BOWLING GREEN — While it’s not exactly a Festivus miracle, Christmas presents came a bit early for Bowling Green State University’s football program.
The program announced the addition of six transfer players Thursday, adding players to an early signee class from the Dec. 15 national signing day.
According to a news release, all six players have signed letters of acceptance and will enroll in the university in January for the spring semester. The program is adding two offensive linemen, two defensive backs, a wide receiver, and a place-kicker in the latest batch of transfers added from the portal.
Joining an already-strong defensive backfield are Georgia State safety Chris Bacon and Samford cornerback Jordan Oladokun.
Bacon (6-1, 195 pounds) is spending his final season of eligibility at BGSU after a four-year career at Georgia State. A former three-star recruit, Bacon tallied 105 tackles, 4½ for loss, and he defended three passes in 38 games. Bacon is one of two transfers announced by head coach Scot Loeffler on the early national signing day.
“He’s going to play safety for us,” Loeffler said at his news conference on early national signing day. “He’s a very good football player. Great family.”
Oladokun (6-0, 180 pounds) could perhaps be the most talented player in this group to join BGSU’s program. He played six games for Football Championship Subdivision program Samford before sitting out with an injury in 2021. He was a former three-star recruit and commit to Iowa, before backing out in 2020, citing racial allegations against the program and coach Kirk Ferentz. Oladokun’s brother, Chris, is a quarterback at Samford.
Cincinnati’s Marcelo Mendiola and Abilene Christian’s Bronson Warner add depth and experience to Bowling Green’s young offensive line.
The 6-foot-3, 330-pound Mendiola spent three years at Cincinnati and has three years of eligibility remaining. The Chicago native is a former three-star recruit, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Warner, listed at 6-3 and 310 pounds, spent one season at Abilene Christian and has three years of eligibility left. He appeared in seven games for ACU in 2021, after transferring from Iowa Western Community College.
The second of two transfers announced by Loeffler during national signing day is Alabama A&M wide receiver Odieu Hiliare. The 6-foot, 160-pound receiver has two years of eligibility remaining at BGSU.
He caught 71 passes for 918 yards (12.93 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns in 2021. He had four games of more than 115 yards receiving in 2021, including games of 161 and 162 yards. In his career, Hiliare has 103 receptions for 1,365 yards and 13 TDs.
Loeffler spent time around Hiliare’s brother, Hygens Succes, who was a linebacker at Florida when Loeffler was their quarterbacks coach.
“I coached his brother at Florida,” Loeffler said. “He’s a receiver. Really excited about him.”
Place-kicker Owen Rozanc is joining BGSU for his final season of eligibility from Division II program West Liberty in West Virginia. Rozanc is fifth in program history in total points with 197. He was a two-time All-Mountain East Conference selection as a place-kicker. In 2021, Rozanc took on duties as the team’s punter.
First Published December 23, 2021, 9:57 p.m.
