It's been a wild finish to recruiting for coach Pete Lembo.
The Ball State football team picked up six verbal commitments in January, including offensive tackle Jalen Schlachter from Corunna (Mich.) High School. Schlachter is the only three-star recruit in the class, according to Scout.com.
Lembo has also taken advantage of his North Carolina connections to bring in three recruits from the state.
"The relationships that we have in the Carolinas certainly make that an attractive area because we know a lot about those student-athletes. We have relationships with those coaches," Lembo said.
It hasn't all been positive for the Cardinals, though.
Multiple players have abandoned their commitments to Ball State since Lembo took the job. Several of them, including Hunter Maynard (Bowling Green), Andrew Ness (Northern Illinois) and Collin Perchinske (Toledo), took their talents to other Mid-American Conference schools.
The MAC has caught up with and passed Ball State during the past few weeks. The Cardinals had the second-highest rated class in the conference as of Jan. 18. They are now listed eighth. A No. 81 ranking nationally has slipped to No. 105 in the same time.
There are still gaps to be filled as well. Ball State still hasn't found the third quarterback Lembo said he wanted.
The new coach's other primary holes — players along the offensive and defensive line — have been filled with a pair of players on both sides of the ball.
"That is definitely a priority with this class," Lembo said.
Lembo said the team's recruiting efforts were unlikely to end today.
"We're not going to be in a panic," he said. "We want to make sure we're bringing in the right people for Ball State, and we want to make sure we're bringing in guys that we feel will help make us better as a program."
The class isn't finalized, though, and more changes could take place at the last minute. The Cardinals reportedly picked up a verbal commitment from linebacker Julian Boyd on Tuesday, pushing the team's total number to 17.
Boyd comes to Muncie from Georgia, another state Lembo said he has recruiting ties to.
"We have, in a very methodical way, looked at some guys that we knew about from the other places we've been as a staff to add to the list of recruits that were already here," Lembo said.
No matter what, a majority of Ball State's Class of 2011 will be finalized today with National Signing Day.
National Signing Day, in which recruits make the verbal commitments they have made over the past months official, has become almost a holiday for college football fans. Ball State is following the tradition by hosting a Football Signing Day Celebration today.
The event will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Alumni Center, and it is open to the public. During the ceremony, Lembo and his staff will introduce the new Cardinals with biographies and video highlights.
With the end of the first major milestone in Lembo's tenure at Ball State, it will be a chance to evaluate the state of the problem and how the Class of 2011 will make its presence felt on the football field.
"Hopefully, by the time it's all said and done, we'll put together a real solid group," Lembo said.
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