Central quickly nabs instate talent

Central Michigan coach, and Dearborn Edsel Ford grad, Dan Enos has been a busy coach this summer. Central has received 15 verbal commitments as of July 25. Twelve of those commitments are from Michigan. Of those one, defensive back Jordan Fields of Grand Blanc is a 3-star (according to rivals. com) recruit. Central’s other 3-star commitment is defensive back Brandon Greer of Chicago Mt. Carmel.

It’s unusual to have a Mid-American Conference school pick up so many early commitments. Usually these schools let the big schools take their pick and then go for what’s left. Often high school athletes will see the writing on the wall and realize they won’t be selected by a school like Michigan or Michigan State then they take what they can get. Clearly here Enos had an idea of what players he wanted and went after them early.

By comparison only one other MAC school (Temple) has more commitments (23, according to Rivals). The next highest is Kent State with eight. Western Michigan has received four commitments and Eastern Michigan has none. Eastern is not alone. Akron, Buffalo and Ohio have yet to receive a commitment.

At least two conclusions can be made of this. The first is the ever-increasing trend of early commitments. The second is Enos making a concerted effort to get players from Michigan high sachools. Back in the day (Herb Deromedi’s coaching days) Central would almost exclusively go for the instate kid.

Of note, Central getting Detroit Renaissance lineman Jabari Dean would appear to be a steal. Many thought Dean would follow other Renaissance players, including the state’s top prospect last year, Lawrence Thomas, to MSU. Dean is rated as a 2-star recruit by Rivals.