catdaddyp

This is an incredibly strong group of safties from the high schools ranks. I’m certain in a few years multiple names will be listed below as players that could have been in the top 5. I also think coach Renna has done an excellent job in the portal filling departures on our backend. HS/JUCO SAFTIES: OHIO - Tony Mathis HUDL FILM WESTERN MICHIGAN - Carlos Mitchell HUDL FILM KENT STATE - Clinton Robinson HUDL FILM CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Tysen Campbell HUDL FILM TOLEDO - Hyajah Miller HUDL FILM TRANSFER SAFETIES: AKRON - Amon Greenwood AKRON - Paul Lewis KENT STATE - Kaleb Moody OHIO - Dustin Johnson AKRON - Daymon David 2023 S and how they fared: MIAMI - Mychal Yharbrough = 3 Tackles and Redshirted. AKRON - David Jester = N/A Redshirted. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Mark-Allen Gay = N/A Redshirted. BOWLING GREEN - Tracy Revels = N/A Redshirted. BUFFALO - Devon Rainey = N/A No longer on team. Who I may have missed on: N/A thus far.

I struggled with the top 5. Rich Benege and Jason Hocker deserve to be there, but I couldn’t leave Joshua Lloyd off. The other issue I had is that I believe Lloyd will grow into a DE and probably should be with the DEs. In any case, Akron has 3 really good LBs in this class that absolutely deserve to be listed below. It’s a strong LB class as a whole for the MAC. HS/JUCO LBs: 1) TOLEDO - K’Von Sherman HUDL FILM (JUCO) 2) TOLEDO - Demontrae Gaston HUDL FILM 3) BOWLING GREEN - Elias Owens HUDL FILM 4) AKRON - Dahvon Frazier HUDL FILM 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Joshua Lloyd HUDL FILM TRANFER LBs: 1) TOLEDO - Lance Dixon 2) EASTERN MICHIGAN - James Djonkam 3) CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Nolan Ziegler 4) EASTERN MICHIGAN - JT Killen 5) KENT STATE - Luke Fulton 2023 LBs and how they fared: 1) MIAMI - Malcolm McCain = 1 Tackle and Redshirted. 2) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jaivian Norman = N/A Redshirted. 3) BOWLING GREEN - David Afogho = N/A Redshirted. 4) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Marcus Woodley = N/A Redshirted. 5) BOWLING GREEN - Jabari Mitchell = N/A Redshirted. Who I may have missed on: N/A thus far.

Walk-on LB entered the portal.

Played mostly RT for a strong NCCU OL. Would be a solid addition.

This year’s crop of MAC DTs is not quite as deep as the 2023 class. I also think the two defensive line coaches Akron has had since Moorhead’s arrival have done as good of a job recruiting as any DL coach in the MAC. HS/JUCO DTs: 1) AKRON - Elijah Davis HUDL FILM 2) AKRON - Ronald Hull HUDL FILM 3) KENT STATE - Josue Cordoba HUDL FILM 4) MIAMI - Oyeka Alexander HUDL FILM 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Jordan Buckley HUDL FILM TRANSFER DTs: 1) AKRON - Nathan Kapongo 2) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Anterio Thompson 3) OHIO - CJ Doggette 4) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Dylan Shelton 5) BUFFALO - Tristan Souza 2023 DTs and how they fared: 1) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Sid Kaba = N/A Redshirted. 2) TOLEDO - Wayne Peart = N/A Redshirted. 3) OHIO - Kobi Gorman = 5 Tackles and 1 Sack. 4) BOWLING GREEN - James Thomas = N/A Redshirted. 5) AKRON - Marcus Moore = 8 Tackles. Who I may have missed on: N/A thus far.

Yeah, that was rough.

KJ Jefferson would be a recent name everyone knows and a comparison stat wise. In no way am I expecting that kind of leap, but what a threat Bullock would be if he could at bare minimum hit the easy throws and not turn the ball over.

Quick clip on Bullock. In my opinion, mechanics aren’t his issue. Hopefully, he’s made strides this offseason.

