2019 Recruiting Class thread

[Mike296]

I was looking at Twitter and there’s talk about recruiting already and the one I saw is ISUr offering Baraboo(WI) TE Caden Blum a scholarship. I’ve seen the kid play he’s a solid player. Best player on a bad team.

[Outsider1]

We already have roughly 31 offers out to 2019 recruits. We aren't waiting around to culminate some relationships and start building our depth from the ground up program as soon as possible. Productive factories aren't built overnight. My biggest worry is if we can keep our coach long enough to see these kids all the way through and then some...

[PaladinNation]

By my informal count, Furman has out over 50 offers and counting.

Based on Furman's offers Furman has broadened the recruiting footprint from the Carolina's, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Many of the players offered are from Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky. I believe this is due to assistant coaches having connections in these areas as well as Hendrix's connections built recruiting for Air Force.

[PaladinFan]

By my informal count, Furman has out over 50 offers and counting.

Based on Furman's offers Furman has broadened the recruiting footprint from the Carolina's, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Many of the players offered are from Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky. I believe this is due to assistant coaches having connections in these areas as well as Hendrix's connections built recruiting for Air Force.

I'm also interested to see what impact, if any, Conner Shaw has in recruiting, especially South Carolina.

Given the ages, it wouldn't shock me if some of Furman's recruiting targets grew up pretending to be Conner Shaw in the back yard.

[ST_Lawson]

Uh....yeah, this has been going on for a while. I started tracking ours back in February when we had multiple offers out. We're up to just over 120 offers currently: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I74N1X4bah1GDHkrWz9RMvp6UI6Vdpue8UH695dweiE/edit?usp=sharing

If you look at some of the other DI offers some of the kids are getting, it's obvious we won't get many of them (and I highly doubt we're beating out any Big 10 offers), but they're kids that we're "planting the seeds" for. Like, in a year or two, maybe things don't work out for them at Michigan State or Missouri or something and they're looking to transfer down and get more starting time. They'll remember the FCS schools that recruited and offered them, and hopefully we'll have a leg up on some of their other options when it comes time to make those decisions.

[Outsider1]

Completely agree with the seeds sentiment. You will always get a few from early offers and then later those who tried another route and it didn't work out for whatever reason. Competition is tough. It never hurts to begin cultivating early.

[PaladinNation]

Not sure you can call it a trend, maybe it's just the new reality for FCS programs. Casting bigger and bigger nets during the recruiting process.
Furman's junior day this spring brought well over 200 recruits to the spring game. While photographing from the sidelines, I can no longer keep a notepad to capture the few players in attendance. I use the recorder on my phone to capture - names and schools.

A high school player from PA just announced an offer from Furman - the trend this season is that Furman is competing more frequently with CAA schools like Richmond, Nova, Elon, UNH, Townson. It will be interesting to see if Furman can get a few of these players to head south.

[PaladinFan]

Not sure you can call it a trend, maybe it's just the new reality for FCS programs. Casting bigger and bigger nets during the recruiting process.
Furman's junior day this spring brought well over 200 recruits to the spring game. While photographing from the sidelines, I can no longer keep a notepad to capture the few players in attendance. I use the recorder on my phone to capture - names and schools.

A high school player from PA just announced an offer from Furman - the trend this season is that Furman is competing more frequently with CAA schools like Richmond, Nova, Elon, UNH, Townson. It will be interesting to see if Furman can get a few of these players to head south.

It has long been my opinion that most FCS recruits are largely going to be the same type of player. Sometimes you land a guy that slips through the cracks for whatever reason, but I think you'll find that most FCS recruiting classes are going to look similar.

Every now and then a Jayson Foster, Louis Ivory, Dakota Dozier, or Armanti Edwards is available to the FCS program. Beyond that, I think the difference in recruiting is mostly coaching. Bring the right guys into the program and then let your system and coaching take over.

[WestCoastAggie]

A&T and Howard are trying to raise the profile of the MEAC recruiting-wise.

Howard got a verbal from a 3-star QB out of Pennsylvania.

[FUBeAR]

Though it’s a lot, I’ll emulate BEAR’s post about UCA’s December signing class...for Mercer

https://mercerbears.com/news/2019/2/...t19-class.aspx

Mercer Adds Five Signees to #MUvment19 Class - Bears round out their 2019 signing class with 22 total signees

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University football team announced the signing of five more future student-athletes on Wednesday, rounding out a 22-man group that will make up the #MUvment19 signing class.

The Bears' five additions include defensive lineman Richard Benton Jr. (Atlanta, Ga.), kicker Devin Folser(McDonough, Ga.), defensive lineman Chris Hill(Statesboro, Ga.), wide receiver Yahsyn McKee(Stockbridge, Ga.) and defensive lineman Solomon Zubairu (Lawrenceville, Ga.).

The 22 #MUvment19 signees span five states – 15 from Georgia, four from Florida and one apiece from Alabama, Ohio and Tennessee. Included in the class are four defensive linemen, four defensive backs, three offensive linemen, three linebackers, two running backs, two tight end, one quarterback, one wide receiver, one long snapper and one kicker.

"I can't say enough about our coaching staff's efforts to land the impressive 22 young men that make up our #MUvment19 signing class," said head coach Bobby Lamb. "A 22-man signing class is very large for the FCS level and we believe that we have the right mix of players offensively, defensively and on special teams. We filled in some gaps position-wise and we believe this class has what it takes to be something special in the upcoming years."



