Any recruiting news?

[BGSU33]

Losing out on Hakes to Akron just stings. I'll tell you what, JD Brookhardt is bring in some serious talent to Akron. Last year he pulled in the MAC's top recruiting class which was loaded with some very highly touted kids, some of which were rated higher than what any other MAC schools were landing. Plus he's added some solid transfers and I'm not just referring to Getsy. Now Brookhardt looks like he could be landing the MAC's best class this year as well. And you know winning the MAC Championship and going to a bowl game in just his second year isn't hurting. This guy is on a tear.

A guy I worked with at Virginia also worked at Pitt for a few years before he came to UVa (he went to school at Pitt) and worked numerous camps with Brookhardt. He said he was a helluva recruiter, and it has certainly paid off in his short stint at Akron.

I never thought the day would come when people were picking Akron over BG because they "liked the campus and facilities" better.....but those days look like they are here.

Here's to hoping we can land some big-time talent ourselves.

[Falconboy]

Losing out on Hakes to Akron just stings. I'll tell you what, JD Brookhardt is bring in some serious talent to Akron. Last year he pulled in the MAC's top recruiting class which was loaded with some very highly touted kids, some of which were rated higher than what any other MAC schools were landing. Plus he's added some solid transfers and I'm not just referring to Getsy. Now Brookhardt looks like he could be landing the MAC's best class this year as well. And you know winning the MAC Championship and going to a bowl game in just his second year isn't hurting. This guy is on a tear.

A guy I worked with at Virginia also worked at Pitt for a few years before he came to UVa (he went to school at Pitt) and worked numerous camps with Brookhardt. He said he was a helluva recruiter, and it has certainly paid off in his short stint at Akron.

I never thought the day would come when people were picking Akron over BG because they "liked the campus and facilities" better.....but those days look like they are here.

Here's to hoping we can land some big-time talent ourselves.

I guess the simple fact is we've have taken too long to start the process of updating our facilties while other schools have actually done it and are reaping the benifits of it. BGSU has gone so long without major updates to facilites and other things that we are just playing catch up right now in the fight to get the best athletes here.

[Touchdown Rockets]

I don't know anything about this Hakes kid, but you guys think he was a good recruit?

I think that Flipper mentioned the other day that Mahone had narrowed it down to UC and BG. If those are his two choices, count me in as hoping you guys get him over UC. I hope they remain at the bottom of the Big East.

[OptionQB]

Hakes isn't a can't miss guy, but he throws a very nice ball and could become a solid MAC guy.

[Flipper]

He looked like a good fit for our offense...but Tyler Sheehan is supposed to be as well.

On the plus side, LB Brandon Jackson visited last weekend and may break his commitment to Ole Miss to attend BG

[hammb]

He looked like a good fit for our offense...but Tyler Sheehan is supposed to be as well.

On the plus side, LB Brandon Jackson visited last weekend and may break his commitment to Ole Miss to attend BG

Here's the latest Scout.com article on Brandon...it's looking good for us, I checked Ole Miss's website and I don't see any mention of an aviation program or anything similar, but that was justa quick run through. I've been following this story for a little while now, and I'm not sure that Ole Miss knows if they want him or not. There was a stretch for like 5 months that they never called him, because they thought he'd be in contact with one of their coaches (who coached his HS team the year before). Sounds like he was impressed with BG as well.

Article:

Final decision looms this week
by Yancy Porter of Scout.com, December 13, 2005 at 1:09pm ET

Brandon Jackson Profile

The last time we spoke to Brandon he was a little "confused" about his feelings towards Ole Miss.

Has anything changed?

The following information was revealed during our interview with Brandon Jackson:

How did your scheduled trips to Bowling Green and Memphis go? "I am not going to Memphis until January 7th, but I did go to Bowling Green. It went good. They really impressed me because they have the major I am looking for in Aviation. They also have everything I need on campus. But the main thing is that I want to be a pilot someday, and they have a really great Aviation program."

