Indiana Preps | Recruit Indiana / The Turn

Miami Ohio has been one of the more aggressive programs recruiting Indiana’s Class of 2027. The Redhawks have made multiple trips into the state, built genuine relationships with prospects and their families, and assembled a group of Hoosier commits that any MAC program would be proud of. The problem — if you’re sitting in Oxford — is that Indianapolis just hosted its college showcase days. And by the end of the week, three of Miami’s Indiana commits had Power Four offers sitting in their inboxes.
The Redhawks did the work to find them first. Now the big programs want what Miami built.

DJ Mitchell | DB/WR | Franklin Central
Mitchell showed up to the Franklin Central workout and reminded everyone in the building why he was coveted to begin with. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound cornerback flashes excellent coverage skills and the ability to carry deep routes while keeping his head on a swivel with the ball in the air — but Mitchell isn’t just a corner. He worked both sides of the ball at the showcase, displaying the kind of two-way versatility and straight-line speed that makes evaluators reconsider what position he ultimately plays at the next level. Michigan was in the building. They’d seen enough.
The Wolverines extended an offer to Mitchell — and hours later, his Franklin Central teammate Jayce Brewer committed to Michigan. Brewer, a four-star edge rusher at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, had visited Ann Arbor twice this spring before making his pledge to the Wolverines. Michigan’s staff clearly had their eyes on Franklin Central in a coordinated way that week. Landing Brewer while offering Mitchell in the same afternoon signals a deliberate push into that program from Kyle Whittingham’s staff.

Izayveon Moore | ATH | Lawrence North
Moore committed to Miami Ohio just days before the showcase. He showed up to the Lawrence North workout and looked exactly like the player that earned that offer — incredible feet, elite balance, a compact and powerful 5-foot-7 frame, and speed that separates him from everyone else on the field once he gets into open space. Moore is the kind of athlete that gets better the more you watch him, because the details keep revealing themselves.
He had developed a strong relationship with the former Purdue coaching staff before that staff moved on. The new Boilermakers regime clearly did their homework on who to keep in play during the transition, because Purdue extended Moore an offer this week. Staying in the picture on a Lawrence North athlete with his profile tells you everything about how the new staff is approaching Indiana’s recruiting landscape.

Errol Kerns III | DB | Lawrence Central
Kerns committed to Miami Ohio in late April and has since been actively recruiting other prospects to Oxford. The three-sport standout for the Lawrence Central Bears showed up to his showcase workout and left with his recruiting stock measurably higher. A bump in the rankings followed. Then came the offers. Michigan pulled the trigger. So did Texas A&M. Two blue-blood programs, same day, targeting a player who had committed to a MAC program just weeks earlier. When that happens simultaneously, it’s not coincidence. It’s a statement about what evaluators see when they watch Kerns move.

The Question Oxford Has to Answer
Miami Ohio has done the work in Indiana. They identified these players, built relationships, and earned commitments before Power Four programs fully locked in. That’s real recruiting — and it deserves credit.
But the showcase week just changed the math. Mitchell now has Michigan. Moore has Purdue. Kerns has Michigan and Texas A&M. Each of these players has to weigh what they originally committed for against what’s now on the table — the bigger stage, the bigger NIL opportunity, the bigger platform.
MAC programs have held Indiana commits through Power Four offer waves before. It happens when the relationship is deep enough and the fit is genuine. Miami Ohio has real relationships with all three of these players. Whether those relationships hold against the pull of Ann Arbor, West Lafayette, and College Station is the question Chuck Martin’s staff is working to answer right now.
The showcase week isn’t over. The recruitments might be reopening.

Indiana Preps covers high school athletics, recruiting, and athlete development across the state of Indiana.