Signing Class Breakdown

Position	Signees	State	Signees
DL	4	Georgia	15
DB	4	Florida	4
LB	3	Alabama	1
OL	3	Ohio	1
RB	2	Tennessee	1
TE	2
QB	1
WR	1
LS	1
K	1

Mercer Football 2019 Signing Class

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown (Previous School)
Richard Benton Jr.	DL	6-2	243	Fr.	Atlanta, Ga. (B.E.S.T. Academy)
Kendall Bohler	DB	5-10	163	Fr.	Ocoee, Fla. (Ocoee HS)
Justin Bray	TE	6-3	227	Fr.	Collierville, Tenn. (St. George's Independent)
Richie Coffey	DB	5-10	167	Fr.	Jacksonville, Fla. (Baldwin HS)
Fred Davis	RB	5-10	196	Fr.	Fortson, Ga. (Northside HS)
Colton Dingmore	OL	6-3	252	Fr.	Forsyth, Ga. (Mary Persons HS)
Devin Folser	K	6-2	170	Fr.	McDonough, Ga. (Ola HS)
Dylan Fromm	QB	5-11	204	Fr.	Warner Robins, Ga. (Warner Robins HS)
Joel Girtman, Jr.	DB	5-9	191	Fr.	College Park, Ga. (Westlake HS)
Chris Hill	DL	6-2	260	Fr.	Statesboro, Ga. (Statesboro HS)
Aidan Higgins	OL	5-11	256	Fr.	Duluth, Ga. (Mountain View HS)
Zach Hopkins	LB	6-0	212	Fr.	Madison, Ala. (James Clemens HS)
Gavin Hughes	LB	6-2	210	Fr.	Rome, Ga. (Coosa HS)
Zach Lassiter	LS	6-0	194	Fr.	Cochran, Ga. (Bleckley County HS)
Brandon Marshall	RB	5-7	175	Fr.	Jacksonville, Fla. (Raines HS)
Yahsyn McKee	WR	5-10	172	Fr.	Stockbridge, Ga. (Stockbridge HS)
Pedro Rodriguez	TE	6-2	235	Fr.	Lake Mary, Fla. (Lake Mary HS)
Pat Rogers	DL	6-0	261	Fr.	Screven, Ga. (Wayne County HS)
Luke Szabados	LB	6-2	230	Fr.	Liberty Township, Ohio (Moeller HS)
John Thomas	OL	6-3	291	Fr.	Marietta, Ga. (Hillgrove HS)
Lance Wise	DB	5-8	179	Fr.	Marietta, Ga. (Hillgrove HS)
Solomon Zubairu	DL	6-1	240	Fr.	Lawrenceville, Ga. (Archer HS)

*Italics – players who signed on Feb. 6, 2019

Richard Benton Jr. (DL, 6-2, 243, Atlanta, Ga.)
High School

• Four-year letterwinner at B.E.S.T. Academy in Atlanta, Ga.
• Starred at outside linebacker under head coach Joshua Moore
• Totaled 27 sacks (14 as a junior) in prep career (per MaxPreps)
• Recorded 190 career tackles, including career-best 78 as a senior (per MaxPreps)
• Four-time AA Region 6 All-State selection
• Listed as SoCon's top recruit in 2019 signing class by HERO Sports FCS
• Received 30-plus scholarship offers, including 17 from FBS schools
• Earned Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl award
• Expected to finish in the top 10 of his graduating class
• Also ran track & swam at B.E.S.T. Academy; was a two-time state qualifier in track

Devin Folser (K, 6-2, 170, McDonough, Ga.)
High School

• Two-year letterwinner at Ola High School in McDonough, Ga.
• Was Mustangs' kicker under head coach Jared Zito
• Owns Ola HS record for longest field goal (51 yards)
• Named GHSA Region 4-AAAAA Specialist of the Year & earned First Team All-Region honors as a senior
• Was also a standout soccer player for Ola HS, leading Mustangs in goals scored over three seasons
• Member of Olympic Developmental Academy for soccer in 2016-17
• Member of Ola HS' National Honor Society, Beta Club, Quill & Scroll NHS

Chris Hill (DL, 6-2, 260, Statesboro, Ga.)
High School

• Four-year letterwinner at Statesboro High School (Statesboro, Ga.)
• Played linebacker, defensive end & tight end under head coach Jeff Kaiser
• Two-time All-Region 2 AAAAA honoree
• Earned Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) All-State honors
• Member of school's DECA club & Special Olympics committee
• Also played basketball & ran track at Statesboro HS

Yahsyn McKee (WR, 5-10, 172, Stockbridge, Ga.)
High School

• Two-year letterwinner at Stockbridge High School in Stockbridge, Ga.
• Played multiple positions as an athlete under head coach Kevin Whitley
• Helped Tigers go 12-2 overall & 6-1 in GHSA Region 4 AAAAA
• Totaled 1,266 all-purpose yards & 11 TDs as a senior, including 298 rushing & 523 receiving yards (per MaxPreps)
• Earned GHSA All-State honors as a senior
• Honor roll student & early graduate
• Also played basketball & ran track for the Tigers

Solomon Zubairu (DL, 6-1, 240, Lawrenceville, Ga.)
High School

• Four-year letterwinner at Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Ga.
• Played defensive end & linebacker for the Tigers under head coach Andy Dyer
• Was a team captain for the Tigers
• Named to All-Region First Team & All-County Second Team as a senior
• Totaled 46 tackles, including 16 tackles for loss & six sacks, as a senior (per MaxPreps)
• Helped Archer HS reach GHSA AAAAAAA Final Four in 2018
• Earned eight weekly Gwinnett County honors