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MAC Football Recruiting Roundup: Pair of 2017 pass catchers have been offered by Eastern Michigan, Toledo

The Eagles and Rockets are looking to be a little proactive with their offenses.

By Alex Alvarado
Alex Alvarado

Sound Mind Sound Body Academy got underway in Macomb, Michigan. Coaches and former players from around the nation from both the NFL and NCAA came together for this annual event. Per MLive, Chris Creighton, P.J. Fleck and Dino Babers were all in attendance for at least a little bit of the camp.

The Eagles offered 2017 wide receiver Michael Wilcox Jr., which is one of the more proactive moves by Chris Creighton and his staff. Of course, you hear these things happening all the time around the nation, and this strategic chess move is usually emphasized towards players that would be projected to play as a true freshman. He's currently 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, but that doesn't mean he'll be that size once he goes to college. You could check out his sophomore season highlights (courtesy of Hudl) by clicking here, but you might as well check out his freshman season highlights for good measure.

Another target that the Eagles offered was big offensive lineman Mike VanHoeven. An in-state kid from Paw Paw, Michigan, VanHoeven is currently listed as a 6-foot-5 offensive guard that weighs upwards of 300 pounds.

The Ohio Bobcats were impressed with linebacker Eric Popp at their camp earlier this week, so they offered him on Thursday.

"It's a big weight lifted off of my shoulders knowing I have a place to play in the future. When I think of Ohio, tradition and the coaches are the two things that come to mind."

Our Charles Doss recently caught up with Popp about the offer, so be sure to check that out and watch his highlight film. If there's any real sex appeal that Bobcat fans want to see: his junior highlight tape (courtesy of Hudl) begins with him getting a pick six at Yager Stadium.

Ball State added two commits last weekend, a linebacker and an offensive lineman to mark their fifth and sixth commits.

Drew O'Bryan, from Ashland, Kentucky, was also getting interests from Ohio, Marshall and Western Michigan. Working to get his grades up, O'Bryan made multiple trips to Muncie in his recruiting process. The six-foot-four, 230-pound outside linebacker's only other offer was from FCS program Morehead State.

Chris Beech, center, had an early auction for himself after receiving five offers so far. Schools that have offered Beech, a two-star prospect by 247Sports, also include Army, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Navy. Per his Hudl profile page, Beech is 6-foot-2 and weighs just shy of 290 pounds.

A two-way lineman in Jaylon Moore will be playing tight end for the Western Michigan Broncos, announcing his commitment via Twitter last Sunday. Before his commitment with the Broncos, Moore was getting looks from Michigan State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Toledo and Grand Valley.

The Broncos have 14 commits now. It's only mid-June.

The Toledo Rockets offered quite a few players over the week. Drew Beesley is a hot name in the midwest with nine offers, six from MAC schools. Beesley is a tight end and defensive end from Warren, Michigan. Check out the 6-foot-3 prospect's highlights courtesy of Hudl.

One of Toledo's other offers was also offered by Bowling Green: lineman Joshua Black. Black is currently unranked by 247Sports right now, but they have him listed as an offensive lineman only. With more talk on Twitter from various scouting reports, it looks like the 6-foot-3 prospect is going to be playing defensive end at whichever college he ends up going to.

But the biggest prospect that the Rockets offered over the week was Tre' McKitty, a 2017 tight end from Tampa, Florida. McKitty now has 17 offers in total from around the nation, including Florida, Auburn, and Miami (FL). He already has great size at 6-foot-4, near 240 pounds, and has some experience playing as an X/Z receiver. Check out his highlights, courtesy of Hudl:

How about a really tall wide receiver? Everybody loves one of those, which is why 6-foot-5 Michigan-native TaMarion Johnson was also offered by the Rockets. He received his first offer by the Miami RedHawks earlier in the week as well. Click here to check out his highlights courtesy of Hudl.

The last player that Toledo offered from the week was David Garfunkel, an offensive lineman from Yorba Linda, California. The 6-foot-5 offensive tackle also has offers from Arkansas State and Cornell.

For more MAC football recruiting news, follow @MAC_Crootin on Twitter.

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