Toledo has put quite a few young men into the NFL the past couple of seasons. Additionally, there is quite a bit of talent scattered throughout the MAC, the issue is that there are so many MAC schools (specifically in Ohio) that the talent gets spread out quite a bit.
As we barely beat a .500 MAC school on the road and had a too close for comfort home win against a sub .500 MAC school, I'm not sure we've yet reached the point where we can start knocking the talent that a better MAC team has accumulated.
I'm confident that a contributing factor in Candle's decision to come here was that he believed we have a higher ceiling than Toledo, who has been at the top of the MAC for much of the past decade plus. I also believe that once he settles in, he will be able to bring in more talent than he did at Toledo.
One thing to keep in mind: prior to joining the Big East, Cincinnati, as a football program, was viewed at a level equal to most MAC schools. Once they joined the BE, they had an advantage over all of the Ohio MAC schools that they had been competing with in recruiting battles. We may be able to benefit in a similar manner.