Matt Campbell Looking to Continue Success at Toledo

Toledo Head Coach, Matt Campbell will aim for a MAC
Championship this season, after a tremendous 9-4 season
last year.
Picture Courtesy: espn.com

After taking over in 2011 as an interim head coach, Toledo's Matt Campbell has been running the spread offense to perfection. Campbell took over for Tim Beckham, who left to become the head coach at the University of Illinois after going 21-16 in his three seasons at Toledo.

Following Beckham's decision to leave the Rockets, Campbell would become the interim head coach for the Military Bowl, against Air Force. After a 42-41 victory over the Falcons, Campbell would be named the 25th head coach in Toledo Rocket football history. At the age of 31, Campbell also became the youngest coach in the FBS division.

Despite the young age, Campbell quickly took the Mid-American Conference by storm with his dynamic spread offense which consisted of constant speed. After a tremendous 9-3 regular season, the Rockets were invited to take on Utah State in the Idaho Potato Bowl, in which they lost 41-15. Despite the bowl loss, the Toledo offense ranked well with Campbell at the helm, ranking 48th in passing, 35th in rushing, and 44th in points per game with 31.5.

After a successful first season, Campbell is looking to expand his offense and schemes through recruiting. The Rockets were able to sign 23 players in the 2013 recruiting class, including four-star wide receiver, Rodney Adams. Adams chose the Rockets over top programs such as Oklahoma, Florida, and Florida State. Other than Adams, Campbell and his staff were also able to sign eight three-star recruits.

Looking forward, the Rockets currently only have one 2014 commitment in inside linebacker, William White of Detroit Cass Technical High School. However, Campbell is knocking on the same doors as several large universities for big time recruits. Several top players are considering the Rockets as their college destination, inclduing 14 four-star recruits. This list includes Marshon Lattimore, a four-star athlete from Cleveland. Lattimore has offers from Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, and several others, but Toledo seems to be right in the race for the dynamic play maker.

This upcoming season, Toledo may possibly be the favorites to take home the MAC championship, with quarterback Terrance Owens returning. Owens was able to throw for 2714 yards last season, fitting in well with the upbeat tempo of the Rocket offense. Also returning will be leading rusher, David Fluellen, who rushed for 1498 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Fluellen was able to average 5.8 yards per carry during last year's campaign, and will only look to improve with more weapons around him.

Matt Campbell is one of the top upcoming coaches in the country, and his dynamic offense and immense recruiting skills have the Toledo Rockets ranked 24th in the nation in the first pre-season poll. With so many weapons coming back, the Rockets should be a force to be reckon with down the road, not only in the Mid-American Conference, but in all of the FBS.