On May 20, BGSU football head coach Scot Loeffler officially announced the seven new names and faces joining the locker room for the upcoming season.
TE Elijah Boyd
Boyd comes to northwest Ohio after spending the 2022 season at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., and the 2023 season on the southern border as a member of the University of Texas-El Paso Miners squad. At Contra Costa, he tallied six receptions for 47 yards and no scores while not accumulating any statistics in 2023.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
DB Todd Bumphis
A 2020 St. Francis de Sales High School graduate in Toledo, Bumphis returns home after spending the previous four seasons at the University of Cincinnati, where he was mainly a special teamer and a reserve cornerback. He was named first-team all-Ohio and All-Three Rivers Conference in his senior season at St. Francis.
Eligibility remaining: 1 year
A former four-year starter at Berwick Area High School in northeastern Pennsylvania, Cleaver saw action in nine games across three years at West Point.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
McClendon comes to BG with experience at three different stops in his career. A 2019 Forest Hill High School graduate, McClendon spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Middle Tennessee, appearing in 12 games as a Blue Raider.
He spent 2021 and 2022 with the New Mexico Military Academy before joining Florida Atlantic for the 2023 season. He registered 61 total tackles, including a season-high 11 not once but twice against Illinois and UTSA, respectively.
Eligibility remaining: 1 year
A three-time 7A state champion at Thompson High School in Alabama, Pegues totaled 681 total yards and six total touchdowns across two seasons at Tennessee Tech. He had a career-high 110 yards on 21 carries against South Carolina State during a three-game stretch in which he totaled 270 rushing yards on 51 carries, which accounted for 75% of his season rushing total and 57% of his season carry total.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
After spending two seasons with Delaware State, Smith joins the orange and brown with 34 receptions for 560 yards and six touchdowns to his name. He had 288 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver on 16 receptions last season but did most of his damage in the return game. He had 571 yards and three touchdowns on 18 return attempts in 2023. He also ran track for the Hornets.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
A 2021 Del City High School graduate, Stephens spent the last three years in Stillwater as a member of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Mainly a special teamer, Stephens stepped into a defensive role in 2023, recording 10 tackles (two for loss) and half a sack, including a career-high four against Texas in the Big 12 championship game.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
