The Bryan Gasser era is off to a roaring start.

On Wednesday, Gasser, in his first season as the University of Toledo’s recruiting czar, and head coach Jason Candle put the finishing touches on the highest-rated class in Mid-American Conference history.

“It’s a group of guys that fit the fabric of what our program is,” Candle said.

Toledo signed a 26-player class — 21 high school seniors and five transfers. It ranks 64th nationally and has the most points and highest average player rating in MAC history, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, edging out UT’s 2018 and 2020 classes.

The 2024 class is ranked above Colorado, UCLA, Baylor, Houston, Northwestern, Virginia, Boston College, Southern Methodist, San Diego State, and Boise State.

This is UT’s first 20-player high school class in three years.

“Incredible,” Candle said about Gasser. “Super organized. Very detailed. Dialed into making sure were compliant in everything that we do, how official and unofficial visits are handled. We don’t have the department that’s built like some of those top 15 places. He has to wear a lot of hats, and my hat is off to him for the job he’s been able to do putting together a phenomenal class.”

The headliner is Zy’marion Lang. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound wide receiver is a four-star, according to Rivals. He committed to South Carolina in July, with Kansas State, Pittsburgh, and South Florida in his final four.

Lang played wide receiver and defensive back in high school, and South Carolina recruited him as an athlete. The Gamecocks wanted Lang to play defense, but he views himself as a wide receiver, so he looked elsewhere. South Carolina’s loss is Toledo’s gain.

“He’s got a great body and a great frame,” Candle said. “I think he’s a guy that can flourish in our offense. We’ve had a lot of great receivers here who fit that mold. He’s a dynamic playmaker that we’re excited to have here.”

According to 247’s rankings, Lang is the fourth-highest-rated high school signee in program history. Rivals ranks him as a top 40 player in the state of Florida and the No. 11 athlete in the country. He joins fellow wide receivers James Green and Corey Jones, linebacker Andre Sturdivant, and safety Jermaine Robinson as four-stars who committed to UT out of high school.

The 2024 class has four of UT’s 16 highest-rated players ever.

“I really like Toledo’s class,” said Allen Trieu, 247Sports Midwest recruiting analyst. “I think [Lang], Tashi Braceful, Kalieb Osborne, and Tre Richardson are four of the best MAC signees. Jay’quan Bostic and Tysen Smith had Power Five opportunities, and Jake Grimm had a few looking at him. So once again, I think this staff did a really good job of finding and recruiting talented players that fit their system. And they did in the places they typically are strongly tied into in recruiting, which is the Midwest and then Florida.”

Six of the 26 are from Ohio, five are from Michigan, and three are from Indiana. The Rockets signed six Floridians.

Not included among the 26 signees is preferred walk-on Colbyn Daniel, a 6-foot-4, 263-pound offensive lineman from Clyde.

“This thing is built from the local footprint first, working inside out,” Candle said.

The transfers are senior offensive lineman Jakob James (Ohio State), senior cornerback Jadarrius Perkins (Florida), senior cornerback Ezekiel Blake (Youngstown State), senior offensive lineman Allen Jones (Prairie View A&M), and sophomore wide receiver Terrell Crosby, Jr,. (Iowa State).

Toledo also added three junior college transfers from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas: Richardson, a sophomore wide receiver, sophomore offensive lineman Maddox Marcotte, and sophomore linebacker K’Von Sherman.

Candle anticipates the Rockets will add a couple more players between now and February, and even August.

“I think we have some really good young players in our program,” he said. “None of these veteran guys are being brought in to disrupt the culture of what we’re trying to do. I feel confident enough after watching these bowl practices that our young players are in a really good spot. These guys we brought in from the transfer portal and the junior college ranks will add immediate competition.”

There will be about a dozen early enrolled, including Osborne, who projects as Toledo’s quarterback of the future. As a senior, the 6-foot-3, 206-pound dual-threat completed 73 percent of his passes for 3,532 yards and 34 touchdowns. He ran for 1,865 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging nearly nine yards per carry.

The prolific Osborne was a finalist for Mr. Football in the state of Michigan.

“I’m excited knowing that I’m going to the school I’ve been wanting to go to since this whole recruiting process started,” Osborne said.

Toledo was the first school to offer, marking the beginning of a relationship that stayed strong throughout the past two years. Osborne said he felt like the right place for him and gave an assist to UT’s business facilities.

“I could just see myself being there in the classroom learning,” he said. “I based it all on that, if I could see myself there. And I thought I could see myself at Toledo.”

The Waterford, Mich., native had enough conviction in his decision that he verballed to Toledo last February, becoming the first member of the class of 2024. Athlete Tysen Smith became the second commit three weeks later.

Osborne chose UT over offers from Syracuse, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan.

“He’s made so many plays and gained so many yards with his arm and his legs,” Candle said. “He’s done such a good job leading that team deep into the playoffs. The gravity and impact that kid’s had not only on his football team, but if you go through the school, everybody is a Kalieb fan. We’re excited to get him here early.”

In a few years, Trieu envisions a time when major college football coaches question their evaluations of Osborne.

“I think eventually Power Five schools will wonder why they didn’t go on Kalieb,” Trieu said. “He’s big, athletic, can really run, and showed some intangible qualities also. Yeah, there are things he can polish. But he didn’t grow up playing quarterback. He’s still learning. I think his upside is tremendous, and he’s going to be an excellent player at Toledo.”

Usually, the Rockets play a bowl game before Christmas, significantly shrinking the amount of time coaches can devote to recruiting. With the Arizona Bowl taking place Dec. 30, they were able to go on the road for an entire week before bowl practices started, enhancing this year’s recruiting haul.

Candle was so certain that there wouldn’t be any signing day surprises that he scheduled a staff meeting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and a team meeting at 8 a.m., with practice to follow.

The script had no interruptions or alterations.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to get caught up in all the drama.” Candle said. “Maybe I was more anxious and nervous when I was an assistant coach.”

First Published December 21, 2023, 12:37 a.m.