Group of Five Spotlight: Ranking the best MAC commits

As the high school football season approaches the mid-point, the 2025 recruiting cycle is beginning to near its completion. This week Rivals national data analyst Austin Cochran is breaking down the five best commits for the Group of Five conferences, concluding today with the Mid-American Conference.

Dior reminds me of a slightly bigger Anthony Hawkins, who has been dominant for the Falcons the last few years. He has extremely quick and strong hands, and is able to win immediately off the line with his initial get-off and his hands.

Dior has really good lateral quickness for his size and is a dominant run stuffer. He eats up double teams for breakfast and is a great space filler. He also has a nice pass rush arsenal and does a good job getting after the quarterback.

Dior has had a great season so far and has really been blowing up. He has 23 total offers with Kansas State and Iowa State joining the mix in recent weeks. He will be a great addition to an already stout Bowling Green defense.

Leverage always wins, and that is where Ticket excels. He has a really quick get-off and plays with great leverage to drive blockers back. Ticket does an excellent job keeping his eyes in the backfield and reading and reacting to the play. He has a really strong upper body with a good initial punch off the line and strong hands to rip away from blockers. He has solid lower body strength but will need to get stronger at the next level.

A hot commodity, Ticket chose Toledo over Cincinnati, Georgia State and Buffalo.

With a 10.6 100-meter dash, speed is the name of Flowers’ game. The three-star prospect is a threat to score whenever he touches the ball, so naturally his coaches get him the ball as often as possible. Flowers gets touches out of the backfield, on screens, downfield passes and in the kicking game. He’s a dynamic playmaker that fits perfectly in the Rockets’ offense.

Flowers has been getting more and more attention lately. If the Rockets can manage to keep him in the fold, I believe Flowers can be an immediate impact player in the MAC.

Russo is the very definition of a Red Zone threat. He has crazy long arms with good vertical ability and body control to go up and high point the football. Russo is a really good athlete and runs surprisingly well for someone of his stature. He’s a very heady player who does an excellent job of reading zone coverage and sitting his route down in an opening. Russo won’t blow you away as a blocker, but he’s willing to get his face in there and fight.

With 14 total offers, Russo has been a little under recruited to this point, and I’m sure that’s just fine with the Huskies.

Walker has the ability to play either safety or corner at a very high level. The three-star athlete is very good in zone coverage, reading the field and anticipating where the receiver will be. He has good speed and can snap out of his back pedal quickly and comes downhill hard. Walker is a good, reactive athlete and is able to stay in phase with the receiver throughout his route.

Walker chose the RedHawks over Colorado, Indiana and Eastern Michigan.