

“I want to be a back that the coaches feel they can put in on any down,” Schroeder said.

Jones said having Schroeder and Cotton see action last year will help them progress this season.

“We’re the benefactor of playing two true freshmen (last year) back there in Paris Cotton and Bryan Schroeder,” Jones said. “They’ve had great game experience.”

Phillips ran for more than 1,500 yards and scored 25 touchdowns as a senior at Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. He also caught four touchdown passes.

Redd had more than 1,000 yards and scored 13 touchdowns his senior campaign at River Hill High School in Columbia, Md. Tipton finished his high school career with more than 5,000 career rushing yards and 76 touchdowns at Parkway Christian in Detroit, Mich.

Jones said all three true freshmen will see playing time this season.

But he caught nearly 200 passes the last two seasons as a wide receiver.

Brown’s emergence the last two years has created mismatches on the field. Brown has been used as a hybrid of running back and wide receiver.

CMU, a spread offense team, has found innovative ways to utilize talent in its system.

“In order to do that, you have to have individuals that can come in, and not only possess good speed, but have the ability to make somebody miss with bubble screens and things like that,” said coach Butch Jones. “I think we really, really upgraded our team when you look at the Malek Redd(s) and the Jahleel Addae(s) and Tim Phillips and Cody Wilson(s) and those types of individuals.

“So it becomes a space game and it becomes a matchup game, so it’s critical in our offense.”

Brown, a junior, frequently lines up in the backfield, but rushed just 30 times in two seasons. The 5-foot-10-inch receiver caught 93 passes last year, scoring seven receiving touchdowns.

A threat on the ground and receiving, Brown also can be used as a throwing weapon in select situations. Brown threw a touchdown pass last season in the team’s win against Western Michigan.

Despite his success on the filed, Brown’s main goal is to keep everything in perspective.

“I just want to stay focused and stay humble,” Brown said.

Runner to receiver

This season, the team started to transition redshirt freshman Jahleel Addae to a similar position.

“I’ve just been working hard and trying to learn the receiver position,” Addae said.

Addae came to CMU initially as a running back. He ran for almost 1,500 yards as a senior at Riverview High School in Valrico, Fla.

“We’re going to use his running knowledge to our advantage,” said wide receiver coach Zach Azzanni.

He also said there will be many times when Addae and Brown are used at the same time.

The standard he set for himself in a 46-touchdown sophomore season was too high to eclipse in 2008. LeFevour passed for 3,652 yards and rushed for 1,122 yards, becoming only the second player in NCAA history to pass for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in one season. He led the Chippewas to their second consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship.

But last year, CMU’s star quarterback came back to earth. An injured ankle forced LeFevour to miss two games and a part of another. That contributed to statistics that paled in comparison to the year before.

CMU also lost the MAC West Division late in the season, failing to make it to the conference championship game. The Chippewas lost their last three games of the season to Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Florida Atlantic in the Motor City Bowl.

“It’s just nice to have a fresh start and have everything that happened last year behind me,” LeFevour said. “Everyone in the conference starts out with no wins or losses.”

Depth chart

With the graduation of former backup quarterback Brian Brunner, who won two games in reserve duty last season, LeFevour’s health will be in the spotlight.

Sophomore Derek Rifenbury is competing with redshirt freshman Ryan Radcliff for the number two position on the depth chart. Neither quarterback has any game experience, but the battle is heating up.

“Last year, with Brunner being here, everyone knew he was the number two guy, and there wasn’t as much of a pressing issue,” Radcliff said.

“Now with him gone, we’re both battling for that number two spot, splitting reps. The competition is definitely there.”

Rifenbury repeated a similar statement his coach said: Every rep counts, especially with the limited reps each backup quarterback will get during practice.

Coach Butch Jones said he does not want to get caught up in being overly protective of his starting quarterback, however.

“The one thing I don’t want to do is (let) keeping him healthy become such the focal point that he loses his edge,” Jones said. “His edge is his instincts.”

LeFevour said part of staying healthy is to avoid taking unnecessary hits.

And if he can stay healthy, LeFevour will have a chance to do what he has yet to accomplish. LeFevour is winless against teams from conferences which receive automatic Bowl Championship Series bowl bids. While injured last year, Brunner beat Indiana, a Big Ten team, on the road, 37-34.

The focus will be on the first part of the schedule, LeFevour said.
“Arizona and Michigan State, (it’s) like a left-hook and then an uppercut,” he said.