Football Welcomes 18 To UMass Family On First Day Of December Signing Period

AMHERST, Mass. - Head coach Walt Bell and the University of Massachusetts football staff welcomed 18 newcomers to the program during the first day of the December Early Signing Period on Wednesday. The National Letter of Intent (NLI) signees included Tristan Armstrong, Josh Atwood, Aaron Beckwith, Dominik Behrens, Jared Cole, Onuma Dieke, Taishan Holmes, Joe Horn, Gerrell Johnson, Cody Jones, Hugo Klages, Will Koch, Kyle Lindquist, Nahji Logan, Reggie Marks III, Ellis Merriweather, Ethan Mottinger and Sammy Solomon.

The 18 signees hail from a variety of talent-rich regions across the country, including California (1), Florida (1), Georgia (3), Maryland (2), Massachusetts (2), New Jersey (1), Pennsylvania (2), Virginia (2) and Washington, D.C. (2), as well as internationally from Germany (2).

From a positional standpoint, Bell and his staff loaded up on both sides of the line, with five defensive linemen and four offensive lineman inking their names as Minutemen. It includes Behrens, Horn, Marks III and Mottinger on offense, while Atwood, Beckwith, Holmes, Klages and Solomon provide size and speed on the defensive front.

Massachusetts added two defensive backs as well, with Armstrong and Jones officially joining the program on Wednesday morning. Within the offensive skill positions, UMass signed a pair of quarterbacks, Koch and Lindquist, running backs with agility and power in Cole and Merriweather and a lengthy option at wide receiver in Dieke.

The December Early Signing Period continues through Fri., Dec. 20. Follow Massachusetts football on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@UMassFootball).

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOOTBALL 2020 SIGNEES

Name • Position • Height • Weight • Hometown • High School • Last College • Signed At
Tristan Armstrong • DB • 6-0 • 175 • Washington, D.C. • National Christian Academy (Md.) • 7:32 a.m.
Josh Atwood • DL • 6-2 • 350 • Natick, Mass. • Natick • 7:11 a.m.
Aaron Beckwith • DL • 6-4 • 270 • Germantown, Md. • Northwest • 7:48 a.m.
Dominik Behrens • OL • 6-5 • 305 • Hamburg, Germany • The Williston Northampton School (Mass.) • 7:13 a.m.
Jared Cole • RB • 5-10 • 190 • Ashburn, Va. • Stone Bridge • 7:05 a.m.
Onuma Dieke • WR • 6-4 • 190 • Riverdale, Ga. • North Clayton • 7:00 a.m.
Taishan Holmes • DL • 6-3 • 335 • Tappahannock, Va. • Essex • Garden City College • 7:22 a.m.
Joe Horn • OL • 6-1 • 305 • Hamilton, N.J. • The Hun School • 7:50 a.m.
Gerrell Johnson • LB • 6-3 • 200 • Washington, D.C. • New Town (Md.) • 7:49 a.m.
Cody Jones • DB • 6-0 • 190 • Fayetteville, Ga. • Sandy Creek • 8:22 a.m.
Hugo Klages • DL • 6-3 • 235 • Braunschweig, Germany • Otto Bennemann • 7:00 a.m.
Will Koch • QB • 6-3 • 200 • Niceville, Fla. • Niceville • 8:01 a.m.
Kyle Lindquist • QB • 6-4 • 215 • Chico, Calif. • Pleasant Valley • Butte College • 10:10 a.m.
Nahji Logan • LB • 6-3 • 215 • Yeadon, Pa. • Hatboro-Horsham • 10:55 a.m.
Reggie Marks III • OL • 6-3 • 300 • Havre de Grace, Md. • Havre de Grace • Lackawanna College • 7:10 a.m.
Ellis Merriweather • RB • 6-1 • 220 • Alpharetta, Ga. • Alpharetta • Garden City College • 7:09 a.m.
Ethan Mottinger • OL • 6-5 • 295 • North Attleboro, Mass. • North Attleboro • 7:05 a.m.
Sammy Solomon • DL • 6-3 • 300 • Exeter Pa. • Wyoming High School (Pa.)

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOOTBALL 2020 SIGNEE BIO INFORMATION

Tristan Armstrong

Attended National Christian Academy in Fort Washington, Maryland, and played for head coach Andre Kates … Three-star recruit via 247Sports and ESPN … Also held offers from Charlotte, Liberty, Louisville and Toledo, among others.

Josh Atwood

Attended Natick High School and played for head coach Mark Mortarelli … Three-star recruit according to 247Sports and ESPN … Ranked No. 14 among all Massachusetts prospects according to 247Sports, and is the highest ranked defensive tackle in the Commonwealth … Won the Bay State Conference Carey Division MVP and All-Star awards …. Had 54 tackles, including 12.5 TFLs with 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 2019 … Registered 65 tackles, including 17.0 TFLs, as a junior … Also had 11.0 sacks and three forced fumbles that year … Capped his scholastic career with 179 tackles, 42.0 TFLs, 12.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles.

Aaron Beckwith

Starred at Northwest High School for head coach Mike Neubeiser … Three-star recruit according to 247Sports and ESPN … Ranked No. 38 in the state of Maryland … Is also a top-100 offensive guard in the country … Won Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention … Played both sides of the line at Northwest High School … Also held offers from Buffalo, Central Michigan and Liberty, among others.

Dominik Behrens

A native of Hamburg, Germany, who played nearby at the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Mass., for head coach Tom Beaton … Ranked the No. 16 prospect in Massachusetts.

