Western Michigan Recruiting Roundup

Friday, Jan. 13 marked the start of a new era at Western Michigan University when Tim Lester was hired as new head football coach, filling the void left by P.J. Fleck. Lester had little time to relax as many recruits still committed to the 2017 class were on campus for official visits.

Below is a list of confirmed 2017 commits whom were on WMU's campus over the weekend and their thoughts on the official visits.

"My parents and I had a great time. WMU put on a fantastic event. It was a very eventful weekend. We went bowling, had a detailed campus tour, had a player panel, went to the basketball game against Kent State and had some tasty food. I really like Coach Lester. He's a winner and is determined to keep up what we have going at WMU. The Kalamazoo community already seems to love him because he's an alumnus. Yes, I'm still committed."

"It went great. It was really fun. We hung out with players toured the school, ate a lot of food and went to a basketball and hockey game. I do like Coach Lester. He seems like a stand up guy."

Campbell added that he is still fully committed to WMU.

"The visit went great! We had a campus tour, academic meeting, bowling, basketball game, and chilled with our player hosts. I really like Coach Lester. I think he will make a great head coach and I'm excited to play for him. I'm still solid on WMU. Other commits liked him too. Everyone seems to be on board with the hire.

"The visit went really good. The first night we went out to eat then met Coach Lester for a bit, then went to bowl and hang out with the players. Saturday we took campus tour, had a player panel to ask questions, went to the basketball game, ate with our host and hung out with them that night. We all met with coach Lester individually in the morning then left."

"The visit was great. I had a lot of fun. We ate a lot of food, we went to a lot of different places and hung out with the guys on the team. I liked Coach Lester a lot. He's a nice guy and he's real with you. We talked about coach and we feel like he fits the job."

Lance said he's still solid on WMU.

Hubbard said his visit was great and he loved it.

"The visit went great. I got to know the coach and I had an amazing time with the players. I don't know a lot about him but he seems like a great coach that wants to see WMU succeed in the future. I'm still open. Other schools are recruiting me. I don't really want to say which schools but other's are recruiting me."

Anderson said his visit was "awesome."

"It was great! I loved it. We ate a lot and went bowling. (Lester) He's pretty great! He's very caring for the players, loves Western Michigan and has high expectations for the future of this team. I think he'll be a great coach. (The other commits) they all said they liked him."

Walker said he's still fully committed to WMU.

"It went well. Friday we had a meeting with parents and players and they announced coach Lester being the head coach. Saturday we went to a basketball game, a tour and hung out with our hosts. Coach Lester seems to be a down to earth and genuine guy. He's excited to be back and wants to build off of the past successes."

Thomas added that he is still solid on WMU.

"I had a great visit. It was good to come together as recruits and as players. I'm at ease with Coach Lester. The highlight of the weekend was speaking to the players leadership panel. There are a lot of good people here from the top to the bottom. I think everyone (current commits) is excited. My status remains the same. I am committed but I'm still weighing all of my options. Coach Lester is planning on having his staff in place within a week. I look forward to meeting with the new coaches."

"It went great. We did an academic tour and hung out with the players. Coach Lester seems like a pretty cool guy but I am still open."

Hayward, who was originally committed to Fleck's staff, enrolled early and is currently in classes at Western Michigan. Hayward said the fact that his position coach, Dave Duggan, remaining of the staff was one deciding factor, along with coach Lester's vision of him becoming a better player and man.

Grant, a current WMU commit, will be on campus for his official visit this weekend.

New offers

Lester and his staff were also busy offering other prospects throughout the week in hopes to fill the remaining spots within the 2017 recruiting class.

Ellis has flown under the radar a bit and currently has offers from Bowling Green, Troy and Georgia State. He bumped his Bowling Green visit back to get up to Western Michigan this weekend so the interest is there.

West also has offers from New Mexico, Navy, Yale, and serious interest from Boston College.

"(WMU) is definitely up there with the best," West said. "I love Lester. He's my guy."

West, a high school teammate of current WMU commit Prince Walker, said he's been in touch with Lester since his time at Purdue.

Scott currently has offers from Wyoming and Western Illinois but says he has a good amount of interest in the Broncos. He does not have an official visit planned yet.

Winn currently has offers from Akron, Ohio, Miami of Ohio, New Mexico State and is visiting Memphis again next week. Winn said there is a good amount of interest in WMU and he will be on campus for an official visit this weekend. Winn's recruiter, offensive coordinator Kevin Johns, has been in touch for about a year.

Winn said that Western Michigan is in his top three, along with Ohio and Memphis.

Dellinger will be on WMU's campus this weekend for an official visit.

Elazazy, who also has offers from Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Montana and Indiana State, will be on WMU's campus this weekend for an official visit.

An update on the official visits from over the weekend will be available next week.