Two New Football Verbals

BG has netted two more verbal commits for football over the past couple of days.

The first has a name that is too perfect.  After four years of rooting for Boo Boo Gates, BG was looking at a name deficit...until NOW.  The first verbal is BoBo Jones....just take two letters out and you are ready to roll.  BoBo is also a safety (I know, right?) from Xenia, OH.

There isn't a huge amount of info about Mr. Jones...here is his stat line from his junior year.  I'm guessing BG saw him play at a camp and decided he had the stuff to be FalconFast.

The other is Brandon Harris of Cleveland Shaw.  BG is really working the Cleveland area hard...something that will be very popular with big parts of the fan base.  Harris is a WR/LB.  He's 6'3" and 205.  This article says he was recruited as an "athlete" to BGSU...which means he could go a number of places.  With that size, he'd be dangerous in any position.

Cleveland.com on his junior year:

Harris caught 39 passes for 468 yards and four touchdowns as a junior for the Cardinals.

Welcome to the Falcons, Brandon and BoBo.

New Football Verbal: Harrison Roberts

The verbals are coming quickly now.  Harrison Roberts of Euclid, OH, is the latest.  He is the 3rd Cleveland-area defender in the group, and BG currently has recruited 4 players to go on the offensive side of the ball.  According to his local paper, he chose BG over UT and Notre Dame College (no, not that Notre Dame).

Roberts is 6'1" and 208 lbs.  He has been incredibly productive, especially for a sophomore and junior in HS.

Heading into his senior year at Euclid, Roberts has 133 tackles the past two season, 11 sacks, 20 1/2 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hurries.

Two notes.  First, Roberts says he picked BG (over UT and Notre Dame College) because BG put an emphasis on getting a degree and had a high grade point average for the football team.  Second, Coach Clawson came in touting the State of Bowling Green but so far Coach Babers is showing real commitment to recruiting this state.

Stats are hard to translate, but I do like guys who are playmakers.  Again, you have to see the situations--which I assume our coaches did--but I like to see productive players.

Welcome to the Falcons, Harrison.

New Football Verbal, Ferrod Gardner

Hat tip to Hustle Belt on this one, BG has another defensive verbal, this one a LB, Ferrod Gardner from Trotwood-Madison, which is down by Dayton.  According to Hustle Belt, Gardner had some big-time interest--from Missouri and Tennessee, though his only offer to date was from Wofford.  He's Falconfast, running a 4.5 40-yard dash, which is a snappy pace.

He was also productive, netting 79 tackles as a junior.  He is not ranked anywhere I can find (which is unusual for a guy with legit Power 5 interest), but if the numbers are accurate, that's just a matter of time.

Welcome to the Falcons, Ferrod.

Christmas in June

BG lands two football verbals, one major QB....

Recruiting news coming faster now...and one big announcement for the Falcons out of Wisconsin.

BG has a verbal from James Morgan of Ashwaubenon, which is in Wisconsin near Green Bay.  Morgan is a big get.  According to this story in the paper in Green Bay, he is the #1 pocket passer in Wisconsin and the #19 pocket passer in the country, both based on ESPN rankings.  The story clearly cites Coach Babers and the 2nd round choice of Garoppolo as a factor...oh, and RG III gets a mention, too.

Morgan is 6'4" and 205, which is a nice size for a MAC QB.  Here is a report on his junior season:

The FRCC [Fox River Classic Conference] offensive player of the year completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 2,153 yards and 22 touchdowns with seven interceptions in the regular season to lead the Jaguars to the conference title.

This is a huge get for the Falcons.  Morgan has the ability to become the heir apparent to Matt Johnson, provide depth in the meantime and keep the pressure on.  You need the right kind of QB to play this spread style, and if Morgan ends up being that guy, he could have some huge numbers in BG.

The second verbal is Justice Hart.  He is a RB/LB at Glenville.  The recruiting services seem to believe that the 6'0", 200 lb player will end up playing LB for the Falcons.  Here is what his HS Coach had to say about him...

"I think they saw he ran a 4.4 and that he's short and stocky," said Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr.

Hint:  I think we probably saw that, too.  If accurate, that projects into a player who could be a beast in the MAC.

One note on Hart.  One of the PTSD elements from the last time we played a spread system was that it seemed like all the guys who could go either way ended up on offense...and it took about four years to dig the defense out of that hole.  I like that our first 3 verbals were on defense, two were on the front line and the third was a player who could have played offense.

So, welcome to the Falcons, James and Justice.

Sorry Folks, Blog's Closed for One Week...

Moose out front....oh, you know how it goes.

Anyway, enjoy the week.  Back next weekend for more fun in the Falcon Nation.

BG's Second Football Verbal---Updated

Proud to announce that I will be furthering my football career and education at Bowling Green State University! #Fly pic.twitter.com/8c5gZWeZw8
— Nico Lautanen (@nico_laut54) June 13, 2014

So, BG has a second verbal and they are both on the d-line. This one is Nico Lautanen, a 6'4", 265 DT from Mentor, OH.  According to this story, (which lists him at 270) he had offers from most of the MAC schools.  Here is what his HS Coach (an 85 BG Grad) said...

