A few days ago P.J. Fleck and his staff lost a commitment from 3-star safety, Jamal Brown. This clearly was some tough news for Broncos fans, however this was short lived. Just three days after Brown's decommitment, the Broncos landed the crowned jewel of their 2015 recruiting class to date, Justin Tranquill.
Tranquill is currently rated a 4-star recruit by Scout.com, while 247Sports and Rivals.com peg him at 3-stars. At the high school level, Justin plays running back, wide receiver, cornerback, and safety. Look for him to play on the defensive side of the ball for the Broncos.
The Carroll High School product chose the Broncos over reported offers from Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Purdue, and Toledo. It is expected that Justin would have many more offers right now if he had not suffered a torn ACL during seven on seven competition over the summer. This was a huge blow to his recruiting as far as offers are concerned, however his work ethic never wavered.
In a recent interview with Hustle Belt, Tranquill talked a little about his injury and his recovery.
"After I tore my ACL in the summer, Illinois pulled their offer. My recovery is going fantastic right now. I'm two and a half months ahead of schedule right now, I'm already back to running and doing sprints. My doctor says I should be cleared in about six weeks so my recovery time should be right around four and a half months."
Even though Tranquill may be injured, he still was able to make a well-thought out college decision. After talking with the 5-foot-11 190 pounds athlete, it became very clear that he put a lot of thought into his decision.
"Initially, I made a list of things I was looking for in a school. This list included closeness to home, education, and comfort. Western Michigan fit all these requirements. My only brief concern was on education because I did not know much about Western Michigan's business school. But after talking to Zach Terrell, I got a better feel for their education programs. I plan on majoring in either Finance or Marketing so talking to Zach about their business school was just something that secured my decision."
Tranquill actually decided to commit to the Broncos during his official visit this past weekend. His experience during his official was a huge factor in his ultimate decision.
"Obviously the weather wasn't exactly great. It was in the 40's the whole time and it was raining from the time we got there until the time we left. However, the atmosphere and everything was absolutely awesome. The coaches were all fired up and ready to go which I loved to see. The game itself was extremely intense. It was obviously a tough loss but it was awesome to see how much the program has grown in just one year. To go from losing to Toledo by a significant amount last year to actually being able to take them to overtime this year is special to see."
After talking about his official visit, Tranquill then described his future coach perfectly.
"You can't really explain coach Fleck until you're around him and you see the energy that he brings to the table along with the passion that the rest of his staff has. I really believe in coach Fleck as the head coach and I believe he's going to be able to make me a better player and an individual leader."
Tranquill also seems to have a work ethic that coach Fleck definitely will like.
"I've always had an underdog mentality. Nothing comes easy for me and I don't expect it to. I'm going to find a way to win and that's always been me. I think my mindset is going to help me a lot once I get to Western. I think this will hopefully help me to become a leader on the team."
Overall, look for Tranquill to be a threat for immediate playing time once he steps onto campus. Tranquill's unique skill set will make the Broncos a better team the moment he steps onto the field. Can't wait for Justin to arrive in Kalamazoo? Check out his Hudl highlight below in the meantime: