Bowling Green Offers John Tyler Quarterback Bryson Smith

Bowling Green and the East Texas football recruiting sphere have not crossed paths much in the past. That might have started to change Sunday.

The new Falcons coaching staff pinged the region for the first time in recent memory Sunday by offering junior John Tyler quarterback and all-around athlete Bryson Smith his second college football scholarship opportunity. John Tyler's official football Twitter account first reported the news.

Smith (5-11, 165) spent his junior season under center for John Tyler after starting at receiver as a sophomore. He threw for 2,415 yards and 20 touchdowns to six interceptions while also rushing for a team-best 1,421 yards and an additional 21 scores.

In the process, the signal caller guided his team to a Class 5A Division I area round appearance after winning the District 16-5A crown. John Tyler went 8-4 overall after an 0-3 start.

Smith, with another offer from SMU in hand, is expected to play quarterback once again during his senior season. He'll be one of the returning offensive players the team leans on as it jumps to Class 6A.

Bowling Green's latest target also is John Tyler's starting point guard. In the spring, Smith is an accomplished triple jumper and relay team member.

At the third annual ETSN.fm + APEC Football Recruiting Combine in Tyler last May, Smith recorded the highest vertical jump of all 113 athletes in attendance -- 39 inches -- and logged the best laser-timed 40-yard dash, 4.52 seconds.

All of those accomplishments help put Smith in a good early position with universities across the country, but there might be more regional contact with Bowling Green in the future.

Mike Jinks, a highly regarded former San Antonio area high school coach, became the 19th head coach in Bowling Green history in December after serving as Texas Tech's running backs coach for three seasons. He replaced Dino Babers, who moved to the Syracuse program.

Jinks invited four Texas Tech graduate assistants to join him as assistant coaches in Bowling Green, Ohio, while also adding UTSA safeties and special teams coach Perry Eliano plus Texas Lutheran assistant Andy Padron.

Since Texas Lutheran, Texas Tech and UTSA all rely heavily on Texas high school players, the strongest recruiting connections those seven coaches have to date are within Texas.

The remaining three positional coaches on Jinks' staff came from the state of Ohio, including two from Babers' old staff.

Bowling Green posted a 10-4 record last season, highlighted by winning the Mid-American Conference Championship Game before losing in the GoDaddy Bowl. The program has reached three straight MAC title games and four consecutive bowl games.

Smith, like all high school football players in their junior year, will become eligible to sign with any program that offers him in February, 2017.

2017 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Judah Bell, Tyler Bishop Gorman, WR, 6-3, 180 -- offers from Houston, SMU (2)
• Lagaryonn Carson, Liberty-Eylau, DE, 6-4, 261 -- committed to Texas; additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, North Texas, Oklahoma, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M (9)
• Trestan Ebner, Henderson, WR, 5-11, 180 -- committed to SMU; additional offer from Kansas (2)
• Montrell Estell, Hooks, WR, 6-2, 180 -- offers from Kansas, Texas Tech (2)
• Octavius Evans, Center, WR, 6-2, 186 -- offers from Louisiana Tech, Texas Tech (2)
• Kayce Medlock, Arp, ATH, 5-9, 186 -- offer from SMU (1)
• Damion Miller, John Tyler, WR, 6-1, 189 -- committed to Texas; additional offers from Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State; Ole Miss; SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (8)
• Javontavius Mosley, John Tyler, CB, 6-0, 160 -- offer from SMU (1)
• Bryson Smith, John Tyler, ATH, 5-11, 160 -- offers from Bowling Green, SMU (2)
• Major Tennison, Bullard, TE, 6-6, 248 -- committed to Texas; additional offers from Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas Tech (6)