“He’s one of the top defensive tackles in the state of Ohio,” said Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno of Lautanen. “He’ll be 290 by the time he gets to college, and he’ll be a force. He was impressive as a junior, as good as anybody else on the field.

Update:  Nico's local paper had a story on the commitment.  More info...he had 75 tackles as a junior.  Mentor played in the state title game.  Here's another coachquote:

“He’s so smooth,” Trivisonno said of Lautanen. “He’ll end up being a 3-technique kid, down inside as a tackle. He uses his hand well, plays hard and is very difficult to block.

Finally, when asked about what he would do if bigger schools came calling...

“Coach (Trivisonno) doesn’t like decommitting, and neither do I,” Lautanen said. “I’m set on BG.”

Welcome to the Falcons, Nico.

Incoming Two-Sport Star Cody Callaway....

We used to have a few more two-sport players at BG.  Or so it seems.  I grew up watching Paul Miles play football and baseball and I remember Bob Niemet doing it.  As the demands have increased on athletes--especially, it seems to me, on football players--you have seen less of it.  The idea will be returning to BG this year with Cody Callaway, featured here in cleveland.com.  He committed to BG under Coach Clawson and signed under Coach Babers.

He's not just a great football prospect, but a great baseball prospect, too.  He is a shortstop and one of the best players in the Cleveland metro area.  In fact, he's up for the cleveland.com player of the year for that area and was drafted in the 34th round by the Indians.

Cody will play both sports at BG, or at least that is the plan at the beginning.  Here's what he says in the article:

When I get there I’m going to put my main focus into what can I do to get to the next level in either baseball or football.

Great to have an athlete like this playing in orange and brown.  Whatever he focuses on, look forward to seeing him in our colors.

MAC Football Scheduling Update

So the MAC released game times for the first 3 weeks of the season, along with some other stuff.

First, how much do you love that they illustrate the story with this...

A lot.

Anyway, here is how the first 3 weeks shape up for BG.

August 29, @WKU...8 pm Eastern (CBS Sports)
September 6, VMI, 3:30 (ESPN 3, or The Trey)
September 13, Indiana, 12 noon (the U)

I think that's good.  Look, I am not sure I understand why you don't fire the VMI game up at night under the lights, since you have them and all and it would be a gorgeous night (probably) and all that.  Could be electric.  Anyway....

On a more global scale, the MAC has 11 home games this year against FBS opponents outside the MAC.  I don't know where that ranks, but it is a pretty good number.  Home games are always the struggle.  The bigger schools are thrilled to have us come there, but getting them into our stadiums is tougher.

Boston College (ACC) at UMass on Aug. 30 at 3:00 pm ET (ESPN3);
Marshall (Conference USA) at Miami on Aug. 30 at 3:30 pm ET (ESPN3);
Missouri (SEC) at Toledo on Sept. 6 at Noon ET (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2); -
Colorado (PAC-12) at UMass on Sept. 6 at 3:00 pm ET (ESPN3); -
South Alabama (Sun Belt) at Kent State on Sept. 6 at 2:00 pm ET (ESPN3); -
Baylor (Big-12) at Buffalo on Sept. 12 at 8:00 pm ET (ESPN); -
Syracuse (ACC) at Central Michigan on Sept. 13 at Noon ET (ESPNU/ESPNews);
Indiana (Big Ten) at Bowling Green on Sept. 13 at Noon ET (ESPNU/ESPNews);
Idaho (Sun Belt) at Ohio on Sept. 20 at TBA;
Marshall (Conference USA) at Akron on Sept. 20 at TBA;
Army (Independent) at Kent State on Oct. 18 at 3:30 pm ET (TBA); -

Now, only six of those are against AQ opposition...by far the biggest is Missouri (and Gary Pinkel) returning to the Glass Bowl.  Probably the next biggest is Baylor coming to Buffalo.   Of the remaining 4, Boston College and Syracuse both played in bowl games.  The BC @UMass game in Foxboro is more or less a neutral site game and you'd expect to have about 10x as many BC fans as UMass fans there.

Boston College (ACC) at UMass on Aug. 30 at 3:00 pm ET (ESPN3);
Missouri (SEC) at Toledo on Sept. 6 at Noon ET (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2); -
Colorado (PAC-12) at UMass on Sept. 6 at 3:00 pm ET (ESPN3); -
Baylor (Big-12) at Buffalo on Sept. 12 at 8:00 pm ET (ESPN); -
Syracuse (ACC) at Central Michigan on Sept. 13 at Noon ET (ESPNU/ESPNews);
Indiana (Big Ten) at Bowling Green on Sept. 13 at Noon ET (ESPNU/ESPNews);

Indiana will be only the second Big 10 team to play at the Doyt.  The other was Minnesota, and they defeated BG.  Little hint---expect a big crowd that day.  Plan accordingly.

