ULM 2015 Recruiting Recap

Five JUCO prospects along with 22 more high school commits comprised the largest class Berry has ever brought in to Monroe.

What they've got

The headliner is Daniel Fitzwater, a 6'5" 215-lb pro-style quarterback out of Mississippi (via Copiah-Lincoln CC). Fitzwater was highly sought-after, with offers from just about every other team in the Sun Belt. In some highlight film you can see just how massive he looks compared to everyone else on the field. And for that size, it still looks like he can take off and run pretty well if he needs to.

Similar to Pete Thomas last year, I could see him coming in and immediately fighting for the starting job - he's already on-campus and has been working out with the team for a month now. Brayle Brown hasn't given any indication that he is able to carry the load as a full-time starter, and we've got no reason to believe that Anthony Monken or Garrett Smith is capable of taking over the offense after redshirting in 2014. ULM signed three other quarterbacks in this class (Will Collins, Chandler Eiland, and Frank Maxwell), but it's unlikely that any of them will see the field this year.

With the ever-important left tackle position now vacant, landing 6'6" 305-lb OT Rey Baltazar from Cisco Community College (TX) is crucial for the 2015 class. While I think Chase Regian might end up moving over to start on the left side, Baltazar could either fight for the starting spot on the right side, or provide quality depth at left tackle behind Regian.

The brightest spot from the 2014 season for the Warhawks was the defensive front. Although they are likely only losing one starter (DE Joey Gautney), coach Berry really loaded up on those positions in this class.

Cortez Sisco, a 6'1" 195-lb OLB from Mississippi, along with hometown DE recruit Donald Louis (6'3" 240-lb) and JUCO DE Colton Moorehead (6'3" 253-lb), will continue to fill out quality depth along the defensive front six. Berry gave significant minutes to a number of backups on the defensive front in 2014, so if there are opportunities for playing time, these might be some guys you'll end up hearing about next fall.

Before signing day, one of the most pressing areas of concern for the 2015 class was at skill positions. Just one WR, 5'11" 170-lb Xavier Brown, was committed before the season ended. But Berry and the rest of the staff put in some late work and added 5'10" 175-lb WR Markis McCray and 6'2" 186-lb WR from Natchitoches, LA Reginald Turner.

The Warhawks failed to land a RB in this class, although they did manage to steal Xavier Dias from Louisiana-Lafayette late in the recruiting process. The 5'11" 190-lb ATH is listed as a defensive back on ULM's official website, but it's not out of the realm of possibility to see him move to running back at some point. After last season's efforts, that group may need all the help it can get.

Here's the full list of ULM's 2015 commitments, via ulmwarhawks.com.