Recruiting 2017--Jesse Britt redux

The ledger image

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on Jesse Britt, a 5-10 170 pound Athlete from Auburndale, FL

Traini's article here.

I blogged about Britt back on January 23rd 2016.

247Sports three-star player.

This article talks about Britt's medical clearance to play at Arizona.

Recruiting 2016--Optimus Prime weekend #1

Bob McGovern has a post on UMass' recruiting weekend event. I've blogged about most of the attendees.

Cut-and-paste from McGovern's article. Links are to my coverage in the blog.

Cycoby Burch (ATH), Oak Ridge (FL) - Committed 
Isaiah Rodgers (CB), Blake (FL) - Committed 
Tyshaun Ingram (RB), Winter Park (FL) - Committed 
Antoine Brooks (ATH), Duval (MD) 
Jesse Britt (ATH/WR/RB), Auburndale (FL) 
Tyrek Tisdale (RB), Oak Ridge (FL) 
Chris Tooley (CB), Oak Ridge (FL) 
Shakur Cooper (OLB/DE), Coral Gables (FL) 
Bakhari Goodson (CB), Wekiva (FL) 
Sadiq Palmer (WR), Red Bank (NJ) 
Taylor Riggins (RB/OLB), Aquinas Institute (NY) 
Charly Timite (DE), Simon Gratz (PA) 
Antoine Webster (ATH/S), American (FL) 
Jordan Young (QB), Coatesville (PA)

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Ricky Carioti image

Antoine Brooks is a 6-0 205 pound athlete from Duval HS in Maryland.

247 Sports page here.

Hudl.com has lots of video.

Suffered a compound fracture of his leg in October.

This article also covers his injury.

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Scout.com image

Jesse Britt is a 5-10 177 pound athlete from Auburndale, FL.

247 Sports page here.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

Partial quote from a Scout.com article dated this Tuesday:

Britt has three final schools and is going to take a close look at each before deciding. 

“Right now, I’m looking at Arizona, University of Massachusetts and Western Kentucky," he said. "I like all three of those places and I’ve got a decision to make.

"The coaches are a big part of everything for me because all the staffs are great and they think I can play a lot of different positions because of my athleticism.”


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Orlando Sentinel image

Chris Tooley is a 6-0 180 pound DB from Oak Ridge HS in FL.

247Sports page here.

Hudl,com has video highlights.

This article from June 2015 features Tooley.

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247 Sports image

Shakur Cooper is a 6-0 200 pound OLB from Orlando, FL.

247 Sports page here.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

This article from his junior season features Cooper.

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ESPN image

Bakhari Goodson is a 6-0 170 pound DB from Wekiva HS in FL.

Hudl.com page here.

MaxPreps page here.

Orlando Sentinel All-District.

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247Sports image

Antoine Webster, a 6-0 185 pound DB/Athlete from American HS in Florida.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Rivals.com three-star player.

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Ron Cortes image

Jordan Young is a 6-3 210 pound dual-threat QB from Coatsville, PA.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

MaxPreps has stats.

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UMass Football News--December 8th, 2018

UMass WR Jesse Britt has announced he will return to the team and play out his time at UMass. This is good news. Britt is sure to be one of the top three receivers next year. The WR group is one of the few units the Minutemen have that has some depth. Britt will make the unit stronger.

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Josh Walfish has his week mailbag. The questions this week are all about football and Coach Bell's hire.

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SB Nation has the 2018 college football award tracker. I mentioned yesterday Alabama's Jerry Jeury winning the Biletnikoff Award. The award tracker article has the Crimson Tide mentioned numerous times for the various awards. However, the last award mentioned in the article is the academics and service award and somehow Alabama did not have any nominees in that category...

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Speaking of Andy Isabella, he was named to the 2018 Sports Illustrated All-American 2nd team.

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UMass Football News--October 11th, 2019

LA Tech HC Skip Holtz's weekly press conference for the UMass week.

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The Amherst Wire has a short video segment on this week's game.

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Josh Walfish reports Jesse Britt and James Bowe, Jr have left the team for personal reasons.This was the second time Britt left. Britt previously left under Whipple's tenure. Neither are critical losses.

There are usually a fair number of players leaving a program during a coaching change. Different offensive and defensive philosophies change the type of player in the new systems. We did not initially have many players leaving when Coach Bell was hired.

To me, it was more a concern when Coach Whipple could not keep recruits as a number of his commits never made it to  campus. That made weak recruiting results even worse.

