After two extremely successful recruiting weekends the UMass football team’s #OptimusPrime16 is far from finished. In fact, over the past couple of days, they have added more commitments from talented players and in doing so have further solidified the incoming class as the best in school history.
As first reported by the Maroon Musket, JUCO QB Andrew Ford and TE Cody Banks have pledged to the Minutemen prior to NSD tomorrow.
Andrew Ford, a three-star JUCO quarterback, has officially committed to #UMass, per a recruiting source. Big, big get for the Minutemen.
Ford is a big get for the Minutemen, a 3-star lefty gunslinger who will come in and challenge for the starting job right away. Ford is a very highly-rated recruit coming out of JUCO and is the #2 rated kid in the Minutemen’s class as of right now. Ford originally signed with Virginia Tech out of high school (he was Pennsylvania’s Mr. Football in 2013 and he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in PA as well) but redshirted his first year in Blacksburg and subsequently requested his release to transfer.
He transferred to Lackawanna Community College in PA and graduated in December, giving him three years to play three when signing with the Minutemen and enrolling in the fall. Take a look at his JUCO highlights here and you can see why he was so highly sought after, especially out of high school initially.
Note: Andrew Ford held an offer from #UMass back when he came out of HS in c/o 2014 plus BC, Pitt, VT, OkSt, UVA, Temple, Cuse + Vandy
Ford’s got a great arm and is very accurate as well, especially when on the run. For a guy who goes 6’3″ and 215 he moves very well within the pocket and has escapability outside the pocket. He’s got the look of a guy who can make all the throws and do so efficiently. I said as soon as his commitment came in that he might be more of a traditional fit at QB for the offense that Mark Whipple likes to run.
His arrival in Amherst will ratchet the intensity surrounding the quarterback position up to 11, which is a very good thing. Ross Comis was the heir apparent to the job after Blake Frohnapfel graduated. He was the backup last season and was very effective in his limited mop-up minutes in 2015. He’s got a strong arm and is very mobile, a dynamic which the offense did not have when Froh was the signal caller. He’s a real competitor and a hard-nosed kid who’ll take a hit to make a play.
Comis may not be as big as Ford but he’s still got the size to command the position. What he may lack in size he makes up for in both heart and mobility. Having Comis under center changes the dynamic of the offense and brings in the possibility of entire new schemes offensively, such as running a zone read in an added play set.
To me bringing in a game-ready QB like Ford indicates that perhaps the staff were not so settled on Comis as the guy going in to the 2016 season. Don’t get me wrong I think they like him a lot, but I also think they wanted to have the most possible competition for the role and bring in a guy who could potentially step in and win that job to start week one.
I honestly think that Ford, given that he is a 3-year player who could have gone a lot of places with more unsettled QB situations, has a slight inside track on the job as of right now. But that does not mean by any stretch he would win it. Comis is no shrinking violet, he’s a tough kid who will look at competition Ford brings as a chance to improve and make himself better. He’ll welcome the challenge, that much I’m sure of.
This will be the first real QB position battle since Whip was rehired. Yes technically there was a “competition” when Froh transferred in, but I don’t think anyone is surprised that he ended up starting. It was clearly his job to lose before he even came here. Now that he’s gone and there are four QBs already on the roster with Ford making 5, the competition will be fierce and I for one am greatly looking forward to it. We’ll know that whoever comes out on top beat out talented players to be the starter.
The other official commitment over the last two days for UMass was TE Cody Banks. Banks was originally a UCF commit in the 2015 class, but he never signed in central Florida, thus he is eligible right away for UMass. He’s a 3-star player rated as a DE/TE, and he’s 6’7″ and 250 pounds. He’ll be playing TE for UMass, and his size of course will draw immediate comparisons to Jean Sifrin. While he may not be the athlete that Sifrin was, he will add depth and competition to what was a very weak spot in the Minutemen lineup at tight end.
