2021 Recruiting Class Recap

 So today was National Signing Day, and in my opinion Bowling Green was able to seriously address their issues. They were able to add another QB to the room, as well as add 8 linemen, 4 on offense and 4 on defense. The highest rated recruit was a WR which is huge because we need serious talent there. I will give you a great recap of the class in no particular order. I will mention as always recruiting is not nearly as important as player development but it is still fun to get excited. Here, we, go!

Breakdown by position

QB: 1

RB: 2

WR: 2

TE: 2

OL 4

ATH: 1

DL: 4

LB: 1

DB: 4

Breakdown by state

Ohio: 8

Illinois: 4

Pennsylvania: 2

Florida: 2

Kansas: 1

Kentucky: 1

Michigan: 1

Indiana: 1

Missouri: 1

1. Drew Gunther QB, Pennsylvania (Syracuse transfer)

Drew is coming in with 4 years of eligibility left as a redshirt freshman. I always get excited when he steal kids from Power 5 schools. He is now the 6th QB on the roster, and is the 5th with freshman eligibility, which is crazy young for a QB room. 

2. Nate Pabst DL, Ohio

Nate is listed as 6-6 240 lbs which is great size for a defensive end. The defensive line has been a problem at BG for years now so it is great to see it get addressed. Nate chose Bowling Green over Kent State, Akron, Miami OH and Ball State.

3. Dawson Hildebrand OL, Ohio

Dawson is 6-4 337 and is listed as a guard. I am sure I will say it a million times but you win football games on both sides of the trenches and at QB so I love seeing all the linemen in this class. Listed as a zero star recruit by 247 means nothing to me, as Scott Miller was a zero star recruit and we all know how that turned out.

4. Tae'Shaun Johnson WR, Ohio

Johnson is the highest rated recruit by 247 in the class and I have high hopes for him to help revive this receiving core. He is from Toledo, so it is great to see he chose us over the Rockets! Tau'Shaun had a poer 5 offer as well from Cincy but he knows how good it looks to play in Orange and Brown.

5. Nick Mosley RB, Ohio

Nick comes to us to help add some depth to an already stacked running back group. Nick is 6-1 195 so he may look to add some weight if he wants to power through some of these older tacklers but that is what the off-season is for. Nick comes from a winning team in high school and hopefully can spread that culture to the Falcons.

6. Alex Padgett OL, Ohio

Alex chose the Falcons over offers from a bunch of schools, namely Toledo and Liberty. Alex is a big guy, weighing in at 310 at 6-6. Alex was his conference's lineman of the year so there is some serious promise with this kid.

7. Jaison Patterson RB, Florida

Jaison comes to us all the way to Florida, and even chose us over power 5 Illinois. Patterson is a versatile back who has great hands and can open up a lot of plays from the backfield. 

8. Zach Russell TE, Kentucky 

Zach is a great catch for BG, as he chose us over 15 other schools, most notably Coastal Carolina. He is 6-3 220, and could really blossom as a great blocker in the run game. 

9. Jaylen Smith WR, Florida

Jaylen Smith is coming up from the sunshine state. He is the second highest rated recruit by 247 and chose BG over offers from FIU and South Alabama. 

10. Chase Watton DL, Pennsylvania

Chase chose to come to BGSU over a bunch of other MAC schools as well as Army and Navy. He is also adding some much needed depth in the trenches and has some great size.

11. Diego Neri LB, Ohio

Diego is coming into a stacked group of LBs to learn from and chose the Falcons over almost every other MAC school!

12. Cade Zimmerly OL, Ohio

Cade won his conference's lineman of the year and put out some stellar tape. BGSU was his only FBS offer due to his smaller than most lineman size but I love this pickup by the Falcons. This kid is a great worker and he lives in our backyard. There is no downside to scooping him up and a ton of upside potential.

13. Julius Sims Jr DB, Michigan

Julius is the only 2021 recruit from Michigan and chose BG over power 5 Cincinnati. The Falcons' have had some terrible defense over the past 5 years so Julius is a needed addition to the secondary. 

14. Rocco Hicks OL, Kansas

Rocco's dad played in the NFL. This is important because it usually means Rocco will carry that same type of work ethic with him and use everyday to get better. Welcome aboard!

15. Jamal Johnson ATH, Illinois

Jamal is the only listed athlete in the class, so it will be very exciting to see where his talent gets allocated. He comes from a winning program and has talent so I am glad BG became his only FBS offer. 

16. Dierre Kelley DL, Indiana

Dierre is our only Indy recruit and brings some welcome power to the d line who needs an added jolt. Dierre chose us over a few other MAC schools including NIU and Miami OH.

17. Willie Jones DB, Illinois

Willie Jones was probably the most recruited player by the MAC schools this year and landed in the Orange and Brown. Very highly touted and a very welcome addition to the secondary.

18. Matt Kordas DB, Illinois

Kordas was highly regarded out of Illinois and chose us over schools such as Kent State and North Dakota State. 

19. Jaedyn McKinstry TE, Ohio

Jaedyn was not highly recruit out of the Toledo area, we were in fact his only D1 offer but that gets me excited because it feels like we went into our own backyard and found a diamond in the rough. 

20. Jalen Burton DB, Illinois

Jalen is another kid that is undersized, only got one D1 offer, and that makes him the perfect kid to come to Bowling Green and proved all the doubters wrong. Excited to have him on this team. 

21. Cashius Howell DL, Missouri

Cashius rounds out the class as a strong two star prospect that came highly recommended by his coaches and is a great pick up for our linemen. 

Over a great class. I love winning in the trenches so it was great to see a focus on that as well as our secondary. This class sits now ranked 8th in the MAC, and 98th in the Nation.

My highest expectations:

1. Tau'Shaun Johnson

2. Willie Jones

3. Cashius Howell

Dark Horses:

1. Cade Zimmerly

2. Matt Kordas