Monday, March 31, 2014

Monday--March 31st, 2014

The UMass website has a spring camp video featuring new DC Tom Messella. It has comments from a number of players on the change to a 3-4 defense. Messalla praises Stanley Andre, Kessan Messiah and corners Randall Jette and Trey-Dudley Giles.

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Coach Whipple's Twitter feed talks about the first team scrimmage this weekend as well as recruits visiting for Junior Day.

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Dan Malone has a feature on the return of Marken Michel. Interesting, some of the UMass players kept in touch with Michel while he was away and Coach Whipple knew him from his Miami days.

Marken's 31-260 stats would have put him 3rd last year in receiving totals.

Malone's article has Coach Whipple praising Marken's speed along with Penn State transfer Alex Kenney.

The Minutemen could certainly use more deep threats. Last year TE Rob Blanchflower had the team's only reception over 50 yards.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports on UMass QB A.J.Doyle's adjusting to the new offensive system.

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James Ihedigbo is already working out with new teammate Glover Quinn.

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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Saturday--March 29th, 2014

Matty Vautour report future UMass QB Blake Frohapfel is learning the UMass offense from long distance.

He also reports that expansion isn't on the AAC's agenda right now. Note that in sports nothing is happening until it happens. See the MAC and Temple and dozens of other examples.

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Dan Malone reports UMass players are focused on the present.

He also has Lorenzo Woodley is feeling good about the new offense.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen players are embracing the change.

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The Detroit Free Press says James Ihedigbo's contract is far from exorbitant.

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SB Nation says college football recruiting rankings are getting better.

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2014 OOC opponent Penn State is also breaking in a new system.

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Friday, March 28, 2014

Friday--March 28th, 2014

The Athletic Dept. website has video from UMass' Pro Day.

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Ron Chimelis thinks UMass' response to the MAC exit rings hollow.

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Coach Whipple and the team are a lot more upbeat. Matty's article has some quotes from Lorenzo Woodley. Whipple's offense is a good one for running backs. The offensive backfield should be a happy place in 2014.

Whipple also said he didn't expect the change to affect recruiting.

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Jimmy Kelly of "Hustle Belt" takes a look at what leaving the MAC means for UMass.

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Maryland's Randy Edsell want to restrict recruiting to high school seniors.

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The Wall Street Journal says the impact of a recent court decision allowing players to unionize is unclear.

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The Lions signed James Ihedigbo to a $3.1 million two year deal.

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Victor Cruz had a "light-weight" beef with rapper jay Z prior to his signing with Roc Nation. Victor said jay Z's people failed to get in touch with his people.

I'll never have people.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Thursday--March 27th, 2014

OK. First off, this one is on the MAC. UMass would not have considered going FBS two years ago without a league offer. The MAC wanted to keep Temple and so they made the offer to UMass.

Second the MAC did not have to invoke the all-sports clause. They knew that would not be acceptable to us.

Read between the lines of this quote:

This is not the outcome we anticipated when UMass was admitted as a football-only member.  However, circumstances changed regarding our football membership and this is a result of those circumstances,” added Steinbrecher.  “I want to thank University of Massachusetts Chancellor, Dr. Kumble Subbaswamy, and Director of Athletics, John McCutcheon, for their professionalism and understanding in reaching this amicable decision.” 

Translation: Thanks for not pointing out in print what a screw job this is. We wanted you with Temple, but without the Owls...

Everyone knows I love UMass football. But leaving the MAC was the right thing for UMass and the athletic dept. There is no way UMass should be in MAC for basketball.

I think UMass is committed to FBS football. I don't think coach Whipple would have signed on without that commitment.

See this quote from the AD " McCutcheon said, "We remain committed to FBS football. Many institutions have successfully navigated this challenging period of conference realignment and we will do the same."

UMass obviously wanted to move to a different conference sometime. It would appear that McCutcheon thinks we have options.

