MWCConnection Recruiting Roundup 7-6-26: North Dakota State, Texas State, Boise State.

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It’s another week of the Recruiting Roundup.

A quick note: Mountain West Team Rankings (+ the first round of tiered rankings) will go next week. It makes sense for July to line it up with Mountain West Media Days, as next week will be very MW-heavy in terms of content.

For this week, we are highlighting a few teams that have made a jump up in conference affiliation and looking at how that has impacted their recruiting thus far. It’s often said that moving to a new conference will have a positive impact on a team’s recruiting efforts, but is that accurate? Looking at North Dakota State and Texas State so far in this recruiting cycle compared to previous years, we can gain some perspective on the benefits, or lack thereof, they are experiencing.

All recruiting data is from 247 Sports

North Dakota State

• 2026 Class: 117th
• 2027 Class: 108th
• 22 commits so far

Texas State

• 2026 Class: 74th
• 2027 Class: 76th
• 13 commits so far

It’s just one small sample data point, but it shows that the Bison are on pace for a recruiting cycle that seems a step ahead of the previous year. It’s also worth noting that they already have more commits in July than they did in all of last cycle.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats look like they are right on schedule compared to last year, putting together the core of a solid recruiting class to this point. Being a team from Texas, they tend to have strong classes as it is. Maybe they won’t see much of a jump since they aren’t coming from FCS. Or maybe it’s too early in the recruiting cycle to draw meaningful conclusions. We will see come December/February.

Elsewhere, On3 did an interview with Boise State GM Brandon Jones on what makes the Broncos so special. It’s paywalled, but it’s no doubt full of info about the wiring behind their efforts and why Jones believes they haven’t had a losing season since 1997.

As for the past week, it’s clear to see things have slowed down considerably. Offers are hovering right around ten total, with a mere seven verbal commits. Colorado State led the way with three this week, but Air Force, Fresno State, UNLV, Utah State, and Washington State added players as well. Looking at the cover photo, the Bulldogs stood out among the other teams this week and find themselves featured.

Class of 2027 Cover Photo Total:

• UNLV: 3
• Fresno State: 2
• North Dakota State: 2
• Oregon State: 2
• San Diego State: 2
• Air Force: 1
• Hawaii: 1
• NIU: 1
• New Mexico: 1
• San Jose State: 1
• UTEP: 1
• Washington State: 1
• Wyoming: 1

Recruiting Calendar:

Starting tomorrow and going through the rest of the summer, we are now in a dead period. All in-person contact of any kind is off-limits. But that doesn’t mean recruiting stops; it just slows down as coaches focus on the start of the season. As always, it is okay for texts, calls, and DMs.

Next College Student Athlete says:

The most restrictive of all the recruiting periods is the NCAA Dead Period. During the dead period, coaches may not have any in-person contact with recruits and/or their parents. In other words, coaches are not allowed to talk to recruits at their college campus, the athlete’s school, an athletic camp or even the grocery store.

While the term “dead period” makes it seem like all recruiting stops during this time, that’s actually not the case. Athletes and coaches are still allowed to communicate via phone, email, social media and other digital communication channels. While NCAA Division 1 programs are prohibited from conducting any in-person recruiting, D1 college coaches can still contact student-athletes via digital forms of communication during the dead period.

Commitment Spotlight:

DB Jayden Bradley: Boise State

“The main reasons for me were the amazing coaching staff and the development of players that they have achieved at Boise State.”

OL Mason Eck: Nevada

“I think it was just the perfect fit for me! I get to stay at home and play with my brother! And you just don’t get that experience anywhere else. I have always grown up bleeding blue, so when I had the opportunity, I knew it was the right choice!”

QB Thaddeus Thatcher: Oregon State

“One of the main reasons was if you look at Coach Dahlen and who he has worked with at Fresno, Washington and then Alabama, it’s crazy he has helped develop and get drafted the last 4 QBs he has worked with. And he told me he is only going after 1 QB in high school, and that was me. They didn’t OV any other QB and said if I didn’t sign, they would go into the transfer portal. So it just showed me that to have someone like him be all in on me and he is going to give me the opportunity to compete and get reps from day one. We all just made a unanimous decision that this is too good an opportunity to pass up. On top of all, my family just gets along so well with the whole coaching staff, and we all believe this staff will help get Oregon State back to where they want to be, and we are excited to be a part of it.”

OL Jaylen Haywood: Texas State

“When I’m at Texas State, the coaches said they plan to use my athleticism and ability to get out of my stance at either tackle or guard. They also like my strength of moving people off the ball.”

RB Noah Fiefia: Utah State

“I committed to Utah State because the program and the state of the team is a place where I feel like I can come and grow, not only as a player but as a young man. I also think that Coach Mendenhall is a great head coach with whom I can mesh well, and my position coach, Coach Garner. I really like this decision, and I can’t wait for what is to come.”

Visit Recap:

Recruiting Updates:

Offers:

• Air Force:
• Boise State:
• Colorado State:
• Fresno State:
• Hawaii: 1
• Nevada: 2
• New Mexico:
• NIU:
• North Dakota State:
• Oregon State:
• San Diego State:
• San Jose State:
• Texas State: 5
• UNLV:
• Utah State:
• UTEP:
• Washington State: 1
• Wyoming:

Visits

Commits:

• RB Samuel Smith: Air Force
• DT Chris Hector: Colorado State
• TE Seager Milholen: Colorado State
• DL Tyran Clark: Colorado State
• EDGE Manase Brown: Fresno State
• DL Jaxson Williams: UNLV
• RB Noah Fiefia: Utah State
• K/P Paul Davidow: Washington State

Decommits

Follow @Mike_SBN on Twitter for all the latest recruiting news and updates.

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