Calley ready to hit the ground running

With the 2022 version of spring practice well underway, the Central Michigan football program is seeing new faces on the sidelines.

Earlier this month head coach Jim McElwain announced the hiring of five new coaches filling various positions, including that of recruiting coordinator after the departure of Albert Karschnia to the University of Michigan.

Insert former Wayne State assistant Chris Calley.

Calley, who spent the past four seasons as a wide receivers coach at WSU, has profound knowledge of the recruiting landscape in Michigan and the midwest, and will serve as a strong leader on the recruiting front. He was also named special teams coordinator prior to last season. He will attempt to fill the shoes of Karschnia, who led the Chippewas as Director of Player Personnel and was a major influence on the recruiting scene.

He will be joined as a newcomer to the CMU staff along with four others including linebackers coach Tom Mason, offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, offensive line coach William Vlachos and general manager Ryan McNamara.

The Chippewas are still searching for the first commitment for the class of 2023, but the dominoes should fall at any moment. In the past, June has been a big month for CMU recruiting as a heavy commitment month for the next class. CMU will hold its sixth practice of the spring tomorrow, and will conclude the spring schedule on April 15 before breaking until summer workouts.

Calley has a lot of work in front of him, but a lot of momentum from the program as well. He will have the opportunity to execute McElwain's recruiting philosophy of the footprint. It starts with the home state of Michigan, and a five hour drive in any direction from campus. After that, the program looks for easy direct flights for recruiting purposes in areas with heavy high school talent. During McElwain's tenure states like Florida, Georgia and New York/New Jersey on the east coast have become pipelines for CMU.

Expect recruiting to heat back up in late spring as the weather starts to shift.