MWC Recruiting Roundup: 11-20

Are you ready for recruiting to pick up as the regular season winds down? After a week hiatus (I was on vacation), the roundup is back. Get ready for a double filling of offers, visits, and commits. Speaking of commits, the Runnin’ Rebels have been the most productive, securing a plethora of verbal pledges over the past two weeks. They have pulled in four commitments, including their first in-state pledge, to bring their total to 13 in this class. Not far behind them was Utah State, who brought two commits in. MWConnection caught up many of them, which is detailed in the content below.

Commit Spotlight: UNLV

DB Myles Plummer:

I committed because I had a solid feeling I would be able to touch the field as soon as I come in. Another factor is the area; Las Vegas is a place people dream of going to and for me to be able to go to college there is a blessing. I believe the program is rising as a unit and the coaching staff is showing alot of love and they believe in me. I think me and Coach Larussa will become close once I come in January. He is the safety coach and Coach Sanchez is a cool dude and he really made me want to commit by the passion he shows towards UNLV. I already know he is a great coach. As a player, I would say I’m more of a focused defensive player, big on tackling and run stopping, with a lot of confidence!

OL Eric Brown:

Staying home was a big factor for me in committing, as well as the love they have for me over there. They were by far the most heavy on recruiting me and I’m really comfortable with their coaches. My main recruiters were Coach Garrison and Coach Cotton and they will be the two guys that I’m mainly working with so I built a great relationship with them. I think they envision me as a guy with potential to play as a true freshman. In order to do that, I will need to solid my weight. I’m planning to sign in February and enroll in the summer.

RB Austin Ajiake:

Me and the coaching staff just clicked. I also went on an unofficial a couple weeks ago and that pretty much sealed the deal. I fell in love with the campus and can really see myself playing here and making an impact. I saw that the program is going in the right direction under Coach Sanchez and felt like it was the best fit for me. He’s a leader and that’s what you look for in a head coach. I’ve been talking to a lot of current players and they’ve been telling me Coach Sanchez treats everyone the same. Whether you’re a walk on or a highly recruited player he’ll play you if he feels you are ready. The coaches see me as someone who could potentially play on both sides of the ball. I committed as a running back but they also see me as a linebacker it all just depends on how it plays out. They think I can make a difference early as a back because of my size.

Commit Spotlight: Utah State

Utah State were the other winners on the recruiting trail over the past two weeks with two commitments. Read what they told MWConnection below.

Deven Tompkins:

This was a good offer for me. I wasn’t getting a ton of interest from other places and the coaching staff really showed me love from the jump and kept it real with me and for me that means everything. I could tell they wanted me because they each wrote hand written letters to me congratulating me on my offer and letting me know that they would love to have me up there on the team. The coaches plan on using me in a few ways to maximize my versatility; the slot mainly to get me in space and make plays with the ball and also at wideout to be a deep threat. I don’t know if I’ll be enrolling early or not, that’s something I’m going to talk about with my school.

DB Jason Thomas:

I decided to commit to Utah State because when I went on my official visit, both my mother and I could feel the genuineness that they had towards me as a recruit. They made me feel like I am family right away, as if I had already committed there. The coaching staff were and are loyal, very straight forward with me and that is something my mom hung on too, loyalty. To me it’s not about the hype of the school, who they play or even what conference there in. It’s where I feel like I fit in best not only with the coaches but the players and the school itself. I’m able to live out my dreams and do what I love at a school that loves me back for the next 2-3 years and possibly prosper to the next level. That’s really all that matters to me. They was to move me around a bit, use me at both nickel and corner, but I have to work my way up to the top to get that starting spot. It’s not going to be easy, then again nothing in life has every been easy when you didn’t put in the work for it. I don’t want any handouts, it’s all about the competition, competitiveness and effort that I must bring forth to earn that starting spot and that’s definitely what I plan on doing.

Recruiting Tidbits:

Offers:

• JUCO OL Bo Alexander was offered by UNLV
• JUCO QB Max Gilliam was offered by UNLV
• WR Alex Pierce was offered by New Mexico
• JUCO K Cooper Lee was offered by New Mexico
• QB Horton Ahlers was offered by Colorado State
• JUCO WR Stephon Robinson was offered by Hawaii
• WR JJ Tucker was offered by Hawaii
• TE Jonah Laulu was offered by Hawaii
• OL Jace Fuamatu was offered by Hawaii
• WR Mitchell Quinn was offered by Hawaii
• WR Josiah Irish was offered by Hawaii
• WR Jailen Bailey was offered by Hawaii and Utah State
• DB Michael Anyanwu was offered by Utah State
• LB Baxten Croteau was offered by Utah State
• OL Anthony Pardue was offered by Utah State
• 2019 DB Ryan Puskas was offered by Utah State
• ATH Josiah Bradley was offered by Nevada
• LB Uluaki Katoanga was offered by Nevada
• DE Mario Mora was offered by Wyoming
• ATH Reow Jackson was offered by Wyoming
• OL Jake Parks was offered by Boise State
• LB Andrew Alves was offered by SDSU
• JUCO DB Terin Adams was offered by SDSU
• JUCO LB Alexander Vainikolo was offered by SDSU
• 2019 QB Nathan Lamb was offered by SDSU
• JUCO DL Erin Austin was offered by SJSU
• 2019 ATH Tarik Luckett was offered by SJSU

Visits:

• WR JJ Tucker visited Hawaii
• LB Darien Butler visited Hawaii
• ATH commit Chris Nash visited Utah State (unofficial)
• ATH Reow Jackson visited Wyoming
• DT Keeghan Freeborn visited Boise State (commit)
• DE Kukea Emmsley visited Boise State (commit)
• JUCO DB Delrick Abrams Jr visited Boise State
• JUCO WR John Hightower visited Boise State (commit)
• JUCO TE Jace Sternberger visited Boise State

Commits:

• JUCO DB Myles Plummer committed to UNLV
• OL Eric Brown committed to UNLV
• RB/LB Austin Ajiake committed to UNLV
• TE Jonah Laulu committed to UNLV
• JUCO DB Jason Thomas committed to Utah State
• RB Deven Tompkins committed to Utah State

Decommits:

• DT Jojo Fall decommitted from Air Force

Coming later in the week, a look at what recruits saying about new Fresno State coach Tedford and the success they are having in a quick turnaround season. Also, a visit recap from recruiting taking their visits the past two weekends (Boise State, Hawaii, and Utah State).