For football recruiting in the class of 2025, the Blue Raiders pieced together a solid class overall, one ranking in the upper echelon of Conference USA. The Blue Raiders inked around 25 total guys from the high school and junior college ranks, combined with guys from the transfer portal.
They are off fairly quick out of the blocks for the class of 2026, boasting commit Bryce Fulda, a defensive lineman with some gerth, but also a guys that brings versatility to the table. Outside of the offer from the Blue Raiders, Fulda has offers from the likes of Wofford, Mercer and the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.
As touched on, MT hauled in a good amount of transfer portal talent. There is jumbo tight end Tayvion Galloway from Purdue, defensive back Juwon Gaston of Houston, receiver from Arizona, AJ Jones, and Jacob Otts the o-lineman from Rhode Island.
Now, let's switch gears and get under the hood for the class of 2026.
Getting The Ball Rolling Early
We at GoMiddle have started a 6 for 2026 series, where we highlight six guys from the class of 2026, that is worth keeping tabs on. We are halfway home, and have covered three guys. First and foremost is the lone commit for 2026, Bryce Fulda.
Then there is lineman Camden Goforth, an in -state lineman who is drawing attention from big programs.
The third edition so far features Westen Ard.
Despite being the only three guys covered in the 6 for 2026 series, there are many guys that are in the crosshairs for the staff in the class of 2026. At the top of the QB board is Bronzden Chaffin, a dual threat guy who has been reeling in offers. Since February, Chaffin has added offers from Bowling Green, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, and Southern Miss.
Linebacker Jayden McClure is a prospect to watch on the defensive side of the ball.
In the old wild, Wild West of football recruiting, a large portion of recruiting centered around the February Signing Day, which was always wedged in on the first Wednesday of February. Now the lion's share of prospects are tied to a school in December. In other words, the name of the game now is getting in on targets early and locking guys down. A ton of guys now are having a bevy of visits during the Summer months of June and July prior to making a decision around the start of their senior seasons.
This is not to lump all recruits into this category, but June and July is where the bread is buttered for most teams.
Believe it or not, we are now all that far away commit season. Point blank the staff needs to work tirelessly to get the guys they want in the boat ASAP. That is only a part of the process, though. Once guys are in the boat, other schools won't be deterred from actively trying to get guys to flip. The more coveted player you have, the more big time suitors there will be chomping at the bit to pry the guy away from you.
The overall importance of the class
The class of 2025 was Coach Derek Mason's first opportunity to stockpile a class that was completely his. For 2025 there was no looking over the shoulder with the caveat of "Oh well, this was Coach Rick Stockstill's guy."
When Mason took over the program I surmised that it would be a three to four season rebuild. I still do think that is the case, but when it boils down to it, it is hard to overstate how imperative this class is to the Coach Derek Mason era. Obviously the transfer portal and the NIL era has thrown a screwball into how college programs are going about recruiting now, but plucking guys from the high school and junior college ranks, is still a very high and top priority.
One important thing to note is that talent attracts talent. Quality players want to play with other quality players.
The Class of 2026 brings Mason the opportunity to piggyback off what he assembled in the class of 2025.
Part of the three to four year rebuild I mentioned is accumulating and amassing top caliber classes not just one, but two, three and four years in a row.
Will this come into fruition? We will see.
Getting The Right Guys
You can measure how tall a guy is, how much he weighs, his speed and his bench press but judging character can be a bit tricker. Every year when you dissect championship caliber clubs, there is always the secret sauce that guys into a program. There is the camaraderie aspect of a team that some teams have others do not have. The championship contenders have that special sauce that manifests when a team comes together.
By all accounts Coach Mason is doing a good job checking off the character boxes. To avoid beating around the bush, you simply can't have a bunch of locker room cancers, regardless of the talent they bring to the gridiron. As Mason pieces together the class of 2026, it will be intriguing to monitor the makeup of the guys. Part of the gamble is you won't truly and fully know until you get guys on campus.
