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Belt Loops: Toledo Signs 2014 Defensive Back Cameron Mattison Early

A high school student graduates early to join the Toledo football team.

Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Early Addition:

Cameron Mattison, a defensive back from Charlotte, NC, announced he would play for Toledo next season on Wednesday. Mattison graduated from high school in December and will now join the Rockets in classes for the spring semester.

"We are excited to add Cameron to our 2014 recruiting class," Toledo coach Matt Campbell said in a release. "He is a talented and athletic player who will have a chance to compete for playing time in our secondary next season." Campbell also said he will have a big advantage by practicing with the team this semester before the majority of incoming freshman join in the summer.

Mattison is the second player announced for the 2014 class of recruits. Junior college transfer Tre James is the only other Rockets' recruit announced, with most coming Feb. 5 on national signing day. In high school, Mattison was a part of a Mallard Creek team that won the 4AA state championship this past season. Mattison recorded three interceptions this year to go along with six in 2012. As a captain, he was also first team all-conference, all-county and played in the NC/SC Shrine Bowl.

Eagles Get National Recognition

The Eastern Michigan women's basketball team moved up five spots to No. 17 in College Insider Mid-Major Poll's announcement on Tuesday. Other than the Eagles, Bowling Green is the only other Mid-American Conference school to make the cut of the top 25. Through the first dozen games this season, EMU is 11-1, including an 88-70 win at Kent State to start MAC play. Consider this: the team toppled their total wins from last year in the first nine games this season.

The Eagles have created a high-octane offense averaging 86.5 points a game. On top of that, there have been four games this campaign where the team hasn't trailed a single second. And in a contest with Lawrence Tech, they trailed for a staggering 58 seconds. In comparison with the rest of the MAC, EMU leads scoring, scoring margin, offensive rebounding, turnover margin, assist-to-turnover ratio, steals and rebounding offense (there's a difference between the two rebounding stats). No wonder they've been ahead 80.6 percent of the time in all match ups.

Can Walk-Ons Row the Boat?

Cha-cha-changes continue for the Western Michigan football program. After announcing a new renovation to their facilities, the Broncos are now open to adding players to their roster for walk-on tryouts Feb. 4 at their Seelye Athletic Center. It could be argued that WMU needs all the help they can get following a 1-11 season, but this is an opportunity to find talent already on their campus.

Here Kitty, Kitty

Maybe Bobcats aren't that rare to find anymore. After 40 years on the Ohio endangered species list, the Ohio bobcat (the animal) may be more common than we think. Biologists told the Ohio Wildlife Council that the feline could be removed from the threatened species list after more sightings than in the past. The cat went from endangered to threatened two years ago, but regardless of the council's meeting on April 9, it is still illegal to hunt it.