MWC Recruiting Roundup: 6-25-18

This week brought another plethora of commits, including the first 2020 commit in the conference. Fresno State was able to land a verbal pledge from QB Jaden Casey. There were 13 commits overall, with UNLV and SDSU each pulling in two and Nevada securing 3 commits for the second week in a row. Hawaii and Nevada were also busy hosting visitors again. As usual, MWCConnection was able to get in contact with many of the visitors and commits, both from this week and some from last. Take a look at the recruiting content below:

Recruiting Calendar update:

Starting today and going for the next month, we enter a Dead Period time. This means that there can be no face to face contact between coaches and recruits and no on-campus visits by recruits. There can still be minimal communication between, such as 1 phone call a week and texts. Offers can still be extended and commits can still occur, but expect a much slower month compared to what has been going on the past few weeks.

Commitment Spotlight

LB Nasir Rashid (Air Force)

“I mean to be honest with you, I was talking with my family, friends and coaches about what I want out of a school and what I want long term and Air Force just checked all of those boxes. By that I mean they are family, honest coaches, and it will be challenging in a good way. The level it’s at being DI. The doors it will open like I’m set either to continue my playing career or serving the country. The benefits are amazing and connections I’ll make through networking will just be crazy.And change honestly. I’m from the Midwest so being in the west will put a lot in perspective. And also it’s at the biggest stage of college football. The conference and teams I’ll be blessed enough to play against is crazy and it’s surreal to be honest. I committed today because I want to devote everything to my team from here on out. I’ve worked so hard and I just felt like this was the answer to it all. I think a lot of coaches and programs are going to be shocked by the way I play this year. The coaches at AF just saw it before a lot of them did and they made that clear to me. They said they see my progression from my junior season until now. I’ve been training with the best trainer in Ohio Mark Harris. He’s helped me change my game so much. They said they’re extremely blessed to have me and know I’ll do great things for their program. They truly believe I can help turn things around for them the same way I’m about to do for my high school team. That includes: my athleticism, speed and strength. Also just my instincts. I know where the ball is going and I know more than ever now the more instinctive I am the better.”

RB Keegan Duncan (Boise State)

“I committed to Boise State when I did because I felt good about it. It felt right and I believe it was a good time to do so. My high school team and winning a championship thi syear was and still is my main focus. It’s hard not to focus on recruiting when I’m getting calls and messages every day from schools. It’s not something you can just put on hold. I’m ready for things to calm down and get to work on this season. Boise is home for me. I love everything about it. The coaching staff is great and the recruits they are bringing in are great kids. They are people I want to surround myself with. I believe that we can have one of the best teams Boise State has ever seen with the group of guys we have so far in this class. I was really set on evaluating each school and what they had to offer. I wouldn’t say Boise State was the leader the entire time. I kept my recruiting open and went to a lot of different places. I did love Boise from the beginning though. I have great relationships with pretty much every one of the coaches. Our team has been going to their camp for the last 4 years and so I have been able to get to know those guys well. They like my size and speed. They love how athletic I am and believe I can do a lot for them. They believe I can be a dynamic player on the offensive side of the ball. I’ll mainly be a running back, but I feel like I can do a little bit of everything on offense. I intend to finish out my entire senior year of high school.”

QB Josh Calvin (Utah State)

“I really admire the coaching staff. They care about me and feel like I can truly help the Utah State program succeed in the future!!! I always wanted to be apart of a program that really wanted me for me! One that believed in my talent and style. Utah State does and that is why I’m excited about being an Aggie!!! They were just super cool with me. Told me that they could see me as a future starter one day!!! Also, they would work with me on a consistent basis to help me to improve my craft! As a QB, I feel like I’m smart with the ball and I consider myself a play-maker.”

LB Zach Bowers (Hawaii)

“Some of the factors in a college that I was looking for was a place where I can succeed on and off the field and also a place that felt like a home away from and Hawaii really showed that. They definitely made me feel apart of their family and were very welcoming to me and my family. I felt that the relationships with all the coaches clicked right off the bat. Coach Banker (LB Coach) recruits my area so I have already met him before. But meeting the other coaches we had a strong relationship. And the coaches felt I would be a great fit to their defensive scheme on my playing style and I felt the exact same, so it was perfect. I’ll be playing Mike Linebacker for them. I believe my strengths are my smarts and studying the game so I can help my teammates out during the game. And I believe I’m a good balanced linebacker that can help with the pass and run.”