UMass could bring 25 scholarship players this year. The total could actually be higher as the Spring enrollees could be assigned to the previous year's class if UMass was under the scholarship limit, as they very likely were.

The Minutemen currently have 18 hard commits in the 2020 recruiting class, so there are number of scholarships to give. Even so, UMass will likely not reach the 85 scholarship limit for next year.

The current #78 recruiting class ranking by 247Sports is the highest in Minutemen history and if we add another five players or so, it will be even higher. UMass still could use another RB, DL's and LB's. Some JUCO signings for TE and defense would be immediate help for next year.

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UMass Football News--October 17th, 2018

UMass has its game notes for Coastal Carolina up.

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Josh Wallfish reports UMass returns from a bye week refreshed. He says the status of Marquis Young and Michael Nesmith is uncertain until later in the week.

He also says Jesse Britt, Brian Roberts and Patrick Volcy have left the team. Britt probably would have been a starter in 2019.

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The Daily Collegian says UMass kicks off the second half of the season with a home game against Coastal Carolina.

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UMass is #20 in CBS Sport Bottom-25 this week.

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The Oracle says there should be no excuses for USF against UConn this week.

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UMass Football News--August 13th, 2017

UMass held a football practice that was open to season ticket holders. Everyone got a UMass t-shirt and some more swag. Whipple was upbeat. He said the QB situation was "the best since I've been in college football". Marquis Young is up 10 pounds (he's listed as 215 on the latest roster). He said Shane Huber's college career might be over. Whipple said for the first time since he's returned, the Minutemen have some "3's". He said he felt our "1's" could "play with anybody", but we haven't had the depth to play in the fourth quarter.

Whipple felt UMass has done well the last two years, but "needed one more recruiting class".

In the scrimmage, freshman Jesse Britt made two nifty catches. I've blogged about Britt a couple of times before.

Ross Comis was wearing a knee brace, but moved well. He looks fully recovered.

Andrew Ford was running the first offense. Randall West had a couple of nice passes.

Rayquan Thomas looks visibly slimmer.

Click on the images and Blogger displays a larger view.

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Spectrum and Hawaii Telecom will broadcast the UMass/Eleven Sports production of UMass/Hawaii game.

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UMass Football Newws--April 3rd, 2018

Caroline O'Conner image

Matty Vautour has a post on UMass wide receivers with Spring Ball having about two weeks to go.

He mentions:

Andy Isabella SR 12-12 GP-GS 65-1020 (7th in single season receptions) 12 TD's 69 LONG 15.7 yards/catch

Jesse Britt SO 4-12 GP-GS 29-422 3 TD's 40 LONG 14.6 yards/catch

Brennon Dingle RSSO 4-12 GP-GS 21-330 4 TD's 43 LONG 15.7 yards/catch

Sadiq Palmer JR 11-12 GP-GS 35-518 1 TD 38 LONG 14.0 yards/catch

Silky Brown SO 5-0 GP-GS 1-7

Zack Simon RSFR Redshirted in 2017

Also on the roster:

Jacoby Herring SR 10-0 GP-GS 7-81 18 LONG 11.2 yards/catch

Jonathan Derolus RSJR DNP in 2017

Jovahn Tucker SO DNP in 2017

Patrick Volcy SO Redshirted in 2017

Melvin Hill SO Redshirted in 2017

Elijah Robinson RSSO DNP in 2017

Patrick O'Reilly, RSSO 5-0 GP-GS played special teams in 2017.

2018 WR recruits:

Samuel Emilus 6-1 200

Wide receivers seem to be the deepest and most talented skill unit on the 2018 Minutemen. I would speculate Isabella would be the "X" receiver, Britt as the "Y" and Palmer or Dingle as the slot receiver. All of them would be the four-wide.

The UMass single season team receiving record was in 1998 306-4050. In 2017 the Minutemen went 272-3570, so the all-time record could within reach in 2018.

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A Collegian writer mulls over the philosophy of cheerleading.

UMass Cheerleading's  Facebook page.

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UMass Football News--June 9th, 2018

Jesse Britt went 12-4 GP-GS 29-422 14.6 AVE 3 TD's 40 LONG.

Britt was actually fourth in yards per catch among the Minutemen. Isabella and Dingle averaged 15.7 yards a catch and Palmer averaged 14.8. UMass returns their entire WR corps. Whipple has said UMass will play more three WR sets this year. This is necessitated by the Minutemen returning only five catches for 50 yards by returning TE's Kyle Horn and Travis Reynolds. There was some talk about UMass seeking a transfer TE, but none has materialized so far.

