Recruits buy into UMass
After five seasons at the FBS level, UMass doesn’t have many wins to show for itself, but it’s starting to earn respect in another way — on the recruiting trail.
Despite still being fairly new to big-time football and now being an independent, the Minutemen are attracting talent in their own unique way. It’s just a matter of time before it starts being reflected in the win column.
After piecing together a historically talented recruiting class last season despite the program diving into the unknowns of independency in the fall, UMass is expecting to bring in another talented class when the fax machines start buzzing in Amherst today. But building on the momentum of last year’s haul hasn’t erased the regular anxiety that comes with signing day.
“It’s shaping up pretty good,” said assistant coach and first-year recruiting coordinator Charles Walker. “We got some good guys that we plan to sign (today) and we’re looking forward to it, but you know as well as I know, that until that fax goes through the machine, the class isn’t really wrapped up. . . . We’re excited about it and we’re just waiting and crossing our fingers.”
Without a conference to play in for the foreseeable future and the lack of a deep-rooted football tradition, the UMass staff has had to sell its recruits in non-traditional ways, and they’re starting to be better received.
The biggest selling point has been the opportunities to do things never done before in program history, and to be part of building something new. That includes the opportunity to come in and play right away as the Minutemen search for the right players to help them figure out how to compete at the next level.
Between last year’s class, which was by all accounts the best in program history, and the one the school expects to bring in today, UMass feels encouraged it is moving in the right direction.
“We’re playing the toughest schedule in UMass’ history. Every year now we play top-notch competition, that’s helped to make our place attractive,” Walker said. “So it’s been I wouldn’t say easy, but it’s been fairly smooth as far as getting our awareness out each year. It’s gotten, in my opinion, better.
“Kids want to find a place where they can play and contribute, so that’s been a pretty big selling point for us. That they can come build a program and be the first to do something, whether it’s going to a bowl game or going to (play) a major BCS opponent.”
This year, the class doesn’t project to be as highly touted as last year’s, but the Minutemen are adding some talent, especially on defense. Claudin Cherelus, an outside linebacker from Florida, is among three defensive players rated as three-star recruits by 24/7 Sports to give verbal pledges to UMass. Chris Hunt, a cornerback from Virginia, decommitted from West Virginia in November and pledged to the Minutemen yesterday.
The biggest areas of need targeted were defensive line and wide receiver, and UMass was able to secure some players there, too. Most of the work is done, according to Walker, but there’s still an element of the unknown before commitments become official.
“We’re praying that these faxes come through,” Walker joked. “The relationships have been put in place and we’re just sitting and waiting for that first fax to come through. It always kind of breaks the tension.”