2015 Toledo Football Recruiting: 3-Star LB Chris Green Talks Commitment To The Rockets

It is not everyday when a recruit chooses to attend a MAC school over multiple B1G programs that were also pursuing him. Well, Chris Green is not a typical recruit, as a matter of fact he is one of the most intriguing prospects in the class of 2015.

Green, a 6-foot-1 230 pounds linebacker, is a consensus three star recruit according to the recruiting sites and holds offers from Indiana, Illinois, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Penn State, West Virginia, and Western Michigan.

Green is ranked the 17th best inside linebacker in the class of 2015 and was ranked even higher before an unusual rule in the state of Ohio cost him his senior season of football.

Green, who enrolled in Kindergarten a year late, is a 19 year old senior in high school. Although not many people may think anything of this, it is a big deal to the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). The OHSAA stated that Green met all the criteria for an academic hardship, however his athletic abilities and experience disqualify him from receiving a waiver to play.

Basically, the OHSAA said Green is too good to play. In this case, being 1st team All TRAC, 1st team All District, and TRAC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior actually hurt Green.

Green stated in a recent interview with Hustle Belt that many schools dropped their offers once they heard about the decision, however a few schools were still there.

"Some of the bigger programs like Penn State that previously offered me said I no longer had an offer from them. However, Illinois, Indiana, Cincinnati, and Toledo all stuck with me"

A few weeks ago, Green reportedly committed to Indiana, however, he says his offer was not accepted.

"I don't really know the reason why, it was confusing for me. I feel like when someone commits, it should be high fives and hugs all around. Once I put it out there, I was told to take my tweet down until everything was official. I later found out it was not accepted"

Obviously this was tough news for the talented linebacker, however he is not looking back to the past, instead he's looking forward and is ecstatic to be a Rocket.

"Throughout the entire process, Toledo has always been there. Toledo is the one who stuck with me from the 1st offer, until now. They've been the school that has always been there. They wanted me."

Even though Green was receiving great interest from some very prestigious programs, he never forgot about Toledo.

"UT was always there. I always kept Toledo in my mind."

Green is a pure linebacker who has great instincts and ball pursuit. Green doesn't play much coverage, however it's something has slowly has been learning and could develop even more during his time off this year. Based on talent alone, Green could play as a true freshman, however graduating early is only going to increase those chances.

"I'll be graduating early so I'll have the upper hand over other freshman so I can get used to the playbook and get accustomed to college."

The ruling to not allow Green to play his senior year could, in a weird way, also help his chances to play as a freshman. Green will be treating this year as a redshirt year to bulk up and get ready for college football.

"I can't practice with the team since they suited up now. I'm usually running or working out, I'm making sure I'm not getting lazy. I'm trying to treat this year like a redshirt year. I want to get bigger, faster, and stronger so I can be ready for college football basically."

Chris Green is a determined kid who has huge expectations for himself and also the Toledo Rockets. Green spoke like a guy who is excited to be a Rocket and the potential face of their defense.

"I want to make Toledo football bigger. I grew up in Toledo so I know that our football team in college isn't that big. Not everyone from Toledo goes to the football games, it's not a football city. I want to change that. I want to get a lot more fans there to support Toledo and represent our city because we love Toledo. I want to put Toledo on the map even more than it is now because Toledo has a heck of a lot more talent than people give them credit for. My coach told me I'm going to be some hometown hero or something like that and I just said 'I mean why not?"

Green has been through a lot the past few months and while being dubbed the next "hometown hero" comes with a lot of expectations, Green has all the talent and intangibles to live up to the hype.

Check out Green's Hudl highlight below: