Positional Breakdown: RB

 Running Back (7)

Game Experience (4)

Terion Stewart RB 5-9 210 R-Fr.

Taron Keith RB 5-10 190 R-Fr.

Trevon Raymore RB 5-10 240 So.

PaSean Wimberly RB 5-10 175 So.

Listed on NSD (3)

Nick Mosley RB 5-10 200 Fr.

Jamal Johnson RB 5-10 195 Fr.

Jaison Patterson RB 6-0 215 Fr.

Not Listed on NSD (0)

Also, one RB among current verbal commits.

Positional Breakdown Offensive Line and another transfer

O line (16)

First, some news from last night.  John O'Brian is in the portal.  Played six career games.

Game Experience (6)

Chris Oliver OG 6-4 295 So. (11 games on defense)

Sam Neverov OG 6-6 310 Sr. (25 games)

Jalen Grant OG 6-3 280 So.

Jeremiah Banks-Wall OT 6-5 280 So.

Jordan Murphy OT 6-4 290 Sr. (13 games on defense)

Brian Kilbane C/OG 6-3 310 R-Fr.

Listed on NSD (6)

Gabriel Brown OG 6-3 315 R-Fr.

Dawson Hildebrand OG 6-3 340 Fr.

Alex Padgett OT 6-6 305 Fr.

Luke Harmon OT 6-4 275 So.

Matt Fortner C/OG 6-3 295 R-Fr.

Cade Zimmerly C/OG 6-1 285 Fr.

Not Listed on NSD (4)

Ja'Von Lyons OG 6-3 330 R-Fr.

Blaine Rader OT 6-4 270 Fr.

Kellen Adler C/OG 6-3 315 So.

Malone VanGorder C/OG 6-3 280 R-Fr.

Positional Breakdown: Tight End

Tight Ends (9)

Game Experience (3)

Levi Gazarek TE 6-5 245 R-Fr.

Christian Sims TE 6-4 240 Jr. (9 career REC, 1 last year)

Andrew Bench TE 6-3 250 So. (None on offense)

Listed on NSD (6)

Griffin Little TE 6-4 240 R-Fr.

Rocco Hicks TE 6-4 240 Fr.

Jaedyn McKinstry TE 6-5 210 Fr.

Bryce Boyer TE 6-3 230 R-Fr.

Zach Russell TE 6-3 245 Fr.

Tommy Guajardo TE 6-3 240 R-Fr. (RS at MSU)

Not listed on NSD (0)

On current verbal list (0)

Position Breakdown--Wide Receivers

Wide Receivers (13)

Game Experience (7)

Javonte Kinsey WR 6-5 215 So.

Jhaylin Embry WR 6-0 180 R-Fr.

Jake Rogers WR 5-9 180 Jr.

Austin Osborne WR 6-2 205 Jr. (Caught one pass at UW)

Nic Kilbride WR 6-3 205 R-Fr.

Cavon Croom WR 6-0 195 Sr.

Tyrone Broden WR 6-4 200 So. (Leading returner with 6 career Rec)

Listed on NSD (2)

Tae'Shaun Johnson WR 5-11 190 Fr. (#1 recruit in class)

Jaylen Smith WR 6-1 185 Fr. (#2 recruit in class)

Not listed on NSD (4)

Nick Niehoff WR 6-2 185 So.

Ty Cook WR 6-1 165 So.

Cole Lakatos WR 5-8 165 R-Fr.

Princeton Hoskins WR 5-10 185 R-Fr.

2 WRs in verbal list.

BG Football. Early Camp Thoughts

 So, camp is on for the BGSU Football program.  We are less than a month from the opening kickoff...I am excited to be back in the stadium, for sure.  Having BG sports out of my life (in personal attendance) has been a big void over the past year and a half.  (I recently attended a Mud Hens game, my first live sporting event since the BG MBB win over Akron in March 2020).

A full preview will be coming, but the headline is this:  nowhere to go but up.  Last year was the worst season for BG football since 1935.  Literally, there was nothing redeeming about it at all.  It would appear that BG will be better this year, but I don't know how many wins that will win.  We are picked to be the worst team in the country and you can understand why.

I'm still onboard with this process.  But this is no fun, to be sure.

A couple things I would say as practice starts.

QB Room

QB is the most important position in team sports, possibly only related to goalie.  Or, TE.  (I kid).

BG has struggled quite a bit since Matt Johnson left.  There were good QBs--James Morgan is on an NFL roster and Doege is starting at WVU. In 2019, BG was forced to slap together its QB position after Doege left and it showed...and then in 2020 it turned out to be worse.  Phil Steele called our QB numbers "shockingly bad."  McDonald was last in the country in passing efficiency.

And it looked just as bad.

No question, the QB position has to improve for BG to have even a remote chance at winning an FBS game.  Yes, McDonald was in his first year and yes, he was injured and yes, he had poor line support.  All true and valid.  Too often, though, when all those things came together to present an opportunity, we still didn't make the play.  Coach Loeffler has said as much.  Beyond getting healthy, McDonald has to get better.

It does appear that he enters camp as the starter.  Most of the backups have been injured as well--Gunther and Melton missed spring ball--but it appears he is the starting going in.  So if you were expecting a wide-open competition, it doesn't sound like that.

McDonald is on a pitch count for fall practice, with only 50 "competitive" reps.  Loeffler said reps with the 2s are being rotated.

How will the defense adjust to a new coach and system?

First, we can certainly hope that a more productive offense takes some pressure off the defense.  Which has been undeniably awful.  In 2019, BG was last in the MAC, giving up 38 PPG.  In 2020, BG was last and a touchdown WORSE per game, and second to last in the country.  From that, most of the accomplished players on the defense who were expected to return didn't.  Honestly, on paper, maintaining 2020's level of production would be a win.

