Historic Start On The Field Leads to Success Off The Field for the Toledo Rockets
2016 Recruiting Class Could Be Toledo's Best
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| Success on and off of the field, goes hand-in-hand for the Toledo Rockets in 2015-16. |
The hot start has led to mass amounts of national attention from both media, college football fans, and recruits. Toledo currently has 18 commits in their 2016 class, including four three-star recruits by Yahoo! Rivals. Those commits are taking notice of the Rockets' early success, as are the top uncommitted targets that Toledo is going after.
Arguably Toledo's top commit in the 2016 class, currently, is three-star athlete Tyrece Speaight, of Columbus. Speaight committed to the Rockets on June 26 over offers from Cincinnati, Ball State, Kent State, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Miami (Ohio), and Ohio. A lot of times, recruiting websites will describe commitments as 'soft', 'hard', etc. but Speaight describes his commitment in one short sentence, "I'm Toledo all the way, no matter who offers."
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| Tyrece Speaight is arguably the biggest commit in 2016. (Courtesy of Speaight via Twitter) |
Speaight, a 5'10", 185-pound ball-hawk, will most likely find himself as a safety or defensive back in the Glass City. His commitment to the Rockets came after a visit to Toledo where he took a visit of the business department, "I want to major in business and my department visit there was awesome," Speaight stated. As for the early success of the Rockets and national attention, Speaight is excited for the rest of 2015, as well as his future in Northwest Ohio, "It's great that they're showing people how good they are," he continued, "When I was a Kent State commit and took a visit to Toledo, I knew it was the place for me, I think we can do something special."
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| Washington, Pennsylvania tight end, Nate Swart. (Courtesy of Swart via Twitter) |
Toledo's start is shocking to some, but some around the program were expecting it, which is the case with Toledo tight end commit, Nate Swart of Washington, Pennsylvania. "I kind of expected this start to be honest with you," said Swart, a 6'5", 225-pound pass-catching tight end, "They have great players, a great coaching staff, family like atmosphere, and great fans."
Swart committed on March 27 despite interest from Bowling Green, Akron, Pittsburgh, and several other schools. "I think next year we are only going to get better as we go along," said Swart on the 2016 Toledo class, "The class that we are bringing in next year is a tight knit group with a bunch of great ball players."
Another big-time get for the Rockets in their 2016 recruiting class is Akron, Ohio safety, Jatairis Grant. The 6'0", 180-pound defensive back has major talent and is severely underrated as a two-star by Rivals. Grant committed to Toledo on June 25 over offers from nearly the entire MAC (aside from the Michigan MAC schools) as well as Cincinnati and James Madison.
"The coaches and players are doing a great job," Grant stated, "Hopefully they keep doing what they're doing and get ranked even higher." As for the 2016 class, Grant says he is excited to get on campus, "I'm extremely excited to get up there, I know I'll be around a great program with great people."
Toledo loves their runningbacks and they have a beast coming in the 2016 class in Parma Heights, Ohio's Shakif Seymour. The 5'11", 220-pound three-star (by Rivals) rushed for 204 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries against Elyria Catholic. Seymour chose Toledo over offers from Akron, Austin Peay, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Old Dominion, and Western Michigan and says he likes to compare his running style to Le'Veon Bell or LSU's Leonard Fournette.
Seymour says he chose the Rockets due to the family atmosphere, "I felt most comfortable at UT, especially with all of the coaches, they made me feel at home and I love it there," Seymour stated. As for this season's early success, Seymour has definitely been paying attention, "I think it's amazing how great they're doing this season and I can't wait to become a part of Rocket Nation, they have the best interest in my future."
