UMass’ recruiting rallying cry this year has been an interesting hashtag initially created by Tight Ends Coach Steve Costello. He wanted to come up with a phrase that helped represent something indestructible, something that would represent a new era for UMass Football, and the leader of the Autobots fits that description to a ‘T’.
Bob McGovern did a piece over on the Maroon Musket about #OptimusPrime16 and what it means to UMass football, so make sure to read it if you haven’t already.
#OptimusPrime16 has really taken off with the kids UMass is recruiting; recruits love to get behind a hashtag these days as part of the buy-in for a program, and #OptimusPrime16 has been working well for the Minutemen when it comes to the recruits they are targeting.
Obviously UMass is not at the level of a bigger program whose hashtag(s) would have an even bigger impact, but for the level the Minutemen are at they have done well to get their rallying cry trending among their top targets.
This weekend in particular was dubbed ‘Optimus Prime Weekend’ by the staff as they have some of their highest potential targets in Amherst officially visiting the school. Again, courtesy of the Musket, the official list of visitors is below:
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)
Jessie 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)
Antione Webster (ATH/S), American (FL)
Jordan Young (QB), Coatesville (PA)
(You can also link to Bob’s article for this weekend here)
It’s about 10:00 AM Saturday as I’m writing and posting this, and the players arrived on Friday. They’ve been posting updates to social media as the young whipper-snappers these days are wont to do, and I’ll try to intersperse some of those updates throughout the entry here.
There are a long of very talented players on campus over this weekend, and it is imperative that the Minutemen staff put their best foot forward while highlighting all the positives that UMass has to offer. I have no doubt that they will do just that, and I’m confident that there will be commitments coming out of this weekend on top of the three players visiting (Burch, Rodgers, Ingram) who have already pledged to the Minutemen.
Tyrek Tisdale would be the highest-rated recruit to ever commit to UMass should he decide to make Amherst his destination. He’s a dynamic, explosive athlete that could line up almost anywhere on offense. He was previously committed to the Florida Gators before reopening his recruitment. He’s currently down to UMass and Maryland, who he’s scheduled to visit next weekend.
UPDATE #2 1/23/16 4:15 PM – Tisdale rocking that white #1 looks fantastic, he would be an enormous get for the program should he commit.
Jessie Britt was a Western Kentucky commit until about a week ago when he decommitted prior to a trip to visit the University of Arizona. He’s being looked at as a slot WR for UMass and would be a fantastic one, he’s got skills at the position that would have Minutemen fans coming out of their seats on Saturdays. He was scheduled to visit WKU next weekend but may not after he decommitted; my personal opinion is that he’s down to Arizona and UMass.
Chris Tooley is a teammate of Tisdale’s (and of commit Cycoby Burch) at Oak Ridge High in Orlando. He’s a cornerback that UMass could certainly use, has a nice blend of physicality (he jams very well) and athleticism in coverage. We can hope as Minutemen fans that the Oak Ridge boys want to play together at the next level, and UMass gives them a rare opportunity to do just that. Tooley visited Florida Atlantic last weekend, don’t know if he has any other visits on the docket.
https://twitter.com/mrsramireza/status/690621760031580160
(That’s Tooley in the foreground and Burch in the background)
https://twitter.com/mrsramireza/status/690614483677483008
(It looks like the Oak Ridge boys had their teacher accompany them on their OV, so we can also hope that the high and rising academic profile of UMass appeals to her; it’s a much better university than a lot of the other schools these guys are being recruited by)
UPDATE 1/23/16 12:05 PM – nice group pic of the Orlando-area players on the visit this weekend with their family members and teacher: Ingram (#21), Tisdale (#1), Tooley (#3) and Burch (#6).
https://twitter.com/mrsramireza/status/690943148428759040
Sadiq Palmer and Taylor Riggins were both previously committed to Syracuse before the coaching change in Western New York caused them to reopen their recruitment. They are both guys from the Northeast (Palmer from NJ, Riggins from WNY) and would both be late steals for UMass if they were to commit to the Minutemen. Palmer’s an explosive talent at WR and has the height as well, and Riggins is a versatile athlete that would likely play OLB for the Minutemen, which is where he was committed at Syracuse. UMass could really luck out with those two, and they are in a good position as both players other offers are from Northeastern FCS programs or similar FBS programs to UMass (Old Dominion for Palmer, Buffalo for Riggins).
Charly Timite and Jordan Young are both Pennsylvania guys (Timite from Philly, Young from Coatesville) and both are underrated athletes that would look good for UMass. Timite is a very raw defensive end as he’s only got about two years of football experience, but he’s a big body with room to grow and athleticism from the position for days. Young is a dual-threat QB in high school though it looks like he’s being recruited to college more as an athlete. He’s got good size as well (6’3″ 210lbs) and would look good as a WR I think if UMass were to put him there. Timite has only FCS offers besides UMass, and Young has FBS offers from ODU and Temple, where his dad Anthony Young is a Hall-of-Famer.
Antione Webster is a physical safety and a player that has some big-time interest from schools in power conferences. At one point he was committed to FAU but it would appear that UMass is in a decent spot to potentially secure his commitment; I’ll admit I didn’t think he was as high a target for them as he clearly is. He’s a big-time hitter, plays the safety position with a chip on his shoulder and brings some attitude, which every secondary needs to be successful.
Bahkari Goodson is a bit of a sleeper, not much out there on him in the traditional places, only enough to know that I think UMass might be his only offer. He is a target for UMass though without question, he got an in-home from Coaches Costello and Walker prior to coming up for this visit.
Both Shakur Cooper (Coral Gables, FL) and Antoine Brooks (Duval, MD) were surprises for this weekend, hadn’t heard their names mentioned with UMass before Friday. Both talented players, but Cooper is currently committed to Florida International and Brooks suffered a very serious injury this season, though he was a strong dual-threat QB/athlete prior to it. You can also read about his recovery here.
The group visiting Amherst this weekend is one of the most talented ever, and UMass has made it a point to target speed and athleticism in this recruiting class aggressively. They’ve identified very good players and those players are just as interested in UMass as the Minutemen are in them.
Now obviously the Minutemen will not secure a commitment from everyone visiting this weekend (or next weekend) but they should get pledges from some of them, and added to what UMass has already done this cycle, it certainly sets up to be the best class in UMass history.
UPDATE #3 1/23/16 9:15 PM – Cycoby Burch (who’s already committed) liking his trip so far, which is awesome. Hope his teammates Tisdale and Tooley feel the same, along with the rest of the visitors this weekend.
Go U.
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