BOCA RATON, Fla. — As the University of Toledo prepares for its final game of the season at the Boca Raton Bowl, the Rockets lost another of their verbally committed players.
Once again, Iowa State is the new landing spot.
Defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike, who plays at Lathrup Village (Mich.) High School, became the second player to back out of a nonbinding agreement with UT and sign with Iowa State.
The switch happens in the midst of a recruiting dead period, during which coaches cannot speak with perspective players. The dead period began Monday and lasts until January 13.
Former Toledo coach Matt Campbell accepted the Iowa State job on Nov. 28.
Since moving, Campbell's new coaching staff offered scholarships to at least four players who previously were committed to the Rockets at the time of Campbell's move.
Uwazurike joins Jatairis Grant, a defensive back from Akron Garfield, who decommitted from Toledo and pledged to the Cyclones earlier this month.
The Rockets still have 14 players committed with signing day fewer than seven weeks away.
Two of those committed players, Pittsburgh running back Ronnie Jones and wide receiver Jalen Martin (Harper Woods, Mich.), have offers from Iowa State.
The Rockets have 19 seniors on the current roster, though quarterback Phillip Ely could return for another season depending on the outcome of a sixth-year waiver UT filed with the NCAA.
NEW ADDITION: The Rockets already secured a measure of insurance for Uwazurike before he chose to switch his commitment.
Junior college defensive end Tuzar Skipper signed a binding national letter of intent to Toledo on Thursday.
Skipper, who went to Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., hails from Norwich, Conn. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound end was second-team in the Northeast Football Conference this season.
Skipper will have two years of eligibility upon reporting to Toledo, which loses four defensive ends to graduation after this season.
PARTING GIFTS: For their participation in the Boca Raton Bowl, the current Toledo players will receive a gift suite and several beach-related goodies: sunglasses, beach towels, flip-flops, beach bags, and tumblers from Tervis.
UT’s players received wireless headphones and backpacks in last season’s GoDaddy Bowl.
LOCATION, LOCATION: The Rockets' practice facility this week is a local private school, Saint Andrews School in Boca Raton. The high school's facilities are more akin to a private Division II university.
In addition to its Bermuda grass football field, the school has 10 tennis courts, three gymnasiums, and an outdoor aquatic complex with Olympic-sized pools.
Of the two schools sharing the complex for the next few days, UT students pay less in tuition — by a wide margin.
To send a pre-kindergartner to Saint Andrews, it will cost $20,980 a year, which outweighs two semesters at UT's law school.
Kindergarten through fifth grade is $23,720 per year. By high school, the cost runs just south of $29,000.
Room and board for a high schooler costs $50,840, nearly double what it costs for a UT undergrad without any aid or scholarships.
INJURY REPORT: Senior cornerback Cameron Cole, who missed almost all of the past two years, will not play in the bowl game. Cole has not played in a game since the 2014 season opener because of knee and foot injuries.
UT will have the option to seek a medical redshirt for Cole for the second year in a row.
Alonzo Russell (suspension) will miss the first half of his final game with Toledo because of a targeting penalty in the fourth quarter of the Rockets' final regular season game against Western Michigan. Officials ejected Russel for the hit, and by rule, he must miss the first half of the next game.
Most of Toledo's regulars enter the game in good shape, especially for the end of the season.
Coach Jason Candle said he didn't anticipate any UT regulars missing the Rockets' game against No. 24 Temple.
Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz
First Published December 20, 2015, 5:40 a.m.
