MAC Football Recruiting Power Rankings: December 2014

It's that time. Another edition of the MAC Recruiting Power Rankings is finally here. There has been a lot of news on the recruiting trail lately so be sure to check out our recruiting database with every school's list of commitments, follow this link.

As usual, each member of the HustleBelt recruiting team casted their vote this week for the December edition of our MAC Football Recruiting Power Rankings. Find out below where your favorite school is ranked.

1. Western Michigan | LM: 1 | Commits: 28

Western Michigan continues to impress on the recruiting trail. Arguably the Broncos biggest pickup is  3-star tackle Wesley French. French chose the Broncos over offers from P5 schools, Illinois and Iowa State. The Broncos were able to fill a huge need in getting a verbal from French. Another key verbal commitment is defensive end Eric Assoua. Assoua is rated 3-stars by 247Sports and held offers from Bowling Green, Boston College, and Toledo. The Broncos currently have 28 verbal commitments however current 3-star linebacker commit Junior McMullen is planning to take an official visit to Indiana per Allen Trieu:

#Indiana was at Oak Park for LB Junior McMullen today. #WMU commit will take official w/ Hoosiers: http://t.co/mynKcRiX9Q

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) December 4, 2014

Marquee Verbals: (LB) Junior McMullen, (ATH) Justin Tranquill, (OT) Wesley French, (DE) Eric Assoua , (RB) Davon Tucker, (DB) Davontae Ginwright, and (DB) Kadeem Gilbourne.

2. NIU | LM: 2 | Commits: 21

In my opinion, Northern Illinois and Miami were pretty much identical as far as strength of recruiting class. That is until the Huskies landed a commitment from 3-star wide receiver Spencer Tears. Tears, a one time Nebraska commit, chose NIU overs offers from Indiana, Louisville, Purdue, Syracuse, as well as most of the MAC. With Steven Lee already committed, NIU will have some big time play makers at the wide receiver position. NIU also recently had multiple key verbal commitments on campus last weekend for their official visits. Keep an eye on current verbal QB Alec Ingold. With Paul Chryst's future at Pitt up in the air, it will be interesting to see what other schools might try to poach Ingold. If Chryst take the job at Wisconsin don't be surprised if he offers Ingold as an athlete. The de-commitment of Herbert Miller hurts and NIU missed out on DB Adonis Williamson, however Rod Carey has still assembled a solid class to date.

Marquee Verbals: (LB) Kyle Pugh, (OG) Nathan Veloz, (OT) Vince Hughes, (RB) D.J. Brown, (WR) Steven Lee, (WR) Spencer Tears, and (LB) Josh Corcoran.

3. Toledo | LM: 3 | Commits: 23

Toledo has only landed one verbal commitment over the last two months, however their overall class is very solid from top to bottom. The Rockets had some big names on campus over the weekend for their official visits. 3-star wide receiver Darrion Landry headlines that list as he is currently deciding between offers from Akron, Illinois, Kentucky, South Alabama, South Florida, Southern Miss, and Toledo. Bryce Witham, a tight end from Brenham, Texas, also took his official visit over the weekend. The list of official visitors for the Rockets include a current Kansas commit, the crowned-jewel of Toledo's recruiting class LB Chris Green, among others.

Marquee Verbals: (LB) Chris Green, (RB) Nevone McCrimmon, (RB) Arthur Thompkins, (LB) Tyler Taafe, (OL) Chandler Cotterman, (OT) Cameron Bell, and (QB) Mitchell Guadagni.

4. Miami | LM: 4 | Commits: 20

Chuck Martin continues to impress on the recruiting trail in his first year. The RedHawks recently flipped 3-star WR James Gardner from Cincinnati, a huge get for Martin and his staff. QB Billy Bahl and James Gardner could be connecting for a lot of touchdown passes in Oxford for the next 4 or 5 years. Miami recently picked up athletic defensive back Allan Koikoi as well as wide receiver Luke Mayock, former NFL safety Mike Mayock's nephew. With 20 commitments to date, look for Martin to finish out this recruiting cycle with a bang and try to add some more defensive fire power to an already strong class.

Marquee Verbals: (QB) Billy Bahl, (WR) James Gardner, (LB) Carter Masek, (OL Ian Leever, (OT) Ryan Mullen, (TE) Cole Chewins, and (RB) Joshua Allen.

5. CMU | LM: 5 | Commits: 16

Central Michigan has not received a verbal commitment in about two months or so. Out of their 18 verbal commitments so far, 17 of them are from the state of Michigan. Eastern Michigan is quickly gaining momentum and if CMU stays quiet on the recruiting trail it will not be long before the Eagles pass them up.

Marquee Verbals: (DT) Shahid Bellamy, (OL) Derek Smith, (QB) Jake Johnson, (WR/DB) Jamil Sabbagh, and (RB) Romello Ross.

