Josh Walfish report the Minutemen bulk up in the trenches.
The Berkshire Eagles says UMass inks 18 signatures on the first day of the early signing period.
Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on what we learned from the early signing period.
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My take on the recruiting class is that it's an excellent start. Rivals has UMass as #80 and 247Sports has the Minutemen 82nd. Recruiting rankings are highly subjective, but also tend to have a high correlation to actual success. For example: 247Sports has the top-five recruiting classes for 2020 as Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU. Hard to argue with those results.
UMass needs more than one year to turn things around. When Western Michigan went from 0-11 to a New Year's Day bowl, the Broncos had three MAC leading recruiting classes in a row.
I liked the emphasis on linemen. Since UMass moved to FBS we have never ranked higher the #100 in rushing offense. We are currently #115 through the end of regular season. Generally, if you can run the rock, you've got a good looking offense (and a good looking QB). The Minutemen signed three OL and two running backs. I'd like to see a marked improvement in the rushing offense in 2020.
UMass also signed two QB's, which should impact the other offensive problem the Minutemen had in 2019, the fact we did not have a QB. I like Kyle Lindquist. He comes out the California JUCO leagues that gave us Todd Bankhead. Hopefully , he'll have a similar impact.
In addition, the class contains five defensive lineman. As everyone knows, DL's are the scarcest recruits. The class has a rush defensive end (something UMass has not had since Ali Ali-Musa).
Linebacker is one area that's going to take another recruit class. This class has two LB's and we could use about six or seven.
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In another moral booster, The Far Side is back. My all-time favorite comic has returned here.
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