Where does that leave UMass? We need to have Coach Whipple get us winning. We have two years to look for another conference. Conference USA with old foe Old Dominion is an option. So is the Sunbelt conference with old foes Appalachian State and Georgia State.

The AAC would be even better. We'd be back with UConn and Temple.That would be an attractive hoops league too.

Tulsa, a small religious school with 3,000 undergrads joined the AAC. If they did it, we can.

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Matty V. Says UMass made the right call. Note that I wrote the above before reading Matty's article.

Hustle Belt asks "What does this mean for the MAC?"

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From Coach Whipple's Twitter feed :" No matter what conference we join, UMass Football is committed to building champions The future has begun!

From me.
Let's Go UMass.

“This is not the outcome we anticipated when UMass was admitted as a football-only member.  However, circumstances changed regarding our football membership and this is a result of those circumstances,” added Steinbrecher.  “I want to thank University of Massachusetts Chancellor, Dr. Kumble Subbaswamy, and Director of Athletics, John McCutcheon, for their professionalism and understanding in reaching this amicable decision.”  
- See more at: http://www.mac-sports.com/tabid/969/Article/332848/MAC-and-UMass-Announce-2015-As-Final-Year-In-Football.aspx#sthash.kTOzeDNf.dpuf
“This is not the outcome we anticipated when UMass was admitted as a football-only member.  However, circumstances changed regarding our football membership and this is a result of those circumstances,” added Steinbrecher.  “I want to thank University of Massachusetts Chancellor, Dr. Kumble Subbaswamy, and Director of Athletics, John McCutcheon, for their professionalism and understanding in reaching this amicable decision.”  
- See more at: http://www.mac-sports.com/tabid/969/Article/332848/MAC-and-UMass-Announce-2015-As-Final-Year-In-Football.aspx#sthash.kTOzeDNf.dpuf

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

UMass to leave the MAC

UPDATE: I'll have some commentary up tomorrow morning. Leaving the MAC is another challenge, but it's also opportunity. The MAC went 0-5 in Bowl games. EMU basketball drew 373 fans for a CIT Tourney game. UMass went 1-11 and still was in the middle of the league in football attendance.

Let's improve the next two years and find a new home that wants us. Go UMass!

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Multiple news sources report UMass will leave the MAC in two years.

USA Today.

CBS Sports.

SI.com.

From Gazette.com.

Wow. Forcing UMass to join the conference in all sports must have been intended to force UMass out. The league had to know the Athletic Dept would never agree to to that stipulation.

Recruiting 2015--Mehdi El-Attrach

247Sports image
Several recruiting services report UMass has offered to Mehdi El-Attrach, a 6-0 190 pound Athlete from Orlando, FL.

This article from Scout.com features El-Attrach.

247Sports page here.

ESPN has some performance stats.

Besides UMass, El-Attrach has offers from Duke, FIU, Memphis, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky.

Wednesday--March 26th, 2014

Dan Malone reports on the UMass Pro Day and says Rob Blanchflower was again forced to sit it out.

The UMass Daily Collegian has a story from Pro Day including some of the bench press totals.

22 News has video.

RotoWorld has some info on Blanchflower.

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Dustin Bredford image
James Ihedigbo's former coach says the Lions got a gem.

Bleacher Report has contract details.

MLive says Ihedigbo could be the perfect fit.

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An even bigger NCAA power grab is likely for the five "power" conferences in the new proposed governing council.

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CBS Sports radio has a story about Buffalo's Khalil Mack, who could be the MAC conference's second first round NFL draft pick in a row.

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Idaho football, who's total budget is 40% of Lou Sabin's salary, isn't about to quit.

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Will McKaney, the Navy player who collapsed during spring practice has died.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Recruiting 2017--Elijah Barnwell

Chris Paytok image
NJ.com reports UMass is recruiting Elijah Barnwell, a 5-11 190 pound RB/LB from Piscataway, NJ.

