Football picked #3

Almost time to get some #MACtion ⏳

The 2024 MAC Football Head Coaches Preseason Poll is LIVE! 👀 pic.twitter.com/jJAj5BwhcP

— #MACtion (@MACSports) July 19, 2024

Well, here we go.  BG football starts the season with more anticipation than any time since Mike Jinks took a team picked #1 in the East down to Columbus.  It has been a long road....that was 8 years ago.  It has also been the worst period of football in program history and it isn't close.

There will be more opportunities to preview the season in the coming weeks.  BG's road will not be easy...we will have to beat good teams, but we are supposed to be building a program that beats good teams...where other teams wince when we are on their schedule.

Miami is the overwhelming favorite.  BG finishes with them at the Doyt the day after Thanksgiving. If all goes well, that could be a huge game.

Football Roster News

Some roster news for the football team.

First is the commitment of KJ Brown of Winton Woods.  He is a 3-star 6’4 225 OLB/EDGE.

They were a very good team last year, going 8-4 and losing to Withrow in the second round of the state playoffs.  Brown is the 4th player from Woods to commit--one to Bama, one to UT and one to Indiana.

He had 8 D1 offers--BG, UT, Kentucky, Akron, EKU, Marshall, UMass and WVU.

There's not a lot out there on him, but he must have caught attention in some way.  You need strength on the edge in today's game.  You have to get to the QB in phase so a running QB can't get out of the pocket.

Also, h/t to Rhys Patrykus and Nick Golden, who did some roster research on the football roster.

Here is what they found.

First, there's a new QB in town.  Baron May is his name.  He started at EMU and then went to East TN State.  He is from New Philadelphia, OH, originally. 

He's an interesting guy.  From his bio at ETSU:

Is the school’s [New Philadelphia] all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, all-purpose yards and touchdowns responsible for...Was a finalist for Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2019...Selected Ohio Division III co-Offensive Player of the Year while garnering first team All-Ohio accolades...Passed for more than 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns and collected 775 rush yards and nine more scores in nine and a half games as a senior...

He threw 54 passes for ETSU. Anyway, he's been recruited and had success in HS and will be joining the BG QB room.

Henry Reifschneider is what I assume is a PWO from Archbishop Alter in Dayton. He committed to Findlay originally, and now is on our roster.  

He was a highly productive player with Alter.

• Notched 160 tackles in 2023 as Archbishop Alter went 12-4
• Two-time first-team All-GCL
• Two-time first-team All-Southwest Ohio
• Named 2023 GCU Defensive Player of the Year
• First-team all-state
• Set a single-season school record with 160 tackles
• Owns a single-season school record for solo tackles with 89 in 2023
• Recorded 118 tackles in 2022 as a junior
• Helped Archbishop Alter to a state-runner up finish and two regional championships (2022, 2023)

He is also believed to be the first player in program history to have missed a full season of football in HS by being impaled on the mascot's sword.

Josira is another player who went to Erasmus HS in Brooklyn, perhaps the high school with more famous alum than any other.  He is a S and FR. He was 2-time all-state in New York.

Also added is Devin Taborn, who is a ILB who played in Sidney and red-shirted at Mt. Union. 

One departure.  Griffin Little, at TE who was an early Loeffler recruit from Ft. Wayne and who played sparingly.

Best of luck to Griffin and welcome to the new arrivals.

BG MBB Nabs High-Level Verbal

Excited to announce my commitment to @BGSUMBB !! pic.twitter.com/0wJ7fjtvMt

— Camden Karel (Karmel) (@CamdenKarel) July 4, 2024

BG MBB landed a high-level verbal for the program.  His name is Camden Karel, he's 6'9" and is listed as the top PF in Michigan and the #4 player overall.

He is from Byron Center, MI, which is south of Grand Rapids in the western part of the state. Here is a graphic with his offers and interest, plus Detroit Mercy.

Karel is probably the most sought after player recruited to BG since we moved to the Stroh Center. (Note that Justin Turner was hardly recruited at all). Reports are that he is a multi-level shooter with the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket.  From what I have seen, he can play 3 and present big matchup problems and can guard multiple positions on the defensive end.

Welcome to the Falcons, Camden.  I will say this.  Our guys seem to be able to recruit.  It's more important than ever, when you might need 6-8 guys every year.  I have written over the years that our biggest consistent problem has been a lack of a critical mass of talent at any one time.  Really, just that one Huger team seemed to have it. 

Until now.  Of course, results will tell the eventual story.  But, I'm really pumped for the arrival of MBB season.

