Overview:Akron signed 22 players under new coach JD Bookhart, who comes to Akron
from the University of Pittsburgh.Bookhart
wanted to sign speed and build depth and he and his staff did just that.Of Akron’s 22 newcomers, 10 come from Ohio with six coming from
Pennsylvania.This is a balanced
class with 11 players signed on both sides of the ball.Seven players earned all-state honors.While quality defensive prospects were needed and signed,
Akron also brings in two highly regarded QB prospects in Kurt Shoemaker from
Cincinnati, and Brian Flaherty from near by Stow, Ohio.Both had several MAC offers.The
highlights of this class are four excellent prospects from Cleveland
Glenville’s powerhouse program.Even
though Bookhart and his staff got a late start on the recruiting trail, Akron
did a fine job at keeping the five verbals under former coach Lee Owens, and
adding some quality talent in these past few weeks or the overall recruiting
process.
Highlights:
Three
of the four players from Cleveland Glenville are Jemall Benjamin, a top 40
recruit in Ohio with several offers who will likely play LB.Donte Cloud is a speedy SS/OLB prospect Stephon Fuqua who is a track
star.
Akron
signed two players from the Tampa area, Brandon Williams, a talent WR and
Doug Williams, a defensive end.Both
attended Chamberlain high school but they are not related.
The
Zips found some nice out-of-state prospects in Kevin Grant, an all-state
player from Virginia, Eric Lively, an all-state player and top-25 prospect
from Maryland, and Brion Stokes, a top-50 prospect from North Carolina.
Akron
addressed some immediate needs with so many skilled position players
graduating this year by signing three RBs and three WRs.All six of these prospects will be given a chance to compete for
playing time this fall.
Final Thoughts:
Akron got a late start at the recruiting game this year but
certainly found some nice players and speed in this 22-member class.Akron also did a wonderful job at mining talent in Ohio and western
Pennsylvania, which is positive.By
getting a balanced class and addressing immediate and long term needs, Akron’s
class rates as VERY
GOOD compared to the other MAC programs this year.The players from Glenville and the two QB prospects are very talented.There are several ‘unknowns’ in this class that four or five years
from now, we may look back and see that this group of recruits was even better
than this initial analysis.