This article from NJ.com features Barnwell.

Hudl.com has stats and video.

Barnwell just received an offer from Rutgers.

He's receiving interest from Boston College, Pitt, Penn State, Maryland, Syracuse, UConn, UMass and Old Dominion.

Tuesday--March 25th, 2014

UMass will hold it's Pro Day today. The event is not open to the public. Let's hope Rob Blanchflower is completely healthy and is able to show the scouts what he can do.

Coach Whipple's twitter feed has some mentions of it.

Matty V. has a story about Blanchflower.

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Dan Malone has an article on A.J. Doyle's quest to show his skills to the new coaching staff.

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The Patriots are upgrading the field surface at Gillette.

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If you're a UMass alum or fan with high blood pressure I advise you not to follow this link to a Sun-Chronicle  sports person's explanation on why they did not cover the Minutemen's bid to the NCAA playoffs.

The Sun-Chronical editors probably muse sometimes in their break room why local newspaper readership numbers are falling off a cliff...

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Marshall is trying to develop a replacement for Blake Frohnapfel.

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James Ihedigbo tweets he's a lion.

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Bleacher Report has a story on the life of a graduate assistant football coach.

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An Illinois state senator thinks the Big Ten should expand some more. His suggestion---- Southern Illinois?

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Nhyre Quinerly

Quinerly #9/Peter Cihelka image
Several recruiting services report UMass has offered to Nhyre Quinerly, a 5-11 180 pound CB from Norfolk, VA.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has junior highlights.

This article talks about Quinerly and his dad.

Besides UMass, Quinerly holds offers from Wisconsin, JMU and Penn State.


Recruiting 2015 -- C.J. Stalker II

I've blogged about C.J. Stalker, a 6-2 210 pound LB from West Chester, OH before.

This link updates his recruiting.

Besides UMass, Stalker holds offers from Bowling Green in the MAC as well as Cincinnati, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.

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Monday--March 24th, 2014

A Vikings blog says Minnesota will sign Vladimir Ducasse to a free agent contract.

Ducasse also visited the Bengals.

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The Boston College blog "BC Interruption" says the UMass-Eagles game at Gillette will be essentially a BC home game.

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In 1982 Penn State applied to join Big East football. They were denied by a single vote. Had Nittany Lions been allowed to join, we'd probably be looking at much different football landscape in the Northeast.

New Penn State HC James Franklin is trying to develop a relationship with his players.

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OOC opponent Vanderbilt just had their Pro Day.

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A freshman Navy RB is in a coma after collapsing at a spring practice session.

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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Chandler Jones

247Sports image
Several recruiting services report UMass has just offered to Chandler Jones, a 6-4 310 pound DT/OL from McEachern HS in Georgia.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Rivals three-star player.

Besides UMass, Jones holds offers from Cincinnati, Georgia State, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State and North Carolina State.

Recruiting 2015---Joe Gaziano II

I've blogged about Joe Gaziano, a 6-3, 230 pound DE from Xavierian Brothers in MA before.

This article from Scout.com updates his recruiting. UMass is still recruiting him hard.

Gaziano has offers from UMass, BC and Northwestern.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Chris Hart

Hart #10/ Josh Richie image
Several recruiting services report UMass has offered to Chris Hart, a 6-3 225 pound OLB from St.Thomas Aquinas HS in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Hart's 247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has stats and video.

Miami Herald Broward County 2015 preseason Top-25 player.

From a March 4th article on Scout.com:"Tipping the scales at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, Hart is a hybrid linebacker that has the ability to put his hand in the dirt at defensive end, or stand up and provide pressure on the quarterback from the outside linebacker position."

Besides UMass, Hart has eleven other offers including Bowling Green and Western Michigan from the MAC.

Friday--March 21st, 2014

James Ihedigbo to the Lions? Not so fast.

