MA Recruiting Class of 06

EagleAction is going back to do a year-by-year look back review and list every FCS commitment in the state of Massachusetts. On the list will be the players' star ranking, state ranking, the school they signed with and then we come to a conclusion: Overrated, Underrated, Got it Right or Incomplete (for players who never made it to the college level).

This feature is not an indictment on the Rivals star ranking. Instead, it is more of a look to see what kind of talent the state has produced over the period from 2005-2009. 2005 is the starting point because that's the first time that Rivals gave clear state rankings for the Bay State. 2009 is the ending point as those players have finished their college careers.

2006

1. Thomas Claiborne (BC) 3-star, Got it right- Claiborne was a rock---make that a boulder--- on the right side of the offensive line for 3 years at the Heights. Over that span of time, Claiborne started 37 games at right guard. As a sophomore, the big man was an All-ACC 2nd team selection. Claiborne faded a little as a senior when he got into Spaz's doghouse early in the year.

2. Jeff Smith (Boston College) 3-star, Got it Right- "The Jet" never made a consistent impact on the offensive side of the ball, although he did have some memorable explosive plays. Who can forget Smith's 38 yard touchdown reception in a 28-21 win over FSU in 2009, or his 42 yard touchdown run against Kent State in the 2008 season opener? The Jet's biggest impact came as a freshman when he led the ACC in kickoff return yards, and finished 8th nationally in that category. Rivals.com named Smith a freshman All-American, and the Sporting News elected him 2nd Team All-American as a kick returner in the same year. Smith led BC in kickoff return yards in 2007 and 2008, but was never quite the same after his head injury in 2007.

3. Chris Fox (BC) 3-star, Got it Right- Fox was right on the fringe, but he was a consistent special teams contributor as a sophomore and a junior. As a senior, Fox finally saw action on defense when he started the last six games of the year at corner. Fox played well when his name was called and performed much better than people thought he would.

4. Barry Gallup (Notre Dame) 3-star, Got it right- Gallup played a key role both returning kicks and chasing down kick and punt returners during his time at Notre Dame. Like Smith, Gallup was an above-average performer on special teams which can't be ignored.

5. Reshaude Goodwyn (BC) 3-star, Overrated- After redshirting as a freshman, Goodwyn transferred to UMass. Goodwyn played sparingly for two years with the Minutemen, and there is no record of what happened to him after that.

6. James McCluskey (BC) 3-star, Got it right McCluskey was the starting fullback from 2007-2010. Despite suffering two serious injuries during his career it never kept him off of the field for more than a few games.

7. Robert Vaughn (UConn) 2- star, Underrated Vaughn had what would be considered a high three-star career at UConn. Vaughn was named to the 2008 All-Big East 2nd team as a junior and led the Big East in interceptions as a senior.

8. Brandon Flanagan (Buffalo) 2-star, Got it right This was the second player in the class that ended up transferring to UMass. Flanagan started every game at defensive tackle during his senior season. While UMass is considered DI, the fact that he couldn't break an FCS starting lineup until he was a senior means the 2-star ranking is probably most appropriate

9.Jack Shields (Virginia) 2-star, Underrated Shields was a two year starter on the Virginia offensive line.

10.Billy Flutie (BC) 2-star, Got it rightFlutie was a solid role player in his time at the Heights. Perhaps Flutie's most famous play came on his fake field goal touchdown pass in 2008. Flutie's 9-yard touchdown pass to Jordon McMichael put the Eagles up 21-7, a game which they went on to win to clinch the ACC Atlantic title. For those that didn't know, Flutie still works at BC as the Assistant Director of Facilities.

11.Tom Lang (Rutgers) 2-star, Overrated Lang never saw the field during three years at Rutgers. The QB eventually went to URI and moved to tight end, but did not see much action for the Rams.

12.Mathieu Olivier (UConn) 2-star, Got it rightIt took Olivier his whole career to get on the field, but as a senior he started 8 games at left guard.

13. Roman James (Baylor) 2-star, Incomplete There is no data on James after signing with the Bears.

The class of 2006 totals:

8- Got it Right

2- Overrated

2- Underrated

1-Incomplete

If you missed the 2005 review CLICK HERE