Last weekend, the Middle Tennessee football program took advantage of a bye week by hosting 18 official visitors. This gave the coaching staff, commits, and targets to spend extended time around each other as the early signing period approaches.

GoMiddle has the reactions from the official visitors on how the weekend went.

First up is quarterback commit Stanley Anderson-Lofton. The Florida native has the ability to beat defenses with his arms and legs and could be an intriguing fit in this offense. This past weekend, he was able to connect with his future coaches and teammates even more.

"My OV went great. What stood out to me was how seamlessly it felt to fit in and talk with the staff and other recruits. Coach Mason has a great vision, and I love how he conducts himself. Coach Reeder has a great offensive mind and I know I can thrive with all my talents in his offense."

Tight end commit Wiilson Hodges comes from a prestigious high school program in Alabama and after taking the official visit, he is ready to help implement the standard this coaching staff is trying to establish.

"The OV was awesome, got everything I was expecting and more. The staff at MTSU did a great job hosting all of us last weekend, and it was a blast. It was really nice to get to spend time with the coaches and fellow commits.

After talking with the coaches and getting their perspective, I think they want to see me come in next spring ready to contribute to the team. My high school (Montgomery Catholic) has been built on a great standard, and they want me to bring that culture and love for the game with me!

Coach Ganz is what every player looks for in a coach. He cares for his players and knows football. I can't wait to have him as a coach. Coach Reeder, is also very knowledgeable about football, talking with him and seeing what he imagines for MTSU, and me as a player gets me very excited. He is going to be great to learn from. Coach Mason is fantastic and has a great vision for MTSU. He has a real passion for MTSU football and it shows in everything he does for the team and community!"

Kyle Larkin was a priority target for the 2025 recruiting cycle and he has remained locked in since committing this summer. The talented tackle had another good time for his official visit.

"The OV went great; I really enjoyed it. Being around other commits and the coaches was really fun."

Otto Van Rensburg was another priority target up front for this coaching staff. With his strong frame and athleticism, he could be a true difference-maker at the next level, and he enjoyed another trip to Murfreesboro for his official visit.

"My official visit was great. I’ve already loved Murfreesboro, but getting to see the town even more just solidified it

I love all the coaches there, especially Coach Blatnick, the strength and conditioning coach. I didn’t know too much about him before my OV, but getting to hear him talk to us and explain everything really opened my eyes to what goes on behind the scenes at MTSU."

Archie Roseman was a massive pickup last month for the defensive line and he returned to campus for another visit, this time for his official visit. He had a good time during the visit and remains locked in with the Blue Raiders.

"The presentations definitely stood out to me because they did a good job with really selling you on the school and their football program. We got to hear from Coach Blatnick about the strength training program and got a look at some of the results of his program in the short time he’s been there. We got to hear about Coach Mason and his background. They also walked us through the things that will be in the new 66-million-dollar football facility being built. When we broke off to have presentations with our majors the professor made me excited to study business when I come next fall.

It was very well put together. They managed to organize it in a way where you are always involved in something at all times while still giving a little down time to chill. Along with it being very fun it was educational as well. I learned a lot about what I should expect as a student athlete at MTSU, football wise and academically."

Darnell Malpress is an edge rusher with a lot of explosive traits to work with that the coaching staff landed soon after he visited. This time on an official visit, it solidified that MTSU was the right choice for him.

"The visit was great; coming back to visit again really solidified for me that this is my home. What I liked about it was how the coaching staff is all connected to each other in some way, making the staff feel like a family.

It’s amazing because one of the things I value most is my family, so I loved it."

As Middle Tennessee has attacked the state of Florida this recruiting cycle, one of the summer commits that they landed was safety Camari Hall.

As things stand right now the safety from the nationally prestigious Chaminade-Madonna High School is the only committed defensive back in the class.

"The visit was good."

While Hall is the only defensive back commit of this class right now, that won't be the case on signing day as they try to add more. The two primary targets are Locke Kennedy and Chris Noble, who both were in attendance on official visits last weekend.

The in-state target, Kennedy, had a great visit as he was able to deepen his connections with several members of the coaching staff.

"The OV went great. Showed tons of love to me and my family and really showed that they want me to commit. Coach Stew and Coach Bryce were with me and my family the majority of the time and made sure we were good and learning what we needed to know about the program."

Fellow defensive back target Chris Noble was also impressed with his official visit to MTSU.

"The visit was great. They took us around campus and showed us around, also showed what the new facility is going to look like."