Character, passion and
commitment – those are the three qualities that head coach Matt Campbell
stresses to recruits when he sits down in living rooms across the country.
We’ve reached the halfway
point in the race for the best high school players the 2013 class has to offer
and Campbell likes where he stands.
“I’m really proud of
how this staff has recruited,” Campbell said. “I think we’ve done a great job
and I think we’ve worked really hard to find young people that fit into the
core values of our program.”
The Rockets have
received verbal commitments from 11 high school seniors-to-be. There’s a long
way to go until National Signing Day in February, but Rivals currently ranks
UT’s 2013 class as the best in the Mid-American Conference.
Toledo’s 2012 class was
also considered to be number one in the league.
“I think our program’s
in a situation right now where we have to bring in people that represent what
the kids we have in our program right now represent, and that’s great character
young men,” Campbell said. “Division I football is really hard, it’s a
365-day-a-year commitment to being the best you can be and I think that’s
really important when you evaluate a young man.”
Campbell, about to
begin his first full season at the helm, knows the importance of landing
players inside “Rocket Nation,” a term his predecessor Tim Beckman coined as
anywhere within a four-hour radius from Toledo.
Of the 11 commits in
the class of 2013, eight of them are within that range.
One of the headliners
of the 2013 group is Nate Jeppesen, a three-star offensive lineman from
Portage, Mich.
The 6-4, 270-pounder
gave Toledo his oral commitment June 26th. Jeppesen can play either side of the
ball, but likely projects as an offensive guard with excellent run-blocking
skills. He can also move well for a player his size.
Another key player in
this class from Rocket Nation that should have a big role down the road with
the Rockets is Lake Catholic (Mentor, OH) defensive end John Stepec.
Stepec recorded 80
tackles as a junior in 2011, 21 of them for a loss, and 12 sacks.
Weighing-in at 245
pounds, he’ll have some bulking-up to do, but shouldn’t have any problem
filling out his 6-3 frame.
The Rockets beat out
several BCS schools for Stepec’s services, including Minnesota, Syracuse and
Boston College.
“I’m a northeast Ohio
guy, my dad was a head high school football coach, so I know the pride and
tradition not only in this state, but in the four-hour radius around this
state,” Campbell said.
UT has also had success
finding and utilizing local products from the northwest Ohio area.
Perrysburg’s T.J. Fatinikun
is easily one of the most talented defensive assets on the squad. The senior was
leading the team in tackles for loss (7.5) and sacks (2.5) before an injury Oct
8 caused him to miss the rest of the 2011 season.
Holland’s Eric Page was
an All-American for Toledo in 2010 and caught 306 passes during his three-year career.
Had he stayed for his senior season, he would have needed just 43 catches to
become the all-time NCAA leader.
“Not only does it say
there’s great talent here, but it also says a lot about the high school
coaches,” Campbell said. “One of the great things that maybe people sometimes
don’t realize is you look around the city and you see some of the best high
school coaches in the state of Ohio.”
The 32-year-old Campbell
and his staff will look to area products Marquise Moore and Austin Niswander to
continue to ride the wave of success with local talent.
Moore, a three-star defensive
tackle from Whitmer High School, also gave UT a commitment this summer. He
stands 6-1, 297 pounds and anchors a defensive line that made the state final
four last year.
Niswander has played
just about every position for Findlay High School, but will likely translate to
safety or outside linebacker at the next level.
The three-star athlete
recorded 64 tackles and a forced fumble on defense in 2011.
“(Area coaches) are
committed to building programs, they’ve been there, they’ve built great
programs,” Campbell said. “When we have an opportunity to recruit a young man
from one of those high schools, we know we’re going to get a first-class
person.”
There’s still six
months until any of these kids can officially sign on the dotted line, a
reality that makes any mid-major program uneasy.
Many players commit to
a program like Toledo early in the process and use that as a safety net in case
bigger programs don’t offer during their senior seasons.
Three highly-touted
recruits have decommitted from UT this summer after bigger programs in BCS
conferences offered a scholarship.
“Sometimes you win that
battle, sometimes you don’t, that’s recruiting” Campbell said. “One of the
things I’ve always said is we’re going to recruit the best of the best throughout
the country and I’m not afraid to do that. Our staff’s not afraid to do that
and we’re not afraid to go toe-to-toe with those people.”
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