Are you still on tap to visit Ole Miss this weekend? "I am not going because I have a wresting tournament in Milington this weekend. I have missed the last two matches because I was playing in the Liberty Bowl All-Star game last Saturday, and I went to Bowling Green the Saturday before. My wrestling coach really wants me to attend this match."

When will you reset your visit? "I have not sat down with them because I have not planned it out yet."

Has Ole Miss had an inhome visit with you? "They have not been in my house yet, but Memphis and Bowling Green have."

Has Ole Miss come to your school? "Coach Freeze came by last week."

What did he have to say? "He just basically asked me what I am was thinking and how I liked my trip to Bowling Green."

What did you tell him about your Bowling Green trip? "I told him it went pretty good because of their Aviation program. I even got to go up in the air in one of their planes. They have a nice campus and I liked it. I liked it, yea."

Did he ask you if you were still committed? "Yea, I am going to basically know by the end of the week if I am going to go to Ole Miss or not. Coach Freeze is coming by this week, and he is going to see if they have an Aviation program or not. That is the big thing with me. I want to get my pilots license. My ultimate goal is to fly for Fex Ed or play in the league. Either one would be nice."

Where does Ole Miss stand if they do not have an Aviation program? "They are going to have to show me something that would draw me there. If I just go there to play football, I am not getting any benefits. I need something that benefits me."

[1987alum]

hammb:

Great find. Thanks for sharing. Again, great to see our academics playing a role in our recruiting.

Interesting comparison. BG must have done some homework, since they arranged for him to go up in one of the planes during his visit. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss coach had to check if the school even had aviation as a major.

[BGSUfalcons]

Apparently, Ole Miss does not have an aviation program:

http://research.faa.gov/research_links/ ... aspx?cat=1

[hammb]

hammb:

Great find. Thanks for sharing. Again, great to see our academics playing a role in our recruiting.

Interesting comparison. BG must have done some homework, since they arranged for him to go up in one of the planes during his visit. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss coach had to check if the school even had aviation as a major.

No problem man, it's part of the insider's premium service. I've been a subscriber to the Browns site for awhile, and we now get all the recruiting stuff as well.

I thought the same as you about the Miss coach...cannot believe that he wouldn't be prepared to answer that question...this kid has been committed to them since the summer.

What I'm curious of is whether or not he'll have to pay for his aviation classes out of pocket, or if the scholly would cover them. They are quite a bit more pricey than the standard degree would be. I know that when I did post-secondary those were the only classes that we were not allowed to take.

[bg sports fan]

Flipper what other kind of infro can you give us about edner alain or is it alain edner. I've tried looking him up and can't get anything on him. I would like how tall and his weight doubt they would know what he ran in the forty

[BGSUfalcons]

BGSU's inability to recruit top in-state prospects continues. According to Rivals, BGSU is not in the running for any of the top 50 in Ohio. Granted, these ratings are often questionable, but the more top 50's a team gets, the more likely they will get great players.

The Meyer Graduating classes that have led us to our success included players from around the country, as do UT's. The weakest classes we have are Ohio-heavy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against recruiting nationally. But, the reason why BG's Ohio-heavy classes are weak is because BG doesn't land much top quality in-state talent. If you look at Rivals, Miami has already landed 3 of Ohio's top 50.

**I should add that I doubt BG is ignoring Ohio. I am simply pointing-out that it would be nice to land some of the kids that go to WVU, BC, Pitt, or the Big Ten (outside of OSU, UM, and Penn St. - I'm trying to be realistic here).

On the contrary, I have sensed that we are preferring to recruit Ohio over the rest of the country, and I don't understand why. Yes, it would be nice, though not likely, to beat WVU and BC out for an Ohio kid. But let's not take Ohio leftovers over a kid from Georgia just because we're from Ohio or because its easier.

My point isn't that we don't get Ohio kids, but that we don't seem to be getting the best (or, at least, 2nd best) consistently.

