Christmas came early to UTM according to third-year head football coach Matt Griffin. The Skyhawk football team signed 19 players to join the 2005 squad on last Wed., Feb. 2.

Among the players added seven were from Tenn., four from Mo., five from Ohio, two from Ky. and one from Ala.

When asked why the addition of so many players from Ohio over the past three years, Griffin says it’s just a good fit and good football. “When you look at all our recruits, not just from Ohio, we put a six hour radius around our campus to find the best student athlete we can. The support we get from the coaches up there is fabulous,” Griffin said.

The position most picked up, and possibly the most needed, was that of offensive lineman, with four players being added. “I’m an offensive line guy,” said Griffin, “and this is the happiest I’ve been with that bunch in three years. I’m thrilled.

“There’s a couple here that I think are next level guys that fell to us. I give our coaches tremendous credit.”

Another position heavily recruited this season was that of quarterback; three were signed for 2005. Griffin stood firm behind the 2004 starter and co-captain Brady Wahlberg.

“[Brady] is our quarterback, he’s our starter, but we’re still going to take one every year,” said Griffin.

“We got lucky because one of these guys fell to us just a few days ago from [division] I-A. A couple schools pulled out and he came here and he was a good fit for us.

“All of our quarterbacks not only have to be able to throw the thing, but they have to be able to run a little bit. They have to be athletic.” In general, Griffin said that the tone of this recruiting class was athleticism.

“Out of our three classes, I think this one is better than the second, the second better than the first. We’ve been consistent with where we recruit and our recruiting cycle is the same. It’s non-stop,” said Griffin.

He says that this class is no different from the rest and where you won’t get a good judge of their abilities for another season, the motto is the same as it always has been since he came to UTM. “There’s more than half that we feel could be competitive at their position right now. The best player plays. We’ve been consistent with that and we’ll continue to be so.”