The majority of Banks’ tape here is at DE, but there are spurts of him as a TE that show some surprisingly soft hands and a real knack for blocking. One might wonder if he’ll be used primarily as a blocking TE or short-yardage weapon, or if he’ll see more consistent, every down time in the offense. Either way glad to have him on board.
There is another listed commitment for UMass that at the time I’m writing this is unconfirmed. Sam Franklin, who UMass fans remember as a surprise signing from last season, is now listed on the Minutemen’s commitment list over on the Musket.
Franklin is a 3-star athlete that the Minutemen had designs on being a WR for them last season until he didn’t qualify and had to go to prep school. Franklin attended East Coast Prep in Great Barrington, which in case anyone didn’t know is in the middle of fucking nowhere in the 413, but he appears to have gotten his academics in order and will hopefully be joining the Minutemen’s 2016 class (in fact ECP’s website has had him accepting a UMass offer {scroll down} for a little while now).
Franklin switched over to safety for ECP this season after a couple of games, though IMO UMass would be best served to have him come in and compete at WR; they need the help there more than in the defensive backfield. Franklin’s highlights reflect the change to defense clearly but they also show his great natural athleticism. Hopefully his recommitment to UMass is legitimate and we see him in Maroon & White next year.
I covered UMass’ most recent commitments for Hustle Belt today as well, give that a click and check it out if you like.
I’ll also be covering NSD for Hustle Belt tomorrow, but I’ll be all over Twitter all day and will have a post wrapping things up over here at some point as well. And of course make sure you check out the #1 resource for UMass recruiting the Maroon Musket tomorrow as well.
UMass’ #OptimusPrime16 rallying cry for recruiting the class of 2016 has nearly reached its crescendo on National Signing Day, but before that there is one final recruiting weekend push for commitments from some of the Minutemen’s top targets. That weekend begins today (Friday).
I’m piecing this together late on Friday afternoon, and will be updating it throughout the weekend as I did last weekend when UMass hosted the other half of their top targets. Once the weekend is complete and the commitments start rolling in (we hope) I’ll have another entry.
Here is the list of visitors this weekend (links go to 247 profile pages, if they have one), again courtesy of the #1 resource for UMass recruiting news, the Maroon Musket:
Here is the link to Bob’s piece on the visitors over on the Musket.
This is an interesting list of prospects, a varied mix from many different positions, though as you can see the majority of uncommitted prospects come from UMass’ favored recruiting territory down south.
Martin Mangram is the brother of current Minuteman Brandon Mangram, who signed with UMass last year in the 2015 recruiting cycle. Brandon redshirted this past season, and Martin has been a target of UMass’ from very early on in the 2016 cycle (they actually offered him in February 2015, shortly after Brandon signed with UMass). The two brothers are very similar, per Martin, and the chance to play together at the next level is a big draw. Martin unofficially visited UMass this past summer.
Martin has been on the top of my list as a fan ever since he was offered by the staff. He’s an outstanding athlete and would be playing CB for the Minutemen. He’s got great footwork, very good coverage skills, and is not afraid to tackle. He’s a weapon on offense for his powerhouse high school team in Georgia (Buford) but plays both ways very effectively and would be outstanding for UMass should he commit. I feel pretty confident about Martin and UMass but as they say, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
UPDATE #4 4:50PM 1/30/16 – Well, it would appear that I could have counted those chickens, as Martin Mangram has committed to UMass this afternoon.
Mangram is a huge get for the UMass program, a very talented player from a powerhouse high school in a state rich with talent. Not only will he be able to make an impact on the field for UMass as early as next year, the fact that we have signed him and his brother last year out of Buford High in Georgia means the Minutemen have laid the ground work for a bit of a pipeline to the Georgia power. That could be very valuable to them in years to come.
UMass’ commits this year have really bonded it seems and they are very quick to congratulate one another on joining the family. That camaraderie is great to see and hopefully it helps lead this class to do big things for this program.
