Michael Heldman
Michael Heldman
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Michael Heldman has been at Central Michigan through two head coaches in five seasons. His first career honor landed in 2025: All-MAC. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against Western Michigan, Week 10, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-MAC
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jim McElwain → Matt Drinkall. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Drinkall
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 3 · RecognizedR09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
All-Conference HM / 2nd team. Conference recognition has started.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-MAC
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Central Michigan | 48 | 24 | 16.5 | 11.5 | 4 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Central Michigan | 29 | 13 | 6.0 | 4.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Central Michigan | 19 | 10 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Central Michigan | 20 | 12 | 7.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Central Michigan | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 119 | 60 | 34.5 | 18.5 | 5 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2025
W 49–10
vs Wagner
5 TOT · 2 SOLO · 2 SACKS
Dominant 39-point win at home against Wagner.
How he plays
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Central Michigan
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Central Michigan
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -5 net (12 in / 17 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Central Michigan · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #121 · 2026 recruiting class #95
DNA match
Player DNA
3-Tech Penetrator
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to YaYa Diaby’s 2022 season.
Matches YaYa on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Clayton Smith's graduate season at Arizona State (2025).
Matches Clayton on
Differs from Clayton on