BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University’s football team brought in a lot of new faces for this season via the transfer portal.

For head coach Scot Loeffler, those faces have blended in perfectly with the group already representing the Falcons.

“The thing that makes me proud is that if you talk to (fifth-year senior linebacker) Darren Anders and you talk to one of our transfers that just got here in the summertime, they’re the same guy,” Loeffler said. “You really can’t tell the difference between our transfers and our guys that have been around here.

“I think we’ve done a good job of bringing the right guys in here, and it’s a slippery slope. You bring two or three bad apples into that locker room, it could ruin it pretty fast.”

Michael Burwell

Scouting report: BGSU football at Liberty

The group of 18 players, including those coming from Power Five conferences and others who had success at the FCS, Division II, and community college levels, has already made an impact in their short time in Bowling Green.

Nine of those players are listed on BGSU’s depth chart for Saturday’s season opener at Liberty.

The relationships built throughout the year – beginning in late January with an earlier-than-usual start to spring practice – have been key for the Falcons.

“The thing with getting the players acclimated to the team is just understanding who they are as a person, to be honest, and what helps them get better, getting them acclimated to our culture, and just setting the standard,” said senior cornerback Davon Ferguson. “Being the best we can possibly be every day so they have something to follow and a good image to see is important.”

Several players who could make immediate impacts include quarterback Connor Bazelak, who transferred from Indiana after spending three seasons at Missouri, and wideout Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim, who had a pair of 1,000-yard receiving seasons at Alabama A&M.

Bazelak, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound signal-caller who was the Southeastern Conference co-freshman of the year in 2020, has been battling for the starting quarterback spot with Camden Orth. Ibrahim (6-1, 200) totaled 163 receptions for 2,488 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns in four seasons with Alabama A&M.

Bazelak, Ibrahim, and former Arizona State offensive lineman Armon Bethea have been among the players who have been with the Falcons since the start of spring practice.

“The main thing is camp. Go through camp, just grueling, it’s hard,” said BGSU senior Odieu Hiliare, who led the Falcons in receptions and receiving yards last season after transferring from Alabama A&M earlier in the year.

“Blood, sweat, and tears, literally, and you go through that together. That builds a bond.”

A common theme between the transfers and the returners who are expected to see plenty of time on the field this year is a veteran presence. Hiliare, Ibrahim, and wide receiver Austin Osborne having a combined 13 years of college football experience, as well as Bazelak and Orth both spending four years at the collegiate level, are just a couple examples of BGSU’s expertise.

“The players in general, we care so much,” BGSU junior tight end Levi Gazarek said. “That was a big thing when I first got here. We didn’t really have everybody bought in, and now, I can say that everybody really is bought in, and everybody wants to do their best for the team and the university.”

Loeffler said the program culture is “night and day” compared to when his tenure began.

“All those kids that were able to make it through those dark years, the stories that we have are priceless,” Loeffler said. “We could all write a book, and it would all be a bestseller, to say the least. I’m very proud and very excited where we’ve come.

“Like I said last year, we went from being God awful to being relevant again, and now we’ve got to take those next steps.”

First Published August 30, 2023, 6:59 p.m.