MWC Recruiting Roundup 12-5-22. December Team Rankings.

It’s another week of the MWC Recruiting Roundup.

Now that the regular season is over, recruiting is heating up. As can be seen below, there were lots of new offers, visitors, and new commitments entering the fold for their teams. Also, the decommittments keep coming (‘tis the season). This week, 8 of the 12 teams handed out new offers. Plus, as you can see, transfer players are getting offers too. Several teams hosted a number of visitors for future classes, and six teams added new verbal pledges to their classes. A number of teams had good weeks, notably Colorado State, Hawaii, and Wyoming. For all of their efforts with offers and securing two new commits, Colorado State takes the cover photo this week.

Class of 2023 Cover Photo Total:

• Air Force: 7
• Colorado State: 6
• Boise State: 5
• Nevada: 5
• Hawaii: 4
• San Diego State: 4
• New Mexico: 2
• San Jose State: 2
• UNLV: 2
• Wyoming: 2
• Fresno State: 1
• Utah State: 1

Recruiting Calendar:

For the next two weeks (through December 17th), we are in a Contact Period.

Next College Student Athlete defines it as:

The NCAA Contact Period is exactly what it sounds like—all communication between athletes and coaches is fair game. Coaches can email, text, call, direct message and generally contact athletes and their parents through any NCAA-approved method. In-person contact can occur on the college campus, as well as at tournaments, at the recruit’s school and home. In other words, the communication floodgates are open, so take advantage of this opportunity to get unlimited access to talk to coaches.

Air Force Commitment Tracker:

Since the Air Force Academy regularly has by far the most commits among Mountain West recruiting classes, it’s kind of fun to track them over the course of the year.

Number of Falcon verbal commits: 58

Visit Recap

JUCO DB Christion Williams (Hawaii)

“Really loved the visit. I already knew the beauty of the island but going and actually seeing the facilities and what their trying to build out there definitely gave me something to think about. Plus I walked away with an offer.”

TE/DE Kamaehu Kaawalauole (SJSU)

“As far as highlights on the visit, the facilities as well as the entire coaching staff it’s a great place for me. Coach Brennan, Matt Adkins, Joe Seamalu, all the coaches were very welcoming they made my family and I feel very comfortable. They’re in the process of upgrading their facilities it’ll be completed in June of 23.”

DB Kadiyon Sweat (Utah State)

“I had a great time at Utah State this weekend, the staff took great care of me and my family, making us all feel welcome! I had a good time with the players and coaches. They really make you feel like family up there!”

DT Lucas Samsula (Wyoming)

“I fell in love with Wyoming ever since I first went there for camp. Some highlights of the visit were how everyone was so kind and thoughtful. Touring the facilities and meeting all the coaches was amazing and helpful since I’ll be with them for the next 4 years. They also kept me with a full belly the whole time. Also, the snowmobiling was absolutely amazing, the views were breathtaking.”

DE Tell Wade (Wyoming)

“Yes I did, it was great to meet some more players and the other commits. I feel like Wyoming is a great fit for me.”

Commitment Spotlight

OL Justus Perales (Air Force)

“I just felt like it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will set me up for success, Air force is the only G5 school that’s a Joe Moore award finalist and have been up for that award 4 years in a row. They have a winning culture the coaches are great, Coach Lobo and Coach Skene made it feel like a home away from home.”

DB Jett Vincent (Colorado State)

“When I stepped on campus for an unofficial game day visit, I was amazed by the beautiful facilities in Fort Collins. However, that wasn’t what made it feel like home to me. But rather the relationships I built with the coaching staff and the hunger in my heart to help build. Within a day or two of knowing my name, they evaluated me, and then Coach Banks called and offered me a scholarship. With no hesitation, CSU took a bet on me. Even though I played small-town football they loved my character, work ethic, and the way I play the game.”

WR Nate Burleson (Nevada)

“It just felt like home i enjoyed spending time here and the coaches and building something that i want to be apart of! There’s no home like Nevada! They have built a strong relationship with my family and me and they really care about their players and what they are trying to build! They like my athleticism and ability to stretch the field and my height and that’s what I offer so I’m excited to join the Pack!”

JUCO DE Talib Salahuddin (SDSU)

“What really made me make my decision is just when I realized how much the coaches want to see me succeed in their program. It just feels like I was met with a very warm welcome and it seems like a place I can make a home.”