BG Nabs two more football verbals

@BG_Football @CoachLoefflerBG@CoachRobArmand @Coach_Jackson @PCAFootball @FOOTBALLDAD@NewLevelPerform @Coach_J_Fowler@HPCA_Athletics @247Sports @MohrRecruiting @On3sports @RivalsFriedman @BrandonHuffman @adamgorney @BrianDohn247 @Andrew_Ivins pic.twitter.com/ZgLhjWBN0a

— Gavin Harris (@Gavin_Harris5) June 28, 2024

COMMITED! IM HOME! LETS GO FALCONS! 🟠🟤⚪️ @CoachGregNosal @CoachLoefflerBG @BG_Football @CamdenDietz @Coach_Jackson @ScottStolz3 @CoachSLawanson @AllenTrieu @Jocko1114 @DanLaRocco @DanZolkowski @SwisherTodd @jlyons_17 @BMHSTitanFB pic.twitter.com/Lzq2146KQJ

— Masyn Zahursky 3🌟 (@ZahurskyMasyn) June 28, 2024

BG football has two new verbal commits. The first is Gavin Harris, a DB/S from High Point, NC.  He had offers from Miami (the real one), Maine and Elon, based on his twitter feed.  

He's 6'1" and 175.  He was a productive player in HS, Harris had 46 tackles (19 solo), 2 sacks, 9 passes defended, 3 fumble recoveries, and two interceptions and 4 defensive touchdowns last year.

He ran a 4.5 laser timed 40, has a 37-inch vertical and was on a state championship 4x1 relay team.  And was all-conference and all-state.

The other young man is Masyn Zahursky of Berea Midpark.  He's a 3-star OL going at 6'4" and 265.  247 says he is a DL, but he was all-state on the OL (3rd team) in D1. He was actively recruited, with offers from CMU, Marshall (offer from Seth Doege), UMass, Ohio, Toledo, WMU, Akron, Army, Navy and some eastern smarty-pants FCS schools.

He also was a very effective basketball player.  Love the athleticism and versatility--played both ways in HS.

Gavin and Masyn...welcome to the Falcons.

Falcon DB Verbal Harnesses Power of Siblings

BG has a new verbal, this one a DB from Berkeley Prep in Tampa.  This young man is Rico Garcia...his Brother is a WR transfer from K-State getting ready to play for the Falcons.

Rico had 6 INT his sophomore year.  Last year he played QB for Berkeley.

Their father is the basketball coach at their HS and played for the Florida Gators.

He's 5'10" and 170 pounds.

Berekely is the HS of Nelson Agholor, and Marty Baron (Spotlight), among others.

He had offers from Kent and Army. (At least.  I searched his X feed until the beginning of 24).

Welcome to the Falcons, Rico.  

Football Verbal At TE

Commited. #AyZiggy #GoFalcons@CoachBayer_ @CoachLoefflerBG @NoblesvilleFB pic.twitter.com/nwHcKg1rOM

— aiden brewer (@aidenbrewer_2) June 23, 2024

BG has another verbal, ranked 3 star with multiple offers.  This is Aiden Brewer, a 6'3" and 215 pound TE from Noblesville, IN. He had offers from BSU, IU, Kent, UT, Kent and WMU.  He had 22 catches for 399 and 2 scores last year as a junior.

He was named to the top 50 All-State team in December.  Also a basketball player.

Welcome to the Falcons, Aiden.

Football Verbal for DL

Commited. #AyZiggy #GoFalcons 🦅 pic.twitter.com/5xTem28o7J

— Dior Garner (@DiorGarner) June 19, 2024

BG has a recruit for the DLine...it seems mostly he is a DT or NG. His name is Dior Garner from Canton McKinley, one of the legendary programs in Ohio.  Also, brought Harold Fannin, Cynecir McNeal, Ryan Henry and Keith McLeod to BG (among countless others, I am sure).  Don Nehlen was also a head coach there.

Garner is a 3-star recruit with 18 offers.  They include Ball State, UB, CMU, EMU, Miami, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, James Madison and Temple, along with 9 FCS offers.

At 6'4" and 285, he was Honorable Mention All-District.  He played both ways as a junior. On defense, Garner recorded 52 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks and three pass breakups. 

His coach, Antonio Hall, said that “Dior has a tremendous gift, He is a skilled big man. He has amazing feet, great hands, great football I.Q. and student of the game, and always constantly working on his crafts as an overall football player, I’m very pleased with his progression.”

When you google him, you get a bunch of pictures of Jennifer Garner wearing Dior, in addition to posts about him.

BG's recruiting seems to be off to a really good start.  It will be interesting to see if it can be sustained, but we are off to our best recruiting start in quite a while.

Welcome to the Falcons, Dior.