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Yesterday I blogged about Lucas Denis verbaling to Boston College. ESPN Boston talks about the Everett-to-BC connection.

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Widener Football picks former UMass coach Brian Piccucci as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

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Football Scoop (Thursday) reports former UMass coach Guido Falbo will join the Cornell staff as running backs coach.

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Ball State's football coach Pete Lembo gets a raise and a new title.

Hustle Belt says that makes Lembo the second highest paid coach in the MAC

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Twenty-nine FBS schools made the post season in both basketball and football.

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Recruiting 2015-- Denis and Lindstrom

Two Massachusetts recruits recently verbaled to Boston College.

Lucas Denis, a 5-11 170 pound DB from Everett, MA committed to the Eagles.

This last weekend Chris Lindstrom, a 6-5 240 pound OL from Dudley, MA also verbaled to BC.

Denis had a UMass offer and attended a Junior Day at Amherst.

The Minutemen had yet to offer to Lindstrom.

Boston College blog "Soaring to Glory" comments.

Thursday---March 20th, 2014

Former conference mate Rhode Island's new coach Jim Fleming has extensive experience in the MAC.

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Baylor (and former UMass AD) Ian McGaw takes flack for scheduling FCS teams.

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Central Michigan starts spring practice.

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BCS OOC opponent Vanderbilt also opens spring ball.

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Colorado eyes improvement.

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Penn State football gets to work.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Danny Thomas

247Sports image
Several recruiting services report UMass has offered to Danny Thomas, a 6-2 220 pound DE from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Rivals three-star player.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

From a March 12th article on Thomas from Scout.com :  "A return visit to Tech is being planned by Thomas. Danny recently visited Auburn and he hopes to visit South Florida and Florida Atlantic. Cincinnati is the current leader for Thomas. “USF and UMass are right behind them.” An offer from Georgia Tech would change Danny’s list. “Tech would become my favorite, my top school.”

Besides UMass, Thomas has offers from eleven other schools including Akron, Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio) from the MAC.

Wednesday--March 19th, 2014

The Tampa Bay Bucs have signed Jeremy Cain to a contract.

Article from the Bucs website here.

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The Ravens re-signed Jeromy Miles to a one year contract.

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Nice bio on the Eagles website on Emil Igwenagu

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Everybody is wondering how Northern Illinois will do without Jordan Lynch.

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A Bleacher Report writer comments on the most important player for each FBS team including UMass.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Recruiting 2015-- Justin Hogan

image credit unknown
NJ.com reports that Justin Hogan, a 6-2 220 pound LB from Wayne Hills, NJ has visited UMass.

NJ.com article here.

Hudl.com has some stats and highlights.

This article mentions Hogan.

Besides UMass, Hogan is drawing interest from Temple, Rutgers and Miami.

Tuesday--March 18th, 2014

The NIU Huskies open their spring practice today. NIU returns 16 starters from a team that has won 24 games in two years.

In this year's schedule rotation, UMass drops NIU (12-2), Central Michigan (6-6), Ohio (7-6), Western Michigan (1-11) and gains Ball State (10-3), Toledo (7-5), Kent State (4-8) and Eastern Michigan (2-10).

That's a somewhat tougher league schedule than last year. Toledo has been consistently one of the top MAC teams. Kent State had a big fall off last year as they had a 11-3 record in 2012. Toledo went 9-4 in 2012.

UMass also swaps Colorado for Maine in the OOC schedule.

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A Bleacher Report writer imagines a 64 team college football tourney.

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A sports writer says an early signing period changes the calculus of college football recruiting.

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Victor Cruz takes a busload of elementary students to the Rachel Ray show.

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Monday, March 17, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Austrian Robinson

247Sports image
Scout.com reports UMass wants Austrian Robinson, a 6-4 265 pound DE from Trinity-Pawling HS in NY to visit Amherst.

Scout.com article here.

