East Spotlight: Recruiting updates for surprise teams
The East region is home to many different conferences, and plenty of teams are off to great starts this season. Some of those teams are performing better than expected and that is showing on the recruiting trail. Here is a look at how several teams off to strong starts are faring in their 2021 recruiting efforts.
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MORE RECRUITING UPDATES FOR SURPRISING PROGRAMS: Midwest | Southeast
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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COASTAL CAROLINA
Associated Press rank: 15
Record: 7-0
2021 class ranking: 95
Synopsis: It’s too late to jump on the Coastal Carolina bandwagon. The Chanticleers are the third-highest ranked non-Power Five team in the AP poll and are blowing away their competition in the Sun Belt Conference. Head coach Jamey Chadwell and his team are having fun, putting up outstanding offensive numbers and drawing the attention of football-hungry fans around the country.
Chadwell and his staff are parlaying that on-field success into some recruiting successes. Coastal Carolina has a recruiting class in the top 100 of the team rankings for the first time, and its schemes on both sides of the ball are getting players to pay attention. Zemarion Harrell, a linebacker out of Virginia Beach, had early offers from all over the country but decided to stay close to home at Coastal Carolina. Receiver Tae’Quan Johnson picked the Chanticleers instead of going with offers from Illinois, Indiana or Louisville. Things are looking up for Coastal Carolina if it can keep the on-field momentum rolling.
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MARSHALL
AP rank: 16
Record: 6-0
2021 class ranking: NR
Synopsis: Now in his 11th season at Marshall, Doc Holliday could be on his way to leading the Thundering Herd to their second Conference USA title under his watch. Marshall has been pretty consistent with Holliday at the helm, racking up multiple 10-win seasons and producing a number of all-conference players. The Thundering Herd have never really been a recruiting powerhouse, but they do have some pretty good players that make the most of their opportunities. Currently, their 2021 class is led by Isaiah Finnie, a linebacker out of Florida, but Marshall always does a good job of landing talented players that fall through the cracks late in the process.
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LIBERTY
AP rank: 22
Record: 7-0
2021 class ranking: 93
Synopsis: Put aside the drama surrounding Liberty’s former president, Jerry Falwell Jr., the fact that three players - some of them key contributors - transferred out of the program citing racial issues this summer and the circumstances under which coach Hugh Freeze was ousted at Ole Miss. Let's simply look at what Freeze is doing with the Flames: An undefeated record and victory over a Virginia Tech team that had been ranked earlier this season.
Now the Flames are recruiting at a level the program has never seen. They made headlines by landing a commitment from defensive end Khristian Zachary, beating the likes of Alabama, Tennessee, Colorado and Missouri, and he’s not the only serious prospect in this 2021 Liberty class. Quarterback commit Nate Hampton entertained early offers from Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Kentucky. Athlete commit Kyle Austin had an offer from Virginia Tech. Freeze is recruiting about as well as he could at Liberty and just this week expressed his desire to remain the head coach at Liberty despite job offers that will likely come his way.
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BOSTON COLLEGE
AP rank: NR
Record: 5-3
2021 class ranking: 28
Synopsis: Boston College fans are seeing what a difference a year can make. In Jeff Hafley’s first full recruiting cycle, he already has the Eagles' recruiting class ranked inside the top 30, which would be Boston College’s best class since 2004. This recruiting success is directly linked to how well Boston College has been performing on the field. The Eagles took North Carolina to the brink, beat a good Pittsburgh team and nearly upset Clemson. They are reaping the rewards of exceeding expectations on the field. They flipped four-star defensive back Clinton Burton away from Florida and recently flipped local linebacker Casey Phinney away from Michigan. Now they’re in line to potentially get a commitment from his teammate, Rivals100 offensive lineman Drew Kendall.
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WAKE FOREST
AP rank: NR
Record: 4-2
2021 class ranking: 54
Synopsis: Wake Forest has played some outstanding games this year. The Demon Deacons played Clemson closer than most teams, nearly beat a solid NC State squad and defeated Virginia Tech a few weeks ago. It’s been tough for Dave Clawson and his staff to reel in highly rated in-state prospects, but the consistent improvement on the field is helping their overall recruiting efforts.
If the 2021 recruiting cycle ended today, Wake Forest would have their highest-ranked class since 2015. The Demon Deacons have an outstanding quarterback committed in Santino Marucci and they’re bringing in playmakers to help him. Wake Forest also has high hopes for running back Will Towns and receiver DJ Sims.