The final thing is just a general question...which is that it will be interesting to see how the playoff effects this scheduling.  Under the BCS system, you needed undefeated and a team in a big conference wouldn't worry about non-conference scheduling.  Under this system, there are likely to be a handful of 1-loss teams and schedule could count more, which would cost the MAC payday games.  Under that scenario.

Which might be wrong.

Babers: "Toilet seat up or toilet seat down house"

So, out in Wyoming they hired Craig Bohl, the wildly successful coach at North Dakota State to coach the Cowboys.  The local paper, the Casper Star-Tribune decided to interview some other coaches make the transition from FCS to FBS.  They landed on Dino Babers, and I am sure they are glad they did.  This guy just has a different kind of mind.  We've already remarked on some of his stuff, including his love of the Matrix movies, the challenge of "knowing without knowing," etc.

In this interview, he says:

I told the guys when I came in, it’s kind of like the first three years of marriage. You’re trying to figure out if it’s going to be a toilet seat up or toilet seat down house

(Personal note:  I was unaware that there were any houses where women lived that were toilet seat up.  Perhaps that is just my experience).

The players and the athletes pick a different coaching staff for the same university, and then here comes this new coaching staff selected by the athletic director or the powers that be. You’re trying to make an arranged marriage work.

Beyond just the colorful metaphors, Babers has some interesting things to say.  I have written here before about the virtues of getting an FCS Coach--someone who is used to making do with less instead of someone who came from a larger program and is used to have a jet to fly in.  In the interview, (which you should check out in full) Babers says more or less the same thing.

Some people look at things and they talk about what they don’t have. Going from an FCS to a MAC situation, we’re giddy. We’re excited like little kids. We’re talking not about the things we don’t have, but everything we do have. If we were able to find wins against FBS opponents at the place we left, we surely should be able to find good enough student-athletes and prospects that we can find wins against FBS opponents at a MAC level. The facilities we have here at Bowling Green are exciting. They are first class facilities.

(I feel compelled to send a wink out from that last sentence to you Greg Christopher haters.)

One other interesting note.  He talks about us having an instant gratification society.  He knows that coaches are increasingly expected to win right away, and that might be tilting the game toward FCS coaches with head coaching experience and away from coordinators.  I think the same thing is in play with MAC Coaches getting higher-level jobs.

He also talks a lot about bringing his own staff to BG.  He wants to succeed right away, and the way to do that was with coaches he didn't have to teach.

Anyway, this is a special time for BG football.  Coming off the championship and then replacing Clawson with a guy who has the Babers charisma--it is heady.  Whether it is successful, that remains to be seen.  But it is a heady brew.

Football Nabs First Verbal

I'm ecstatic to say I've reached my lifetime goal and I will play D1 college football at Bowling Green State University 🏈 #BGSU #FalconFast
— Jack Kramer (@jack_kramer25) June 6, 2014

BG's verbals have been filling in more slowly than some others...seems to be a trend to get earlier verbals...of course, that could lead to a trend of switched commitments from guys who made a commitment early.  In fact, there have been a couple steals from the class of '15 already within the MAC.

So, the first verbal is in hand.  His name is Jack Kramer, 6'2" and 283 and while he played both ways in HS, he will be a D-line run stopper at BG.  According to this, he generated pretty good numbers for a guy working on the interior of the line:

Last season at defensive tackle he was able to register 35 tackles and 23 assists en route to being named as an All-Area Honorable Mention selection.

Note, those numbers were as a junior.

Welcome to the Falcons, Jack.

New FalconFast video....

Loving it...LOVING it...the program is having fun with the whole FalconFast thing...and using it to sell tickets.  I think given the charisma of the new coach, last year's success and the promise of exciting football, there's a good shot at selling some more tickets this Fall, which would be 100% awesome.  I think its great to see our Coach and AD showing some personality and humor and getting involved in the promotion.  My season ticket order is in...can't wait to get started.

Reese/Jacoby Brings No Gladness to BG....

The Reese and Jacoby trophies represent all-sports championships for the MAC.  Reese is for men and Jacoby is for women.  In either case, it was not good for BG...

Kent had won the men's trophy for the past 5 years, but this year they finished 2nd to Akron.  The Zips won the cup for the first time....in fact, they never even finished 2nd before this year.  BG finished 10th for the 2nd straight season...they were 12th the year before.  BG last won in 1995 and last finished 2nd in 2002.  And if you are concerned about BG, you might be glad you aren't Miami...they once won 14 out of 15 and this year they were D-F-L.

On the woman's side, Kent for the first time since 2010.  BG finished 8th after being 7th last year.  The Falcon women last won in 1994.

Anyway, I only write about two sports here, but Falcon fans are behind all of our athletes.  I know everyone is giving everything they have.  Let's get everyone the facilities and resources they need to move the Falcons back up in those standings.