BOWLING GREEN — While everyone in American sports was awaiting a return to play, Zachary Barlev was playing a waiting game of a different kind.
The three-star offensive guard from Plainfield, Ill., had a wide array of scholarship offers — his choices ranged from Ivy League schools to a Power Five offer — but an unexpected lull gave Bowling Green time to lure a key player in the class of 2021.
Barlev, who committed to the Falcons on July 4, was widely expected to commit to Illinois, even by some of the schools who had been recruiting him.
"Once Illinois offered me, everything changed because all the MAC schools gave up until BG came back," Barlev said.
As the No. 77 ranked guard nationally, according to 247Sports' rankings, Barlev became the highest-rated offensive lineman in Bowling Green's class of 2021 and one of the top offensive linemen currently committed to a MAC school.
However, Barlev ended up at Bowling Green in part because of an ill-timed injury.
After a bone chip in one of his hips forced Barlev to miss a few weeks of the wrestling season — he was able to return sooner than expected — he said Illinois wanted to see an MRI.
But Barlev said the process of Illinois signing off on the MRI took nine weeks, during which he heard little — which opened the door for Bowling Green.
"Illinois needed an MRI," Barlev said. "So if I had never [injured] my hip, they would have never needed it and I don't know if I'd be going to BG or not because we never would have gotten into the situation of them waiting for my MRI."
His coach at Plainfield East High School, Brad Kunz, told Falcons special teams coordinator Jake Schoonover about the holding pattern, after which BG entered the picture.
"During those nine weeks, my coach told coach 'Schoonie' that Illinois was waiting on an MRI and they hadn't really talked to me, so at that point, BG started talking to me," Barlev said. "We got into a really good relationship."
Although football teams are not allowed to conduct official visits during the coronavirus pandemic, Barlev took part in the Falcons' virtual junior day in June, then formally received an offer from Bowling Green weeks later. In addition to Illinois, he also held offers from Harvard, Western Kentucky, and Columbia, among others.
Once stay-at-home orders were lifted, Barlev said he visited BGSU to walk around the campus and better inform his decision.
Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler has said previously that one of his foremost goals is to rebuild the offensive and defensive lines through recruiting, particularly in the Midwest, and BG quickly devoted significant attention to Barlev.
Further, Barlev said he loved the campus, saw that the Falcons' offense runs many of the same concepts with which he is already familiar, and that it became unmistakable that Bowling Green was most interested in him.
And in the end, Barlev said he liked what the Falcons had to offer most for the next four or five years.
"It was mostly how much they contacted me and how much they reminded me that I was one of their top priorities," Barlev said. "There were a lot of Zoom calls, and I went to their campus, and it was really beautiful. It was really nice.
"Everything was just right at Bowling Green."
First Published July 12, 2020, 10:36 p.m.
