Recruiting Roundup 8-21

This past week has been even slower in the recruiting department than the previous week. For today’s post, we are getting our content from an idea from one of our followers. Let’s take a look at the Mountain West Conference recruiting rankings thus far in each of the 3 major recruiting sites (Rivals, Scout, and 247. The 247 rankings are their composite listings).

Rivals MWC Rankings:

1. Boise State
2. San Diego State
3. Fresno State
4. Nevada
5. Colorado State
6. UNLV
7. Hawaii
8. Wyoming
9. Air Force
10. New Mexico
11. Utah State
12. San Jose State (Rivals doesn’t list SJSU)

Scout MWC Rankings:

1. Colorado State
2. San Diego State
3. Boise State
4. Fresno State
5. Nevada
6. UNLV
7. Hawaii
8. Air Force
9. New Mexico
10. Wyoming
11. San Jose State
12. Utah State

247 Composite Rankings:

1. Colorado State
2. San Diego State
3. Boise State
4. Fresno State
5. Nevada
6. UNLV
7. Hawaii
8. Air Force
9. New Mexico
10. Wyoming
11. San Jose State
12. Utah State

Observations and Thoughts

1. First of all, let’s start with the errors. There are a few differences in number of commits between the sites. The biggest is poor SJSU, which Rivals hasn’t even listed, despite having 2 commits. The next clear difference is Colorado State, which has 10 commits on Rivals but 14 on Scout/247. This is obviously a big reason why they are listed 5th on Rivals. Fresno State has 11 commits according to Rivals, but 10 on the other two sites. Air Force has 8 on Rivals, but 5 on the other sites, while Nevada has 9 or 10 depending on which site you are viewing. In fact, there are only 3 out of the 12 schools the three sites can agree on: Boise State, San Diego State, and UNLV. There could be a few reasons for these discrepancies, such as not all the teams have sites or not all commitment announcements are seen, but it basically comes down to Go5 schools don’t receive as much coverage as P5 schools.
2. Colorado State is doing a great job on the recruiting trail thus far. Their highest ranked commit is WR Jammal Houston, who Scout has ranked as a 4-star. 247 gives half of their commits a 3-star composite ranking.
3. BSU and SDSU remain the conferences top recruiters year in and year out. 247Composite ranks 9 of the Aztec’s 12 commits as 3-stars, and similarly, 8 of 9 for the Broncos. Rivals gives Boise State an average star ranking of 2.89, far and away the highest in the conference. San Diego State comes in 4th in that category at 2.25 (being Nevada and Fresno State), but credit must be given to SDSU for identifying the players they want and getting them to commit early.
4. Nevada and Fresno State are capitalizing on the new staff buzz. Each school has a new coaching staff and it is making a difference in recruiting, with the Bulldogs and Wolfpack securing 11 and 10 verbal commits respectively. Many of those commits have spoken to MWConnection, saying the excitement of the new staff and the relationships they have built with them are a big reason for them committing.
5. Others are slow starting with recruiting. SJSU also has a new coaching staff in place and Wyoming has a buzz around them coming off a very successful season but that has yet to make a difference on the recruiting trail, at least in terms of commitments. Rivals lists the Cowboys as having 5 verbal pledges, all with a 2 star ranking. Coach Bohl has shown he can do more with less when it comes to the recruiting talent he brings in. The Spartans have 2 good looking OL verbals but may have to wait for the dominos to fall with the other MWC schools before they secure some pieces in their class.

Recruiting Tidbits:

• DB Darius Penton committed to Air Force
• DB Denaylan Fuimaono was offered by Air Force and SDSU

Did we miss any offers or commitments? Your thoughts on the recruiting rankings? Anything else you want to see from our coverage in the future? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.