Jared Cole

Native of Ashburn, Virginia, who played at Stone Bridge High School for head coach Mickey Thompson … Three-star recruit ranked in the top-50 in the Commonwealth of Virginia according to 247Sports … Top-25 all-purpose back in the nation via 247Sports … Rushed for 1,550 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, while he added 690 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches … All-state, all-region and all-district awardwinner … Washington Post All-MET First Team … First Team All-Loundoun County selection and LoCoSports Offensive Player of the year … Won his region's offensive MVP honors.

Onuma Dieke

Competed scholastically at North Clayton High School for Cap Burnett IV … Three-star recruit with a grade of 84 according to 247Sports … Posted 25 receptions covering 464 yards and four TDs in 2019 … Totaled 68 receptions for 1,409 yards during his three seasons lettering at North Clayton High School … Won the Clayton County Offensive Player of the Year Award and All-Clayton County First Team … Also held offers from Grambling State and South Alabama, among others.

Taishan Holmes

Competed collegiately at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, for head coach Tom Minnick in 2019 … Helped Garden City finish the 2019 season with an 8-3 overall record … Had 17 tackles, including 1.5 TFLs, in nine games played at Garden City … Competed in six games for Virginia State during the 2018 season and total 11 tackles … Played scholastically at Essex High School in his hometown of Tappahannock, Virginia.

Joe Horn

Three-star recruit according to 247Sports, who starred at center for The Hun School and head coach Todd Smith … Also ranked in the top-50 recruits in the State of New Jersey and among the top-50 offensive centers in the nation via 247Sports … All-MAPL, all-prep, all-area and NJ Opening Offensive Line MVP … Held additional offers from Central Michigan and Navy, among others.

Gerrell Johnson

Three-star linebacker at New Town High School, via 247Sports Composite Ranking and ESPN …Played for head coach Mike Savage at New Town ... Ranked among the top-50 prospects in Maryland … Accumulated 173 tackles, including 16.0 TFLs, and nine forced fumbles during his senior season … Also played wide receiver for New Town High School and head coach Mike Savage … Was a selection for the Maryland Crab Bowl.

Cody Jones

Three-star recruit with a grade of 82 according to 247Sports ... All-region cornerback and athlete at Sandy Creek High School under head coach Brett Garvin … Lockdown defender for Sandy Creek posted 25 tackles, seven pass breakups and three interceptions during 2019 … Tallied all-region in 2019 following his all-county first team recognition in 2018 … Capped his scholastic career with nine interceptions … Also held offers from Akron, Buffalo and Georgia Southern, among others.

Hugo Klages

Ranked a three-star prospect by 247Sports and the No. 5 player in Germany … Also held offers from Cincinnati, Florida Atlantic and Kent State, among others.

Will Koch

Pro-style quarterback at Niceville High School who played for head coach Grant Thompson and John Hicks … Concluded his senior year with a 70.9 completion percentage, 1,739 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns, alongside 596 rushing yards and eight touchdown runs … Took home Northwest News Player of the Year … Played in the 2019 Subway All-Star Game … Led Niceville to its 12-1 record and No. 5 ranking in Florida's Class 7A.

Kyle Lindquist

Pro-style quarterback at Butte College for head coach Rob Snelling … Named the NorCal Conference Offensive MVP in 2019 and won All-NorCal First Team as well … Went 169-of-290 for 2,552 passing yards and 26 touchdowns at the helm of the Butte College offense in 2019 … Led Butte College to an 8-3 record and a Gridiron Classic Bowl victory over the College of the Sequoias … Finished the 38-28 bowl game win over the College of the Sequoias 17-of-28 for 211 passing yards and two touchdowns … Attended Fresno State as a true-freshman in 2017 prior to transferring to Butte College … Played scholastically at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, Calif., and won a Division 4A state championship … Reset the Pleasant Valley records for passing yards and passing touchdowns when he threw for 2,871 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior.

Nahji Logan

Starting offensive guard for head coach Mark Duda at Lackawanna College … Helped Lackawanna College go 10-1 on the season and reach the NJCAA National Championship Game … Received Northeast Football Conference All-NEFC Second Team in 2019 … Native of Maryland who hails from Havre de Grace and played scholastically at Havre de Grace High School.

Ellis Merriweather

Primarily played running back at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, for head coach Tom Minnick … Helped Garden City finish the 2019 season with an 8-3 overall record … Totaled 513 rushing yards on 90 carries, including six for touchdowns, as a redshirt sophomore in 2019 … Also had five receptions for 71 yards in 2019 … Played in six games at Garden City in 2018 and totaled 327 yards on 69 carries and three touchdowns … Was a member of the Garden City team that finished 10-1 overall and reached the NJCAA National Championship Game in 2018 … Attended Alpharetta High School in Alpharetta, Ga., prior to his tenure at Garden City … Multi-position standout in high school who excelled at wide receiver, running back, quarterback and free safety … All-conference and all-county selection at Alpharetta … Also a star on the Alpharetta High School basketball team.

Ethan Mottinger

Played for head coach Don Johnson at North Attleboro High School ... Three-star recruit, the No. 11 player in Massachusetts and the No. 4 offensive lineman in the Commonwealth according to 247Sports … Also a three-star recruit via ESPN … 2019 MIAA All-State selection … Won all-star accolades from the Hockomock League, the Boston Herald All Star and the Sun Chronicle.

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