6. EMU | LM: 7 | Commits: 22

Eastern Michigan has been the most active team in the MAC on the recruiting trail over the past two weeks. The Eagles landed 5 verbal commitments over a span of 48 hours. Running back Breck Turner seems poised to be a star in the MAC while Cody Tuttle is looking forward to his second shot at D-1 football after transferring from Nevada to a junior college. The Eagles recently hosted some talented uncommitted recruits for official visits recently like Kezio Snelling and Jaylen Pickett to name a few.

Marquee Verbals: (RB) Breck Turner, (OT) Rob Pavletich, (LB) Demetrius Colbert, (DT) Nick Dillon, (DB) Devon Russell, and (WR) Cody Tuttle.

7. Ohio | LM: 9 | Commits: 16

The Bobcats landed a big verbal from in state wide receiver Elijah Ball. Ball chose Ohio over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, and Connecticut. The Bobcats will have a smaller sized recruiting class this year but by adding guys like Ball they are setting themselves up nicely for the future.

Marquee Verbals: (RB) Trae Williams, (LB) London Cloud, (WR) Elijah Ball, (DT) Brian Arp, (S) Javon Hagan, and (WR) Kyle Belack.

8. Ball State | LM: 8 | Commits: 16

Ball State has been relatively quiet on the recruiting trail lately. The Cardinals recently added JUCO defensive back Corey Hall. Hall and Armani McNulty could form a formidable tandem on the defensive side of the ball. It will be interesting to see how Ball State rounds out this recruiting class as they have some talented pieces in place as of right now.

Marquee Verbals: (QB) Riley Neal, (RB) James Gilbert, (LB) Abdallah Jaffal, (DB) Armani McNulty, and (TE) Kyle Schrank.

9. BGSU | LM: 6 | Commits: 14

Bowling Green has failed to make any sort of splash on the recruiting trail since landing a verbal commitment from defensive end Eddy Wilson. The Falcons were able to buck this trend when they picked up a commitment from defensive back Jamari Bozeman. Bozeman held offers from FIU, FAU, Marshall, Miami, and Tulane. With the season over, look for BG to start to become more active on the recruiting trail leading up to signing day.

Marquee Verbals: (QB) James Morgan, (DT) Jack Kramer, (DB) Jamari Bozeman, (DE/OLB) Rahn Bailey, and (DT) Eddy Wilson.

10. Kent State | LM: 11 | Commits: 10

Kent State had a pretty successful two months on the recruiting trail. The Golden Flashes picked up commitments from talented defensive backs: D'Andre Smart, Khalil Brooks, and Carlos Pickett. Hopefully Kent State can keep up the momentum on the recruiting trail. Also, don't be surprised if the Golden Flashes get involved with a potential UAB transfer or two.

Marquee Verbals: (LB) Nick Faulkner, (DB) D'Andre Smart, (DB) Khalil Brooks, (OL) Conor Brumfield, (QB) Jakobi Meyers, (LB) Troy Dipre, and (OT) Alex Hoag.

11. Buffalo | LM: 10 | Commits: 10

Not much to report on Buffalo's end. 3-star quarterback Tyree Jackson, a current Buffalo commit, recently took an official visit to Eastern Michigan. Jackson is a true dual-threat quarterback and it would be a huge hit to Buffalo's recruiting class if he wound up signing with another school.

Marquee Verbals: (QB) Tyree Jackson, (WR) Brandon Smiley, (DB) Cameron Lewis, (DT) Duke Hwang, and (TE) Matt Seybert

12. UMass | LM: 13 | Commits: 9

UMass was able to land a verbal commitment from quarterback James Sosinski about a month ago. Sosinski has a solid arm as he threw 20 touchdowns his senior year in high school. Teddy Atkins is one of the most talented players in this recruiting class and in a few years he could be considered the best player in Mark Whipple's first recruiting class since returning to UMass.

Marquee Verbals: (OT) Derek Dumais, (LB) Teddy Atkins, (OG) Jack Driscoll, (OL) Michael Yerardi, (OT) Joe Parsons, and (ATH) Lee Moses.

13. Akron | LM: 12 | Commits: 6

No that is not a typo. Akron currently has just six verbal commitments to date. JUCO defensive back Chris Bivins looks to be an extremely talented player who could be a perfect fit in Akron. Tight end Trey Dunkelberger recently decommitted from Akron and decided he will attend Syracuse. The Zips seem to be going after quarterback Gardner Minshew pretty hard. Akron is Minshew's only FBS offer now with the announcement of UAB's program shutting down. Here's to hoping Akron can start adding some talent to this recruiting class, and quickly.

Marquee Verbals: (LB) Tyler Shipman, (DB) Chris Bivins, (LB) Jan Johnson and ATH Jaquavis Dixon.