Recruiting Roundup 10-16

After a huge week last week in commitments across the conference, this week may have seemed a bit slower. Nevada extended their hot streak by gaining two more verbal pledges on Monday. Offers were also out in abundance, with five different schools extending offers to recruits. With a lack of recruit interviews this week, it is a good time to do a monthly check in of recruiting rankings. Instead of looking at how the major recruiting sites rank each school, I thought it was time we do our own. If you still want to see what Rivals and 247/Scout think of each school’s classes so far, here are the links:

Rivals: https://n.rivals.com/team_rankings/2018/mwest/football

247/Scout: https://www.scout.com/Season/2018-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=M-West

Mountain West Connection Recruiting Rankings:

1. Boise State: In what should be a surprise to no one, Boise State has stands in the top spot in the recruiting department. Though one could argue their talent doesn’t always translate to the field consistently, their ability to bring in talent is undeniable. Their class once again comprised of talent from top high school programs (Kekaniokoa Gonzalez, Andrew VanBuren, Zidane Thomas) and players who committed early who are now having big senior seasons (Phillip Mills, Brandon Hawkins, Zach Wilson). Look for them to continue building upon an already promising class.
2. Colorado State: The Rams have been perhaps quietly (or maybe a bit noisily sometimes) been doing great work on the recruiting trail. With 19 total commits, they have secured a great number of early commits. They have a standout player, WR Jammal Houston, who could make a run for 1A in terms of best player in this class. He and QB commit Matthew Baldwin should form quite a pair over the next few years. TE verbal Trey McBride is an intriguing recruit as well. Defensively, Quinn Brinnon and Nick Martin-Morman are really solid pick-ups for them. While they may drop a few places by February (because their class is almost full), consider this a successful 2018 class.
3. Nevada: The Wolfpack get the edge over the Aztecs thanks to their recent surge the last ten days, picking up five commits over that time. They have switched over to the Air Raid offense and now are recruiting players who fit that style and are doing that well so far. Size seems to be a priority along the offensive line, with two 6’5 players and one 6’4, who should develop into playing size within two years to be anchors on the line. Size is also a priority at the outside receiver position, with 6’6 Cole Turner who could see the field early and 6’3 Romeo Doubs. Even QB verbal Carson Strong is listed at 6’4. WR Charles Ross and DB Jason Dedman are two athletes who have a good chance to player early as well and become some key players in this new era.
4. San Diego State: If you think they should be higher, I would probably agree with you, but I put them down here because CSU has been consistent in recruiting since the summer and Nevada is on a hot streak right now. I’d be surprised if the Aztecs weren’t number two or three in the conference by Signing Day. Perhaps no school does a better job of consistently finding the right players for their system and get great production out of talent that wouldn’t be considered top end. (I’m NOT saying they don’t recruit talent players, but they get a ton out of players who wouldn’t be considered top end talent). They boast arguably the most talented recruit in the class in JR Justice and Rashad Scott should develop into a multi-year starter for them.
5. Fresno State: After their hot July, the Bulldogs have cooled off but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a good class at this point. LB Sherwin King could end up being the leader of the defense in a few years as he makes plays all over the field. DB Deshawn Ruffin will develop into a solid cornerback and WR Ricardo Arias will be an impact player in the return game, possibly from game 1 next year. With the Bulldogs already overachieving on the field, an influx of talent next year could help them take the next step. Recruits are raving about Tefford and his staff and they are saw some early results over the summer. Can they make a similar recruiting run in the winter?
6. UNLV: The Bishop Gorman to UNLV never materialized in the Sanchez era and their recruiting is very middle of the road. Could be better, could be worse so here they are in the middle. DT Chris Manoa gives them huge size in the defensive interior and grabbing a Chandler AZ WR (Jarick Caldwell) is never a bad thing. I like what I see from DE Tim Mosley and RB Chad Magyar on their film. On the flip side, the lack of Nevada recruits is telling.
7. Air Force: It’s hard to recruit to the service academies, but Troy Calhoun and his staff do a pretty good job. Dual-threat QB Max Massingale should be a good fit for their system and ATH Jordan Cooper will be a playmaker on whatever side of the ball he ends up. OL verbals Jackson McDowell and Noah Gunn give them good size on the line, something they usually don’t have. It’s a middle of the road class with some interesting names, but again, for the Falcons to be middle of the road in recruiting, it should be considered a win.
8. Hawaii: Recruiting on the islands can be challenging, but Rolo and his staff are offering as many as they can and seeing who sticks. They have a player recruiter in this class with Quarterback Jeremy Moussa and he is in the ear of many other players. Getting 3 players from Hawaii will help provide some stability, although thus far none would be considered the top-tier talent. WR Eric Rooks is coming all the way from the east coast and he could end up being a nice pairing with Moussa, who could be a 3-4 year starter for them.
9. Wyoming: A “poor mans” SDSU in terms of recruiting the players who fit their system and plug them in to areas where they excel. None on this list may wow the recruiting sites, but in 2-3 years we all may be saying “Wow, how did other schools miss this guy?”. Candidates for that appear to be OT Blaine Baker, WR Gunner Gentry and of course their recent QB commit Sean Chambers, who they flipped from Rutgers. A small class so far, they could jump a few teams in the rankings by the time they are done.
10. New Mexico: With concerns about the coaching staff and not having a talent bed in their back yard, it’s no surprise that the Lobos are towards the bottom in recruiting. They have a tendency to recruit out of the JUCO ranks a bit too much to be able to sustain a program long-term and this year is no different as they offered two JUCO players just this week. Still, they can promise their RB recruits huge numbers in their system. As long as they can convince talented runners to join their ranks and add in some huge blockers like 6’6 328lb OL commit Chris Elam and they should feel good about their class.
11. San Jose State: The Spartans don’t have much momentum in recruiting this year. Though they have a new staff who are doing a great job creating excitement, they are struggling on the field. The bigger factor against them is they have a small out going senior class, which translates to a small incoming recruiting class. With limited spots, they have the challenge of having to identify the right players for those spots. They recently picked up their third commit of this class.
12. Utah State: The bottom dwellers of the conference in recruiting, with the Aggies having two lone commits. It’s a nice starter kit on paper though, as they have their quarterback and one of his protectors in a 6’3 340lb guard.

If we are going by the tier system here (as some schools are very close or at least in similar grouping so far), it looks like this:

Tier 1: Boise State

Tier 2: Colorado State, SDSU, Nevada

Tier 3: Fresno State, UNLV, Air Force, Hawaii

Tier 4: Wyoming, New Mexico

Tier 5: SJSU, Utah State

Recruiting Tidbits:

Offers:

• DB/WR LJ Anderson was offered by SJSU
• JUCO LB Ramsaan York was offered by SJSU
• JUCO OL Matt Platko was offered by New Mexico
• JUCO DB Manase Time was offered by New Mexico
• JUCO DE Kenny Turnier was offered by Hawaii
• 2021 WR Troy Franklin was offered by Hawaii
• ATH Jackson Gleeson was offered by Boise State
• WR Stef Cobbs was offered by Utah State

Commits:

• JUCO ATH Malik Welch committed to Nevada
• DB Emany Johnson committed to Nevada
• Chad Muma committed to Wyoming

• DB Jonah has Hawaii and Air Force in his top 5

Do you agree or disagree with our rankings? Did we miss any recruiting news? Leave a comment below.