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The battle for starting Auburn RT (which includes UMass transfer Jack Driscoll), gets hotter.

SB Nation says the Week #1 battle between Auburn and Washington will be the week's top game.

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UMass Football News--August 14th, 2017

Matty Vautour has a post on Saturday's scrimmage and an update on Fall camp.

Players Matty reports will likely not redshirt include JUCO transfer 6-0 215 pound safety Tyler Hayes. Also on defense, Chinedu Ogbonna, a 6-2 215 pound LB from Marietta, GA. I've blogged about Ogbonna a couple of times before. Another safety is Tyris Lebeau, 6-1 210 from Vanier College in Canada.

On offense, 6-4 JUCO Jacoby Herring and Jesse Britt, 5-10 205 from Lake Alfred, FL will likely contribute right away. I blogged about Britt yesterday.

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Matt Brown of "Sports on Earth" has an extensive review of 2017's Independents and predicts four or five wins for UMass.

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Hawaii gets a new green helmet.

Hawaii also ran a scrimmage this weekend.

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Coastal Carolina holds its first scrimmage.

The Chants defense is having a good camp.

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Old Dominion also held its first scrimmage.

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Saturday--April 15th, 2017

New banners are up at McGuirk.

Speaking of McGuirk, UMass 2017 schedule posters are supposed to be available at the Spring Game. This is not official, so we'll have to see when we get there.

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Matty Vautour has a post on UMass receivers Sadiq Palmer and Brennon Dingle. The 6-1 Palmer should be a lock at the "X" receiver. Speedy WR Andy Isabella could be the "Y" or the slot receiver.

One or more of the freshmen WR's could see action. Six foot three Patrick Volcy has been in for Spring ball. JUCO WR Jacoby Herring is 6-5 180 should see action right away. Other FR WR's are Athlete Jesse Britt, Jy'Von Brown and Melvin Hill.

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The American Sports Network has merged with two other media companies. This should be good news for the Group-of-Five sports programs who get mostly ignored by ESPN and other big broadcasters.

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The NCAA has approved an early signing period for college football recruiting and will now also allows coaches to recruit at player camps and clinics.

USA Today has a bullet-list of the changes for 2017 here.

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UMass Football News--June 13th, 2018

UMass Director of Football Operations Paul Gorham passed away on June 9th. Fifty-seven is too young to leave. Condolences to Gorham's family and the UMass football staff.

The Spun also has a post on Gorham's passing.

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There's a new edition of the Spring roster up.

Deletions:

Victor Santiago Athlete SO

Elijah Robinson WR RSSO

Patrick O'Reilly WR RSSO

Jake Froehlich LB RSJR

Number changes

Jesse Britt #1 ex-5

Brennon Dingle #4 ex-10

Andy Isabella #5 ex-23

Zach Loane #90 ex-56

Joe Privite #98 ex-61

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Jackson Porter has signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

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UMass Football News--September 16th, 2017

Well mistakes and abysmal kicking doomed a tenacious UMass effort at Temple. The Minutemen missed three field goals at the Owls 22, 6 and 14 yard lines. We left 9 points on field in an 8 point loss. Ford fumbled deep in UMass territory to give Temple a short field at the end of the first half. We also dropped two possible TD passes (Isabella and Herring).

On the positive side, the Minutemen defense continued their upward momentum. The UMass defense repeatedly stuffed the Temple offense. The Minutemen defenders had 11 TFL (!) and two sacks. Temple RB Ryquell Armstead had a 56 yard run on the third play of the game. The other 33 Temple rushes gained 63 yards (1.9 yards/carry). For the second consecutive game the UMass defense played well enough to win.

The UMass offense gained 458 yards and Ford managed to spread the UMass receiving around. Sadiq Palmer (7-117 and Jesse Britt (3-57) gave the Minutemen other options than just Breneman and Isabella. Even the UMass offensive line started playing better in the second half using a moving pocket.
As far as the kicking goes---someday my head is going to explode.

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UMass write-up here.

Owls write-up here.

MassLive says Ford's impressive effort went for naught.

Matty Vautour reports the Minutemen fell short.

Matty also says UMass continues to struggle with field goals.

Philly.com says Temple WB Logan Marchi was efficient.

Owls DE Quincy Roche had a big game.

The Boston Herald says mistake-prone UMass fell to Temple.

Comcast Sports Philadelphia reports Temple sneaks past UMass on Quincy Roche's monster game.

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UMass Football News--April 16th, 2019

When I attended practice the best catch I saw was from Zak Simon. He had a nice toe-tap inside the back of the endzone for a nifty catch.

