New head football coach Derek Mason is known for his mind as a defensive coach, and now he and his staff have landed their first defensive target of the 2025 class, going into Chattanooga to land Baylor High School linebacker Joel Lowenberg.

The new commit broke down his decision with GoMiddle.

Lowenberg was offered by Middle Tennessee over a month ago by linebackers coach A.J Reisig and looked to get to campus in Murfreesboro following the news. When he got to campus, the visit showed him that this would be his next home.

"MTSU stood on top for me because of how welcomed I felt on campus and while talking to the coaches," he told GoMiddle, "I visited MTSU on June 10th. The visit was better than I could have asked for."

Middle Tennessee has made it a point to lock the state of Tennessee down first and foremost. This has included attacking the Chattanooga area with Coach Reisig.

"I like how Coach Reisig was completely honest to me throughout the entire recruiting process. His message to me was basically, 'We want you, and you would be a great fit at MTSU.'"

Last year was his first season at Baylor following a transfer after spending some time playing in north Georgia. It was an impactful first year, to say the least, as he became the top linebacker on one of the best teams in the state, finishing the year as the runner-up in the top private school class in Tennessee.

As he approaches his senior season, he has the chance to take another step forward as he leads the Red Raider defense.

Something Loweberg showed at Baylor was his athleticism, which allowed him to move around the linebacker corps, making plays and giving him the ability to be versatile. When he gets to the next level, Middle Tennessee has a vision for how they plan to use the new commit led by defensive coordinator Brian Stewart.

"Defensively, Coach Stewart wants me to be a will linebacker and be able to cover well and move in space."

When connecting with the coaching staff at MTSU, he was able to get acquainted with the head man. As that relationship was beginning to form, Lowenberg bought into what Derek Mason was looking to do at Middle Tennessee.

"When I listened to Coach Mason talk, I knew he was genuine about coaching me. He's building something special in Murfreesboro," he said to GoMiddle.

Versatile players with the size are something that this coaching staff has covered so far, and new linebacker commit Joel Lowenberg gives them that. With him now locked in, he gives Middle Tennessee exactly the type of player that this defensive staff will love to utilize to make plays.