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2015 MAC football recruiting power rankings: January 2015

The latest edition of recruiting power rankings brings some major shakeups.

By Mike Karpinski
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Alas, Signing Day is just three weeks away.

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. WMU | LM: 1 | Commits: 28

Western Michigan had a slow month, but . DB/WR Anton Curtis received an offer from Cincinnati recently.

Curtis and LB Junior McMullen are two recruits who could possibly wind up signing elsewhere on National Signing Day. Only time will tell what happens, but either way coach Fleck and his staff have shown they are very capable of putting together talented recruiting classes. Unless the wheels really fall of for the Broncos, I think they will be our #1 recruiting class on NSD as well.

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: 22

The Huskies picked up 3-star LB Joe Riggins last week. NIU has put a lot of time into recruiting the Sunshine State and with the commitments of Riggins, Jeff Hill, and Richie Cooper it is clear that their efforts are not going to waste. QB Alec Ingold and OL Vince Hughes are two commits from the state of Wisconsin that could get offered by the Badgers-if an offer were to come fore Ingold or Hughes it would be tough for them to turn down their hometown team.

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. EMU | LM: 6 | Commits: 25

EMU makes a move up three spots this month and it mainly is due to their activity on the recruiting trail lately while schools like Toledo and Miami have seemed to slow down for now. The Eagles picked up a huge commitment from Kezio Snelling this month. EMU seems to really be targeting the state of Florida as well, as Snelling is their 4th commit from Florida. Expect EMU to sign at lease one more Florida recruit as running back Willie Parker seems to be very interested in the Eagles. LB Michael Ojemudia has reopened his recruitment and is looking at B1G schools like Iowa and Indiana.

If EMU can finish strong, it's possible for them to move up as high as two in our power rankings. However, Miami and Toledo won't be easy to hold off as they will both likely be making one last recruiting push before NSD.

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

T-4th Toledo | LM: 3 | Commits: 22

Toledo has been very quiet on the recruiting trail lately. The Rockets recently lost DB David Rose as he has now decided he will be going to Purdue. Toledo recently landed UAB's 2nd leading tackler from last year, S Rolan Milligan. Milligan will start right away and is a huge boost to the Rockets' secondary. Toledo is currently in strong pursuit of 3-star JUCO WR Darrion Landry. Landry and the Rockets will be having an in-home visit on Thursday night and there's a possibility that he will commit to them soon. The other schools he is considering are Kentucky and USF. Toledo always puts together strong recruiting classes so don't be surprised to see them compete with NIU, EMU, and Miami for that coveted #2 spot in our final rankings.

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

T-4th Miami | LM: 4 | Commits: 20

The RedHawks have been pretty quiet on the recruiting trail as of late. Expect that to change over the next three weeks and coach Martin will be looking to finish his first recruiting class with a bang. Martin and his staff have been busy offering multiple 2016 recruits scholarships lately, something that leads one to believe that the RedHawks could be in for an even bigger season on the recruiting trail in 2016. TE Cole Chewins recently was offered by Michigan State as a greyshirt. Chewins remains committed to Miami for now but still could wind up a Spartan by NSD. Keeping this class together may be tough as many P5 programs might offer a few commits, however that just proves the high-caliber players that Martin is targeting to play in Oxford. QB Billy Bahl and WR James Gardner could turn into one of the best QB-WR duos in the MAC.

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

6. CMU | LM: 5 | Commits: 21

DB Tyrone MIller is a huge get for the Chips and is a Big Ten talent in my opinion. CMU now has two QB's in this class with the recent verbal of Dakota Kupp. 3-star QB Jake Johnson hasn't been healthy his whole senior year, battling concussions and other various injuries. The Chips have a pretty balanced class so far but I expect them to look at getting another wide receiver(or two)  since they only have one committed currently.

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

7. Bowling Green | LM: 9 | Commits: 18

BG had a huge month, and personally I had them ranked a little higher. Former Illinois commit, Matt Domer is on campus and enrolled at BG. Domer is an explosive running back from Chicago who should be a star as a Falcon. Deric Phouthavong possesses ideal measurable for a wide receiver and could be a force in a few years. LB Matthew Finkler also was a solid pickup for the Falcons. The focus of this recruiting class has been defense so it is nice to see Babers rounding out this class with some playmakers like Domer and Phouthavong.

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

8. Ohio | LM: 7 | Commits: 17

Ohio picked up a commitment from WR Alex Alders right after we published last months power rankings. Alders had offers from other MAC schools like Toledo and WMU. Since Ohio is likely to sign a smaller class this year, look for the Bobcats to look for guys like Alders who will fit in nicely in Athens. RB Trae Williams and LB London Cloud are still the two best players in this class to date.

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

9. Ball State | LM: 8 | Commits: 18

Not much news to report on the Ball State front. DB Rontrell Payton is Ball State's most recent commit and he is actually already on campus. Being a JUCO player, Payton will hopefully be able to compete for playing time upon his arrival. Enrolling early always helps ones chances at early playing time since it allows recruits to get adjusted to the life of a student-athlete.

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

10. Kent State | LM: 10 | Commits: 14

We recently became aware of multiple Kent State commits, bringing their verbal commitment total up to fourteen now. WR Johnny Woods and LB Anthony Johnson seem to be talented guys who will fit nicely with the Golden Flashes. D'Andre Smart seems to be the crowned-jewel of this class so far and I expect him to compete for immediate playing time.

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: 11 | Commits: 10

There hasn't been much to report since the new staff has been hired. Look for Buffalo to be very active in the coming weeks as they need to fill this class up, and quickly. QB Tyree Jackson has started to receive offers from bigger schools like Connecticut. He seems to still be a solid verbal to Buffalo but things could change before Signing Day. It'd be a huge win for the new staff if they are able to get Tyree Jackson in a Buffalo uniform by the time it's all said and done.

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

12. UMass | LM: 12 | Commits: 9

UMass was able to land DT Mario Patton last month as the Minutemen beat out Toledo. UMass recently lost the verbal of Teddy Adkins which is a pretty big blow to their class. The transfer of LB Tom Rodrick will definitely help however. Hopefully the Minutemen can fill this class out soon as well as land some playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.

Marquee Verbals: (OT) Derek Dumais, (DT) Mario Patton, (OG) Jack Driscoll, (OL) Michael Yerardi, (OT) Joe Parsons, and (ATH) Lee Moses.

13. Akron | LM: 13 | Commits: 6

What is going on in Akron? One month before Signing Day and the Zips have just six verbal commitments. Akron is probably the most mysterious team on the recruiting trail, however coach Bowden's strategy seems to be effective as the Zips have started to show improvements on the field at least. Landing JUCO WR Michael Means gives the Zips some offensive firepower, however they are going to need to find much more of that before Signing Day if they want to get out of last place in our rankings.

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

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