Yale Football Adding Some Of the Top Offensive Weapons in the Nation

As January comes to a close, the Yale football coaching staff must be smiling ear to ear.

It's been a good month, Bulldogs.

The program already has clearly one of the best 10 recruiting classes in the FCS, but this month's additions of two of the nation's top offensive producers--J.P. Shohfi and Alan Lamar–is just more good news piled on top what was already an incredible class. Many FBS programs would be happy with this haul. Head coach Tony Reno and his staff have added some serious talent. Also coming aboard in January have been QB Walker Lott, LB Ryan Burke and WR Reed Klubnik.

Lamar, who along with Shohfi are finalists for the Parade Magazine All-America team that comes out on Super Bowl Sunday, lit up Mississippi high school football this past fall. He rushed for more than 2,300 yards (one of the nation's top marks) and scored 43 TDs. Shohfi broke a national prep record for receiving yardage with 2,464 yards, catching 122 passes. Lamar has made it very clear from day one that academics beat out athletics when it comes to his choice.

"Yale offered a clear picture of the process behind getting me to medical school," Lamar told HERO Sports. "I met with a former Yale football player and current orthopedic doctor while on my official visit and went over the classes and met with the department head. I left there knowing my success was within my grasp."

That's the kind of response you always get from a football recruit who recently chose his school … right? Uh, no. Not really.

Lamar also had FBS offers from Air Force, Army, Louisiana-Monroe, Miami (Ohio) and Navy, along with a slew of FCS schools and nearly the entire Ivy League.

"Coach (Derrick) Lett, the running back coach, has been recruiting me for a year now and he outlined the things he needed me to do in Yale's offense that I had major success doing this past season in high school," Lamar said. "Basically, I've bought into the vision of the Yale staff. I've been talking to the athletes already committed to Yale and we just believe in each other. I can only imagine the experienced we'll share after four years as a Bulldog."

Charles Callender, a three-star defensive end out of Miami (Fla.), held scholarship offers from national runner up Clemson, Wisconsin and West Virginia. He picked Yale back in July. And he enjoyed meeting Lamar this month when they were both on campus for visits.

"I feel like this is a great class that the coaching staff and players are putting together–especially with our newest additions," Callender told HERO Sports. "I feel like this recruiting class is very well-rounded with talented players at every position."

Shohfi is one of them. With prep national records in hand, his contributions at the next level should be impressive. Callender, OL Sterling Strother and DT Josh Keeler have all brought in 3-star rankings according to recruiting services–which generally means those scouts feel these players would start by their junior year at the FBS level. The class is huge, numbering into the 20s. Harvard, Dartmouth and Columbia all have great groups within the Ivy League, but Yale could make the argument it has the best group of freshmen for 2016.

Here's a look at the Yale 2016 football recruiting class (NOTE: NCAA rules prohibit the school being able to verify recruiting lists, so this is what HERO Sports could verify as of Jan. 25).