As for fall practice, there are a couple of changes that could influence what happens and any chance BG has to get out of the national basement in 2021.  The first is that Brian VanGorder is gone and has been replaced by Eric Lewis.  He has been a DC before, but he is also not a big splashy hire.  The hope is that a fresh approach will help to improve the defense, but I suspect we are looking at more than a short-term project.

The other thing is that BG is moving to a 3-man front.  On one hand, this is good, because BG has struggled with Dline personnel for years.  Hopefully, it has more to it than that.  Everything in sports is becoming hybrid--from positionless basketball to needing LBs who are also Dbacks.  I assume we are trying to flex into that.

Which makes sense.  The ultimate question doesn't change.  Can you control the line of scrimmage?  Because if you can't, you won't win in the MAC.

How will the Oline come together?

Speaking of which.  Only one team in the FBS has fewer returning starts on the OL than BG does.  And that's Air Force, where guys graduate and they can't bring in transfers.  Anyway, BG's projected Oline starters include 4 freshmen.  This is going to be very rough, I suspect, and it will limit the effectiveness of the offense.  We have better RBs but if there is no daylight, they can only do so much.  And if the passing game has to stick to 3-step drops to protect the QB, that limits things too.  If these guys can play, someday we'll have an all-senior line with tons of playing experience.  But this year, the only direction is up.

Roster Review for BG Football

So the Fall roster is out and I've had a chance to dive into the minutiae we have here.  I've compared the 2021 roster with the 2020 roster...and obviously there is a lot of change.  There are a couple of interesting guys coming in.  Anyway, here is what I found.

Here are the guys we knew were going out, courtesy of the MAC Football Blog:

CB, Caleb Biggers (Boise State)

RB, Andrew Clair (Northwestern)

LB, Kholbe Coleman (Southern Illinois, FCS)

WR, Jaylen Flemmons (Kentucky State, D2)

LB, DeMontae Haigler (Louisiana-Monroe)

WR/LB, Isaiah Johnson-Mack (Saginaw Valley, D2 — as TE)

WR, Noah Massey (Angelo State, D2)

WR, Julian Ortega-Jones (Texas State)

DB, Dylan Pate

LB, Jerry Roberts (Arizona)

WR/OLB, Rodell Rahmaan

C, Cameron Stage (Western Kentucky)

WR, Shon Strickland

DL, Ronald Walder (Eastern Kentucky)

OT, Joe Ware (Austin Peay)

Here are the players who were on last year and are not on this year and aren't listed above.

Jacob Allen:  Walk-on, no game action

Robert Atkinson:  Walk-on, no game action

Damon Blair: Kicker, Walk-on, no game action

Evan Brown: Played 20 games in 18/19, did not compete in 20

Joey Carroll:  See here

Nate Damron:  Walk on, DNP in 20

Daniel Troncalli:  Walk-on, no game action

Javon Venson: Walk-on, no game action

Everyone listed on NSD is on the roster for the Fall.

Previously, we had noted the following transfers coming in:

Davon Ferguson

Tommy Guajardo

Austin Osborne

Ali Saad

There are some new additions, as there always are.

Bryce Brand, LB

Probably the most impactful new name.  Brand is from Detroit and has played Big 10 and Big 12 football.  He was at Maryland for three years, playing as a true FR, redshirting his second year and playing all the games and logging one start.  He moved to WVU, where he played in 2 games.  Roster has him at 6'0" and 245.  He was DL in his previous stops but BG lists him as a LB.

George Carlson, LS

He's from Illinois and came to BG for the Tractor Pull every year.  FULL PULL!

Jayden George, QB

This is an interesting name.  Jayden George is the son of Jeff George, the NFL QB and #1 pick in draft.  Jayden spent his first two years at Alabama as a walk-on.  In high school, he does not appear to have been highly recruited.  He was part of a HS dynasty in HS in Indianapolis, where the Geroge family has fueled 9 state titles, including one under Jayden's direction.

Jarrad Kerekes

Listed as a punter and all-state and first-team All-Greater Cleveland honors.

John Madden IV. DL

Doink!  But no relation.  Attended St. Johns.  Earned second-team All-TRAC in 2020 after helping the Titans to a 4-2 record with 25 tackles and one interception.  Notched 46 tackles, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery in 2019

Blaine Rader, OT

From Findlay.  Earned second-team All-TRAC at right guard in 2020 and earned honorable mention honors in 2019 at left tackle

Victor Vazquz, S

From Miami FL,  he earned MVP honors as a senior at Florida Christian School in Miami.  Notched three interceptions, 300 yards receiving, 400 yards rushing, 10 solo tackles and four pass breakups as a senior

Denver Warren, DL

From Chicago.  6'3" and 300 pounds.  Earned all-conference and all-state honors.

Last notes:

Rocco Hicks was listed as OL when he signed but is listed at TE

Avi McGary moved from DB to LB

Pasean Wimberly moved from WR to RB

Carroll enters Portal

Just as training camp started for the Falcon football team, there was another departure:  Joey Carroll, a St. Francis grad who was a high-profile recruit in Loeffler's first class after taking over (not his first full class).

He was much talked about at the signing day presser that year.  He had been committed to Toledo before he switched to BG and Coach Loeffler talked about him quite a bit at the presser.  He also had an offer from Army and he fit the mold of the kind of guy we were looking for.  

And he played TE.  It looked a little like he might help right away.

They went to him once in the opener of 2019 and it didn't connect.  He never did catch a pass for BG.  They moved him to the Oline and he played every game in 2020.

Anyway, he is moving along.  All the best to him.