I have not been doing Sunday posts on the Blog during off season, but I'll make an exception for today. Ryan Mosesso, a 6-5 250 pound TE/DE from Dedham, MA has verbaled to UMass.
Mosesso also had an offer from UNH. He can play DE and TE two positions where UMass has immediate needs. Hope he has a great career with the Minutemen.
With BC out of the picture Stewart has FBS offers from Michigan and UMass. Don Brown's Michigan team is attractive but I checked the Wolverines roster. Michigan has 10 DE's on the roster and four more in the 2021 class. Five of the fourteen are four-star recruits. There is a lot more room in Amherst where Stewart could play early and often.
Nice work by the UMass players and educational support staff this Spring. This will make all UMass fans proud---and will make the program more successful in the future.
Click on any image and blogger displays a larger view. The NCAA has extended the recruiting dead period until July 31st. This will put a lot of pressure on recruits and football staffs. Sometimes if feels like most of these orders are put out by a random restriction generator. College football players are hardly a corona virus "at risk" demographic.
Did you see this news report by WHDH Boston? 98.1 % of the corona virus deaths in Massachusetts had a underlying medical condition.
If you haven't been following the angst in Storrs, a mind-boggling 26 players have left the UConn football program since last year. The Huskies also lost NFL draft pick Matt Pearl.
UMass was the first FBS offer for Rodriguez, who played RB and DE for St. Peters. UMass is thin at both positions and Rodriguez could find a lot of playing time for the Minutemen.
UMass is rated #24 in public universities, has the best food in college football and only two recruited RB's on the roster. The Minutemen should rank high in his final ten.
The SEC on the other hand, is ready to go. If the SEC plays a full schedule, then UMass' November 14th money game against Auburn will likely happen. That would be a good thing for Minutemen football and the athletic department's finances.
Speaking of Auburn, Caylin Newton the younger brother of Cam Newton, just joined the Tigers.
The NCAA is allowing on campus voluntary athletic activities, so UMass players can return to campus. I would assume that includes weight-room and outside drills. NCAA notice here.
Speaking of recruiting UMass currently has three commits for the 2021 cycle. After 2020's outstanding recruiting class, 2021 is very important. It will get us to near FBS-level number of scholarship players. The 2021 season should be nearly a "level" playing field for the Minutemen.
I expect both Kenny Dudley Jr and Jamir Roberts to be rated two-star or higher later in 2020. I'm not sure how well 247Sports' central office is functioning during the corona virus shut-down.
Olsen had twelve offers including FBS teams Colorado State and SEC Georgia Tech. Nice local signing by the UMass coaches. Hope Olsen has a excellent career in Amherst.
This article from the Baltimore Sun describes the UMass coaching ties in the DMV area attracted Roberts.
This article has a long recruiting profile on Roberts.
Roberts had eight total offers including Navy from FBS. Also offering were Brown and Columbia so Roberts fits the new UMass profile of high academic standards. Welcome to him and hope he has a great career with the Minutemen.
Wise originally signed with Rutgers in 2019 as a three-star player and #25 ranked player in New Jersey. He ended up taking a post-graduate year with Milford Academy.
This article from October of 2019 talks about his success at Milford Academy.
Wise is the first dual-threat QB to sign with the Minutemen since Ross Comis. He is also a talented WR. UMass needs athletes all over the roster and with his prep year, Wise could see the field in 2020.
Taylor has 13 offers including UMass, Army, UConn and Buffalo from FBS. DE is a position where the Minutemen really need help. Taylor could play early and often in Amherst.
This article from 247Sports talks about Memphis being named one of his top choices.
Muhammad originally had 17 offers. UMass, Appalachian State, Colorado State, East Carolina and Memphis are his top favorites. Besides having the best food in college football, UMass is easily the best academic program in his top five. In addition, lots of playing time is available in Amherst.
Truesdell has 31 total offers including Army, Navy and Buffalo from the Northeast. Linebacker is a position where UMass has needs. Truesdell would likely play early and often for the Minutemen.
This article from 247Sports features Lucas' recruiting (and reports Lucas wants to take a UMass visit).
This article May 3rd covers Virginia Tech's interest in Lucas.
Lucas has 23 total offers including UMass, Army and Navy from the Northeast. There is lots of playing time available in Amherst at TE, LB and RB. Lucas would be a big addition to the 2021 recruiting class.
UMass, UConn, Army and Liberty have a "bus league" for football if cost cutting becomes a dire necessary. New Mexico State and BYU are literally out in left field...
Liberty, a school with high athletic plans, continues to roll. The Flames won a bowl game in their second year in FBS. In addition, the Liberty men's hoops has won 59 games in the past two seasons.
Ryan has 21 offers including Army, Navy, Buffalo and Temple from the Northeast. Lots of playing time would be available in Amherst for a versatile player like Ryan.
If college football goes to a conference only schedule there will be some interesting options for UMass and the other independents.
Notre Dame has a relationship with the ACC and all the Irish Olympic teams play a full league schedule. Notre Dame already plays five ACC football teams a year. The Irish are a big media draw and I would think the ACC would clamor to add three or four games with Notre Dame if the ACC plays a league only schedule. I would think media powers like ESPN would throw their weight towards this also. The question would be if Notre Dame could live with only four or five home games (depending if the league schedule is eight or nine games). If the ACC would allow the Irish to add another home game I would think Notre Dame would add Army. The Irish sometimes play all three service academies. This schedule would be a big win for the Irish as they could very well go 9-0 (or 8-0).
BYU, on the other hand would be the big loser. A schedule of two games with UMass, UConn, Army, New Mexico State and Liberty would tough media and ticket sales situation for the Cougars. BYU would likely undefeated against that schedule. I don't know if that would mitigate things for Cougar fans.
UMass fans on the other hand, could be pretty happy. Getting UConn, Army and BYU at McGuirk would be the best home slate ever. Having a service academy to play in Amherst has been a dream for UMass fans for years. The only down side is this would be happening a year early. The Minutemen need another recruiting class to be competitive against Liberty, Army and BYU.
This article from April 3rd talks about his recruiting.
Russell has nine offers including BC, UConn, Rutgers and Wake Forest. He also has offers from several Ivies. Russell would be a big (pun intended) local signing for the Minutemen.
