On a visit to the University of Toledo’s football headquarters — the Larimer Athletic Complex — it doesn’t take long to see one of the program’s strengths: producing NFL players.
Winning, playing time, and NIL dollars are at the top of the list for recruits. It’s why Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia have their pick of the litter. But they also double as NFL laboratories.
The Rockets aren’t far behind. Their 61 all-time draft picks are more than Central Florida, Marshall, and all but two Mid-American Conference schools (Miami and Bowling Green).
“It shows that it can be done, and it has been done consistently over the last eight years here,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said. “We want to continue to raise the bar and take it one step further. The only way to do that is to continue to recruit high-character people that love football and really understand that they’re getting a quality, free education out of this thing.”
During Candle’s eight-year tenure, Toledo’s had 10 players drafted, tied with Western Michigan for the most in the MAC. It’s the most draftees UT’s had in eight years since 1969-1976 when the draft was 17 rounds.
“When you walk through [Larimer], you see all the players on the wall, and you’re thinking, ‘Man, they have a lot of people [in the NFL],’” said Cass Tech defensive end/tight John Baker, a 2025 Toledo commit.
“I feel like I can trust coach Candle. I can trust that staff to get me where I want to go, even if it’s not the NFL. They’re going to get me right and teach me how to be a man.”
And they aren’t all draft picks. The Rockets have produced numerous undrafted free agents who carved out a place in the NFL — Reggie Gilliam, Storm Norton, Barry Church, Cody Thompson, Bryant Koback.
“I mean, it starts with the head man, coach Candle,” said linebacker Dallas Gant, who’s attempting to be the next Toledo undrafted free agent to stay in the league. “He’s done a great job with the culture of this program and getting the right guys here. And then everybody is talented.”
At the top is Quinyon Mitchell, the two-time All-American cornerback who became UT’s second-ever first-round draft pick two weeks ago. He’s the latest — and most extreme — example of Candle and his staff’s uncanny ability to identify little-known prospects whose scholarship offers are scarce.
Mitchell joins Diontae Johnson, Kadar Hollman, and Samuel Womack as draft picks who didn’t go under the radar during the recruiting process — they were completely off the radar, overlooked, and unvalued.
“We recruit really good people that are willing to put in the work necessary to be successful,” Candle said. “You surround them with people that really pay close attention and make a high emphasis on development. So many times in college football, we get caught up in recruiting and stars, and what it means or doesn’t mean. We don’t pay enough attention to the development.
“Our strength coach [Brad Bichey] gets a ton of credit. He’s done an awesome job carrying a year-round program that allows these guys to reach their full potential. That’s what we tell them in recruiting. And we feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to follow through.”
The NFL pipeline creates substance and credibility for the Rockets. In the halls of Cass Tech, where UT has signed more than a dozen players, Toledo football has an approval rating that Congress couldn’t fathom. Baker equates UT to a Power Four program. The recruiting rankings aren’t out of step.
While Candle and Co. have tremendous success finding unheralded recruits, they’re just as good at attracting fringe power conference players to sign with the Rockets. From 2017 to 2021, Toledo signed the MAC’s top-ranked class. Since 2018, UT has signed the fourth-highest-rated recruiting classes in MAC history, including the class of 2024, which has the distinction of being the top-rated Group of Five class ever.
It’s not unheard of for Toledo to beat out second-tier Big Ten programs for players. Wide receiver Zy’Marion Lang, a member of the 2024 class, is the fourth-highest-rated player the Rockets have ever signed. He was previously committed to South Carolina and had a final four that included Kansas State and Pittsburgh.
Four of UT’s 16 highest-rated players ever were in the class of 2024.
“Jason is one of the best recruiters I’ve ever been around,” Toledo athletic director Bryan Blair said. “I think he loves recruiting. He loves the process. If you called him after the championship game two years ago, he’s down in Florida recruiting already. He’s always focused on that piece. He’s not doing anything else or just lollygagging around. I think he loves recruiting more than he does actually coaching. He dives into those relationships.”
The long corridors in Larimer corroborate the story Candle and his program are writing for the rest of the country.
“High achieving people should see this as a way to succeed and can get to where they want to go in a four or five-year period,” he said.
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