Signing Day "Over"
So signing day is over. Coach has done his presser. The NLI are in (though there could be more during the next couple days).
Here's the upshot. BG signed 17 18 players today (Henderson signed since this post went up). Coach says he is expecting to get 6 more in February and may not need to get on an airplane to do it, as players are in the general area. Anyway, he has a list of targets, and has a couple slots open for "best availables." He says February will be the "wild west" which means that players are being told to be in a holding pattern by P5 schools who may then not want them and they could be cut loose without an option and interested in BG.
It is a good class. A few notes.
Of the original players we have been tracking, only Orlando Barrow and Jevon Henderson have has not signed to date. Coach noted that some players have opted to wait and take their full complement of official visits, but he obviously can't talk about those guys specifically since they didn't sign.
Of the 17 who did sign, there were a couple new guys...or new to me. One is Cooper Lee, who was one of best JUCO punters to fill the hole left by Joseph Davidson. The other is Rico Frye, of Clarksville, GA, who is a RB and a 3-star recruit according to 24/7.
Coach said that in general he wants to build with HS players, but that some positions required the immediate help a JUCO provides. He specifically called out LB Brandon Perce, who he says is an explosive player we were "lucky" to get.
If you are interested in the de-commits, Patrick Lupro went to WMU and Ra'veion Hargrove is, to my knowledge, still unsigned. Thomas Rush did end up rowing the boat. And Pinegar, the K, went to Penn State.
Coach was asked about the D-line, and said that there aren't any in this class because he felt like it was addressed last year. He would like a long pass rusher and apparently they are on the case.
Lee, Perce and HS QB Bryce Veasley will enroll early and be eligible for fall ball. That's important, because the first two should have key roles and Veasley is likely our backup QB.
Just from my opinion, this looks to be a very good class. Of the things you can doubt about this staff, you can't doubt their recruiting. They are bringing in players that other teams want. Coach said after the season that he was going out to make sure he held onto the guys we had, and he got it done. He deserves credit for that. Today, he said he also wanted to persuade them to sign early, which he had a high success rate at.
And he did that coming off a 2-10 season and a lot of negativity in the air. Clearly, he has the ability to communicate a vision and build confidence, and that's really important. People wondered if recruits would defect and they did not, despite what had to have been negative recruiting out there.
Recruiting is a big part of college football, but not all of it. While other questions remain unanswered, this one is clearly a strength. I remain hopeful that the defense will be shored up next year and the offense will continue to mature and that we are a couple years away from relevance.
Lastly, Coach had identified one more recruiting task, which was to "recruit" his wife and keep her "in the boat." Hopefully, she doesn't have to row. It's a funny end to the presser, but this coaching gig has got to be tough on a marriage.
For reference, here is the Blade's coverage and BGSU's official release.
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