2020 QB Jaden Casey (Fresno State)

“It was just an all around great fit for me. I knew I wanted to stay in the west coast. It just checked all the check boxes for me (coaches, area, the atmosphere, ex). I was going to commit to a school where I thought was the best for me, and it was Fresno State. I wasn’t going to wait if I already knew 100% I wanted to be a Bulldog. First, Coach Tedford is known for developing quarterbacks. He has a very good reputation with that position. Second, coach DeBoer knows how to win. When he was head coach at Sioux Falls, he was 67-3 and that shows how he knows how to win and I feel like his offense is a perfect fit for me. They said I have a opportunity to compete when I come in. As a player, that’s all you can ask for is an opportunity to compete. They like how I play and feel like I fit there system well. I feel like with the mix of under center and in the shotgun is where I will be fitting in best. Last year, I was all in the shotgun. This year, with our new coaches we go under center and in shotgun and is more of a pro style offense. Our offense this year is very similar to Fresno State. Part of my decision, was that I wanted to be under center also, not just in the gun. I know that I’ll be learning about different fronts, protections, ex. being in this offense.”

DB Kacee Williams (Nevada)

“I committed mainly because of my relationships with Coach Chip Viney and Coach Jay Norvell, we have a tight bond which helped making my decision easier. For example, Coach Viney and I communicate regularly not only about football but about life, my family, my future beyond being a football player. They see me at cornerback and see me coming in and immediately fighting for a starting position. Coach Viney said he loves my size and speed and my knowledge at the position. I’ve been working to improve my press man technique and reading routes better.”

Visit Recaps

DB Chris Adimora (Boise State)

“I absolutely loved it out in Idaho this past weekend! It was a fun experience, even better than the first visit in my opinion. I got more of a feel for everything this time around. The highlights had to be going to see the lake; it made me feel at peace because I didn’t even know Boise even had a lake before that. It was a beautiful scenery and everything, that was one of the main highlights. The outdoors is big for me. I use them to get away when I’m fed up with social media and stuff like that at times. The coaches and I discussed what role I would play on the team , letting me now I would be an instant impact to the Boise State football program. The relationships between me and the coaching staff are strong, especially with Brad Bedell, He’s like a replica of his brother who coaches my school (Derek Bedell), which is kind of a coincidence. The connection I have with both of them is crazy! They’re recruiting me as a safety and discussed how my role could develop into being the captain of the defense down the line. But you know they also said that nothing is given and I have to work for everything to earn it, which is the way I liked things. I hate being spoon fed.”

DB Dom Tatum (Nevada)

“I liked Nevada a lot; it was a good environment. I met all the coaches and a lot of the skill players up there. The highlights were going up to Lake Tahoe and seeing how beautiful it was and being with the coaches and going up to see Nevada’s campus and see how new it looks and how there facilities look. The coaches were just giving me details about the school and the city and how their football team is up and coming and how they are young but talented. My relationship with the staff is very good; we talked a lot and got to know each other pretty well. They said they like how aggressive I am and they really like my size because you don’t see tall DBs like me that can run and have good hips. My next steps right now is just to get better and work on my craft for next football season and yes I wanna visit Fresno State for sure.”

QB Alec Trujillo (Hawaii)

“Hawaii was a great trip. It’s a visit not a lot of people get the chance to go on. It’s a very unique place. The highlights of my visit was definitely the food, my teammate Konner and I went to a team barbecue and it was just a really nice place. The area was amazing, and everyone is so welcoming. We also went surfing which was tons of fun. Most of all talking football with Coach Stutzmann and Coach Smith was the highlight of my visit. We went over coverages, fronts, play concepts, and watched some film. Coach Stutzmann went over the run and shoot with me. Going to the stadium he talked about how quarterbacks in the past have been successful with that offense, such as Timmy Chang and one everyone knows, Colt Brennan. Hawaii is just a really gorgeous place and was a very unique once in a lifetime visit that not very many people get to make. The run and shoot is an offense I can see myself playing in, there hasn’t really been a certain school with an offense that I don’t see myself playing in. The relationships with all of those coaches are great. It just has continued to grow even bigger. I kind of connected with them when I first met them in person or when we would talk on the phone, but being able to meet their families and have a barbecue with them, their families, and the entire team made the relationships that much better. They have said to love my personality. They said they obviously love my skill set and what I bring to the table football wise or they wouldn’t be recruiting me. But they really love who I am off the field, and we all have very similar personalities, and I think that’s why we connected so well. I’m hoping to make my commitment sometime in late August.”

