Perhaps no conference is as star driven as the MAC, where getting a top-notch player or two — i.e. Chester Taylor, Garrett Wolfe, Ben Roethlisberger, Randy Moss, Nate Davis or Josh Harris — can catapult you to the top.

None of the state of Michigan's three MAC schools were anywhere near that lofty perch last year.

According to one scouting service, however, at least one of them — Central Michigan — at least reloaded enough to be considered a possibility to head upward again. Scout.com ranked the Chippewas' 26-commit class as the second-best in the conference behind Toledo's — and just outside the top 75 in the nation.

CMU's class is headlined by Ithaca quarterback Alex Niznak —a consensus top-20 player in the state, and an early enrollee — and includes a whopping 15 in-state players, including five from Oakland County alone. Southfield Christian defensive tackle Shafer Johnson, one of the final additions to the class, and Birmingham Brother Rice linebacker Tim Hamilton, one of its first members, are both three-star prospects. The class also includes University of Michigan transfer Austin White.

The recruiting classes for Western and Eastern are both ranked near the bottom of the league by most of the scouting services, and neither of them include nearly as many in-state recruits — just four for WMU and three for EMU. The Broncos continued to milk their pipeline to Florida, though — the same one that brought them players like the Lions' Louis Delmas — getting seven of their 17 commits from the Sunshine State. The Eagles picked up seven JUCO players among their 19 commitments.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (26)
Ramadan Ahmeti, OL, Lansing Waverly, 6-5, 280
Stefon Armstead, DB, Southfield-Lathrup, 5-10, 170
Nick Beamish, OL, Riverview, 6-5, 260
Josh Carter, RB, South Haven, 5-11, 195
Jarret Chapman, DB, Port Huron, 5-11, 180
Titus Davis, WR, Wheaton (Ill.) Warrenville South, 6-2, 180
Dorian Dawson, DE, Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, 6-1, 243
Andrew Flory, WR, Plantation (Fla.) Heritage, 5-11, 164
Anthony Garland, RB, Ferndale, 6-1, 215
Tim Hamilton, LB, Birmingham Brother Rice, 6-1, 247
Curtis Huge, PK, Bakersfield (Calif.), 6-0, 190
Shafer Johnson, DT, Southfield Christian, 6-1, 300
Jesse Kroll, WR, Algoma (Wis.), 6-3, 195
Cody Lopez, LB, Plainfield (Ill.) North, 6-1, 215
Matt Losiniecki, Ath, Waukesha (Wis.) West, 6-3, 261
Ben McCord, WR, 6-3, 196, Warren Cousino
Dennis Nalor, DB, Miami (Fla.) Central, 5-10, 175
Alex Niznak, QB, Ithaca, 6-3, 226
Ryan Petro, LB, Winter Springs (Fla.), 6-3, 205
Ben Randle, TE, Big Rapids, 6-4, 250
Kenny Rogers, OL, Holt, 6-6, 255
Blake Serpa, Ath, Maple Park (Ill.) Kaneland, 6-3, 230
Austin White, RB, Livonia Stevenson (Michigan transfer)
Courtney Williams, WR, Melvindale, 6-1, 205
Jason Wilson, WR, Farmington, 6-0, 178
Denzel Wimberly, Ath, Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons, 5-9, 198

EASTERN MICHIGAN (19)
Tyler Allen, RB, Lansing Eastern, 5-9, 175
Dylan Brooks, TE, Stevensville Lakeshore, 6-3, 233
Ryan Brumfield, RB, Pottstown (Pa.) Roberts, 5-10, 180
Sean Cotton, DB, Melrose Park (Ill.) Walther Lutheran, 6-2, 197
Justin Cudworth, LB, College of the Canyons, 6-1, 230
Chris Dunlap, DB, East Los Angeles College, 5-8, 183
Devin Henderson, DE, Palatine (Ill.) Junior College, 6-4, 275
Bronson Hill, RB, Grand Rapids CC, 5-10, 200
Mark Ianotti, QB, Schaumburg (Ill.), 6-4, 215
Kevin Johnson, DB, McKeesport (Pa.), 6-0, 185
Sean Kurtz, LB, Santa Ana Community College, 6-0, 235
Bryan Pall, DB, Orange Coast Comm. College, 6-1, 205
Blake Poole, LB, Santa Ana Comm. College, 6-3, 230
Demarius Reed, DB, Chicago Simeon, 5-10, 155
Tyreese Russell, TE, Melrose Park (Ill.) Walther Lutheran, 6-4, 220
Darius Scott, DB, Chicago Simeon, 5-9, 145
Kris Strange, DB, Pickerington (Ohio) Central, 5-11, 185
Tyrone Taylor, DB, Cerritos Comm. College, 5-11, 190

WESTERN MICHIGAN (17)
Rontavious Atkins, S, Pahokee (Fla.), 5-11, 169
Eric Boyden, TE, Lawrenceville (NJ) Notre Dame, 6-3, 236
Devon Brant, ILB, North Marion (Fla.), 5-11, 212
Donald Celiscar, S, Winter Haven (Fla.), 6-1, 185
Justin Currie, S, Big Rapids, 6-1, 190
Nicholas Dance, OLB, Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn, 6-0, 210
Ben Davisson, OT, Rensselaer (Ind.) Central, 6-9, 290
Tyler Hrycak, QB, Valley Forge (Pa.) Military Academy, 6-2, 186
Trevor Ishmael, S, North Miami Beach (Fla.), 6-0, 185
John Jackson, OG, Detroit Cass Tech, 6-3, 290
Joe Keels, DE, 6-2, 219, Kenosha (Wis.) Bradford, 6-2, 219
Timmy Keith, WR, Manassas (Va.) Osbourn Senior, 6-0, 206
James Kristoff, OG, Barrington (Ill.), 6-3, 297
Jarell McKinney, OLB, Detroit Cooley, 6-5, 220
Dustin Pringle, OG, Beaver Falls (Pa.) Blackhawk, 6-5, 260
Kendrick Roberts, WR, Flint Southwestern, 6-3, 180
Cleveland Smith, MLB, North Miami Beach (Fla.), 6-2, 230
Damian Thomas, DT, Pace (Fla.), 6-2, 260
Travis Turner, OT, North Miami Beach, 6-4, 265