AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts has a new quarterback and two players for him to throw to as part of an 11-player recruiting class that signed with the Minutemen on Wednesday, the first day of the national letter of intent signing period.

Because of the attention placed on his position, quarterback Brandon Hill of Audubon, N.J., was the most anticipated name in this recruiting class. Hill was the No. 2-ranked pro-style quarterback in New Jersey.

"He's a three-star Rivals(.com) guy. We thought he was a great kid," UMass coach Kevin Morris said. "He's 6-foot-5 and he can throw it. He can do all the things we like to do in our system."

Morris said that Hill, as well as the rest of the class, would get an immediate chance at a starting job.

"They can all come in and compete right away," Morris said. "Athletically, we have some guys we feel can come in and compete. The big hurdle is that it's college and things are new.

"There's a new terminology that they have to learn," he added. "If Hill can pick it up quickly, he has the skills to do it, as do a lot of guys in that class."

The 11 recruits join the six transfers that are already enrolled and will participate in spring practice. Five of those transfers came from Hofstra and Northeastern, which discontinued their programs.

Morris said having those players suddenly available dramatically changed recruiting.

"These were polished college kids that understood how college works. They immediately became a priority," Morris said.

Hill's future targets could include Shawn Campbell, a 6-foot-2 receiver from Woodstock, Conn., and Dominic Wooten, a 6-foot-5 receiver from Norwell.

"Size is something we were looking for," Morris said. "We've had some success with some big guys in the past. And we didn't have a big guy in the program at wide receiver right now."

Wooten was one of four Bay State players who joined the Minutemen, along with linebacker Stanley Andre of Dorchester who played at Reading High School; Matt Campbell, a linebacker from Attleboro; and Foxborough running back Mike Delaney.

"We ended up with seven Massachusetts guys, four freshmen and three transfers," Morris said. "We got the guys out of the state that we wanted."

UMass strengthened its defensive backfield with three players projected to play either safety or cornerback. They are Edward Saint-Vil of Mirmar, Fla., Antoine Tharpe of North Lauderdale, Fla., and Kirkland Nelms of Spotsylvania, Va., who will also be a candidate to return kicks.

The Minutemen, who addressed some needs on the offensive and defensive line with their transfers, also added one offensive lineman (Ryan Young of Wayne, N.J.) and one defensive lineman (Matt Heilig of Harrisburg, Pa).

Morris said almost all of the signees are capable of playing multiple positions.

He said many of the UMass recruits had late interest from Football Bowl Subdivision schools, but none of the players who had given verbal commitments to the Minutemen changed their minds.

"We had a lot of I-A schools interested in these guys, but they all chose to stay with UMass and we're very happy about that," Morris said. "They're all really high-character kids. We really feel like we hit a home run."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.