Earlier in the weekend Leyshawn Askew was letting everyone know he was on his way. Askew was UMass’ very first commitment in the 2016 cycle back at the Clam Bake.
There are a few sleeper prospects on this list as well. Larnel Coleman, TJ Rayam, Chris Tucker, not a ton of info out there on any of them. Rayam is rated a 2-star prospect by Scout, but that’s the only ranking anywhere I could find for the three of them.
Coleman is a MA kid, which is nice, and he’s huge. I don’t know which position they’d recruit him for but I think DE might be the best fit based on his tape. If that were the case he’d be the 2nd 6’7″ player UMass has coming in at DE as Sharif Saleem is also committed for that position.
Tucker is another player that’s probably a defender once in college, and he looks dominant against his competition in his film, which is a good thing when that competition isn’t the best; you want the player you’re recruiting to dominate. I don’t think they’d recruit him to be a FB but you never know. Perhaps a move to OLB would be in Tucker’s future.
I’m a big fan of Rayam’s, who dad Thomas played for the Crimson Tide. Rayam’s offer list is just UMass and FCS Jacksonville St, and part of the reason he’s overlooked is his size. He only goes about 6′, but he does weigh 300+ pounds. He’s got very quick feet for a man his size and even quicker hands. I’d love to see UMass snag him out of Alabama and they seem like they could be in a good position to do so. Rayam is also a wrestling champion in Alabama, and those skills come in very handy for him in the trenches.
UPDATE #3 2:00PM 1/30/16 – Rayam looking good in the jersey, posting a photo with his primary recruiter RBs Coach Darrius Smith:
Martial Washington is an interesting prospect. He was committed to Georgia Southern but reopened his recruitment about a month ago. However when looking at his 247 page now you’ll see it says he is recommitted to GaSo as of two days ago. Unsure if that is accurate or not, but either way Washington would be a welcome addition to UMass’ secondary.
He’s a big (6’3″ 210lbs) safety who likes to come up in the run game and loves to hit. That kind of physicality is nice to see, and he would also continue the trend of bigger DBs that UMass has been targeting. I’m definitely a fan although with his recruitment played so close to the vest it’s difficult to tell how interested he is in UMass, though it is of course a good thing that he is visiting the final weekend of the cycle.
Zuriel Davis is a big target, in every sense of the word. He goes 6’5″ and 315lbs and goes by the nickname “Big Country”. He’s an absolute animal on either the offensive or defensive lines, though I think UMass probably has designs on him coming in to play the NG if they got him.
Getting him however is going to be the big challenge. While Davis has had some big, big interest from a lot of big, big schools, his grades prevented those schools from offering him. Schools in the Group of Five like UMass, as I have blogged about before, will target kids who may be in danger of not qualifying academically and try to get them signed in the hopes that they do make it. Big schools can move on to the next kid when something like that arises but schools like UMass can’t, so they have to roll the dice occasionally on a kid right on the cusp of making it.
I don’t know if Davis is on the cusp really, in fact I think he’s a little further away from that, but he’s such a talented kid that it’s worth the risk to try and land him.
I would love for Davis to be eligible and for UMass to steal him, but I’m not holding out hope for it.
Bilal Ally is an explosive RB from Florida who had some serious interest from places like Georgia Tech before he suffered a tough injury during his junior year. H came back very strong this season, with performances like a 496-yard, 6 TD effort in the FL playoffs this year.
I really like Ally and UMass likes him at RB. He’s got fantastic speed and explosiveness and is great in space. He’d make quite the addition to the already large and talented RB class UMass has recruited so far this year. He was down to UMass, App St, Troy, and Akron, though I think now it may be between UMass and Troy.
UPDATE #5 7:15PM 1/30/16 – Ally has just announced a commitment to UMass this evening, adding another dynamic 3-star weapon to UMass’ class this year.
Ally tore an ACL when he was a junior and that seems to have pushed some teams off of him. He came back very strong this year though showing no signs of slowing down because of it. UMass swooped in and stole him out of northern Florida and have made their very impressive 2016 class even better.
