In the world of all the Miamis and USCs of college football, recruiting in the Mid-American Conference is never easy.

Making the matter worse for schools like Toledo and Bowling Green is the fact that two college football factories, Ohio State and Michigan, are just a few hours from each school.

But thanks to a 20-6 record, two bowl wins and an up and coming young coach, the Bowling Green football team has succeeded in this year’s recruiting wars, pulling in 26 players from all over the nation.

“Without a doubt the two bowl wins and the exposure we have gotten on television has helped in every way,” BG head coach Gregg Brandon said. “It helps us out in Ohio and it helps us nationally. People know about BGSU and the MAC.”

That has helped the Falcons recruit outside of Ohio — far outside.

Players came in from all corners of the country.

The only local player BG was able to pull in was Michael Ream, a defensive end from Bluffton.

The Falcons continued to pull in players from the south, getting two players from the state of Florida, the same state that produced BG standouts quarterback Omar Jacobs and wide receiver Charles Sharon.

But none of them came from as far as one of the Falcons’ new additions at receiver.

BG continued to dominate the Alaskan football scene thanks to the addition of Rhett Magner, wide receiver Cole’s younger brother.

Magner is one of five quarterbacks to come to the team, and one of four quarterbacks that will be tried out at another position.

“I like our versatility,” Brandon said. “We signed five quarterbacks, and they’re usually the most versatile guys on the field. That kind of versatility is going to help us.”

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for BG, who lost a few players to bigger schools.

“That’s part of the deal,” Brandon said. “We lost one to Michigan and one to Arkansas. That’s disappointing, but we’re not going to whine about the ones that got away from us.”

And even the players that will wear the orange and brown next season weren’t an easy catch. This was the case for defensive lineman Jacob Hardwick.

“The one we had the most problem getting was Jacob Hardwick from Virginia Beach,” Brandon said. “We couldn’t sign him initially because of a fire alarm; but we just signed him a few minutes ago.”

From a coaching standpoint, Brandon hopes he doesn’t see any of these youngsters getting a crack at significant playing time in their first year at BG.

He’s hoping the players the Falcons already have will snag up the majority of the playing time next season.

“I’m hoping none [have to play],” he said. “Because that means the guys ahead of them aren’t good enough like it used to be.”

That is how it was when Brandon first arrived in 2001 after a 2000 campaign saw BG finish 2-9.

Now, the Falcons have put one player in the NFL since then, and look to put a few more in this April. This is no doubt helping the recruiting process for BG.

“Kids are seeing that Bowling Green isn’t just a truck stop to get apples and donuts,” Brandon said. “Kids are seeing pro prospects playing here.”

For the Falcons, the offseason isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s getting easier.

BOWLING GREEN FALCONS 2005 RECRUITS

QUARTERBACK: Fred Barnes (6-2, 185; Chicago Hts., Ill.).

RUNNING BACK: Chris Bullock (5-11, 220; Destrehan, La.).

WIDE OUTS: Luke Alexander (6-0, 170; Springfield, Ohio.), Aaron Davis (6-2, 182; Seffner, Fla..), Rhett Magner (5-10, 165; Palmer, Ala.)

O-LINE: Jarrett Buckosh (6-7, 254; Elyria, Ohio), Kevin Mahoney (6-6, 295; Springfield, Ohio), Phillip Pollard (6-3, 270; Westerville, Ohio), Richard Solak (6-4, 280; Norristown, Pa.), Shane Steffy (6-3, 290; Oakmont, Pa.), Guy Williamson (6-4, 300; Mahomet, Ill).

D-LINE: Trevor Frericks (6-1, 255; Oxford, N.C.), Jacob Hardwick (6-3, 260; Virginia Beach, Vir.), Thomas James (6-2, 255; Goose Creek, S.C.), Brady Minturn (6-4, 250; Loveland, Ohio), Michael Ream (6-3, 235; Bluffton, Ohio).

LINEBACKERS: Cody Basler (6-3, 225; Auburn, Mich..), Nick Lawrence (6-3, 220; Brighton, Mich.), Cordelle Thompson (6-1, 205; Middletown, Ohio).

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Antonio Smith (5-10, 175 Miami, Fla.), Bobby Thomas (5-10, 200; Warrensville Hts., Ohio), Stephon Thompson (6-0, 175; Franklin, Mich.), Calvin Wiley (5-11, 185; Detroit, Mich.), Chris Wright (5-10, 175; Middletown, Ohio).