BOWLING GREEN — At this very moment, Riley Keller and Tucker Melton are high school quarterbacks waiting for the next step.
When they step foot onto campus at Bowling Green next year, however, they immediately will be key players on the Falcons’ roster.
The impending true freshmen, both of whom are scheduled to sign with the Falcons on Dec. 18, step into a roster on which one or both of them will be required to back up projected starter Matt McDonald from the very beginning.
After concluding their high school careers, their next game will be the Falcons’ Sept. 5 opener at Ohio State.
Welcome to college football.
Though the pair of three-star quarterbacks highlight Bowling Green’s recruiting class, their situation is not unique for the Falcons’ class of 2020. Many of the incoming freshmen will have the chance to compete for playing time right away, a main selling point for Bowling Green in this class.
“That was one of the things the coaches preached from the day I started getting recruited by them,” said Griffin Little, a three-star tight end from Fort Wayne, Ind.
“They were very up front with it and said that if we came in, worked hard, and earned our spots, there was going to be an opening and a great opportunity for us, so it’s something that really opened my eyes to Bowling Green in the beginning.”
Upon being hired at Bowling Green in November, 2018, Falcons coach Scot Loeffler did not sign a quarterback in the class that followed, and instead banked on signing two when the 2020 group came around.
That led him to Whitmer High School’s Keller, who committed in May. About a month later, Melton, who hails from Phenix City, Ala., committed, as well.
The incoming quarterbacks have become even more important as time passed, as all three scholarship quarterbacks inherited by Loeffler at BGSU have since transferred. That means important snaps — certainly in practice and potentially in games — will go to freshmen as they develop next year.
“It’s very exciting and really surreal that me and Riley could be coming in as true freshmen and playing really early,” Melton said. “Me and Riley have a good relationship, and we are ready to work.”
Bowling Green leaned heavily on young players in 2019. The Falcons, hit hard by graduation in the defensive secondary after 2018, saw three true freshmen and a true sophomore earn starts there during the season, and a handful of additional freshmen became second-team contributors and played on special teams.
The Falcons will have similar opportunities next season on offense. They will lose two quarterbacks, two wide receivers, two linemen, a tight end, and a running back from this year’s team, offering chances play for the younger players on the roster.
For recruits, the chance to play early helped Bowling Green’s case.
“It was definitely a big reason I chose BG,” said Melton, who will enroll in January. “When Coach Loeffler explained the situation, I knew it would be a good place to come in and have the opportunity to play early, and they showed they not only wanted me, but needed me.”
The Falcons currently have the No. 3 class in the Mid-American Conference, according to 247Sports. Loeffler candidly has said BG, which is facing a shortfall of scholarship players, can’t afford to miss in this recruiting class.
Conversely, the players in the class see a unique opportunity: At BG, the young players who are deemed ready will play.
“Everyone is very excited about that, and everyone is excited to compete,” Little said. “One of the biggest things for me is that I didn’t want to go a school and be just another a guy for two years until your junior year when you really come out. I really like how they’re going to be evaluating us young.”
First Published December 6, 2019, 8:50 p.m.