Being recruited for Maryland by ex-UMass coach Keith Dudzinski.

Hudl.com has video.

This article (about 3/4 of the way down) updates his recruiting.

Robinson holds offers from Elon in FCS as well as Temple and Maryland.

Monday--March 17th, 2014

Some early m2014 college football power rankings:

SB Nation has UMass as #125.

CBS Sports has the Minutemen at #124.

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A Bleacher Report writer lists the top position battle for every FBS teams including UMass.

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Phip Steele has the NCAA's method of ranking 2014 football schedule difficulty.

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Pride of Detroit says the Lions will sign James Ihedigbo.

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Victor Cruz teams up with the White House to sell Obamacare.

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Science News says ACL tears are not the end for college football players.

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OT, but congrats to UMass hoops for making the NCAA Tourney; it's been a long time. Meeting Duke in the second round would be nice...

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Nyck Grayson

Hudl.com image
Scout.com reports UMass has offered to Nyck Grayson, a 6-3 210 pound LB from Nordonia HS in Ohio.

This article says Minutemen coaches met with Grayson in Ohio and he will visit UMass in early April.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has stats and video.

Besides UMass, Grayson has an offer from James Madison. Drawing interest from several MAC schools.

Recruiting 2016--Aidan Howard

247Sports image
Scout.com reports UMass has offered to Aidan Howard, a 6-5 175 pound WR from Gateway HS in PA.

Scout.com article here.

247Sports.com page here with some stats.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Currently, UMass is Howard's only offer, but many BCS level teams are interested in him.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Brad Mayes III

Image credit unknown
UPDATE: The Orlando Sentinel has a mention of Mayes at a regional quarterback competition.

Scout.com reports in this article UMass still has an offer to Brad Mayes, a 6-2 195 pound Pro-style QB from Tampa, FL.

The Minutemen have been recruiting Mayes since he was a sophomore. I've blogged about him twice before.

Mayes is a 247Sports three-star QB.

Hudl.com has video.

Mayes talks about recruiting in this article.

Friday--March 14th, 2014

UMass QB recruit Ross Comis is the co-subject of this YouTube interview by Mike Mathison, the sports editor of the Steubenville Herald-Star.

Mathison comments in a column on 6-1 quarterbacks.

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Patrick Smith image
MLive.com reports James Ihedigbo expects to sign with the Lions.

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Houston Texans.com looks at Khalil Mack's rise to a first round draft pick

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A College Football Report Writer on what fans should look for in spring practice.

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A University of Maine football player has been arrested in conjunction with a fatal stabbing incident.

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There's a crowded quarterback field for Boston College's spring practice.

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There's a new head coach at UConn too.

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Recruiting 2015---Antonyo Sotolongo

247Sports image
Several recruiting services say UMass has offered to Antonyo Sotolongo, a 6-0 197 pound Safety from Miami, FL

247Sports page here.

From a January 19th Scout.com article: "Last season as a junior Sotolongo recorded 65 tackles and four interceptions. He returned three of those picks for touchdowns.
“I made some big plays for us this past year. I made some good plays,” Sotolongo said. “I excel in coverage and I have good speed and range out there.”

Hudl.com has physical stats and video highlights.

Besides UMass, Sotolongo has offers from Duke, Arkansas, Oregon State, Purdue, Tulane, Cincinati and UCF.

Thursday--March 13th, 2014

Very interesting video from the UMass web site focusing on Coach Liam Coen and the the three QB in camp.

Freshman Andrew Verboys appeared to be wearing #18, which was worn by Matt Quinn last year.

Dan Malone comments on the video and Liam Coen's demeanour as a coach.

Re-read Matty V's article from February about Coen returning to UMass.

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The Baltimore Sun says James Ihedigbo is visiting the Detriot Lions today.

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Bleacher Report looks at the unstable life of a college football assistant coach.

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Boston College held its Pro-Day yesterday.

