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Welcome to the newest addition of our 'Crootin coverage. Here we will be highlighting the week that was in the recruiting world within the Mid-American Conference as well as occasional interesting articles recruiting related, but not necessarily directly tied to the MAC.
-First off, Buffalo has been throwing offers out left and right this week. Their staff has been recruiting nationwide in hopes of finding their next superstar. On Tuesday alone, the Bulls offered four 2016 quarterbacks. The most talented of them being 3-star Tony Russo, however Rutgers and UConn seem to be the front runners. With that said, QB Tahj Tolbert would be a great consolation prize. Tolbert has a big arm who relies on his speed to create plays for him. If Tolbert can improve his accuracy during his senior season, he'd be a great fit at Buffalo.
-Former Toledo verbal DT Jeffrey Pooler recently sent out a tweet including this recruiting edit from Western Michigan. Pooler seems to be high on WMU, however Maryland should be considered the team to beat at this point.
This edit is dope pic.twitter.com/eGLyCSIgZs
— BigPlay Jeff 9⃣ (@JefferyPooler9) May 15, 2015
However, I must admit that I am a fan of this one from Maryland.
This sick #ByAnyMeans #TerpNation pic.twitter.com/rkw85IHU30
— BigPlay Jeff 9⃣ (@JefferyPooler9) May 8, 2015
UPDATE: Pooler announced his commitment to Maryland on Saturday morning. It seems like recent Terps pledge, 4-star QB Dewayne Haskins played a big part in Pooler's decision.
I'm excited to announce that I have decided to commit to The University of Maryland. @dh_simba7 who next ?? #terps pic.twitter.com/sI66kFiFSf
— BigPlay Jeff 9⃣ (@JefferyPooler9) May 16, 2015
-In between seemingly offering every 8th and 9th grader in the nation, Akron extended an offer to 2016 LB Eric Rogers from Warren, MI (De La Salle). Rogers currently lists Boston College, Bowling Green, Miami, Toledo, and WMU as "Warm" on his 247Sports profile so it's fair to say that multiple MAC programs have a chance at the 3-star LB. However, hailing from the state of Michigan, receiving an offer from coach Harbaugh and Michigan is not out of the question which would make them the immediate front runner.
-ATH Darrynton Evans has seen his recruitment pick up immensely as of late. Evans currently lists offers from Air Force, Ball State, Bowling Green, Kent State, Lafayette, Southern Illinois, South Dakota State, and Western Michigan. Evans told Hustle Belt about a month ago that Bowling Green was the school pursuing him the hardest at the time, however "a lot of schools have been pushing lately." Evans was not exaggerating as he received three MAC offers in a span of 48 hours at the beginning of May(Ball State, Kent State, and WMU). As far as what position Evans is being offered for, he says its about a 50/50 split between running back/slot receiver, and defensive back. Notably, Ball State, Kent State, and WMU have all offered him as a defensive back.
-TE/DE Bryce Hargrove currently lists four offers from MAC schools such as Akron, Kent State, Ball State, and Western Michigan. Hargrove not only excels on the field, but also off of it as both Harvard and Yale have reportedly extended offers. Hargrove has gone under-the-radar so far during the recruiting process, however with his athleticism he seems due for a big senior season to help put him on the map.
-Current Kent State verbal, Tyrece Speaight is starting to see offers roll in as Miami and Toledo offered the 3-star DB this week. Speaight also lists offers from Ball State, Cincinnati, and EMU. Although he is currently verbally committed to Kent State, it seems like Speaight's recruitment is very much open. With MAC teams swarming to poach Speaight, Kent State will need to pitch early playing time and being close to home if they want any chance of keeping the talented defensive back until NSD 2016. Also, don't count out more P5 programs offering Speaight such as Indiana, Illinois, UConn, Purdue, etc. No inside information here, it just seems like Speaight's talented enough to earn offers from schools at that level.
-Ball State picked up their first commitment from TE/DE Dylan Koch. Read more about him here.
-Bowling Green picked up their first two commitments for the class of 2016 from DE Shariff Saleem and WR Kyree Calli. Both are under-the-radar guys, however Calli seems to have the higher ceiling with the potential of developing into a reliable possession receiver for the Falcons.
-3-star DE Adetokunbo Ogundeji de-committed from WMU earlier this week. This is a tough break for the Broncos as Ogundeji has a very high ceiling, however I wouldn't be too worried if I were a Bronco fan. P.J. Fleck always seems to have a back up plan. Ogundeji is already the second recruit to de-commit from WMU during the 2016 recruiting cycle(the other being 3-star LB Joe Bachie who is now committed to Michigan State).
-Many MAC schools take different approaches to how they go about offering recruits. Some schools offer more prospects in hopes of getting the school's name on the map along with hoping to land some high-level players. On the other hand, other schools are more hesitant about handing out offers and want to make sure that player seems like a good fit for the program. With that said, lets take a look at how many prospects each MAC school has offered thus far in the 2016 recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports(FYI: the table is sortable!).
School | Total Offers | Offers Outstanding | Commits | De-Commits |
---|---|---|---|---|
Akron | 73 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
Ball State | 75 | 66 | 1 | 0 |
Bowling Green | 156 | 117 | 2 | 0 |
Buffalo | 109 | 88 | 0 | 0 |
CMU | 37 | 29 | 2 | 0 |
EMU | 79 | 62 | 0 | 0 |
Kent State | 58 | 46 | 2 | 0 |
UMass | 72 | 68 | 0 | 0 |
Miami | 142 | 102 | 6 | 0 |
NIU | 25 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
Ohio | 104 | 80 | 3 | 0 |
Toledo | 215 | 155 | 4 | 1 |
WMU | 110 | 73 | 13 | 2 |