[2023] Final MAC Crooting Results (AI Part 2: Kent State, Miami (OH), Toledo)

[Jieret]

 

The last part of AI class analyses.  User teams after this! Someday!

Link to previous articles:

Post of Tables

AI Part 1 (Buffalo, CMU, EMU)

Remember:

• Key Recruits are not necessarily the highest-rated or highest potential players. Positional need also comes into play.
• Projected needs are mostly based on the number and the class (Senior, etc.) of bodies at a position - actual quality was not really considered. If a team had a 1* freshman kicker, for these teams they're set!
  • This will not be the case for the user team analysis.
• Top 300 recruits will have their rank listed

 

Kent State Golden Flashes (1 4-star, 4 3-stars, 16 2-stars, 4 1-star), Rank 103

Name	POS	Archetype	City	State	*	OVR	POT
Andrew Lockridge	CB	Ball Hawk	Chardon	OH	2	C	C+
Mark Henderson	CB	Zone Coverage	Chambersburg	PA	2	D	C+
Tyler Boucher	CB	Ball Hawk	Fairless Hills	PA	1	D	B-
Jose Rodriguez	DE	Balanced	La Puente	CA	2	D	C
David Warner	DE	Run Stopper	Haverford	PA	2	D	B
Thomas Hyler	DT	Balanced	Strongsville	OH	2	D	C+
Manpreet Chang	DT	Balanced	Glendale	AZ	2	D	D+
Javier Flores	DT	Balanced	Oakland	CA	1	D	B
Frank Cleveland	DT	Balanced	Kennesaw	GA	1	D	C+
James Robson	ILB	Run Stopper	Lafayette	IN	2	D	C+
Shawn Niemi	ILB	Coverage	Whitehall	OH	2	D	C
Benjamin Kea	K	Power	Huntingburg	IN	2	D	B
Douglas Follett	OG	Balanced	Madison	OH	3	C	C
Wayne Brown	OLB	Run Stopper	Lafayette	IN	2	D	B+
Jonathan Burroughs	OLB	Coverage	Genoa	OH	2	D	C+
Roger Hardin	OLB	Coverage	Wallingford	CT	2	D	C
Brock Mcgowan	OLB	Coverage	Leipsic	OH	1	D	B-
Robert Gardner	OT	Balanced	New Albany	OH	3	C	C+
Andrew Hoover	QB	Balanced	Miamisburg	OH	4	C	B
Jeffrey Eakin	RB	Balanced	Chagrin Falls	OH	3	C	B
Richard Ramirez	RB	Balanced	Sugar Land	TX	2	D	D
Thomas Roberts	SS	Run Stopper	Naples	FL	2	D	B-
Romeo Wood	TE	Vertical Threat	Salinas	CA	2	D	C-
George Campus	WR	Red Zone Threat	Richwood	OH	3	C	B+
Fletcher Kapp	WR	Possession	Wintersville	OH	2	C	B

 

Three Key Recruits: 4* QB Andrew Hoover, 3* OG Douglas Follett, 3* OT Robert Gardner

Hoover is a great pickup, and the Golden Flashes are lucky they won the five-way rumble for him.  He'll sit behind James Kivlehan in 2024, then he will be the starting QB for as long as he stays in Kent -  it's not a stretch to say he holds the Golden Flashes' future in his right hand.  Follett and Gardner inject badly needed youth in the offensive line, having them develop with Hoover seems like a solid plan.

Projected biggest needs next cycle: P, C, WR, FS

Class grade (for an AI):  D+.  I left off the last article talking about how I can live with a class with more filler if it has more impact players.  Well, Kent State's class showed me that you can take that too far.  Let's highlight the good part outside of their key recruits first.    George Campus is a solid (6'2" 223) pass-catcher who will have to bide his time but should contribute in 2026.

...and that's it.  Jeffrey Eakin is a good back, but he's also very likely to be second fiddle behind sophomore Jeffrey Vogel for a long time.  Everyone else? Except for 2* Benjamin Kea (who gets a pass because of position scarcity), they're all sub-replacement level.  Hoover and the the AI grading curve are the only things salvaging this class.

 