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The Shreveport Times says an early signing period for college football recruiting is looking more likely.

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Qaadir Sheppard

Nj.com image
NJ.com reports UMass has offered to Qaadir Sheppard, a 6-3 229 pound LB from New Rochelle, NY.

NJ.com article here.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Sheppard holds an offer from Rutgers. Boston College, Maryland and Old Dominion are interested.

Recruiting 2015-- Daniel Clifford II

NJ.com image
I've blogged before about Daniel Clifford, a 6-4 320 pound OL from Hoboken, NJ.

This article updates his recruiting including an offer from Iowa State.

Wednesday--March 12th, 2014

Yesterday Dan Malone talked about the return of Marken Michel to the Minutemen. Michel, a 5-10m 185 pound WR from Plantation, FL should be a big boost for UMass' passing offense. In 2011 Michel appeared in only six games, but ended up as the fourth leading receiver on the team; he went 28-229 8.2 AVE 56 LONG 38.2 AVE/G

Taylor C. Snow image
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Ed Saint-Vil gets some quotes in this Collegian article on Athlete Ally.

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Former UMass HC Kevin Morris has been named OC for Monmouth.

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AJC.com looks how the proposed early signing period for college football would impact recruiting.

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Athlon Sports ranks the FBS HC jobs in order of desirability and concludes UMass is #125 of 128. Boston College ranks 60th and UConn 76th.

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OT, but CBS Sports says the A10 needs a superstar program to get national attention.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tuesday--March 11th, 2014

Dan Malone reports on the first day of the Minutemen's Spring practice.

Dan also has an excellent, detailed article on news from the first practice.

There is also a video report from the first practice.

Lots of stuff to talk about from Dan's report. Let's start with some of the personnel changes.

Returning to the UMass fold are:

Also new are five early enrollees:
If you don't remember, Whipple's offense is a Pro-set "heavy" meaning it uses a fullback. Dan reports that Daquan Mack (6-1 255) was working at the fullback position in the practice. Fullbacks in Whipple's offense rarely ran with the ball, but frequently caught the ball out of the backfield.

Also it looks like UMass' traditional colors have made a comeback.

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Former UMass offensive line coach Dave Johnson helped the Ohio Bobcats break in their new indoor practice center.

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Football Scoop reports Chris Malone, a former UMass coach under Mark Whipple has been hired at Tennessee- Chattanooga. Malone's bio here.

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Sports Illustrated looks at what it would take for one of the teams from the mid-major programs to make the four-game NCAA playoffs.

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How good an athlete is Victor Cruz? Watch this video.

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James Ihedigbo is listed in this review of  top AFC North free agents.

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Dontae Strickland

New Brunswhick Patch image
Several recruiting services say UMass has offered to Dontae Strickland, a 5-11 180 pound Athlete from South Brunswick, NJ.

Scout.com three star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Strickland also holds offers from Wake Forrest, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Virginia, Temple and West Virginia.

Monday--March 10th, 2014

Coach Whipple doesn't want UMass players feeling comfortable.

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Coach Whip's Twitter feed has an interview with Coach after the first practice, but I'm not getting any audio.

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The Boston Globe says the "Blarney Blowout" didn't help any aspect of UMass, including the effort to upgrade our football program.

Indeed, last year the training video and Professor Page really put a crimp in to UMass' in-state recruiting. UMass doesn't need any more bad publicity.

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Former UMass star Jeromy Miles marries his college sweetheart.

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A Cal blog comments on the Golden Bears coaching staff including ex-UMass secondary coach Greg Burns.

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Phil Steele bases his  recruiting rankings base on the number of VHT's (very highly touted)  and HT's (highly touted) and then ranks them by percentage of recruiting class. The system basically ignores the HT's, so UMass with 1 VHT and 1 HT recruit is ranked higher than say Wake Forest who had 0 VHT's, but 17 HT players.