[transfer2BGSU]

BG must have done some homework, since they arranged for him to go up in one of the planes during his visit. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss coach had to check if the school even had aviation as a major.

If we know a student is interested in our Aviation proram, we try to get them up. We usually take a picture of the student outside of the plane bfore they go up and then give them a framed copy when they leave after visiting. Even if this kid had not been a football player, he would have had the opportunity.

[Falconfreak90]

Zips get commitment from Texas quarterback
By Gary Estwick
Beacon Journal Sportswriter


Quarterback Sean Hakes of Fort Worth Nolan Catholic (Texas) has orally committed to the University of Akron. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior choose the Zips over Mississippi, Colorado State and Bowling Green.
Hakes led his team to back-to-back Texas private school state championships. This season, he passed for 1,069 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 378 yards and 11 touchdowns in a run-oriented offense. He runs a 4.6 40.
``Hopefully at Akron, I'll be able to show off my arm as much as my legs,'' he said.
Hakes is considering enrolling at Akron in January.
``That's our goal, to get up there in January,'' he said. ``If not, I'll be up there in May.''
Hakes wanted to move to the Midwest to be closer to his family. He was born in Columbus but moved to Fort Worth at age 4. His older brother, Scott, is a student at Ohio University.
Bowling Green was considered a favorite until Hakes visited Akron after the Mid-American Conference Championship game.
``I was really blown away,'' he said.

"I was really blown away" says quite a bit. Akron's facilities are top notch these days. It's a good thing the Sebo Center is getting started...

Also, per Mike Rasor on the Akron Zips blog linked to the Beacon Journal...

If you expected a few national TV games would get Akron a bunch of top-50 overall recruits, you were wrong. It will take about five years of prominence to get the most coveted players. Rest assured, Akron is certainly improving its recruiting classes each year.

However, and this is a big however, I've heard rumblings that Chris Wells came in for a visit. Yes, the same Chris Wells who is the eighth best recruit in the country -- for any position. He is a running back from Garfield. His less-than-stellar senior season may have put in question his ability to start for four years at Ohio State, where he has verbally committed.



The Zips are also talking with several other recruits who are top 100 in the country for their positions. Desmond Brentley is among them. He is a quarterback from Pennsylvania who has been compared to former Bowling Green and Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh Harris. Scouting reports say he's a little inexperienced, but has potential to be a sleeper among a much-heralded high school QB class.

[turtle]

Apparently, Ole Miss does not have an aviation program:

http://research.faa.gov/research_links/ ... aspx?cat=1

Good thing Memphis does not as well.

[hammb]

However, and this is a big however, I've heard rumblings that Chris Wells came in for a visit. Yes, the same Chris Wells who is the eighth best recruit in the country -- for any position. He is a running back from Garfield. His less-than-stellar senior season may have put in question his ability to start for four years at Ohio State, where he has verbally committed.

Bull$h!t. There is no way in HELL that Chris Wells is going to Akron and I'd be shocked if he even took a visit there. If he did it was solely to throw a bone to his home team. His Senior season was so Less-than-Stellar that Scout moved him up to the #1 overall prospect in the country in their most recent rankings.

That less than stellar senior season? 2,134 rushing yards and 28 TDs, for a 9.6 yards per carry average.

He's on record as taking his official visit to OSU, not so much to check out the facilities, but to help in their recruiting. His comment:

"I want to win a national championship at Ohio State and I need some players to come with me, especially the big boys."

He's also planning on enrolling for OSU's spring quarter. I don't know what this Akron reporter is thinking, but there is no way in hades that Chris Wells is even giving them the time of DAY, let alone considering going there. The kid's got an offer from every school in the country, pretty sure Akron isn't real high on his list.

Akron doesn't look like they're doing anything special, but they are in on 4-5 kids in the top 100 for their position, but they aren't even close to pulling in recruits like Chris Wells. In fact, scout.com has them ranked towards the bottom of the MAC right now (BG is 4th). If they think they're EVER going to get to that level of getting guys like Wells they're delusional.