April 23, 2018
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the GRIND: Bagnah receives first FBS offer from C-USA

Much like our social media feeds,Ā CFC100Ā and CFC60 prospects are always moving at a quick pace as they dart from camp to camp and campus to campus in search of their next stepping stone towards university football. Each week we’ll do our best to keep up with the top players in Canada through the eyes of social media as they begin to make a name for themselves on both sides of the border.

Highlights of the week:

    • Isaiah Bagnah receives first FBS offer from Conference USA
    • Jett Elad adds two more offers to the board

Class 2019 GRIND

REC John Metchie (St. James, MD)

No, John Metchie didn’t make history by becoming the first athlete to skip the NCAA process and go straight to the pros. Rather, Syracuse fans are projecting their hopes and dreams all in one graphic, and I must say this is a pretty gutsy move – you can think of similar word to replace that.

I guess there’s no limits when it come’s to creativity down south, and it’s important to note this isn’t from any official Syracuse account. It’s still a cool edit, and I don’t know if it’ll be in orange, but Metchie definitely has NFL potential if he continues to chase his dreams. For those lagging behind, Metchie currently has offers fromĀ Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse, Alabama,Ā Michigan, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Nebraska, Michigan State, Maryland, Buffalo, Central Michigan, East Carolina, Kentucky, Temple and Western Michigan.

DB Jett Elad (St. Ignatius, OH)

Jett Elad hasn’t been far behind Metchie in the offer show, and he’s got two more in his back pocket after another busy week.

He was absent after receiving an offer from Cincinatti a few weeks ago, but now another Ohio based school has come calling – this time of the FCS variety. Youngstown State may be best known for the penguin that adorns their uniforms, but they’re also one of the most storied FCS programs with four national titles in the 90’s under Jim Tressel, who currently resides as President of the university. They haven’t been as dominant since he left the sidelines, but they’re still a force in the Missouri Valley Conference after making a trip to the National Championship just two years ago where they lost to James Madison.

New Mexico State made the other offer, and they represent an opportunity to play in the Sun Belt Conference at the FBS level. They’re also a program on rise after making their first bowl appearance in 57 years, so there’s a considerable amount of excitement surrounding the program for the first time in a very, very long time. Who know’s if they can continue their new found success after defeating Utah State in the Arizona Bowl, but a prospect like Elad could go a long way in helping, and for once they can present an exciting opportunity that would be appealing to a top ranked recruit.

Elad also has offers from Kent State, Akron, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky and Indiana State.

ATH Jevaun Jacobsen (Clearwater Academy, FL)

I’ve been leaving caveats all over the place for situations just like this. Movement is expected during the off-season, and Jevaun Jacobsen has decided to flip coasts all the way from CFC50 Terry Fox to Clearwater Academy in Florida.

Jacobsen was an absolute beast in British Columbia piling up 425 rushing yards, 8 rushing touchdowns, 429 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns and no interceptions – but he wasn’t done there. The kid also can play some defence racking up 24 tackles and two interceptions as defensive back. Clearwater is pretty much a brand new program after launching their 11-man team in 2016, but it’s been a long drawn out process that dates back to 2008 when they first began with 6-man football. It’ll be interesting to see how Jacobsen develops there and what type of competition he gets to face in gator territory.

LB Isaiah Bagnah (CFC50 Lethbridge, AB)

It’s funny how these offers tend to follow one another. Last week we saw Isaiah Bagnah receive an offer from Yale, and this week he stepped it up to the FBS level with an incoming offer from Old Dominion.

Old Dominion is becoming a familiar name with some CFC100 offers last season, and Bagnah represents the first Canadian they’ve tapped to receive papers from the Class of 2019. The Monarchs can still be considered one of the newer FBS programs after joining Conference USA on a full-time basis in 2014, but they’ve already found a considerable amount of success with a 10-3 finish and a bowl victory just two years ago. Remember we talked about New Mexico State waiting 57 years to earn a bowl game, so it’s safe to say Old Dominion is off to a strong start for a program who was only restarted back in 2009 after a 68 year hiatus.

