The Massachusetts football team announced its 2012 recruiting class on Wednesday, the first under recently hired head coach Charley Molnar and first as a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision as it prepares for competition in the Mid-American Conference next season.
The Minutemen will welcome 24 new players to the team – three of which that are currently enrolled at UMass for the spring semester – representing 11 different states, including Hawaii.
“I would say this is an upper-level [MAC] class,” said Molnar. “I’m really excited about the size we added to our football team and the speed and the skill. It’s really, really a good class.”
Molnar has an even mix of players on both sides of the ball coming to UMass next year, and is highlighted by a few offensive playmakers.
Wide receiver Khary Baily-Smith, a native of Weymouth, will arrive to Amherst next season with plenty of high school accolades under his belt. He racked up 936 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, and he was named an All-Scholastic athlete for the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Patriot Ledger.
Running back Stacey Bedell, from Mastic Beach, N.Y., will bring his talents to Amherst with some experience at cornerback in his arsenal.
As a senior, he was awarded All-Division, All-County, All-Metro Long Island and All-State honors, as well as the Hanson Award for the best player in Suffolk County. He ran for 412 yards in the Long Island championship game, and 2,562 yards and 39 touchdowns for the season.
While UMass does boast a batch of offensive standouts, including quarterback A.J. Doyle, who was also recruited by North Carolina State, all focus was not lost on other positions, and Molnar is pleased with the variety of players that he got to sign.
“[We focused on] everything,” said Molnar. “Every position was a position of need. Obviously there’s some where we really needed numbers more than at others, but we tried to take the best athletes available and I think we managed to stay with that plan throughout. We’ve improved our athleticism without question.
“We’ve got some size where we needed it, especially on the offensive line,” he continued. “I think we’re really going to add some great, big bodies to that group of men. We needed some help at the receiver spot and got some big receivers coming in. I’m really excited with our group.”
Before he started making his recruiting trips, Molnar stressed the need to focus on recruiting players in the Massachusetts area in order to build up the school’s home state, and he said the reaction from families on his visits were very positive and encouraging.
“We were very well-received everywhere we went,” said Molnar. “Every school, every home, everyone knew UMass, they know our story, the transition from 1-AA to 1-A. Everyone knew who I was before I walked in the door, and it’s really been positive, the reception from the high school coaches and the players has been great.”
Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Hewitt.
