Assuming most or all of the remaining UMass verbals sign on February 5th, UMass probably will have a small number of scholarships still to give. Maybe in the two or three range. What should they do with the remaining scholarships?
Coach Bell pointed out in his interview with Adam Breneman bringing in a lot of JUCO's or one year grad transfers does not do anything for roster numbers. This approach did not work for Charlie Weis at Kansas. Note the article reports the Jayhawks roster bottomed out a 64 scholarship players. Now consider how thoroughly Whipple's last two years blew up the Minutemen roster as we went into 2019 in the 50's and eventually hit the high 40's.
Even so, UMass could use some immediate help.
One position could be quarterback. UMass does not have a senior QB or dual-threat guy on the roster. An upper class QB could ease the transition to a freshman QB like Brady Martin. Getting a QB transfer is easier said than done. Adding a career third-string guy might not be worth spending a scholarship that could be used for a four-year player. Blake Frohnapfel, was a good player who happened to be stuck behind the C-USA Player-of-the-Year. That kind of situation does not happen often.
This article has a list of some of the Power Five QB's available. 247 Sports has a list of available transfer portal QB's. Not many are from the Northeast or DMV area where the UMass coaches might have recruited them originally.
BC quarterback Anthony Brown and UConn QB Michael Beaudry are two players from the Northeast on the list.
More quarterbacks may be available after Spring Ball when players usually know more about how they will appear in their 2020 depth chart.
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The State Medical Board of Ohio will consider if being a Browns or Bengals fan will qualify a person for medical marijuana.
If UMass fans made it through 2019 sane, we don't need no stinking chemical support...
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