Buffalo Bulls Recruiting Rundown

Kyle Vantrease - This class’s quarterback, Vantrease is a three-star out of Ohio who was holding offers from most of the Mid-American Conference and Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference.

In a run-first offense Vantrease still passed for nearly 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns in his junior year and his touchdown-to-interception ratio was nearly 4:1 this past season.

Tim Terry - One of the better linebackers coming out of Pennsylvania this year, Terry held offers from Western Michigan, Bowling Green, and Toledo.

The 6-2, 215 pound Terry racked up 78 tackles and 3 interceptions during his senior season. He runs the 40 in 4.7 and does the shuttle in 4.45 seconds.

As a junior Terry helped lead Central Catholic to a state title and this past season he led them once again to the championship game, where despite his eleven tackles they were unable to repeat.

Rick Squires - He’s got good size at 6-1 and 200 pounds and drew a lot of interest from P5 programs. He finished his senior year with 29 receptions for 437 yards and five touchdowns.

Rodney Scott - A late commit to Buffalo, this wide receiver boasted offers from some of the elite football programs in the nation. Among his suitors were Alabama and Florida.

Scott has the makings of a guy who could anchor a receiving corps. He’s under 5 seconds on his forty but not by much. His “football speed” looks good in film.

Jaret Patterson - One of two Pallotti players mentored by UB alumnus Justin Winters, Patterson is a solid athlete who was holding offers from EMU, Kent State, and Toledo.

Jay Harrison - The Bulls won Harrison over schools like Temple, Kent State, Southern Miss, and several members of the Football Championship Subdivision. Last season Harrison played in nine games, racking up 85 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. In his four seasons the linebacker totaled 198 tackles.

James Patterson - Patterson has good measurables for a middle linebacker at 6-0, 230. He runs a the 40 in 4.72, benches 285, squats 475, deadlifts 335, and clean jerks 205.

He’s already as big as Jarrett Franklin and you have to think that a year of strength and conditioning could help him get up to 240 or so, where Khalil Hodge is.

Kobe Green - Scouts have said Green is a physical safety who makes good use of the five yard bump cushion and has good tackling fundamentals. The one knock on him seems to be that he does not possess explosive speed.

Kevin Marks Jr - 247Sports reported that Marks held offers from Buffalo, Charlotte, and Hampton, but also interest from Michigan, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. He appears to be an under-the-radar guy who hopefully has a big upside.

Isiah King - King is a straight burner, a two-time state champion as a junior in track. Accolades like those that make you want to believe Rivals' mark of a 4.5 40 for the 5-10 receiver.

Jacob Gall - Gall checks in at 6-3 and 300 pounds. Buffalo picked up Gall despite competition from Army and Toledo. This is a much needed addition to UB’s offensive line.

Wankeith Akin - Akin is a small receiver but one who runs a sub-4.5 40. Seems to fill a needed speedster role in the UB receiving corps.

Nicholas Ricks - As a JUCO, Ricks had already signed his LOI and is at UB. Ricks totaled 54 tackles, two sacks, nine tackles-for-loss this past season at Ellsworth. He also had seven pass breakups.

Before joining Ellsworth, Ricks played for Canton McKinley, in Akron, Ohio. He was a four-year letter winner with 72 tackles and 16 tackles for a loss as a senior.

Jeremiah Riordan - Riordan will take over the Long Snapper role from Corbin Grassman. He played high school ball for University of Detroit Jesuit High School and held another offer from EMU.

Dawun Hylton - A recruiting-eve addition to the class. Hylton held offers from some solid programs. Cincinnati, Navy, Indiana, Illinois, and Toledo were all knocking on his door.

Frendy Darelus - A defensive end from Fort Lauderdale, Darelus was being courted by Florida International University.

Charlie Jones - Jones had modest numbers this past season but his performance drew interest and offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, NIU, and Wyoming.

Jaylin Nolden - ESPN lists Nolden as a offensive lineman and 247 lists him as a weak side defensive end. It’s hard to see where he fits because if the sites are correctly listing his measurables he needs work for either of the positions on an FBS ball club.

Ali Abbas - A 5’10, 175 pound defensive back who was pretty lightly recruited.

Malcolm Koonce - A defensive end from Milford Academy, Koonce was a late addition to this recruiting class. He was considered by MaxPreps to be the second-rated defensive end in New York State when he was at Archbishop Stepinac High School, in White Plains, where Rob Ianello has a number of connections.

Julien Bourassa - Buffalo’s Canadian import of the year is a wide receiver from Montreal. UB has a history of pulling in Canadian players but this is, to my memory, the first wideout.

Aside from not addressing the depth issues UB has on its offensive line, and losing a great running back late in the game to Rutgers, there is not a lot to complain about this year.

The coaches seemed to pull in some quality players late, especially at the wideout position where UB has not had several threats on the field at the same time since the Turner Gill era.

We will have more thoughts on this class in the days ahead so be sure to check back with Bull Run

Updates 8:00 EST

Cole Burniston - Buffalo made sure to pick up some local talent with a Tight End from Canisius High School. Burniston was a class AA 1st Team All New York player at linebacker and a 1st Team All-Catholic player.

Aapri Washington - A wide out and corner back who was recruited and offered by multiple SEC, ACC, Big 12, and of course multiple G5 teams. This was another very solid late month pickup by the coaching staff.