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This year 102 underclassmen will leave college for the NFL Draft ; the Milwaukee Journal says that's not a good thing.

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Saturday, March 08, 2014

Saturday--March 8th, 2014

Matty V. says UMass is set to open its first practice under Coach Whipple.

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Rob Blanchflower gets a mention in this NFL draft article.

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This Philly.com article says Emil Igwenagu will have to play his way on to the Eagles for the third consecutive season.

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Hustle Belt's Bryan Vance wonder what kind of program would the three directional Michigan schools in the MAC would have if they combined their resources.

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Jordan Lynch took part in DB drills at NIU's Pro Day.

Lynch and NIU's Jimmie Ward drew a crowd at the Pro Day.

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This article mentions UMass recruit Jarell Addo.

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And now---- QB helmet cams.

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OT

Someday I'll watch a UMass hockey game on TV and the Minutemen will win.

Friday, March 07, 2014

Recruiting 2015-- Gerald Nvule

Nvule #84/ Hudl image
ESPN Boston reports UMass has offered to Gerry Nvule, a 6-3 225 pound DE/TE from Cambridge, MA.

ESPN story here.

Hudl.com has video.

Nvule also has an offer from Holy Cross.

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Friday--March 7th, 2014


The above image is from Coach Whipple's Twitter feed. Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view. Hopefully, there's a lot more than 11.7 points per game in that playbook.

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Two former UMass stars are on this years College Football Hall-of-Fame ballot.

Rene Ingoglia, Massachusetts-Running Back-Finished career ranked second all-time in FCS history in TDs (54) and as school’s all-time leader in rushing (4,624) and carries (905) among others ... First UMass player to average more than 100 ypg rushing in career.

Steve Schubert, Massachusetts-Wide Receiver-Named First Team All-America in 1972 ... Averaged 81.9 yards receiving per game in 1972, which ranks fourth on the school record list ... Holds school record for average yards per catch in a season in with 20.1 in 1972

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Bryan Vance of Hustle Belt updates the MAC's Spring Practice schedule.

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SB Nation reports the NCAA has modified the targeting rule.

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Herd Haven looks back at Marshall's 2011 recruiting class including UMass transfer Blake Frohnapfel.

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Colorado Coach Mike MacIntyre sees a more productive spring for the Buffs.

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"In the FCS Huddle" previews the CAA's spring outlook.

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Thursday, March 06, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Lukas Denis

ESPN Boston reports UMass has offered to Lukas Denis, a 5-11 170 pound DB from Everett, MA.

ESPN story here.

Hudl.com has some performance stats.


Junior highlights above.

Thursday--March 6th, 2014

Former UMass coach and player Bill Durkin has been hired at Costal Carolina.

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The Orlando Sentinel looks at five MAC games to watch in 2014. UMass at Miami is one of them.

A MAC helmet schedule is available here.

NIU football will hold their Pro Day tomorrow. Husky QB Jordan Lynch struggled in Northern Illinois' bowl game and again in East-West Shrine game. He needs a good showing to be drafted.

Ball State looks to replace star QB Keith Wenning.
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Colorado, one of four BCS opponents UMass faces this year has been struggling with inconsistent QB play.

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Lancaster Online says Penn State's brand is one of the most valuable in college football.

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The BC Blog "BC Interruption" reports five Eagles' players have left the team.

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The NCAA rules committee tabled the proposed slowdown rule.

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Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Recruiting 2015-- Joe Gaziano

Brendon Hall image
Yesterday I posted a link to an ESPN article stating UMass has offered to Joe Gaziano, a 6-4 240 pound DE/TE from Xaverian Brothers in Westwood, MA.

Hudl.com has stats and video.

Gaziano was ESPN's Boston Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

In this article from October 2013, the Boston Herald says Gaziano can do it all.

He also holds an offer from Boston College.

Wednesday--March5th, 2014

This article mentions Norvel Stewart, a 6-2 220 pound WR UMass recruit. I've blogged about Stewart before.