HS/JUCO DEs: BOWLING GREEN - Martreece Dillard HUDL FILM AKRON - Tristen Graham HUDL FILM MIAMI - Javon Hammonds HUDL FILM TOLEDO - Cameron Gwinn HUDL FILM AKRON - Jahvon Frazier HUDL FILM Transfer DEs: WESTERN MICHIGAN - Popeye Williams WESTERN MICHIGAN - Rodney McGraw EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jefferson Adam OHIO - Ben McNaboe BALL STATE - Riley Tolsma 2023 DEs and how they fared: 1) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Messiah Blair = N/A Redshirted. 2) BUFFALO - Dion Crawford = 29 Tackles. Moved to linebacker. 3) BOWLING GREEN - Alijah Williams = N/A Redshirted. 4) AKRON - Kam Cheatom = 2 Tackles and Redshirted. 5) BUFFALO - Devonyal Lofton (JUCO) = 19 Tackles and 1 Sack. Who I may have missed on: AKRON - CJ Nunnally (JUCO) = Nunnally signed after this list was completed last year. 65 Tackles and 7 Sacks.

No good reason to keep them separate at this point. Before the portal became what it is now, it was all just HS and JUCO recruiting. Recruiting services are attempting to adjust with the times and figure out the best way to allocate their resources and present information. Rivals has the oldest system and is owned by Yahoo. 247 is owned by CBS. On3 recently removed their NIL feature, which was never accurate to begin with.

That’s too bad. He’ll likely be a good one.

I’m excited about him. I suspect the OL will be much improved this year.

OL typically takes longer to develop than any other position. We won’t know for sure on many of these players until several years down the road. I listed a JUCO as the top HS/JUCO prospect mostly because he’s the most physically ready to play. In my opinion, the recruiting services should list JUCOs with transfer portal players, but that’s not how it currently is. HS/JUCO OL: 1) AKRON - Jerrod Burrell HUDL FILM (JUCO) 2) BOWLING GREEN - Alex Harris HUDL FILM 3) MIAMI - Kris Manu HUDL FILM 4) OHIO - Bryce Parson HUDL FILM 5) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Grey Rumohr HUDL FILM Edit: I should have added Ball State OL Zach Bandy in top 5. Not going to go back and redo it all, but he deserves to be mentioned. Transfer OL: 1) AKRON - Laurence Seymore 2) TOLEDO - Jakob James 3) BALL STATE - Luke Dalton 4) BOWLING GREEN - Nick Reimer 5) OHIO - Tigana Cisse 2023 OL and how they fared: 1) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Michael Jimmar = N/A Redshirted. 2) CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Jacob Booth = 1 GP and Redshirted. 3) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Thomas Paasch = N/A Redshirted. 4) TOLEDO - Cole Rhett = N/A Redshirted. 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN- Luke Zanotti = N/A Redshirted. Who I may have missed on: There were a few freshmen OL that saw significant playing time throughout the MAC due to team need/lack of depth. None performed particularly well, so they were not included.

HS/JUCO TEs: 1) AKRON - Khalil Witherspoon HUDL FILM 2) BALL STATE - Jaxxon Warren HUDL FILM (JUCO) 3) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Joseph Stein HUDL FILM 4) BOWLING GEEEN - Eli Jacon-Duffy HUDL FILM 5) OHIO - AJ Miller HUDL FILM Transfer TEs: 1) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jonathan Odom 2) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Chris Toudle 3) AKRON - Max Whisner 4) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Jake Appleget 5) CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Gavin Harris 2023 TEs and how they fared: 1) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Brennan Wooten = N/A but played in 6 games. 2) AKRON - Conner Cravack = N/A Redshirted. 3) CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Jesiah Stevens-Silva = N/A Redshirted and entered Portal. 4) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Jack Parker = N/A Redshirted 5) BOWLING GREEN - Jacob Harris = N/A Redshirted Who I may have missed on: NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Grayson Barnes = 23 Receptions, 422 Yards, 5 TDs. Barnes was a JUCO that signed after this list was put together last year. He plays the flex WR/TE spot for NIU and is currently listed as WR on their roster.

New Cornerbacks coach.

Already removed him from the list, but looks like Behm is officially in the portal. Good luck to him. I thought he was a bit out of his depth at this level.

