This year was Dino Babers’ first full recruiting tour in Ohio as the Falcons’ head coach and he was able to do some things he was not able to do last year.
Not only was he able to recruit guys to fit his system, but he was able to sit in the recruits’ living rooms and speak to them and their families.
“When you put those men up, now I see their mom and their dad,” he said. “All of those football players have families and last year I didn’t really know those families. To be able to understand everybody’s story and how they got here is really special.”
The 24 men that signed up to be Falcons in the year 2015 are made up of big, small, fast and physical guys. That is exactly what Babers, who often differentiates basketball and football because of their physicality, wanted in this class.
By positions, the class breaks down to five defensive linemen, four defensive backs, three wide receivers, two offensive linemen, two running backs and one player each at tight end, quarterback, place kicker, punter and one classified as an athlete.
“One thing we never want to turn our back on is the physicality of the game, it’s a physical contest, it’s not basketball,” Babers said. “You need to have some creatures and some big human beings who like to run into each other.”
Physicality isn’t the only thing Babers and his staff looked for; they looked for a combination between that and athleticism. With the way Babers and his staff like to run their team, they not only need players who are physical, but players who are explosive and can change direction, he said.
When he took over the team in December, former head coach Dave Clawson already had the 2014 class committed and Babers inherited them.
Though they weren’t Babers’ guys per se, he worked them into his scheme and many of them made differences on the field during the season. This group, though, fits his scheme well, he said.
“This class has been tailor-made for what we want to do on offense and defense. That doesn’t mean the previous class doesn’t have a chance, we have been implementing those guys into our schemes,” Babers said. “But this class is handpicked to what we want to do on offense and on defense.”
The 2015 class features 13 players on the defensive side of the ball, counting Brandon Harris who enters this class classified as an athlete. That makes sense for a team that graduated 10 seniors on that side of the ball including players like D.J. Lynch, Ryland Ward and Brian Sutton.
With those holes left in the defense many of the incoming class may get the chance to play early in their careers.
“These young men are coming in because we believe that they can help us win,” Babers said. “Outside of an offensive lineman … everybody else has an opportunity to play early if they do the things they need to do. There will be a lot of openings on defense and if they are not starters, we will need a lot of players to back players up.”
Most of the recruits are clustered between two states, Ohio [10] and Florida [8], while there are three players from Illinois and one from each Wisconsin, Maryland and Kansas.
With Babers having 13 months to bring together his first class as the Falcons head coach, it brings a sense of security and peace of mind, he said.
“Now to be able spend 13 months, with bringing this class together, knowing so much about them and knowing how they fit in with what we are trying to do here gives you a sense of security,” Babers said. “You are starting something new, you are building a base, something that you can really grow on.”
You can see the full list of recruits and their bios here
