Toledo Rockets

[ScriptOhio]

College Football Hall of Fame: The complete Class of 2022

CHUCK EALY, TOLDEO QB (1969-71)

Toldeo won every game in Ealy's three seasons as starter, posting a top-20 finish on each occasion and also winning the Tangerine Bowl in three straight years with Ealy taking the snaps. Ealy also swept MAC Offensive Player of the Year honors during his time with the Rockets, winning the award three times. Ealy went on to have a rather decorated career in the Canadian Football League from 1972-78. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats won the Grey Cup during Ealy's rookie season in 1972, winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in the process. He later spent time with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1974-75 before finishing his CFL career with the Toronto Argonauts, whom he played for until 1978. His career came to an abrupt end when he suffered a collapsed lung during a game that season.

COACHES

Gary Pinkel (Toledo, 1991-2000; Missouri, 2001-15)

Pinkel ended his head coaching career with a 191-110-3 overall mark, including 73 wins at Toledo and 118 during his time at Mizzou. Both rank as the most wins by a head coach in school history, respectively. Toledo won the MAC Championship under Pinkel in 1995, and the Rockets would go on to capture three more division titles under his watch before he left to coach the Tigers after the 2000 season. In Columbia, Pinkel guided Mizzou to a trio of Big 12 North Division titles and later two SEC East Division titles after the school jumped conferences following the 2011-12 school year. Missouri posted two AP Top 5 finishes in the Pinkel era, first in 2007 and then again in 2013.

Entire article: https://247sports.com/college/ohio-...e-complete-Class-of-2022-180549581/#1815119_6

Toldeo won every game in Ealy's three seasons as starter, posting a top-20 finish on each occasion and also winning the Tangerine Bowl in three straight years with Ealy taking the snaps.

Hey, I remember Ealy. With Chuck Ealy at QB and an All American DL named Mel Long, Toledo actually had a really good team:

1969: 11-0
1970: 12-0
1971: 12-0

 

[BB73]

That 247 article misspelled Chuck Ealey’s name every time, as well as his school: Toldeo, really?

I actually attended the first of those Tangerine Bowl wins.

 

[pnuts34]

No way do I see this kid staying at Toledo after doing this against the team that played UGA close. And also how well he played against OSU. I can think of a number of teams who’d take him in a heartbeat

 

[sparcboxbuck]

No way do I see this kid staying at Toledo after doing this against the team that played UGA close. And also how well he played against OSU. I can think of a number of teams who’d take him in a heartbeat

How many 60+ yard TDs did he have? 4 or 5? He gone.

 

[gmen6981]

Yeah, that's cool and all, but can he throw a jump spin pass?


j/k! The kid is actually quite impressive. I somewhat follow the Rockets and I hate to say it, but I would be shocked if he doesn't try to make a move up.

 

[ScriptOhio]

DALLAS GANT, LB, TOLEDO

Toledo was the first school to offer Dallas Gant back in 2015. Then, as Rockets head coach Jason Candle puts it, Gant “outgrew us a little bit.” Gant developed into a national recruit in the 2018 class. He ranked as the No. 59 overall player in the Top247 that cycle and ultimately picked Ohio State.

Yet, Gant never caught on in Columbus. He redshirted in 2018, played a career-high 120 snaps as a redshirt freshman and then saw his snap share decrease the next two seasons. Ultimately, he entered the portal as a fifth-year senior with little film and a lot to prove. Those players, formerly elite prospects with limited career snaps, can disappear in the transfer portal.

But, Toledo had an advantage when it came to evaluating Gant. The coaching staff had known Gant for seven years.
“We benefited from knowing him as a human being and as a young man growing up in Toledo,” Candle said. “You take the video you can get, compare it to what you have on the roster and see if it matches.”

Gant was a perfect fit.

He’s been a critical piece for the Rockets. Gant leads the team with 72 total tackles to go along with 4.5 tackles for loss, 4 passes defended and a forced fumble. He’s also the fourth-highest graded linebacker in the MAC, per PFF College. He’s getting better, too. Gant never saw extended snaps in his Buckeye career. Candle said Toledo's foundation is its developmental process and Gant’s first dose of sustained reps are helping him improve week by week.

Ultimately, Toledo landed Gant — a talent it wouldn’t usually be able to sign out of high school — because both parties were willing to give the other a second chance.

“All of us go through times when a particular prospect doesn’t pick your school,” Candle said. “You’re going to do it the right way, still treat people with respect and if it doesn’t go your way, you’re going to finish it out the right way. In this case on the backend when he wants to transfer, coming back home becomes an option once again because you did it the right way the first time.”