Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Notebook: UMass football to broadcast live national signing day show on ESPN3

(Daily Collegian Archive)
(Daily Collegian Archive)

Massachusetts football fans will get an opportunity at an inside look at the future of the Minutemen.

UMass football will host a live signing day show next Wednesday, Feb. 1, to celebrate its 2017 recruiting class. The show is set to air on ESPN3 from 12-1:30 p.m. and will be hosted by Andy Gresh and Hali Oughton.

Minutemen head coach Mark Whipple and other members of the coaching staff will introduce the recruiting class with video packages and comments on each player.

UMass has announced only one early signing in quarterback Michael Curtis, who spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. In his final year at the junior college, he completed 190-of-320 passes for 2,311 yards and 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions. In addition to his ability as a pocket passer, Curtis ran for 593 yards and five touchdowns in 2016.

Curtis has enrolled at the University for classes this spring semester and will join the Minutemen as a redshirt sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining.

In addition to Curtis, 247Sports.com lists two additional enrollees to UMass’ 2017 class. The Minutemen have added depth to their linebacker core in Michael Ruane, a three-star linebacker from Rumson, New Jersey. In 2016, linebackers Shane Huber and Tedrick Lowery each missed time with injury,

Offensive lineman Jaylen Larry also appears on 247Sports’ list as an enrollee for the Minutemen. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound tackle is a two-star rank coming out of high school.

Announcement expected

In addition to the signing day event, the official UMass football Twitter sent out a tweet saying there is to be an announcement coming Thursday in regard to the upcoming season.

Although it was reported last week that UMass had fired former defensive coordinator Tom Masella, Thursday’s announcement isn’t necessarily linked to the opening.

It is worth noting that UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford had sent out a pair of tweets last week regarding a report from USA Today’s Dan Wolken that the D1 football council is proposing a mandatory 14-week season, resulting in each team getting two bye weeks.

Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected], and followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.

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    David WhislerFeb 22, 2017 at 3:12 am

    Being a sports fan, this blog was an amazing read. Sports is such a genre which needs informative as well as stimulating facts and information – you got them all!

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