Broncos pick up first three commitments of 2017 class

With the 2016 recruiting class signed, the Western Michigan University football coaching staff shifted their attention to the 2017 class. WMU had a number of juniors on campus over the weekend and the visits had an impact on a few of those prospects.

On Sunday afternoon, the Broncos kicked off the start of the 2017 class when they picked up verbal commitments from Marcus Hayes and Christopher Bell, a pair of players from the state of Illinois.

Hayes, a safety from Rockford Lutheran (Ill.) was the first to verbally commit to Western Michigan University and said the moment he walked into the weight room, he knew it was the school for him.

"When you see something you want, you're not just going to sit there. You're going to hop on it as fast as you need to and that's how I felt with WMU," Hayes said. "Also, when I saw the look on my mom's face when talking to Coach Fleck, I knew it was the place for me but she knew it was for me."

Hayes also had offers from Central Michigan University and Illinois State University.

Bell, a wide receiver from Bishop McNamara (Ill.), followed up the commitment from Hayes with a verbal commitment of his own. Bell said that he went to junior day with no intention of committing, but once he sat down with Fleck, something changed.

"When I had a talk with Coach Fleck and my family, it was just a spark and knew it was the place I needed to be," Bell said. "Especially for a underdog wide receiver who was overlooked all the time."

WMU is the only school to offer Bell who is a 7-on-7 teammate of Hayes.

Reyondous Estes a dual threat quarterback from East Saint Louis (Ill.) verbally committed to WMU on Monday, saying that the opportunity to play quarterback was a big part of his decision to become a Bronco.

"All my offers were as an athlete so I get a chance to play the position I trained and worked hard at," Estes said. "It is a blessing to be able to take my talent to one of the top conferences outside of the power five schools."

In addition to the opportunity to play quarterback, Estes said Fleck was a great, young and energetic coach and liked that he teaches life lessons that are bigger than football.

Estes also had offers from the University of Missouri, the University of Illinois, Jackson State University and Indiana University.

For WMU recruiting news, follow Jarritt Orlando on twitter @jarritt_orlando