Miami (OH) Redhawks (2 4-stars, 11 3-stars, 4 2-stars, 8 1-stars), Rank 80

Name	POS	Archetype	City	State	*	OVR	POT
Imad Bunt	C	Pass Blocking	Salisbury	MD	3	C	C+
Yang Yuan	CB	Man Coverage	Attica	OH	3	C	C+
Albert Burton	CB	Ball Hawk	Holliday	TX	1	D	C+
Ted Shank	DE	Speed Rusher	Taylorville	IL	3	C	B+
Kong Tuong	DE	Speed Rusher	Lake Wales	FL	1	D	C+
Pedro Peters	DT	Balanced	Walnut Grove	CA	3	C	B+
Sebastian Cintron	DT	Balanced	Brooksville	FL	3	C	C+
Omar Abbott	FB	Balanced	Tucker	GA	3	C	C-
Gonzalo Otano	FS	Zone Coverage	Daingerfield	TX	2	D	B
Raymond Wilhelm	FS	Zone Coverage	Kings Mill	OH	2	D	C+
John Sherwood	ILB	Coverage	Garfield Heights	OH	1	D	B
Christopher Brown	ILB	Run Stopper	Anna	OH	1	D	C+
Mark Garberg	OG	Pass Blocking	Canton	GA	2	D	C
Devon Lakes	OG	Balanced	Cincinnati	OH	1	D	B+
Wynne Knickerbocker	OG	Pass Blocking	Columbus	OH	1	D	C+
Terrence Levy	OLB	Pass Rush	Thornville	OH	4	C	C
Dennis Boehm	OLB	Run Stopper	Kettering	OH	1	D	D
Steven Suwyn	OT	Pass Blocking	Bamberg	SC	3	C	B-
Shane Phillips	OT	Pass Blocking	Garden Grove	CA	3	C	C+
Benjamin Mitchell	QB	Scrambler	Dublin	OH	1	D	C+
Sam Taylor	RB	Speed	Coldwater	OH	4	C	B-
Charles Townsend	RB	Receiving	Eureka	MO	3	C	B-
Sang Petersen	TE	Blocking	Gilmer	TX	3	C	B-
Henry Ashe	WR	Red Zone Threat	Peculiar	MO	3	C	C+
John Mathis	WR	Red Zone Threat	North Olmstead	OH	2	D	C+

 

Three Key Recruits: #254 4* RB Sam Taylor, 4* OLB Terrence Levy, 3* C Imad Bunt

To be clear, running back was not a burning need.  Not with stud Roy Clark and the likes of Caleb Andriese and Fredrick Bennett behind him.  But top 300 recruits don't grow on trees, and Taylor is a big win for the Redhawks.  Levy will be in the rotation immediately, then be a three-year starter after that.  And Bunt is expected to compete for a starting job right away.

Projected biggest needs next cycle: SS, CB, WR, DE

Class grade (for an AI):  B+.  This is my favorite AI class, despite their low overall ranking.  Obviously the high end of their class is very, very good. But also many of their 3-stars actually fill holes and (presumably) fit scheme, such as CB Yang Yuan and WR Henry Ashe.

 

Toledo Rockets (12 3-stars, 6 2-stars, 7 1-stars), Rank 83

Name	POS	Archetype	City	State	*	OVR	POT
Humberto Perez	C	Pass Blocking	North Fort Myers	FL	3	C	C-
Lawrence Wilkinson	CB	Man Coverage	Lynden	WA	3	C	C
Gregory Smith	CB	Man Coverage	Mableton	GA	3	C	C
Santo Flake	CB	Zone Coverage	Ottawa	OH	2	D	B-
Preston Simon	CB	Zone Coverage	Ellaville	GA	1	D	A
Daniel Lane	CB	Zone Coverage	Rockmart	GA	1	D	B
Jason Ruscio	CB	Ball Hawk	Whitman	MA	1	D	C+
Juan Vargas	DE	Run Stopper	Seminole	FL	3	C	C+
Gary Empson	DE	Speed Rusher	Trotwood	OH	2	D	B+
Lawrence Muse	DT	Balanced	Akron	OH	3	C	C
Timothy Pettus	DT	Balanced	Walkersville	MD	1	D	B
Mark Nye	FS	Man Coverage	Massillon	OH	3	C	C+
Roy Jones	FS	Ball Hawk	Plainwell	MI	2	D	B-
Ernest Bolte	ILB	Speed	Winter Haven	FL	3	C	A
Michael Spates	OG	Run Blocking	Vandalia	OH	1	D	C
John Lambrix	OLB	Coverage	Tulsa	OK	2	D	C+
Patrick Herrmann	OT	Run Blocking	Titusville	FL	2	C	B-
Shawn Forst	QB	Scrambler	Haslett	MI	2	D	C-
David Abston	RB	Receiving	River Falls	WI	1	D	B-
Walter Jaldin	RB	Speed	Buda	TX	1	D	C
David Curtis	SS	Ball Hawk	Hazlet	NJ	3	C	B-
Paul Olson	TE	Vertical Threat	Gainesville	FL	3	C	C+
Doyle Foreman	WR	Route Runner	Olney	MD	3	C	B-
Nicholas Seals	WR	Speed	Booneville	MS	3	C	C+
Robert Ouellette	WR	Route Runner	Brownsville	TX	3	C	C+

(6 CBs! 6!)

 

Three Key Recruits: 3* ILB Ernest Bolte, 3* TE Paul Olson, 3* C Humberto Perez

Bolte will be the #4 ILB in the room, but that's okay.   He can contribute in the rotation and on special teams now and fight for a starting spot next year.  Olson and Perez will also both enter the two-deeps right away, although the Rockets badly need more TEs - Olson will be the only man there after the '24 season.

Projected biggest needs next cycle: P, TE, K, OG

Class grade (for an AI):  C-.  The first thing I noticed about the Rockets' roster is that they had a coach once upon a time - they actually have redshirted players!  I couldn't give you that coach's name, but because of their efforts the Rockets are not nearly as badly bunched up as many other AI teams when it comes to players graduating.  That's not to say that they can afford a middling class like this, but it doesn't hurt them as badly - yet.  Six CBs certainly don't help the grade, but it's more that they doubled (and sextupled) up on a lot of positions where they didn't need to, while not recruiting enough at others. 

They did need all three WRs, to be fair.