Monday, June 20, 2016

Monday--June 20th, 2016

Reading the tea leaves.

If you've been following the recruiting news here during the Spring, it's noticeable that Whipple and staff have been active on the JUCO scene.

What positions have the UMass brain trust been recruiting? It seems they have been targeting TE's, DL's and DB's.

The 2016 UMass recruiting class is very strong in TE's and DB's. DL's are the most difficult position to recruit. We did good by our standards, but it's not the strongest position in our recruiting class.

How does this impact 2016? Well, I think at least one and maybe two of our TE recruits won't redshirt. The Minutemen's offense was 65th in total offense last year and 109th in scoring (ouch!). Whipple's pro-set offense works better with a TE. In 2015, UMass was 48th in total offense (421.8 yards/game. Last year we dropped to 399.4/yards game. In 2014 we were #75 in scoring (27.3 points/game). Scoring dropped to 22.2 points a game in 2015 (108th out of 128 teams).

Jean Sifrin made a difference.

I would think one of those JUCO TE's would realize lots of playing time should be up for grabs at UMasss for 2016.

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Rant Sports says Tajae Sharpe will be the Titans #1 receiver going into the 2016 season.

NFL.com cites Sharpe as one of two wide receivers who were winners coming out of mini-camp.

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How Victor Cruz plans to attack the six weeks leading up to training camp.

The Victor Cruz Foundation sponsors a "Father's Day" camp.

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One UMass 2016 opponent, South Carolina, previews common opponent Mississippi State.

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