Bagnah now has the two offers from Yale and Old Dominion on the board, we just need to wait and see who else makes an appearance.

DL Kail Dava (CFC10 Clarkson Football North, ON)

No real concrete news to report here, but after receiving an offer from Kent State a week ago, Kail Dava has revealed he’s got big plans to try and reel in a few more offers.

First off you can see the Nike Open Camp and Rivals 3 Stripe Camp, which as we’ve noted before on the GRIND, are two of the premier camps in America that every prospect wants to attend, with the other being the Under Armour All-America. Who knows what scout’s attention he may grab there, but he’s going to have more than enough make up days attending some big time camps down south. Really these are all heavy hitters, and more important we’ve actually seen all these schools offer Canadians in the past. Metchie currently has an offer from every single one, and we’ve seen Michigan, Syracuse and Western Michigan all make big time CFC100 signings in the past two years. This is only a list right now, but it could end up being much more if Dava takes advantage of his time in front of the coaches.

RB Jaden Bailey (Lawrenceville, NJ)

We’ve had a few Ivy League men walk through the CFC100 in recent years, and as of right now, it seems like Jaden Bailey is destined for a similar path after taking another visit this week.

We’ve already seen him at Yale and Princeton, but now he’s got a chance to see what Cornell has to offer, and it wouldn’t shock me if we see him take visits at Brown, Columbia, Penn or Dartmouth as well. I’ve found Harvard to be super quiet when it comes to Canadians, but everybody else has been all in with visits and offers for multiple CFC100s, so Bailey has got himself in the right territory if the Ivy League is his goal.

The conference seems to be up and down like crazy in recent years with every school taking a turn rising to the top, but it’s been 28 years since the Big Red have claimed the league title, and they’re a program hungry to find a way out of their current basement position. They’ve bounced back with a few decent seasons after a 1-9 showing in 2015, now they just need to get over the hump and find a way to compete with the top teams.

DB Kojo Odoom (CFC50 Lord Tweedsmuir, B.C)

Kojo Odoom has become one of the most active CFC100 in recent weeks, and we were able to catch up with him to learn about his football journey so far.

This past month he’s taken a visit to UBC, and he’s also earned invites to Eastern Washington’s Junior Day, Portland State’s Junior Day, and the May Madness Camp in North Western America, so he’s been a busy guy since the list dropped. In the article he talks about the U Sports schools who have been in contact with him, and his shock at being named to the final rankings. Click the link to read more.

Class 2020 GRIND

DB Peter Kemeni (CFC10 Clarkson Football North, ON)

We’ve had a chance to talk about Syracuse quite a bit this week, and they’re on the prowl early for the Class of 2020 having Peter Kemeni on campus for a visit this week.

There’s never much to report from these visits – other than the fact they were there – which is a very good sign, and the earlier a school wants to have you around the better. We saw Kemeni take a visit to Temple a few weeks back, so things are beginning to heat up, and we’ve already seen a bunch of his teammates at Football North attract NCAA offers from coast to coast which is another good sign. The Orange are always contenders in the Canadian recruiting game, so we’ll see how far this relationship ends up going down the road.

QB Jade Boucetta (Selwyn House, QC)

We’ve got our second transfer to announce this week, but this one’s a little different.

Instead of a Canadian flying south for the football season, Jade Boucetta has decided to leave IMG Academy and return to Selwyn House. Apparently his stay won’t be for long with him planning on attending a prep school in New England in 2019, but it’s no doubt a huge boost to the Selwyn House team who now have one of the best quarterbacks in the country on their roster. Boucetta should be bringing back a whole new slate of knowledge he can use on and off field, so he even if he’s leaving IMG Academy behind, they should continue to help him progress in the future based off the experience he gained. You can read his full statement below.

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

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