Kentucky's season opener against Central Michigan is only eight days away. The Wildcats are already preparing for CMU and Cats Illustrated's coverage has started to include more about the Chippewas as well.
You can read our full breakdown of CMU's personnel, schemes and how they match up with Kentucky on paper here.
Now it's time to lay out more information about some important Chippewas who could have a hand in the game's outcome.
Junior running back Jonathan Ward
Ward is CMU's most proven returning offensive player and Kentucky can expect the Chippewas to throw a heavy dose of Ward their way. He had 215 carries last year in spite of CMU having a prolific passing game with plenty of other options on offense. With a new quarterback, new starting tackles and an almost entirely new cast of pass catchers, it stands to reason that the Chippewas will lean very heavily on their feature back in the season opener on the road. CMU is likely to make Kentucky prove that its run defense has made progress from last season and Ward is the best way they can do that.
The 6'0, 185 pound running back from Kankakee, Ill., started last season strong with 147 yards against Rhode Island, but he went through a lot of struggles until the second half of the schedule. Through the month of November, however, Ward was fantastic. He averaged right around 130 yards per game in CMU's last four regular season games with five touchdowns. When he wasn't finding success on the ground early in the season he was still catching plenty of passes and making things happen in space.
Last season was Ward's first as a major contributor for a full season. He's the kind of player a lot of Kentucky fans could cheer for after Week 1, because his story of escaping rough surroundings in his youth (a close friend was shot and killed in 2017) is a feel-good success tale.
Ward has carried the team on his shoulders before. CMU was devastated by injuries to skill position players last year, and his production was vital in helping the team to a bowl game. He's the kind of player who can change directions and see holes before they open.
Sophomore quarterback Tony Poljan
When Kentucky lands a three-star recruit with a 5.6 Rivals Rating, that's par for the course (at least under Mark Stoops). When Central Michigan lands that kind of player, top 20 in the state of Michigan, that's a big deal. When that player is a quarterback who had received earlier Power Five offers, well, that's the kind of player most MAC programs can build around for the future. That has been the plan from the start. Poljan appeared to be the odds-on favorite to start for CMU at one point before last season, but when Shane Morris transferred from Michigan to the school in Mount Pleasant that changed the equation.
One year older, perhaps wiser and with a little time at receiver under his belt in 2017, Poljan is the future of the program and the future is now. He had more rushing attempts (27) than passing attempts (21), which speaks to his athleticism but also perhaps his raw arm. That's not to say the arm is lacking. The massive 6'7, 236 pound athlete/quarterback was 10/17 for 61 yards in limited action last year with most of those passes coming against Miami-OH, Wyoming and Rhode Island.
CMU head coach John Bonamego said during the offseason that Poljan is doing all the right things: Putting in the work, picking up the mental part of the game, keeping the right attitude. But until at least next Saturday, he remains a very large, figuratively and literally, unknown as a starting quarterback. It seems clear that CMU will have Poljan running (and running the read option with Ward) a fair amount. And with so many receivers (and the team's star tight end) lost from last year, with two new tackles also, there might be a lot of stuff between the tackles and simple plays designed to build confidence.
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