Update on BG Football.

Freshman for Class of 26

Kentrell White, TE

BG coaches have begun using #teu to signify our identity as Tight End University.  Kentrell White is well-positioned to be the next in line.  You know we have a love-hate relationship with recruiting rankings...we look, but we "don't believe them."  Ultimately, you're putting a number on an 18-year old.  I know when I left HS, there were lots of us who were going to grow, and some who were as good as they were going to get.

Kentrell is from Atlanta, where he went to Midtown High School. He's 6'4" and 210 and originally committed.  He's a 3-star and, by his composite ranking, is the best player BG ever recruited.  Only warning, a significant number of the Top 20 players based on composite ranking never made a mark at BG.

Kentrell is big and fast.  He qualified for the district in the 100- and 200-yard dashes.  He played in all three phases of the game. He was once committed to Auburn and had offers from Va Tech, K-State, Pitt, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Troy, UTSA, UConn, UNLV, WKU, and 3 non-D1 schools.

Let's hope we get him in right away.  

That takes BG's '26 HS class even further into #1 in the MAC recruiting rankings for the year.  We have articulated a strategy to start with HS players and fill in the portal.  Time will tell if that can still be done.

Last thing:  Kentrell is enrolled and in class right now.

Portal Activity

It's been insane.  The intrepid work of @thetalontribune has allowed us to keep this straight.  The number of players in the portal has gone from 39 to 34...a few players, notably Kal-El Pascal, have de-portaled.  (Or they never officially portaled.)  Cannot imagine earning my living this way.  

Of the 34 players, 17 have found homes.  Eight of those have been in P4 settings and three in G4 and six in FCS.

Anyway, here are the incoming players we have to date.  

QB Jay Kastantin

Already discussed him.  You must have a good QB to win

LB Sanders Ellis

A big one to replace Lampron.  Ellis comes from Purdue, but was highly productive playing for George at Tennessee State, something that I always like to see.  With a healthy Pringle, we have a shot at really strong LBs.  FWIW, he played very sparingly at Purdue, making 6 tackles, 3 of them against Ball State.

•  Jerry Rice Award Finalist and FCS Freshman All-American
• OVC Defensive Freshman of the Year
• Five-time BS-OVC Defensive Freshman of the Week selection
• Totaled 86 tackles, 15.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two pass breakups
• Finished second in tackles-for-loss and third in total tackles by an FCS freshman
• Finished the season with 10 tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 sacks and two fumble recoveries in the FCS Playoffs at Montana

WR Isaiah Dawson

Arrives from Richmond at a position of serious need.  

• He was a KOR and WR for the Spiders and was very productive.  Highly productive FCS players always look really good to me.
• Second Team All-Patriot League
• Played in 12 games, starting six in first season seeing action
• Ranked third in the Patriot League in all-purpose yards, averaging 104.5 a game
• Was third in the Patriot League and 21st overall in kick returns, totaling 543 return yards on the season
• Richmond’s second-leading receiver, recording 42 catches for 575 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 3.5 receptions per game and 13.69 yards a reception
• Ran the ball 11 times for 136 yards and a touchdown
• Against VMI (Sept. 20) and Bucknell (Oct. 4), recorded two receiving touchdowns, including a season and career-long 67-yard touchdown reception against VMI
• Tallied two 100-plus yard receiving performances, picking up a career-high 144 yards on six catches with a pair of touchdowns against Bucknell and (Oct. 4) and 103 yards on seven catches against #25 Lafayette (Nov. 15)
• Returned a 99-yard kickoff for a touchdown in season-opener at #14 Lehigh (Aug. 30)
• Ranked second in the Patriot League and 27th overall in kickoff returns, averaging 23.6 yards a return

He was recruited only by Richmond, based on what I can see.  

CB Nick Sawyer

He is transferring from Charleston Southern.  He started at Kennesaw State, a rising program. He was there for three years, with one red-shirt and two years when he played minimally. He made 15 tackles and had an INT for CSU.  He played QB in HS and was a 3-star recruit who committed to Army.  No idea what happened there. 

DB Mike Wright III

He was at Florida Atlantic for 2 years. He played in 20 games with 9 tackles and an INT.  He was a 3-star out of HS with offers from Indiana, Temple, Ball State and Charlotte, and a handful of FCS schools.

OL Gabriel Funk

Also arriving at a position of need.  He went to App. State where he red-shirted.  He is 6'6" and 305, which is a good start. He was a 2-star HS player who was offered by most of the MAC. He was two-time All-State.  

RB Ke'Marion Baldwin

Went from James Madison to Charleston Southern (Bowling Green South).  He's 5'9" and 200 pounds. He played 6 games for the Dukes.  At CSU he was 159-788, that's 4.9 ypc, with 6 TDs.  If he's able to translate that to FBS, there's a big opportunity at BG, where the RB is empty.  Dendy is back, but you need 2 or 3 to make that work.

He was honorable mention last year.  In HS, tallied over 5,600 rushing yards and 78 touchdowns in his career to set the school career records in both as well as the County ... Ran for over 400 yards in a pair of contests during his high school career.  He had offers from Georgia State, Kennesaw State and Navy.

That's what we have right now.  Between now and when you read it, there might be more.  Here's the key.  They do look good.  We need like 20 more.  We seem to still be look at QBs, 1-2 more lineman would really help, as well as RB and WR.  The defense appears to be solidifying.  But to compete next year, there is still a long way to go.