The Central Michigan Offense has seen a boost in its offense this year, most recently in the past few weeks. While the return of receiver Titus Davis certainly has helped (playing at a very high level since back from his injury) the real catalyst to their offense has been a Senior Michigan transfer Running Back #34 Thomas Rawls.
By Matt Vahey
He missed the Syracuse and Kansas games by being held out by the team,reportedly because of the criminal charges he’s facing from an incident back in April.
Rawls has been a extremely productive this season racking up 840 yards and 9 touchdowns in only 5 games. But after returning to the lineup, and playing alongside Titus Davis, the Chippewa offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders the last two weeks. Two weeks ago, Rawls ran for 229 yards and scored 2 touchdowns and then a repeat performance as Rawls ran for 270 more yards and 2 more touchdowns.
Rawls plays the game like you would expect a Big 10 running back would play. He is a 5’10, 217 pound bruiser who runs with a purpose. He runs with a great pad level and can run between the tackles but as the speed to make a cut and get to the outside (as you will see in the second quarter against NIU on his second touchdown run). He has burst on the scene this year and if he can continue to make noise, he may be making some noise during draft season.
Northern Illinois Huskies
Da’Ron Brown, WR, #4
Brown is now the go to receiver on the Huskies, as other standout WR and KR Tommylee Lewis is out for the season with a leg injury. Brown caught 4 passes for 76 yards, but was definitely the main focus in the passing game for the Chippewa defense and tried to limit his play making ability.
Tyler Loos, OL, #75
The pre-season number 1 offensive lineman prospect looks to be getting healthier as the season is going on. He was splitting time early on, which may be evident that he was still recovering from off-season surgery and was not fully healed. Against the Chippewas he looked to be back to old form, finishing blocks and playing with the nasty demeanor that he is known for.
Central Michigan Chippewas
Titus Davis, WR, #84
As mentioned above, Titus Davis seems to of picked up where he left off coming off his injury. Against NIU the passing game was definitely a second option to the running game as Rawls was racking up the yards and NIU couldn’t stop them. But Davis was still able to reel in 4 passes and gain 54 yards (sounds familiar to the CMU alumni Antonio Brown who has caught atleast 5 passes for 50 yards in 21 straight NFL Games). What was great to see is since the running game was definitely the game plan for them during this game, Davis could be seen making blocks down field.
Justin Cherocci, LB, #46
During CMU film, while no one is flashy, Cherocci is always a player who is around the ball and making tackles all over the field. He is a player who will never be out hustled and incredibly productive with over 70 tackles on the stat sheets this year already.
Other Notes:
Tommlee Lewis, WR, #10 (N.Illinois)
Out for the season with a leg injury, which could really hurt the Huskies offense for the rest of the season.
Jamaal Bass, LB #6 (N.Illinois)
Did not play in this game, was injured earlier in the season but was not seen in this game.
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