Odd. I wanted a corner in this class, but not so much for the next couple years as down the road. If they add a Juco now, he'll end up gone the same time as the other CB's on the roster.

Interestingly I think that the reason the MAC made such an impact this year (record wins over BCS teams, record number of teams in bowls) was the resurgence of the rushing game. The MAC leaders in rushing this year were:
NIU 245/game
Kent 242
Ball State 215
Ohio 202
Toledo 198
Buffalo 177
EMU 164
BG 157
CMU 151
WMU 150
Akron 114
UMass 92
Miami 87

There is a very, very high correlation between how good their rushing attack was and how they fared in MAC play. BG did not have the potent rushing attack, but made up for it with a great rushing defense. By contrast the three top teams in Passing Offense, Akron, Miami, and WMU did not fare well at all.

As a side note, while we all think that the Ohio pass defense was porous, interestingly the stats show Ohio was pretty good, there. In pass efficiency defense Ohio was second to BG, and in terms of yards given up per attempt Ohio was 3rd, behind BG and NIU. Ohio's run defense, however, was pretty mediocre for the MAC, and their Red Zone defense was unbelievably bad: In 35 tries they got 3 stops (2 interceptions, 1 missed fg), and gave up 25 TDs (10 rush, 15 pass) and 7 field goals.

I personally thought that the change in philosophy on the defensive line this year didn't help. There weren't that many more sacks/tackles for losses, but the ability to stop the run was reduced, and especially red zone defense was not as good.

Getting back on track, presuming that this guy is good, I have no problem with the offer. On the other hand there isn't a lot of need for a role player at corner the next couple years. In 2013 the corners will be Carrie, Shaw, Fisher, Bass, and Wells, plus the walkons. 2014 will be thinner with Carrie and Shaw leaving, and then Fisher goes the year after that. Adding a Freshman now, he could redshirt in 2013, be a backup in 2014, and play extensively in 2015-18. Adding a Juco now, he'll be done in 2014, along with Fisher, and you still have the hole in 2015-16.

Change in philosophy does not have near the effect as the change in personnel.

That's one interpretation, Billy, or they just could think he's really good.

As far as the change in personnel, the dline in 2011 was supposed to be Meyers, Jones, Huynh, and Scott, but for most of the year Huynh was out, so you got Hastings and Crutcher instead. This year the line was supposed to be Hastings, Jones, Huynh, and Scott. You'd think that would be about the same, or better since they had more experience. Also, injuries hit the line at least as badly in 2011 as 2012. Thus I'd attribute any differences to strategy more than personnel since the personnel was pretty much the same..