The Early Offer is RecruitingNation's regular feature, giving you a daily dose of recruiting in the mornings. Today’s offerings: Lost in the signing day shuffle and success from SEC programs was a tremendous effort by Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck; people have overlooked that Malik McDowell doesn’t technically have to sign a letter of intent if he wants to play for Michigan State; and believe it or not there are already recruits in the 2016 class committing.
Best MAC class ever?
Tucked away at the bottom of the ESPN class rankings was one of the most surprising classes in the country -- Western Michigan. The Broncos finished at No. 68 in the rankings, ahead of major BCS programs Purdue and Colorado and other mid-tier programs such as Houston, Boise State, Marshall, San Diego State and SMU. Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck was pleased with his class that included two four-star prospects and top-20 quarterback Chance Stewart (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis). Stewart could be the type of player to build a program around. What was also impressive about the Broncos' haul is that many had offers from top-tier programs such as Oklahoma and Ohio State. Plus, Fleck was able to keep several of his best players committed despite late pushes from other programs. It’s the best MAC class I’ve seen assembled in the 16 years I’ve been covering recruiting.
McDowell still can be a Spartan
People have made a lot of the fact that ESPN 300 defensive Malik McDowell’s mother hasn’t signed the letter of intent that would have officially linked her son to Michigan State. McDowell announced for the Spartans on singing day, but his mother, who has primary custody of McDowell, made it clear she didn’t want her son to attend Michigan State and hasn’t signed the paperwork. What people have overlooked throughout the entire process is that if McDowell really wants to go to Michigan State, he technically doesn’t need his mother’s signature. He can still be part of the 2014 class by enrolling at Michigan State for the fall semester and signing Big Ten scholarship paperwork with the Spartans one day after the start of classes. The NCAA has a rule that the "custodial parent" must sign the national letter of intent, but the Big Ten scholarship papers only requires the signature of a parent with nothing mentioned about a “custodial parent.” That means if McDowell truly wants to be a Spartan his father could sign the conference paperwork that would make him a part of the program.
It’s never too early
One day after the 2014 class was put into the books, Tennessee scored a commitment from 2016 athlete prospect Dorian Banks (Sevierville, Tenn./ Sevier County). Banks, who is 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds, is believed to be the 16th player in the 2016 class to make a decision. Ole Miss already has three prospects from the class committed, while Auburn, Florida and Miami have two pledges.