December Team Recruiting Rankings

The rankings are taking shape as we get closer to the stretch run. At this time, there is enough data to know how classes are shaping up, with some team even close to filling up all of their spots in this year’s class. At this point, the rankings are telling more of a story than they were previously. However, they didn’t really change from last month. Here are the November rankings for those who like to compare month to month.

1) San Diego State

2) Colorado State

3) Boise State

4) Nevada

5) Fresno State

6) Utah State

7) Wyoming

8) San Jose State

9) Hawaii

10) Air Force

11) UNLV

12) New Mexico

Tiers

As many of you may know by now, I like to also break lists like these down into tiers. Tiers can be helpful to provide a different angle to look at things. If one made an argument for flipping some of the spots on this list but kept them within the same tier, I wouldn’t put up much of a debate.

Tier 1: San Diego State, Colorado State, Boise State

Tier 2: Nevada, Fresno State

Tier 3: Utah State State, Wyoming, San Jose State

Tier 4: Hawaii, Air Force, UNLV

Tier 5: New Mexico

Recruiting Updates:

Offers

• JUCO DE Elijah O’Neal was offered by Boise State and New Mexico
• JUCO DB Jayden Dunlap was offered by Colorado State
• 2024 WR Brandon Phelps was offered by Colorado State
• 2024 WR Noah Carter was offered by Colorado State
• 2025 WR/DB Rylon Dillard-Allen was offered by Colorado State
• 2026 DB Madden Soliai was offered by Colorado State
• DB Roy Gardner Jr was offered by Hawaii
• QB Zoram Petelo was offered by Hawaii
• LB GianCarlo Rufo was offered by Hawaii
• JUCO DB Davon Martin was offered by Hawaii
• Transfer OL Phillip Wilder was offered by Hawaii
• Transfer DB Jordan Gandy was offered by Hawaii
• Transfer DB Nathan Seward was offered by Hawaii
• Transfer DB Franky West was offered by Hawaii
• Transfer DB Tre Jones was offered by Hawaii
• 2025 WR/DB Liam Thorpe was offered by Hawaii
• K/P Bode Page was offered by Nevada
• OL Josiah Timoteo was offered by Nevada
• 2024 DT Annas Davis was offered by Nevada
• JUCO TE Ryan Daly was offered by New Mexico
• DL Vaka Hansen was offered by SJSU
• 2024 WR/DB Landon Wright was offered by SJSU
• Transfer DB Malone Mataele was offered by Utah State
• DB Tyrecus Davis was offered by Wyoming
• JUCO DB Ja’Maric Morris was offered by Wyoming

Visits:

• JUCO DB Christion Williams visited Hawaii
• LB D’Agelo Davis visited Nevada
• WR Nate Burleson visited Nevada
• QB Zoram Petelo visited SJSU
• TE/DE Kamaehu Kaawalauole visited SJSU
• DB Kadiyon Sweat visited Utah State
• JUCO WR Marquis Montgomery visited Utah State
• JUCO OL Ese Pole visited Utah State
• DT Lucas Samsula visited Wyoming
• DE Tell Wade visited Wyoming
• DB Luke Talich visited Wyoming
• RB Keany Parks visited Wyoming
• DT Jake Davies visited Wyoming

Coaching Visits

• Air Force: in Minnesota
• Boise State: in Texas
• Colorado State: in Hawaii
• Hawaii: in Hawaii
• Wyoming: in Texas

Commits

• OL Justus Perales committed to Air Force
• DB Jett Vincent committed to Colorado State
• DE Javion Smith-Combs committed to Colorado State
• WR Nate Burleson committed to Nevada
• Transfer DE Tanner Vaughan committed to Nevada
• JUCO DE Talib Salahuddin committed to SDSU
• WR Keynan Higgans committed to SJSU
• JUCO DE Cian Stone committed to Utah State
• JUCO WR Tim Grear committed to Utah State

Decommits

• RB Carson Morgan decommitted from Air Force
• DB Jaden DaCosta decommitted from Nevada

Follow @Mike_SBN on Twitter for all the latest recruiting news and updates.

For recruits and coaches who want to connect and find a good match in the recruitment process, consider downloading the Athletes In Recruitment app.