Recruiting Tidbits

Offers

• QB/WR Keegan Freid was offered by Air Force
• OL/DL Brandon Yates was offered by Boise State
• OL Benjamin Dooley was offered by Boise State
• ATH Darien Chase was offered by Boise State
• WR Willie Harts was offered by Colorado State
• WR Kain Medrano was offered by Colorado State
• DB Alex Austin was offered by Colorado State
• DE Aidan Cullen was offered by Colorado State
• 2020 QB Aidan Atkinson was offered by Colorado State
• 2020 QB Ben Finley was offered by Colorado State
• TE/DE Kaleb Hervey was offered by Fresno State
• OL Brandon Yates was offered by Nevada
• QB Caden Bell was offered by SJSU
• ATH Jackson Canaan was offered by SJSU
• OL Jelani Newman was offered by SJSU
• JUCO OL Tim Anderson was offered by SJSU
• 2020 QB Ben Gulbranson was offered by SJSU
• LB Jordan Cobbs was offered by UNLV
• LB Javanz Dornners was offered by UNLV
• LB Diamante Howard was offered by UNLV
• DB Nalu Emerson was offered by UNLV
• OL Duke Clemons was offered by UNLV
• WR/CB Maurice Wilmer was offered by UNLV
• ATH Deven Jarvis was offered by UNLV
• ATH Levelle Bailey was offered by UNLV
• DE/TE Steven Linton was offered by UNLV
• LB Marist Liufau was offered by UNLV
• JUCO OL Demarcus Gilmore was offered by UNLV
• 2020 LB Hunter Kaupiko was offered by UNLV
• LB/DB Tuasivi Nomura was offered by Utah State
• P Austin McNamara was offered by Utah State
• TE Kyle Helbig was offered by Utah State
• 2021 WR/DB Raider Damuni was offered by Utah State
• QB Corey Abrams was offered by Wyoming
• WR Alex Brown was offered by Wyoming

Camps

• LB Colin Flood camped at Air Force
• LS Aiden Kneller camped at Air Force
• OL Benjamin Dooley camped at Boise State
• 2021 DB Zyrus Fiaseu camped at Boise State
• 2021 RB Ezra Tomhoon camped at Boise State
• OL Angel Flores camped at SJSU
• JUCO OL Ryan Tatum camped at SJSU

Visits

• QB Alec Trujillo visited Hawaii
• OL Konner Gommney visited Hawaii
• CB Kacee Williams visited Nevada
• DB Avery Carrington visited Nevada
• DE Javasia Brunson visited Nevada
• ATH Jamaal Bell visited Nevada
• ATH Simon Thompson visited Nevada
• DE Breylon Garcia visited Nevada
• DE Dylan Hall visited Nevada
• DB Kieran Clark visited Nevada
• DB/WR Jayce Godley visited Nevada
• OL Ben Dooley visited Nevada
• DL Logan Arnold visited Nevada
• LB Zach Brogden visited Nevada and SJSU (unofficials)

Commits

• LB Nasir Rashid committed to Air Force
• RB Keegan Duncan committed to Boise State
• 2020 QB Jaden Casey committed to Fresno State
• LB Zach Bowers committed to Hawaii
• DL Logan Arnold committed to Nevada
• CB Kacee Williams committed Nevada
• TE Henry Ikahihifo committed to Nevada
• DB Avery Carrington committed to Nevada
• CB Stanley Livingstone committed to SJSU
• CB Brandon Shivers committed to SDSU
• RB Jahmon McClendon committed to SDSU
• LB Kyle Beaudry committed to UNLV
• RB Courtney Reese committed to UNLV
• QB Josh Calvin committed to Utah State
• Utah State picked up a Sunday night commit that wasn’t identified at the writing of this.