Wednesday was college football's National Signing Day, and head coach Jeff Quinn introduced his 19 recruits for the 2010 season. In just one short month of recruiting, Buffalo coaches scrambled to find players who wanted to do well in the classroom and who were committed to winning championships on the field.
Directly following Cincinnati's loss to Florida in the Sugar Bowl, Quinn started recruiting for the Bulls. He wanted to start by reaching out to all of the players who had previously committed to Buffalo when Turner Gill was the head coach.
'The first thing I said was, let's get out to all the young men that have made a commitment to Buffalo and get to their high schools,' Quinn said. '[Let's] get in front of their parents, get in front of the recruits, get in front of their coaches, really talk to them, face to face, eye to eye, about my philosophy, who I am, what I'm about and what I'm bringing to Buffalo as a football coach and leader of this program.'
The Bulls signed five wide receivers, four defensive backs, two quarterbacks, two linemen, two linebackers, a tight end and a kicker.
Quinn stressed that the players who stuck with their commitment to Buffalo saw that the program was on the rise and had championship potential. The coaches looked for players who were part of a winning culture, and five of the signees had won multiple state championships.
Buffalo also looked to sign players at every position, explaining that they wanted to spread the skills on both sides of the football.
'We want to have great balance," Quinn said. "We're looking for great leaders. We wanted young men in our defense that have great speed and great ball skills -- same thing with the offense."
Quinn received commitments from quarterbacks Rudy Johnson and Alex Zordich, who both demonstrated speed, the ability to move outside of the pocket, and the skill-set needed to throw on the run. Furthermore, Zordich's brother, Michael, currently plays for Penn State and his father, Mike, played for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Both gunslingers will be competing for the starting position. Former Buffalo quarterback Zach Maynard left the program in the middle of January and, along with his half-brother Keenan Allen, signed with the University of California on Wednesday.
Quinn remained unmoved by players who left the program and didn't stay true to their commitment.
'The [players] that wanted to be champions and be a part of the Buffalo football program, they stayed with their commitment, as we did to them,' Quinn said.
The most impressive recruit, however, was James Potts out of American Heritage-Boca-Del Ray High School. Described as a 'game-breaking tailback,' Potts was ranked by ESPN as a top 60 running back in the nation. Although he had offers from Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati, Potts decided to come to Buffalo where he has already been compared to former running back James Starks.
Quinn is convinced that the Bulls will be competitive in the Mid-American Conference next year and invites everyone to attend the Spring Game on April 24, where fans can get their first glimpse of the new recruits.
'As a group, this is a highly-competitive and physical group of athletes, and equally important, have been part of winning cultures throughout their football experiences,' Quinn said.
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