Zac Simon

The wide receiver position is important  in the spread offense. Going into Spring ball UMass has some good players, but like every position this Spring there is not a lot of depth.

Brennon Dingle 12-9 GP-GS 19-269 14.2 AVE 2 TD's 37 long

Jesse Britt 4-0 GP-GS 11-118 10.7 AVE 1 TD 29 LONG

Sadiq Palmer 12-7 GP-GS 28-419 15.0 AVE 2 TD's 38 LONG

Zac Simon 10-2 GP-GS 15-238 15.9 AVE 2 TD's 67 LONG

Samuel Emilus 6-1 GP-GS 15-212 14.1 AVE 4 TD's 23 LONG

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247Sports has a draft profile of Andy Isabella.

Ohio.com reports Andy Isabella was one of the headliners in the Browns' local pro day.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2017--Zac Simon

Press-Enterprise image

While I was away UMass added a significant recruit to the Minutemen's 2017 recruiting class.

Zac Simon, a 5-10 172 pound WR from Temecula Valley, CA verbaled to UMass.

His 247Sports page.

Mike Traini has a post on his signing with the Minutemen.

Max Preps has stats.

This article from January 2017 features Simon.

Hudl.com has video.

Simon chose UMass over Idaho, San Diego State and Wyoming.

Simon's verbal moved UMass out of the cellar in 247Sport Independent recruiting rankings. With Simon, UMass's 115.83 aggregate recruiting score would have placed UMass 9th in the MAC and 8th in average recruit ranking, 247Sports now have UMass as #106 nationally, but since they include number of recruits, the Minutemen's 78.89 average recruit power ranking would be higher. UMass is now solidly in the middle of Sun Belt and C-USA recruiting rankings.

Adding Simon gives UMass two three-star WR recruits along with JUCO Jacoby Herring.

UMass' 2017 WR recruits also include two-star Jesse Britt and Melvin Hill.

EDIT: Tuesday

I forgot the Minutemen will also add Patrick Volcy, a 2016 verbal to 2017's class. That will bring the total of new WR's this year to five.

Whipple's pro-set offense emphasizes quick strike down-the-field WR's. Simon could see some playing time this year as the Minutemen need to reload at the receiver position.

UMass Football News--July 20th, 2018

Andy Isabella has been named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts also has a post on Isabella being named to the Biletnikoff Watch list.

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The Minutemen wide receiver corps should be talented and deep. UMass out gained the opposition in receiving by 90 yards a game in 2017.

UMass 272-3570 13.1 AVE 26 TD's 297.5 yards/game

Opponents 194-2484 12.8 AVE 17 TD's 207.0 yards/game

Andy Isabella 12-2 GP-GS 65-1020 15.7 AVE 10 TD's 69 LONG 85.6 yards/game

Shadiq Palmer 12-10 GP-GS 35-518 14.8 AVE 1 TD 41 LONG 69.5 yards/game

Jesse Britt 12-4 29-422 14.6 AVE3 TD's 40 LONG 35.2 yards/game

Brennon Dingle 12-2 GP-GS 21-330 15.7 AVE 4 TD's 43 LONG 27.5 yyards/game

Jacoby Herring 10-0 GP-GS 7-81 11.6 AVE 0 TD 18 LONG 8.1 yards/game

"Silky" Brown 5-0 1-7 7 AVE 0 TD 1.4 yards/game

UMass also has:

Zac Simon RSFR Redshirted 2017

Jovahn Tucker SO DNP in 2017

Patrick Volcy SO Redshirted in 2017

Melvin Hill SO Redshirted in 2017

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The Boston Herald says BC's offense will be ready to roll in 2018.

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Monday--March 27th, 2017

Dan Malone has a post on Andrew Ford's upcoming second year as starting QB.

Ford finished 46th in passing efficiency in 2016 and 25th in TD's thrown. With Adam Breneman and Andy Isabella coming back, he should have two receivers to rely on. Isabella went 62-801 12.9 AVE 7 TD's 55 LONG.

UMass needs more production from the rest of the WR corps. Sophomore Sadiq Palmer, Redshirt freshman Brennon Dingle and Freshman Patrick Volcy need to help.

The Minutemen might get some production from the 2017 recruits. Six-foot five JUCO Jacoby Herring and Jesse Britt could get significant playing time.

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Coastal Carolina is preparing for their first FBS season. Hopefully, UMass will give them a rough start.

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While the UMass passing game did fine in 2016, the running game did not.  Michigan RB Kingston Davis is available...

