Overview:Third year head coach Jim Hofher hauled in 24 players from 11 different
states for the Bulls.In an effort to upgrade talent, UB brought in some huge
players in this class and I can honestly say from these three classes brought in
by Hofher that size is no longer an issue.Half of this class is players who will play in the trenches Buffalo
should no longer be pushed around by other IA & MAC schools.Four JUCOs and one eligible transfer, provide UB some immediate help.The home state of New York produced seven players in this class, while
six other states each provided two.
Highlights:
The
highlight of this class is massive DT Sagan Atuatasi, who was a high school
SuperPrep All American and signed with USC out of high school.He enrolled into a junior college and signed with UB.He should be a starter this fall and shore up some of the run defense
problems for the Bulls.
Some
of the beef signed includes 6-9 320 OT Jon Burgio, 6-6 300 OL Lucas Johnson
from Bakersfield CC, and 6-4 360 Quenzell Smith who is transferring from
Canisius College.
All
four JUCOs signed are expected to be immediate contributors to the UB
program this fall.
Greg
Vrantsis is an underrated TE with good hands and will be contribute to this
program right away.
While
UB singed some great size, speed is still a concern for the Bulls.Only a handful of the skilled players in this year’s recruiting class record better than a 4.5/40.
Final
Thoughts:
Buffalo
continues to try to build a sound foundation of real Division IA players,
something they lacked when Hofher took over three years ago.This class certainly addresses the size issue, but UB still lags the MAC
in terms of speed.Few of these players have speed like the top MAC programs
signed.Overall, this class rates
as AVERAGE compared to other
MAC schools.It’s
certainly another step in the right direction for this young football program.
