The football season is behind us, and we are inching closer to March Madness and the start of spring football. Two weeks ago saw another important day in the football calendar, signing day. With the early signing day in December, the February version has lost some of its luster, but there is still plenty to discuss. Let’s take a look at how the six teams in the West Division recruited.
The Good:
San Diego State
The Aztecs went big this year with 25 signees and a handful of transfers. Noah Avinger might be my favorite recruit in this class. He is going to be the next great Aztec defensive back and should get some immediate playing time. The Aztecs also hit the 4-star jackpot with the late commitment of local offensive lineman Josh Simmons. Does the commitment of Simmons signal a return of the dominant run game San Diego State is known for?
Fresno State
In terms of overall recruiting, I think you could make a solid case for the Bulldogs having the best overall class in the Mountain West. They only signed 18 high school recruits, but a handful of those recruits were sought after by Power 5 programs. The running back room is going to be loaded with the signings of Jordan Hornbeak and Johnathan Arceneaux. The Bulldogs also landed a dynamic transfer running back from Utah in Jordan Wilmore.
UNLV
Marcus Arroyo may not have any wins on his resume quite yet, but he has plenty of wins as a recruiter. For the second consecutive season, Arroyo has put together a really good recruiting class. This class is headlined by defensive end Nick Dimitris. Dimitris had offers from SEC and PAC 12 schools and has the size and speed to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Arroyo is making all the right moves to get the Rebels on track.
The Bad:
Nevada
The late commitment of quarterback Clay Millen was quite a coup for the Wolf Pack. Millen has the size and skill set to be the quarterback of the future for Nevada. Millen’s commitment gave them quite a boost in the recruiting rankings, but they signed one of the largest classes in the conference and don’t have near the depth in the class that the programs above do.
Hawaii
The Rainbow Warriors have done a very nice job on the transfer market, landing a handful of players from major Power 5 programs. Their list of high school commitments is a bit underwhelming though. Their biggest recruiting win came late with the signing of local star Zhen -Keith Sotelo who has the ability to play immediately on the defensive line.
The Ugly:
San Jose State
I thought the Spartans would ride the momentum of their Mountain West Championship victory to some wins on the recruiting trail, but that just wasn’t the case. The Spartans have decided to allow some seniors to return, and that has impacted the size of this class. I also think Brent Brennen has discovered that he can find plenty of success in the transfer portal, so I think the Spartans will be players there. I do like their quarterback recruit, Walker Eget. Eget has good size and a strong arm, a year behind Starkell should help him.
That’s it for this edition of “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.” Next week, we will start previewing the top position groups in the Mountain West.