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More on former UMass player E.J. Barthel joining Penn State's support staff.

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UMass Football News--April 14th, 2018

Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view.

Matty Vautour reports on the Spring Game. Perhaps the biggest news is that starting right tackle Jack Driscoll is leaving.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has re-cap of the game.

The UMass website has a story on the game.

My take:

• Syracuse transfer Jordan Fredericks looks like the real deal. He looked fast and powerful. The UMass running game looks like it will be improved in 2018.
• The UMass offense in general appears to be the best team we have had since our move to FBS. This squad is deep at QB, RB and WR.
• QB Michael Curtis displayed a nice touch on his throws and looked fast when he ran the ball. I think he'll be in the mix for 2019.
• Jesse Britt was used at both RB and WR. He's real athlete.
• Walk-on WR Jovann Tucker looked like a find. He displayed good hands and some serious speed.

I think UMass fans have reason to be optimistic in 2018. We should score a ton of points.

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Thursday--February 2nd, 2017 The day after LOI Day

Dan Malone has a post on UMass' recruiting results from yesterday.

Dan also has a post on the recruiting rule change that allows a school to bring in a recruit's parents.

Matty Vautour has a story on the 2017 recruits.

Mike Traini has "What we learned on the 2017 National Signing Day".

Kyle Deluz of the UMass Daily Collegian has a post on the 2017 recruits.

The Boston Herald covers UMass' Signing Day.

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UMass OL recruit Brian Abosi is featured by Worcester Telegram.

No Group-of-Five team signed any of New Jersey's Top-50, but UMass grabbed two of the next group.

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Don Brown poached several top Connecticut recruits.

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MY TAKE ON THE 2017 RECRUITS

247Sports has the Minutemen's class at #108 out of 128. That would have put us 9th in the MAC and in the middle of most of the Group-of-Fives recruiting hauls.

Boston College signed 16 three-star recruits in their annual bottom-of-the-ACC ranking. So don't expect UMass to do much wining against Power Five squads.

The UMass defense finally receive a recruiting focus. Fourteen of the 22 recruits are on the defensive side of the ball. Six of the eight three-star players play defense. The Minutemen certainly strengthened their defensive backfield that was consistently beaten by Group-of-Five offenses. Three three-star linebackers should also help. The defensive line should also be deeper.

The Minutemen also filled a need at WR. Beyond Andy Isabella, UMass did not get a lot of production from their wide receivers. UMass added size with Jacoby Herring and Melvin Hill. Jesse Britt could help at slot receiver.

One thing that did not get fixed is UMass' #124 ranked rushing offense. The Minutemen only have two scholarship RB's and did not sign one yesterday. I would expect Whipple to add a RB in the Spring or before Fall camp. Both scholarship offensive linemen look to be projects.

All-in-all a solid FBS class. Eight three-star players is good for where we are now as an Independent. Adding a late three-star RB and maybe a OL fifth year transfer would push the class into the "very good' region.

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UMass Footbal Recruiting 2019--Taj Jones II

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post and an interview with 2019 commit Taj Jones.

Victor Cruz was from NJ.  Let's hope fellow Patterson resident Jones is equally successful.

Coach Bell runs the spread offense. This will be the Minutemen's second stint with the spread offense as Coach Molnar ran the spread in his two years with UMass.

The UMass WR corps may be the Minutemen's deepest unit at this time. Jesse Britt has returned to the team. Sadiq Palmer, Brennon Dingle, Zak Simon and Samuel Emilus all did well in 2018.

The Minutemen have the receivers to make a smooth transition to the spread. Now we need a QB.

Game Day --Georgia Southern 2018

Well this is a game we need to win to have a breakthrough season. Georgia Southern is a solid Group-of-Five team, but they're not a powerhouse (yet). The Minutemen offense needs to score. The whole team is build around offense. We need five or more TD's today. Our receiving corps of Andy Isabella, Sadiq Palmer and Jesse Britt needs to lead the way. A good passing offense should open the way for Marquis Young to run.

The defense just needs to play solid assignment football. No busted coverages with no UMass DB in picture. Turnovers helped the Minutemen beat Appalachian State last year. A couple today to give the offense a short field would be huge. If an option team gets behind, it's generally hard for them to comeback.

Let's get this one done today. Go UMass!

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Josh Walfish answers questions from fans in his Week #2 mailbag.

Josh also reports UMass is looking to bounce back against Georgia Southern.

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UnderDog Dynasty previews the Eagles-Minutemen game.

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Savannah Now says the Eagles are looking for revenge.

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