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Hustle Belt's Bryan Vance has the MAC's Pro-Day schedule.

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Buffalo started the league's Pro-Days Monday (warning- headache inducing graphics).

All 32 NFL teams showed up to see Khalil Mack work out.

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Comcast Sports Net Baltimore says the Ravens are unlikely to re-sign James Ihedigbo.

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Victor Cruz thinks he could run the ball.

CBS Local says fuhgeddaboudit!

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Football Scoop has the hottest college football program in the nation. Hint-- They'll be playing at McGuirk on November 12th.

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Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Derek Dumais

Dumais #79/ Luann Gaber image
ESPN Boston reports UMass has offered to Derek Dumais, a 6-5 320 pound OL/DL  from Marblehead, MA

ESPN article here.

Hudl.com has video.

The Minutemen are the first to offer to Dumais.


Tuesday--March 4th, 2014

Dan Malone has his UMass Athletics notebook with the standard info on the 2014 schedule.

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The MAC Blog "Hustle Belt" has a fan post predicting UMass will jump to 4th in the MAC East.

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Rutgers has new recruiting tool, a custom Rutgers football app.

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When Bowling Green visits McGuirk 09/27/14, the Falcons will be the first FBS team to visit Amherst since Ball State on Sept 1, 1984 (UMass won 26-10). The Bowling Green News previews the 2014 football team.

The MAC Report online says the Falcons are upbeat about uptempo.

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Colorado, our second BCS OOC opponent in 2014, is aiming higher.

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Athlon Sports ranks the BCS teams 2014 rosters: Penn State 27th, Vanderbilt 45th, Boston College 59th and Colorado 65th.

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Monday, March 03, 2014

Recruiting 2015--Chris Garrison

Thomas Roy image
Several recruiting services say UMass has offered to Chris Garrison, a 6-3 215 pound WR/OLB/SS from Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA.

Scout.com three-star player.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Visited Boston College on 2/16 for Junior Day.

Garrison has offers from UMass, UConn, Boston College and UNH.

Monday--March 3rd, 2014

Matty V. has an article on the 2014 UMass schedule; he adds some details such as Band Day will be October 18th at Gillette.

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The Indy Star breaks down the Ball State Cardinals 2014 season and sees a win over UMass. Note that Ball State plays two FCS teams and Army. Then compare with the Minutemen's Boston College, Vanderbilt and Penn State...

The Star-Press explains how the Cardinals ended up with two FCS games.

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Buffalo is another MAC team who will pad their schedule with Duquesne, Army and Norfolk State.

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The LA Times says the proposed slow down rule won't see the light of day.

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Lost Lettermen has some over-the-top uniform designs.

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Saturday, March 01, 2014

Saturday--March 1st, 2014

The 2014 UMass schedule is up!

Excellent home games for both Gillette and McGuirk.

The Amherst season ticket holders will see:
  1. 09/27 Bowling Green 10-4 MAC Champions, went to Little Caesar's Bowl
  2. 11/12 Ball State 10-2 went to Go Daddy Bowl
  3. 11/28 Buffalo 8-5 went to Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Gillette:
  1. 08/30 Boston College  7-6 - went to AdVoCare Bowl
  2. 09/06 Colorado 4-8 - went 0-5 away in 2013
  3. 10/18 Eastern Michigan 2-10 -went 0-7 away in 2013
The MAC website has the complete MAC schedule.

Two of the UMass home games will be televised on ESPNU/ESPN2: Ball State and Buffalo.The away game at Akron will also be on ESPNU/ESPN2.

Matty V. has a story about the schedule here.

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Matt Daley analyses the 2014 MAC schedule.

NBC Sports looks for the most MACtion games of 2014

The MAC Report Online looks at the MAC's OOC schedule.

FanIQ predicts which MAC teams will go bowling in 2014.

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