WMU lands Indianapolis running back for 11th commitment

Western Michigan University picked up their 11th commitment of the 2015 class from Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) running back James Gilbert. He committed officially just a day later than Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) safety Richie Kittles and two days after Grand Rapids (Mich.) South Christian quarterback Jon Wassink pledged to head coach P.J. Fleck.

Gilbert is a big commitment for a couple reasons for Fleck and his staff. Firstly, Gilbert is a highly-talented running back. Secondly, he marks a turning of the page with regards to P.J. Fleck recruiting in the Indianapolis area. After taking the job at WMU, some criticized Fleck for using scholarships to pursue player he preferred, which didn't include some players from the Indianapolis area that had pledged to former Bronco head coach Bill Cubit. In short, some felt Fleck was obligated to honor those offers made by the previous coaching staff, though what Fleck did is mostly accepted as the norm in college football.

Recruiting analyst Tom Flemming was quoted in the Indianapolis Star (via this David Drew article) at the time as saying "Fleck would have a hard time recruiting the area moving forward."

So much for that.

Recruiting politics aside, the most important part of the commitment is that James Gilbert is a very talented three-start running back. He's a player with very good speed that will play well at the Mid American Conference level. The first play of his highlight package features a roughly 97-yard touchdown scamper. During that run, though, he's clear from the opponent 40-yard line on in. I clocked that at around a 4.7 which is great given the context that he'd already run almost 60 yards before that part.

He shows good vision and makes people miss. Though he's got very good speed and eludes tackles, he isn't a dancer in the backfield. He often seems to make one cut and then gets up field, only looking to shift his momentum only when needing to avoid a tackle. He's also a very physical runner, bouncing off of the first tackler with regularity in his video, despite being 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds.

Coach Fleck and his staff continue down their road of reeling in recruits that match the talent level brought in for the historic 2014 recruiting class.

James Gilbert chose WMU over other offers from Akron, Ball State, Cincinnati, Temple, Toledo. Other schools with interest in Gilbert were Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Missouri, Northern Illinois, among others.