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What's better than signing a three star running back out of Florida? Having him commit to you over over numerous big time programs. That's what the Massachusetts Minutemen got when Sekai Lindsay gave is verbal commit after his visit to campus on the 23rd of January.
Sekai Lindsay
Melbourne, Florida
Status: Verbally committed to UMass Minutemen
Commitment Date: January 25th, 2015
Height: 5-9
Weight: 200
Position(s): RB
High School: Palm Bay High School
Lindsay is a very good running back prospect and is rated a three star by all major recruiting sites. Rivals has him the highest as the 58th ranked RB in the country and 92 overall in the state. He joins Reche Thomas as the second Florida commit for UMass, which is a positive sign for UMass as Florida is known as one of the hotbeds for recruiting.
Once committed to Pittsburgh, Lindsay had a lot of big-time interest. With offers from Cincinnati, FIU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, N.C. State, Pitt, South Alabama, South Florida, and Temple. He also was getting interest from Arkansas, Miami Fl, and UCF. This is another huge recruiting win for Whipple as he wrestled another Florida guy away from big established programs.
Palm Bay played to a record of 7-2 and finished ranked the 101 team in the state. Lindsay was the focus on the ground. He has pretty good size and is another commit that has the measurable to come in a compete right away.
Lindsay is more of a power back but does have the speed to get away from defenders. He has the strength to drive piles forward and can break tackles. His agility and speed is good enough where he can use his burst to get away from defenses. I don't think it would surprise anyone if he developed into a very talented running back down the road with his skills and vision.
UMass used a host of running backs last year but eventually settled with Lorenzo Woodley and Shadrach Abrokwah as their primary backs. Jamal Wilson and J.T. Blyden both played significantly earlier in the season before injuries derailed them. So Lindsay will have a tough road ahead of him filled with competition but with the high flying, fast paced offense UMass runs he might get some chances to show his skills.
You can watch is highlight tape (named beastmode) via Hudl: