#98

Jonathan Decker

Senior defensive lineman on Central Michigan's 2025 roster.

DL · Central Michigan · Sr. · #98

6′5″ · 300 lb · Elkhart, IN

CFB Index 14 · #312 of 330 interior linemenLow confidenceReturning to Central Michigan for 2026

The numbers

sacks · 2025

2 TFL · 25 tackles

Best game: 1 TFL, 2 tackles, at Bowling Green

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman on Central Michigan's 2025 roster.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Central Michigan in 2020.

His career, year by year

How he plays

Wins his gap play after play.

Forced fumbles: 47th percentile.

The full scouting read

Jonathan Decker

DL · Central Michigan · Sr · #98

Wins his gap play after play. Jonathan Decker has played for two head coaches in three seasons at Central Michigan. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against Akron, Week 6, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2023Central Michigan5-7HC: Jim McElwain · Run-leaning

2024Central Michigan4-8HC: Jim McElwain · Run-leaning

2025Central Michigan7-6HC: Matt Drinkall · Run-heavy, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

14Below cohort / limited sample #312 of 330?

Low confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: passes defended (18th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct

Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct

2.0

Tackles#1667 / 2975 · 43rd pct

Solo tackles#2127 / 2975 · 26th pct

Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct

0.0

QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct

Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home5g	1.6	0.2	0.0	0.0
Road5g	3.4	0.2	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-74g	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	2.2	0.3	0.0	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Matt Drinkall

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

14 · #312 of 330 interior linemen

Two-star recruit. Now #312 at the position.

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-MAC

Based on 2025: #34 of 43 Mid-American DLs

How the All-MAC estimate is computed

15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Central Michigan	25	9	2.0	--	--	--
2024	Central Michigan	4	2	1.0	--	--	--
2023	Central Michigan	3	1	0.0	--	--	--
Career		32	12	3.0	--	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2025

W 49–10

vs Wagner

2 TOT

Dominant 39-point win at home against Wagner.

With J. Labas — 241 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 99.5 · 7 rush yds (1 car) · N. Biggins — 15 rush yds (5 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	Note
Wk 4	W 49-10vs Wagner	2	0	0.0	—
Wk 5	W 24-13vs Eastern Michigan	1	1	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 22-28@ Akron	6	1	0.0	—	Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 8	W 27-6@ Bowling Green	2	2	1.0	—
Wk 9	W 38-13vs Massachusetts	2	1	1.0	—
Wk 10	L 21-24@ Western Michigan	4	1	0.0	—
Wk 12	W 38-19vs Buffalo	1	0	0.0	—
Wk 13	W 28-16@ Kent State	2	0	0.0	—
Wk 14	L 3-21vs Toledo	2	0	0.0	—
Bowl	L 7-34@ Northwestern	3	3	0.0	—
Total		25	9	2.0	—

How he plays

Play style

Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.

CFB Index positional classification

Activity vs finishing · season enumeration

What the box score actually says

10 games

25Tackles

9Solo

2TFL

0Sacks

0Pass def.

0INT

25 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 2 TFL.

Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.

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 #125 · 2026 recruiting class #95

DNA match

Player DNA

Two-Gap Base

Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to George Rooks’s 2025 season.

George Rooks

92%match

Syracuse · 2025

Sokoya McDuffie

UConn · 2023

87%

Alex Huntley

South Carolina · 2021

87%

Jalen Williams

Southern Miss · 2024

86%

Oliver Billotte

Kent State · 2024

86%

Matches George on

Class year

Height

Hurry rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Corey Walker's junior season at Wisconsin (2025).

Corey Walker

97%match

Wisconsin · 2025

Sokoya McDuffie

UConn · 2023

96%

Oliver Billotte

Kent State · 2024

90%

Jalen Williams

Southern Miss · 2024

All-Sun Belt

87%

David Blay

Miami · 2025

All-Conference USA

86%

Matches Corey on

Class year

Height

Hurry rate

Player DNA

Players who play like Jonathan Decker

George Rooks

Syracuse · 2025

92%

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

2020

2025 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Two-Gap Base

Players who play like Jonathan Decker