In order to survive on the football field, it is essential for a team to have a heart. Looking at the Central Connecticut football team, that heart belongs to senior defensive lineman Chris Tinkham. He is their heartbeat, the motivating factor and driving force as they hope to repeat as Northeast Conference Champions.

As a captain in his senior season, Tinkham considers himself a leader, stepping in for the departures of five players Central lost to graduation last year on defense.

“I definitely view myself as a leader, I have my ups and downs, my trials and tribulations just like anybody, but I always fought back, came back on top, and tried to be a better man every day, for myself and my teammates,” Tinkham said.

After being a part of a championship run last year as a junior, he knows what it takes. He knows the secret formula and a major component, according to Tinkham, is “22 guys having the same mentality.”

When asked how he would describe his style of leadership, Tinkham said “I’m a realist, I’m not going to tell people what they want to hear, I’m going to tell them the truth. People don’t have to like it.”

Tinkham has confidence in this year’s squad though, saying “this team has what it takes, it’s a certain mentality, and people are either going to come with it or fold behind.”

To get this team to where it needs to be, to that championship mentality, the senior defensive lineman knows that sometimes he’s going to come off as “the bad guy.”

“Even if I’m the bad guy sometimes, I’ll make sure the team is going in the right direction, I’m going to be the dude pushing everybody to be on the same page,” he said.

Every football team needs someone like Tinkham. His leadership and toughness are essential to team success. He’s the heartbeat on the defensive line, on the defense and on the team in general.

Along with the team success, Tinkham has had his own personal success in his college career so far. He’s accumulated over 100 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and over five sacks during his time at Central and he will continue to add to the stat sheets this year.

Last year, Tinkham was selected to the second-team All NEC and for this year and could likely reach the first team this season.

Even though he knows the expectations are high, Tinkham is not thinking about the accolades as he takes on his senior season. He knows they will come as long as he’s “just playing football and having fun with it.”

Looking back, he’s thankful to be at CCSU. Originally a residence of Lynn, Massachusetts, Tinkham had to go to prep-school as his high school GPA was not up to par.

But in hindsight, that was part of his journey and it helped him join the Blue Devils, who gave him a shot.

If you’re looking to find Chris Tinkham in the future, perhaps he will be on the battleground known as the football field, or perhaps he will be a police officer. But one thing is for sure, he is going to be leading and giving 110 percent.