Blue Raiders add 24 on National Signing Day

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 13^th 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:

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To contact Sports Editor Connor Ulrey, email sports@mtsusidelines.com.