Saturday, December 21, 2024
The Weekly: Get top MTSU stories in your inbox by subscribing to The Weekly, a Sidelines newsletter delivered each Wednesday.

Blue Raiders add 24 on National Signing Day

Date:

Share post:

Story by Tyler Lamb // Contributing Writer 

Photo Credit Brent Beerends //MT Athletics

Wednesday, February 3 marked National Signing Day; the Blue Raiders football team completed their 2016 roster with the addition of 24 high school and junior college recruits. Head Coach Rick Stockstill was very pleased with his signees, “We don’t worry about stars. We recruit kids who are obsessed about being great. We want kids who love football.”

MTSU has eight early enrollees already on campus. This is the most the Raiders have had in the Stockstill era. The only other C-USA school with more early enrollees is UAB.

It probably hasn’t received the attention it deserves, but the eight MTSU early enrollees are solid players who the Blue Raiders did not have to worry about on signing day. With the chance to get acclimated to Middle Tennessee football through winter workouts and spring practices, these players should be ready to contribute next fall.

Detric Bing-Dukes is the only transfer student who isn’t currently enrolled at MTSU, meaning he is not participating in winter workouts, but he has the ability to be one of the most explosive players on the defensive side of the ball in 2016.

Coming out of high school, Bing-Dukes was rated a 4-star by most recruiting websites, and 247sports.com even listed him as the 13th overall inside linebacker of his 2014 class. So when the University of Georgia called, his home-state team, he could not resist.

However, his stint with the Bulldogs was short-lived after being redshirted. Since the linebacking depth was so great, he made the decision in 2015 to enroll at Iowa Western Community College. Bing-Duke absolutely excelled at Iowa Western, earning JUCO All-American honors.

Former Vanderbilt RB Brian Kimbrow decided to come to Middle Tennessee to find more playing time. However, he only has one year of eligibility remaining, and he’s entering a running back corp with five other guys included in it. Kimbrow will have to impress the coaching staff throughout the offseason if he wants to see a hefty workload.

Contrary to comments by Collin Cowherd, Middle Tennessee State has many things going for their football program. One of the biggest is the ability to recruit nationally. Year after year, Stockstill, and his staff are forced to compete with the “Power 5” conferences in hopes of getting the in-state recruits.

Realizing there isn’t enough Tennessee talent to go around, Rick Stockstill puts his chips on the rest of the Southeast, his favorites being Georgia and Florida. Over the past 10, recruiting classes, Georgia and Florida’s recruits have combined for 53% of the MTSU’s total signees while Tennessee signees make up only 16% of the total.

The player leading the way for the state of Georgia this year is Ty Lee. The most important quality about Lee is that he knows how to win, as his high school has taken home the state championship the past two seasons. Lee passed up an offer from Iowa to come play for the Blue Raiders.

While Lee and Bings-Duke are the top talents from the “Peach State”, WR Reginald Henderson is the face of the “Sunshine State.” Once a long-time Miami Hurricane commitment, Henderson may be the sleeper of this year’s class. After the coaching change this past December, Henderson decided to part ways with the Canes, and the Blue Raiders snatched him up a few weeks later.

Even though this year’s class is once again dominated by out-of-state signees, the in-state players are talented. Clarksville native Rakavian Poydras is rated as the #3 DT in the state while Treyton Peters from Harriman is rated as the #4 OT in the state (247sports.com).

Even though the team only lost one starter on either side, you can never have too many quality linemen. One DT who has been waiting patiently for this day is Ty Nix, son of defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix. The Oakland defensive standout will also be joined by the other Rutherford County commit Chris Myers. Chris shined at La Vergne High School as both DE and TE, but will play defense in college.

With the class of 2016 wrapped up, the Blue Raiders can now look ahead to next fall. Offensively, quarterback Brent Stockstill’s favorite targets, Richie James, and Terry Pettis, will lead the way in the passing attack while Shane Tucker and Desmond Anderson are the top returners in the ground game. This year’s class features the addition of five wide receivers with an average height of 6’-2”.

Former University of Tennessee WR Jocquez Bruce and former Blackman HS and Ole Miss RB I’Tavius Mathers also look to have an impact in 2016. Ultimately, look for the 2016 season to be a high-scoring and exciting affair.

MTSU’s 2016 recruiting class:

Name Position Stars Height Weight Hometown
Ty Lee WR 3 5-9 175 Norman Park, GA
Detric Bing-Dukes (RS-Sophomore-TR) ILB 3 6-2 250 Tucker, GA
Rakavian Poydras DT 3 6-1 280 Clarksville, TN
Chris Myers TE/DE 3 6-6 235 LaVergne, TN
Treyton Peters OT 3 6-7 315 Rockwood, TN
Reginald Henderson WR 3 6-4 205 Clewiston, FL
C.J. Windham WR 3 6-2 195 Powder Springs, GA
Kyle Banks QB 3 6-2 195 Alworth, GA
Ricky Blair (Junior-TR) WR 3 6-5 185 Pasadena, CA
Caleb Felton OLB 3 6-1 200 Muscle Shoals, AL
Jordan Gonzalez DE 3 6-5 240 West Palm Beach, FL
Kylan Stribling CB 3 5-11 185 Thompson Station, TN
Tyshawn Brown S 3 6-0 185 Atlanta, GA
Jermel Walker (Junior-TR) WR 2 6-1 180 Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Kory Lamberts (Junior-TR) ILB 2 6-2 235 Martinez, CA
Dale Craig OLB 2 6-0 225 Buford, GA
Ty Watkins (Junior-TR) C 2 6-1 305 Oklahoma City, OK
Ty Nix DT 2 6-0 250 Murfreesboro, TN
Charvarius Ward (Junior-TR) CB 2 6-1 185 McComb, MS
Justin Brown CB 2 6-0 185 Birmingham, AL
Angelo Owens (Junior-TR) OG 2 6-4 305 Deerfield Beach, FL
Luke Harris OT 2 6-4 310 Lafayette, IN
Crews Holt K/H 2 5-9 150 Brentwood, TN
Brian Kimbrow (RS-Senior-TR) RB 5-8 185 Memphis, TN

 

For more sports features, follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter at @Sidelines_Sport.

To contact Sports Editor Connor Ulrey, email [email protected].

Sidelines
Sidelineshttps://mtsusidelines.com
MTSU's digital daily news source

Related articles

MTSU soccer looks to build on 2024 success with early look into 2025 

Feature photo by Paige Mast Story by Jacob Burgess Middle Tennessee State University women’s soccer wrapped up the...

Sidelines rewind 2024: The best photos from MTSU football

Paige Mast is the multimedia editor for MTSU Sidelines  To contact the Sports and Assistant Sports Editor, email [email protected]  For...

Sidelines rewind 2024: The best photos from fall sports

Paige Mast is the multimedia editor for MTSU Sidelines  To contact the Sports and Assistant Sports Editor, email [email protected]  For...

Oakland football secures eighth state title in 42-20 win over Houston

Feature Photo by Erin Douglas Story by Willie Phaler CHATTANOOGA, TN- The Oakland Patriots completed their 2023 revenge tour, winning the 2024 6A BlueCross Bowl, defeating the Houston Mustangs 42-20.  Oakland (14-1) and Houston (12-3) are familiar foes on the big stage, as the two schools squared off in last year’s championship game with Houston prevailing, 24-9.