Andrew Ford is a really interesting offer. He originally enrolled at Virginia Tech out of Cedar Cliff HS in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania as a 3/4-star QB. He redshirted his first year and the subsequently asked for his release to transfer. He’s at Lackawanna CC now and per his tape, he is a December Grad who has 3 years to play 3 at the next level. Now obviously he did not sign early with anyone during the early JUCO signing period, but he did visit Iowa State and holds an offer from the Cyclones.
He would be an interesting recruit in the sense that were he able to enroll right away this semester, would UMass be able to count him towards last year? That would be huge if possible. Also, he would clearly indicate that the heir-apparent to the QB role in Ross Comis may not be as clearly ensconced as next year’s starter as we might think.
I do believe that schools should recruit one QB per cycle, though not always a JUCO transfer. If UMass is serious about bringing Ford in, who by the way is an impressive player with impressive tape, that means that they are saying the job is up for grabs. Not only that, in my personal opinion it would mean Ford would actually have the inside track to land it because I do not believe he would come to UMass without the chance to start at QB right away.
Sam Franklin as many will remember actually signed with UMass out of high school last year and was a surprise get for the Minutemen, a tall, talented 3-star WR that was ready to challenge for playing time and be a difference-maker right away.
However Franklin’s grades weren’t in order, and UMass had to get him in to prep school in order to fix them. He went to East Coast Prep in Great Barrington, MA, a specific half-year school geared towards athletes with grade problems.
He’s obviously completed that program, and he would be another kid that could count towards 2015 potentially if he were to choose UMass now. He may not of course, and it may not even be possible, but it is something to think about. Now Franklin is free to sign with any school, and he took an official visit to Temple last weekend. We saw with Artayvious Lynn that the fact that he may have signed with UMass last year does not mean he will do so again.
He moved to safety early on this season at ECP, and while he was a WR when he signed last year, he could play either spot for UMass should he sign again. Personally I would put him at WR because of the need there; we wanted him there once before.
UPDATE #1 8:35PM 1/29 – Zuriel Davis enjoying himself so far, and enjoying the world-class dining that UMass is famous for. Minutemen fans will have to hope that his academic situation is not a hindrance.
This is another impressive list of players checking UMass out, and we’d welcome them if they wanted to be Minutemen and part of #OptimusPrime16. I look forward to following along on the weekend and to seeing who ends up joining the movement.
UPDATE #2 10:10PM 1/29/16 – Well Zuriel Davis didn’t waste any time as he tweeted out that he committed to UMass on Friday night.
So Davis’ commitment (which I have to mention has not yet been confirmed by the coaching staff but I’d think it’s legit) would be big for UMass as he is very, very talented. It just comes down to whether or not he’ll be able to qualify. This YouTube video interview with him at the Blue-Gray All-American Bowl talks a little about that. The audio is a little rough but take a look:
So if that’s the case and he’s at a 2.2, he’s not that far off from being qualified provided he gets an acceptable test score. The last I saw was that Davis had earned a 21 on the ACT, which combined with a 2.2 GPA means he is close but not quite there. He will certainly need to finish out strong though.
This is a link to the NCAA Initial Eligibility Guidelines which states that a player must have a minimum 2.3 GPA in core courses, among other requirements, in order to be eligible. Davis with a 2.2 is in fact right on the cusp of that.
Make sure to check out these highlights of Davis as well. This could turn out to be a serious steal for UMass if he makes the grade.
When he was at the Blue-Gray All-American Bowl they did evaluations and this is what they had to say about Davis:
Zuriel Davis, DL, Jackson (FL): After an impressive effort in this environment, the scholarship count continues to climb, and climb, for the 6-4 and 340-pounder.
NFL Veteran Evaluation: “No one could block Davis. He went out and handled his business. Watch, he will play some big-time ball in college soon,” Darby said.
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