Josh Walfish has a post on yesterday's recruits.
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The eight included a couple of recruits I haven't talked about.
Jaylen Bannerman, a 6-4 240 pound DE/LB from Arizona Western JUCO.
Bannerman's Tweet he's joining the Minutemen.
247Sports three-star player.
Hudl.com has video.
ACCAC has stats.
Chose UMass over FBS offers from Liberty, UTEP and Western Kentucky
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Keven Brown, a 6-0 225 pound RB from Everett, MA also joins the Minutemen.
Currently unrated by 247Sports, but probably will be two-stars shortly.
Hudl.com has video.
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Another addition is Helber Fagundes, a 6-5 290 pound OL who grayshirted last year.
I blogged about Fagundes back in Febuary of last year.
2017 Globe All-Scholastic.
Quote from the article:
"Standing 6-5 and 300 pounds, the senior is an imposing linemen. Everett coach John DiBiaso calls Fagundes the best offensive tackle in Massachusetts, a claim backed by the Tide’s dominant rushing attack that resulted in 41.8 points per game."
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UMass did lose one committ when Mike Ciaffoni flipped to Boston College.
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My take on Coach Bell's first recruits:
I think UMass fans should be excited about Bell's first efforts. With only two weeks to make offers and a very short staff, Bell landed five three-star recruits and filled some obvious needs. Four of the seven are defensive players including two DL, which was a huge need for the Minutemen. Three of the players are JUCO's designed to fill immediate needs. While I would love UMass recruit mostly four-year players, the Minutemen need to bring in some JUCO's and transfers every year.
Consider Mike Ciaffoni flipping to BC. Boston College is a freaking Power-Five school and they made the effort to flip a lightly recruited OL. It shows how scarce FBS recruits are in New England.
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UConn signs twelve players.
Boston College signed 18.
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