It’s fair to say Carolina was working out the kinks all season. If they didn’t have the worst, it was definitely one of the worst OLs in P5. They should be much improved this year (and will need to be for a new QB). Their defensive line will be a load to handle. As far as competition level goes, they are about on par with Kentucky. You’re right, too many miscues last year. The team will need to not only be much better, but also need to outplay what will likely be a raucous environment.

I’m not going to say those aren’t winnable games, but the likelihood is low. For all of his faults, Beamer has yet to lose to a G5 program (or lower) during his tenure at SC. Plus, he’s had a strong offseason of recruiting. Carolina should be improved in all areas except QB. They go into the season with a huge question mark at QB and we all know how that can look. For anyone who hasn’t been to a game at Williams-Brice stadium and have a chance to go, it’s worth it. Every team in the SEC has their own unique experience and Carolina is right up there. Especially for night games. I don’t know much about Rutgers except they basically won all the games they should have won and lost all the games they were expected to lose last year. Talent wise, they are also better than us. Every MAC team we play (with the exception of Bowling Green) will be breaking in a new QB. Should make for an interesting year.

2024 Football Schedule has officially been announced.

Coach Brookhart offered WR Kenzy West out of Mississippi. Only a matter of time before P5 offers come rolling in. HUDL FILM

There is a wealth of talent at WR in the 2024 class. I am certain some deserving players are being left off. Of note about Lang and Bostic, they are both raw coming out of high school and I believe they are better fits at defensive back. That being said, I cannot ignore their athletic ability and upside. HS/JUCO WRs: 1) TOLEDO - Zy’Marion Lang HUDL FILM 2) TOLEDO - Tashi Braceful HUDL FILM 3) TOLEDO - Jay’Quan Bostic HUDL FILM 4) AKRON - Kyan Mason HUDL FILM 5) BOWLING GREEN - Caleb Goodloe HUDL FILM Transfer WRs: 1) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Porter Rooks 2) BOWLING GREEN - Malcolm Johnson 3) OHIO - Coleman Owen 4) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Andrew McElroy 4) BOWLING GREEN - RJ Garcia 2023 WRs and how they fared: 1) OHIO - Chase Hendricks = 11 Receptions, 108 Yards. 2) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Joe Walker = 3 Receptions, 22 Yards. Redshirted. 3) BUFFALO - Jevell Ferguson = N/A Went JUCO. 4) AKRON - Paul Davis = N/A Redshirted. 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Logan Lester = N/A Redshirted. Who I may have missed on: AKRON - Adrian Norton = 9 Receptions, 71 Yards. I thought Norton was underrated coming out of high school. I also wasn’t sure how quickly he would develop as a collegiate wide receiver after spending his senior year at QB. After watching him this past season, there’s a legitimate chance he turns out to be the best of the bunch.

I’m not going to post every offer like I have the past two years, but will update occasionally. Here are two recent QB offers made by our new QB coach. Chris Denson (FL) HUDL FILM Charlie Johnston (AL) HUDL FILM

Here’s how I view the 2024 RBs: HS/JUCO RBs 1) BOWLING GREEN - Nakai Amachree HUDL FILM 2) AKRON - Sean Patrick HUDL FILM 3) MIAMI - D’Shawntae Jones HUDL FILM 4) MIAMI - Tito Glass HUDL FILM 5) EASTERN MICHIGAN - JT Bronaugh HUDL FILM TRANSFER RBs 1) MIAMI - Dylan Downing 2) OHIO - Anthony Tyus 3) AKRON - Jordon Simmons 4) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Delbert Mimms 5) AKRON - Marquese Williams 2023 RBs and how they fared: 1) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Deion Brown = N/A Redshirted. 2) OHIO - Rickey Hunt = 23 Attempts, 134 Yards, 4 TDs. Redshirted (majority of stats amassed in bowl game) Redshirted. 3) BUFFALO - Jamari Ford = N/A No longer on team. 4) BUFFALO - Lamar Sperling = 4 Attempts, 17 Yards. Redshirted. 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Tre Hartwell = N/A Redshirted. Notable Post Spring Additions: BUFFALO - Jacques Barksdale (JUCO)= 52 Attempts, 248 Yards, 2 TDs.

Offer out to OL from NC Central.

Right before spring ball kicks off too. Seems like an odd move. Wonder if he’s expecting something to open up there soon.