2019 Signing Day Focus: Southwest Minnesota State

Brian Jerzak March 2, 2019 @ 09:34 PM

The Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs came out of 2019's signing day with 39 signees. They inked eleven kids from the state of Minnesota. They no doubt hope the class helps the program build on the four-win season in 2018 and continue the upward trend the program started last season. Each year the Mustangs start the recruiting season by looking for kids in the area. "We start with local kids and work our way out," linebackers' coach and recruiting coordinator Levi Bullerman said. "In Minnesota, obviously the Twin Cities is an important area to recruit. We also have some good connections down by Rochester with some guys who have come through our program before." Within that framework, recruiting can begin. "The first step is identifying kids," Bullerman said, "seeing guys in camp and then trying to get them on campus for a visit." Bullerman feels the best way to get a kid to consider the program is to be honest from day one. "We try to be up front and honest with them. That goes a long way with players and their families. We are not a large university by any means; we are not located in a large city. We are a program that is trying to get to the next level, and they will get the opportunity to help us get to the next level. You are going to get a great education at an affordable price. We feel like we have one of the best stadiums in all of Division II. We have a supportive community that wants to see us be successful." This recruiting season, SMSU's recruiting focus was on the line of scrimmage. "Our biggest focus was getting size on the offensive and defensive lines," Bullerman told Northstarfootballnews.com. "We looked across the county for those types of guys. We got a couple of linebackers that we needed and a quarterback from the state that can throw it around pretty well. We tried to bring in some guys who can do multiple things, who can play multiple positions and just want to play football. It doesn't matter where they play." Although they look at the overall skill of the player first, the staff also looks for a specific type of guy that others may have overlooked. "We start by recruiting the football player, and then you try to find those gems that another school might not think of, but he fits into our system well," Bullerman said. "We look at them as a football player first but also find guys here or there that could do something in our system that others might have overlooked." Bullerman is excited to see what this class will bring to the program. "We got some solid players from the state this year. We got a couple of offensive linemen we feel good about. We got some guys who got better between their junior and senior years that we think we can develop." The early signing period – in many ways – has helped to simplify the recruiting process for Southwest Minnesota State and many Division II programs. "It has changed quite a bit. Everything starts a little sooner – which is good," Bullerman explained. "The guys that North Dakota State and South Dakota State and schools like that are going after are getting offers earlier, so we are able to get an idea what kids are going to be available at our level. It has sped up the process. Guys are committing earlier – even at our level. Some of those commitments are made before Christmas. By January 1st three-fourths of the class is already committed. It has been beneficial for us as far as identifying guys and getting them locked in and committed." Like most schools, the Mustangs will be more likely to recruit a good football player if they have things together off the field too. "Character is the first thing you look at," Bullerman said. "We all know good character people and bad character people. It is pretty easy to identify those type of people. We try to get a gauge from their high school coach. What kind of character does he have? Is he a leader? Does he like going to practice? Does he like going to weight lifting – all those sorts of things. How are his academics and is he going to class? The combination of skill on and off the field of this class will give the Mustangs hope that they will soon be back in the top half of the NSIC and maybe beyond.