UMass will have a Football Signing Show today at noon.
Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on what to expect.
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This is an unusual year due to the COVID changes in recruiting. There were extended "quiet" periods and the NCAA is allowing transfers without penalty. It is uncertain if the turnover in rosters will be the "new normal". You will remember there were a large number of players in the transfer portal in 2019.
The UMass coaching staff stated they would take the full number of recruits allowed (25) in this recruiting cycle.
This class is unusual in the fact the Minutemen are taking six transfers as part of the 2021 class. Recruiting rating services rate by the number of recruits as well as the individual player rankings. They don't consider transfers in the rankings. Six transfer slots has reduced this year's 247Sports recruiting ranking down from last year's.
UMass' decision to take more transfers was probably related to the fact a lot more desirable players were available. The other consideration was probably the state of the UMass roster, which is very thin in upperclassmen.
The regular recruiting class still has 13 three-star recruits, which was twice Whipple's last class. If UMass gets significant contributions from three or four of the transfers, this class will be a big help getting the Minutemen back to respectability.
It will continue to build the number of players on the roster. The Minutemen won't hit the NCAA FBS maximum of 85 this year, but they should get UMass out of the FCS-level number of scholarships.
We'll all know how it went in a couple of years.
Go UMass.
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