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| Penn Hills, Pennsylvania athlete, Billy Kisner will provide a lot of depth for the Toledo 2016 recruiting class. (Courtesy of Kisner via Twitter) |
A consistent pipeline for the Toledo Rockets on the recruiting trail is the Pittsburgh area and that has continued in the class of 2016. Penn Hills High School athlete, Billy Kisner will provide speed and depth to the class after choosing the Rockets on March 28 over offers from Albany, James Madison, and Temple. The 6'0", 180-pound Kisner says he's extremely excited for what the Rockets have going right now, and for the future, "This start to the season has me extremely excited for where they're going to finish this year," Kisner stated. "When our class comes in, there's going to be big expectations and I think we can accomplish those, and more," he continued.
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| Ronnie Jones of Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, PA) is a tremendous looking back in the 2016 class. (Courtesy of Jones via Twitter) |
Another Pittsburgh product currently committed to the Rockets in 2016 is Central Catholic runningback, Ronnie Jones. The 6'1", 185-pound back will provide depth in the Toledo backfield, in a system that loves to use a variety of backs and systems on offense. Jones choose Toledo over offers from Kent State and Fordham and averaged eight yards per carry as a junior last season. Now, Jones is focused on his senior season and his future in the Glass City.
"I think that Toledo is going to be an even better program in the future," Jones continued, "They are off to a great start, they just have to stay focused and the program will be flourishing, Rocket Nation all the way."
The third Pittsburgh product of the 2016 class is three-star athlete, James Jackson. A 6'2", 175-pound dynamic recruit, Jackson also held offers from Arizona State and Temple before choosing Toledo on June 5. The future is bright as the Pittsburgh pipeline continues to lead to Toledo.
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| Toledo defensive line commit, Baer Hunter. (Courtesy of Hunter via Twitter) |
A big defensive commit for the Rockets was Clemmons, North Carolina product, Baer Hunter. Despite not having a ranking on Rivals as of yet, Hunter had offers from Army, Bowling Green, Gardner-Webb, and Navy before choosing the Rockets on June 19. The 6'2", 235-pound defensive end says he's always known Toledo has had the capability of a season like this, "I'm extremely excited for the success they are having but I've always known they were capable of great things, Coach Campbell is a great coach and man."
As for the 2016 class and his future at Toledo, Hunter couldn't be more excited, "I'm extremely excited for the future, I just continue to thank God and my family for getting me to where I'm at right now."
Aside from the names previously mentioned, the Rockets also have a commitment from three-star wide receiver, Obi Anunike of Lewis Center, Ohio. The 6'4", 205-pound wide out will provide a deep threat, similar to Alonzo Russell, the current senior wide receiver at Toledo. Another name to watch is Desmond Phillips of Miami, Florida. The two-star by Rivals will provide a certain speed threat and could have a chance to play quarterback during his tenure at Toledo. A 4.58 40-yard dash, Phillips' 5'11", 170-pound stature will certainly provide flexibility as to where he plays and will leave the potential to line him up at several positions. Phillips had offers from fourteen schools, including several MAC schools, Florida International, Marshall, South Florida, and Syracuse.
In the MAC, recruiting classes can look promising until late January, when bigger schools look to fill out classes and reach down to target mid-major recruits. However, Toledo's success thus far in 2015 on the field has led to success on the recruiting trail. The eighteen current commits as well as several top targets see the Glass City as an extremely enticing destination to play college football. Toledo will have several chances to continue their national attention over the next few seasons as series' with BYU and Miami (Florida) have been scheduled, as well as several other top programs. The 2016 recruiting class is already looking bright and should continue to grow as time goes on.
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| Wide receiver Jalen Martin has elite potential. (Courtesy: The D Zone) |
Other major Toledo targets to watch out for prior to February's National Signing Day include Rockford, Illinois outside linebacker Alfonzo Lambert, Harper Woods, Michigan three-star wide receiver Jalen Martin, Hallandale, Florida cornerback and current Cincinnati commit, Romelo Webster, and Canton, Michigan outside linebacker, Jalen Cochran, who already has offers from Iowa and several MAC schools.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Zach will keep you posted on Toledo recruiting news via Twitter, interact with him: @ToledoZach
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