catdaddyp

Smith-Ray decommited.

I’d love to see him back, but I doubt it happens. Another JUCO stop probably means grades are still an issue.

100%. Im still waiting on the day ESPN reports on the declining graduation rate from all the transferring and acts like no one saw this coming.

Summers to the portal. That’s what I meant about not knowing who has eligibility anymore with all the rule changes.

I’ll do my best to keep up with all the conference movement. That said, I’m not going to be linking any names to specific sites since I’ll be pulling information from On3, 247, and whatever pops up on my social media feed. AKRON HS Signees: (6) QB - Semaj Beals WR - Jaborree Riggins OL - Lorvens Barthelemy OL - Elzea Rollins LB - Daunte Curtis DB - Savion Lewis JUCO Signees: (1) OL - Jon Stephens Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: (7) WR - Israel Polk OL - Maasai King DE - Kam Cheatom DT - Kiawan Murphy LB - Melvin Spriggs LB - Gage Summers K - Owen Wiley BALL STATE HS Signees: (15) QB - Mason Atkins RB - Char’rese Breveard WR - Mark Hanniford TE - Zach Becker OL - Nolan Cicero OL - Evan Downer OL - Zion Haney OL - Brady Weber DE - CJ Sanchez DT - Joshua Coleman DT - Dominic Infelise LB - Gannon Knowles DB - Zylon Hill DB - Stone Perkins DB - Gavin Yates-Lyons JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: (4) RB - Qua Ashley WR - Eric Weatherly DT - Darin Conley LB - Caden Johnson BOWLING GREEN HS Signees: (19) QB - Jarin Mock RB - Tristin Blackmon WR - Cade Brooks WR - Pauly Sadler WR - Joseph Saffold TE - Derron Gray TE - Maddox Hunstad TE - Trent Taylor OL - Maddux Murphy OL - Pete Pendergest DE - Bryce Brewster DE - Samuel Dossous DE - Elijah Durham-Smith DT - Kore Thomas LB - Caden Carter LB - Kingston Seals DB - Cedarius Christian DB - Julian Holt DB - Chris Newell JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: DB - Hayes Doggan BUFFALO HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: DE - Shamar Riser-Pressley DB - Marquis Cooper DB - Ronell Davis CENTRAL MICHIGAN HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: EASTERN MICHIGAN HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: DE - Sterling Miles KENT STATE HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: MIAMI HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: OHIO HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: OL - Ibrahim Kebe TOLEDO HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: WESTERN MICHIGAN HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: UMASS HS Signees: JUCO Signees: Portal Verbals: Portal Departures: DL - Malachi Madison

@MangoZip hit on some of the possible reasons. I’m no longer involved in the recruiting scene, but if I had to guess, it’s probably either grades or that most of those offers aren’t actually on the table anymore. He also may have had someone in his ear telling him to go somewhere he can play early and be developed. Honestly, that’s some of the best advice a high school recruit can get in today’s setup if they aren’t already in line to receive a decent NIL package. Regardless, he looks like a playmaker and could see the field with some refinement. I also suspect he’s not really 185 lbs.

Played left tackle at JUCO, but he’ll likely slide inside for us.

I believe we’re recruiting him as a DB.

Spriggs to the portal. Not a surprise, just tough for us, because he’s yet another guy this staff developed when nobody else really came calling out of high school. Someone out there will pay him, no doubt.

Hammock did it to himself. On3 and 247 disagreed with me, but I thought he cobbled together multiple recruiting classes that sat at or near the bottom of the MAC — outside of the offensive linemen, running backs, and a few other select individuals — and that lack of recruiting, especially at quarterback, has finally come home to roost. The funny thing is he spent the entire offseason bragging about how easy recruiting had become while he was scooping up a slew of DII and FCS guys. Can’t win without the horses to run the race.

Are we sure? My understanding was the league had a two-year window to rebuild the conference and keep its seat at the table. From everything I remember, they’ve technically met that requirement. But things change so fast that I’m not certain. If someone wants to dig into the details and either confirm or correct that, I’d love to hear it.

I haven’t followed UConn all that closely, but I do remember Mora being under the impression they’d end up in a power conference and that UConn had some sort of inside track on the Big 12. Fast forward a few years and they’re still independent. If I’m not mistaken, Colorado State is joining the new PAC, which I believe gets an auto-bid to the playoffs despite looking only marginally better than the current MWC. As for Moorhead, I’ve spent the last few offseasons shooting down the idea of him leaving. This year, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he did. I imagine the next seven (?) weeks of fundraising will factor heavily into that decision. I still think he wants another shot at the power-conference level, and UConn — or possibly other G5 openings with better resources — could be viewed as chances to rebuild the résumé and set up a bigger move down the line.