UT, BG focus on keeping local talent

Springfield graduate Eric Page is featured on billboards promoting Toledo season tickets. Last season, he led all freshmen nationally with 82 catches and 1,159 receiving yards. He is one of 11 area players on UT's roster. THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY Enlarge | Photo Reprints

That may seem like an obvious choice, but it's not.

When the Central Catholic lineman gave a nonbinding verbal commitment to UT coach Tim Beckman last month, he became the first Irish player headed to the Rockets on a scholarship offer in Greg Dempsey's 10-year tenure at the school.

Cameron's decision follows an emerging trend in northwest Ohio since the arrival of Beckman and Bowling Green State University coach Dave Clawson at their respective schools in December, 2008.

More area high school football recruits that continue their careers in the Mid-American Conference are doing so with either the Falcons or the Rockets.

Of the 30 area players in the MAC, more than half - 16 to be exact - attend either UT or BG. And of those 16, nine are either true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, or sophomores - meaning they were part of Beckman and Clawson's first two recruiting classes.

"I've always thought if you can't recruit your backyard and if the people closest to you don't feel good about your program, it's hard to convince people that are a 1,000 and 2,000 miles away to join your team," Clawson said. "Some years the talent in the area is going to be better than other years. Every year your class isn't going to be only kids from Ohio.

"But it's making sure that when the players who have the ability to play in our conference are around, we're in the mix for them."

Cameron's recruitment began in earnest during his sophomore year at Central Catholic. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound center actually played tackle that season and picked up a scholarship offer from then-UT coach Tom Amstutz along the way.

Soon after, more offers came piling in from other MAC schools - Central Michigan, Miami, Western Michigan, and Ohio.

As Cameron went through the arduous process of nitpicking through what each school had to offer, his mind kept drifting back toward home.

"I had other offers, but really when it came down to it, I just really didn't want to leave Toledo," Cameron said. "I couldn't find a reason not to be a Rocket. I talked to coach Dempsey, and he felt the same way. There's nothing wrong with staying home to play at Toledo."

Dempsey has seen his former players accept offers to BCS programs such as Ohio State, Alabama, and Iowa over years, but never UT until Cameron made the call to Beckman saying he wanted to be a Rocket.

"We've had players be walk-ons at the University of Toledo, and we've had a few other guys be offered scholarships, and they didn't commit there for one reason or

another," Dempsey said. "To have Kyle be the first one is great, because he's going to represent our program with the Rocket program real well. I'm beyond confident in that."

On a more self-serving note, as a graduate of UT in 1996, Dempsey couldn't have been happier about Cameron's decision.

"It's definitely a plus in my book that he's going there," Dempsey said. "To see a great kid who's a great player end up part of a great program, which also happens to be where I graduated from and a team I follow a whole lot, that's pretty special.

"And knowing the direction the Rockets are going in during Kyle's time there, it makes you feel real good. Anybody that sees what coach Beckman is doing and what he's done since he's come along and the recruiting class he put together this past year knows where the Rockets will be in a couple of years."

Dempsey also has no doubt that Cameron will be able to contribute to UT's success, following an influx of local talent to UT under Beckman's watch.

For three straight years, the Rockets have signed the reigning Blade player of the year - Rogers' Isaiah Ballard in 2008, Springfield's Eric Page in 2009, and Rogers' E.J. Tucker in 2010. That's a trend Beckman hopes to continue for as long as he can.

"In every program I've ever been around, the goal is to recruit the local area first and then branch out into Rocket Nation," Beckman said. "Ohio State wins with Ohio guys. Cincinnati the last couple years has done a great job of recruiting the Cincinnati area and winning with those guys. And I feel the same way about Toledo."

At UT, they call it Rocket Nation; at BGSU, it's the "State of Bowling Green." However, you label it, it's the area - in this case for both schools: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania - that is scoured the hardest for recruits.

For Beckman and Clawson and the other four MAC programs in Ohio, whoever collects the most jewels while canvassing the same exact pressure-filled landscape has the best chance at competing for a championship.

"We put a lot of emphasis on recruiting the State of Bowling Green," Clawson said, "and this year of the 25 players that we signed, 23 of them were from a four-and-a-half-hour radius of here."

In the 2010 signing class, the Falcons added Eastwood's Clay Rolf to their roster, bringing their northwest Ohio contingent to five players.

At UT, two Rogers standouts were signed - Tucker and linebacker Ray Bush - giving the Rockets 11 players from the area on their roster.

"First and foremost, we have a great player in Eric Page, but we also have great players like Isaiah Ballard and [Perrysburg's] T.J. Fatinikun," Beckman said. "And we want to keep adding local guys each year like we did this past year with Ray Bush and E.J. Tucker."

Page's breakout freshman season in 2009 was the talk of the town for much of the fall. He led all freshmen nationally with 82 catches and 1,159 receiving yards and earned a place on the FWAA freshman All-American team.

Now, he's featured on several billboards across the metro area advertising UT's new "Ultimate Fan Plan" season ticket package.

There aren't too many sophomores around the country that can say they've already been plastered on a billboard, but that's just another benefit of playing for your local university.

"You can't drive anywhere in the city of Toledo without seeing the billboard with Eric Page on it," Beckman said. "Everybody in the city knows who Eric Page is, so no question that builds that Toledo camaraderie, I guess you could say."

High school players, and even coaches, from across the area have taken notice too. They've also been given unfettered access to the BG and UT programs through coaches' clinics, camps, and open practices, allowing coaches like Dempsey and Doug Pearson of St. John's Jesuit an opportunity to learn from and interact with the people who are recruiting their players.

"Being involved with and getting to know the Dempseys and the Pearsons and guys like [Rogers coach] Rick Rios has been great," Beckman said. "We've been able to establish great relationships with lots of outstanding high school coaches."

Another benefit to recruiting locally is the ability to expand your fan base.

When Ballard joined the Rockets in 2008, the same family members and friends that grew accustomed to watching him in a Rams uniform were able to continue to attend his games when he moved down the road to the Glass Bowl.

The same goes for former Southview standout Shaun Joplin, who's wearing a similar shade of orange at BGSU these days.

"For some players, it's very important for them to have their families be able to come and watch them play," Clawson said. "We want to put fans in the stands, and I think for local people if they've watched somebody play at Eastwood High School or Southview High School or Bowling Green High School, and they want to continue to watch them in college, that can only generate more local interest in your program."

For Beckman and Clawson, the plan is to continue expanding their recruitment of area prep talent.

"I'm sure Tim would agree, if there's a player of MAC-caliber close by, we certainly want to recruit him and give him an opportunity to come to our school," Clawson said.

Contact Zach Silka at:

zsilka@theblade.com

or 419-724-6084.