Alex Terrien leaves MSU as a First Team All-Big Sky lineman with two championship rings, but five years ago he was an little-known recruit - like the 12 student-athletes MSU signed on Wednesday
Quality over Quantity: Ash Pleased with 2012 MSU Recruiting Class
2/1/2012 5:12:00 PM | Football
Bobcats land 12 players, 11 from high school ranks
The size of Montana State's 2012 football recruiting class may not catch many eyes, but Rob Ash believes the size of some of its members will. So, too, will the speed and athleticism and academic acumen of the 12 newest Bobcats, Ash says.
On Wednesday, the first day most prospective Division I football are allowed to make their commitments to their future schools binding, Ash introduced his fifth recruiting class to fans and media members assembled in Bobcat Stadium. This group, he said, answered his most serious concern about MSU when he took the job in the summer of 2007.
“I really wondered if we could use a high school-oriented recruiting approach and bring the kind of athlete it takes to win to MSU,” Ash said. “This class and the class or two before it really answer that question.”
MSU's 2012 recruiting class, which includes 11 current high school seniors and a transfer kicker, also brings impressive academic credentials to the Bobcat program. The group brings an average grade point average of 3.3 to MSU, with 11 of the 12 carrying a cumulative GPA better than 3.0. It also carries an average ACT score for those who took that standardized test of over 24, and an average SAT for those who took it of better than 1,000.
The group also came together, Ash said, thanks largely to a highly efficient effort by his staff. Of the 15 players that made official visits to MSU as scholarship prospects during the winter recruiting period, 12 signed with the Bobcats, one committed then opted to attend a school in the WAC, another opted to attend an SEC school, and one was turned away without an offer.
“That was really the key for us this year,” Ash said. “We needed to focus on a few quality players and we were able to convert an extremely high percentage of official visits to commitments. We needed to identify the right players at the positions that were areas of needs, and we feel we did that. We're very excited about this class.”
The class was heavy on the heaviest players. MSU landed three offensive linemen that averaged 6-5, 270, and two defensive linemen that averaged 6-3, 240. The Bobcats landed a pair of kicker to try to fill the shoes of All-America Jason Cunningham, one tight end, one linebacker and one defensive back.
MSU also landed a player whose father played on a Bobcat National Championship team for the sixth straight year, inking Jackson Mahlum, whose father Tom played for the Bobcats in 1984.
On Wednesday, the first day most prospective Division I football are allowed to make their commitments to their future schools binding, Ash introduced his fifth recruiting class to fans and media members assembled in Bobcat Stadium. This group, he said, answered his most serious concern about MSU when he took the job in the summer of 2007.
“I really wondered if we could use a high school-oriented recruiting approach and bring the kind of athlete it takes to win to MSU,” Ash said. “This class and the class or two before it really answer that question.”
MSU's 2012 recruiting class, which includes 11 current high school seniors and a transfer kicker, also brings impressive academic credentials to the Bobcat program. The group brings an average grade point average of 3.3 to MSU, with 11 of the 12 carrying a cumulative GPA better than 3.0. It also carries an average ACT score for those who took that standardized test of over 24, and an average SAT for those who took it of better than 1,000.
The group also came together, Ash said, thanks largely to a highly efficient effort by his staff. Of the 15 players that made official visits to MSU as scholarship prospects during the winter recruiting period, 12 signed with the Bobcats, one committed then opted to attend a school in the WAC, another opted to attend an SEC school, and one was turned away without an offer.
“That was really the key for us this year,” Ash said. “We needed to focus on a few quality players and we were able to convert an extremely high percentage of official visits to commitments. We needed to identify the right players at the positions that were areas of needs, and we feel we did that. We're very excited about this class.”
The class was heavy on the heaviest players. MSU landed three offensive linemen that averaged 6-5, 270, and two defensive linemen that averaged 6-3, 240. The Bobcats landed a pair of kicker to try to fill the shoes of All-America Jason Cunningham, one tight end, one linebacker and one defensive back.
MSU also landed a player whose father played on a Bobcat National Championship team for the sixth straight year, inking Jackson Mahlum, whose father Tom played for the Bobcats in 1984.
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