Recruiting 2014--Jocqui Ellison

Jocqui Ellison , a 5-10 170 pound WR from Tampa, looks like he will verbal to USF.

Besides UMass, Ellison had offers from Ball State, Bowling Green and Indiana.

Tuesday--June 16, 2013

Three UMass players were named to Phil Steele's preseason All-MAC team.

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The Jets released Travis Tripucka.

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For the 20th consecutive year, student tickets to Wisconsin games sold out in two hours.

Saturday Blitz looks at Big Ten QB's including Wisconsin.

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CBS Sports has the full slate of FBS games released and Division odds for each conference.

A potential MAC tie-in bowl could be held in Montgomery, AL.

An SB Nation writer predicts the 2013-2014 bowls.

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Phil Steele's combined experience chart.

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NFL.com has Wes Welker Vs Victor Cruz

An NFL agent says Croz's only option is to sign the the deal the Giants offered.

Giants RB Andre Brown is working with Michael Cox to help him learn the playbook.

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Recruiting 2014-- Matthew Torrey

Hudl.com image

Rivals.com report UMass is interested in Matthew Torrey, a 6-3 215 pound athlete from Cheshire Academy in CT.

Torrey's Rivals page here.

Hudl.com page here.

Torrey has offers from Bryant, New Hampshire and Central Michigan.

Recruiting 2014-- Andrew Ford IV

I've blogged about QB Andrew Ford three times before.

On Sunday he verbaled to Virginia Tech.

Monday--June 17, 2013

Hampshire Gazetter image

The MAC Blog "Hustle Belt" features Rob Blanchflower. His UMass bio here.

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USA Today reports Kentucky HC Mark Stoops has offered to an 8th grader.

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Akron gets a highly rated QB recruit.

Ohio becomes the first MAC school to top $1 Million in ticket revenue.

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A Bleacher Report writer power ranks Wisconsin's 2013 season.

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And now pink jersey's for Mississippi State?

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Sunday--June 16, 2013

Bob Camp image

Travis Tripucka is trying to make the Jets.

Tripucka's Jets bio page here. Three UMass players on the Jets squad? That would be outstanding!

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Would the State of Alabama support a third bowl?

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Will the new Targeting rule change college football?

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NFL.com says the Giants were planning to slash Victor Cruz's tender offer.

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The Maine Black Bears led the CAA in football APR.

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ESPN analyses Vanderbilt's 2013 season.

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New Hampshire, land of excitement.

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Recruiting 2014--Elijah Stanley

SB Nation reports Elijah Stanley, a 6-6 210 pound  dual-threat QB (and also a consensus four-star power forward) signed with Mississippi State to play both sports.

SB Nation article here.

Stanley had offers from UMass, Boston College, Marshall and Virginia in football.

The Ides of June--June 15, 2013

MassLive has a post on the UMass promo video.

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USA Today Sport image

The long-running soap opera of Victor Cruz's contract was temporally resolved as he signed a $2.87 Million one year tender offer yesterday. The Giants will continue to work on a long term contract for Cruz.

USA Today story.

ESPN.

Lots more news stories about Cruz's contract, but they're all saying the same things.

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USA Today previews #88 Temple.

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Brandon London, who is coming off a season ending knee injury, went 43-843 19.6 AVE 3 TD's in 2012 for the Larks.

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Recruiting 2014-- Tre'Quan Smith II

I've blogged about WR Tre'Quan Smith before.

The Orlando Sentinel reports he verbaled to UCF.

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Friday--June 14, 2013

We're all in for 2013 UMass football!!

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The MAC Blog "Hustle Belt" features UMass punter Coulter Johnson. Johnson's UMass bio.

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The UMass website has more on the Big Ten Network's televising the UMass-Wisconsin game.

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Some Phil Steele stats:

% of lettermen returning.

% of offensive yards returning.

% of tackles returning. The Minutemen are #6

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NCAA Football 2013 Team rankings.

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John Griffin gets a lot of reps with the Jets first team.

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Why I love college football: you get variety. The biggest guy in Air Force's OL is LT Matt Rochelle 6-3 260. The Falcons LG is David Lore 6-1 235. Guys 6-7 320 don't fit in fighter jet cockpits. If you weigh 235 pounds, you wouldn't make Alabama's scout team. But Air Force was #2 in the entire NCAA with 316.2 yards rushing/game. They lost to mighty Michigan last year by 6 points. And BTW, the Falcons opening OOC opponent this year is Colgate.

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Recruiting 2014---Montel McBride

Chris Hays image

Several recruiting sources show UMass has offered to Montel McBride, a 6-4 300 pound OL from Plant City HS in Florida.

This article features McBride's recruiting. UMass was the first to offer.

Rivals three-star recruit.

The Orlando Sentinel has a post on McBride here.

MicBride holds 15 offers including Ohio from the MAC.

Thursday--June 13, 2013

A fair amount of Wisconsin news this morning.

The Badgers will host UMass at 11:00 CT on August 31st. The Big Ten Network will be televising the game.

The Big Ten Network's 2013 Week #1 preview including UMass at Wisconsin.

I get the Big Ten Network with my Dish Network Sports package. The Big Ten Network has a game finder for various cable and satellite systems here.

A 14 year old Wisconsin cancer survivor is finding his Badger dreams coming true.

Wisconsin will have a lot of youth in their secondary when they open against UMass.

Athlon Sports says Gary Anderson is a perfect fit for the Badgers.

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ESPN looks at "The Group of Five's" efforts to add more bowls to their repertoire.

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Boston College adds another Flutie to their list.

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Tom Coughlin gets antsy about Victor Cruz's absence.

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John Griffin gets some carries in the Jets camp.

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Recruiting 2014--- Greg Stroman

NCSA image

247 Sports says UMass has offered to Greg Stroman, a 5-11 160 pound athlete from Manassas, VA.

Stroman's 247 Sports page here.

This Washington Post article features Stroman.

NCSA recruiting profile.

Besides UMass, Stroman holds offers from Virginia, VA Tech and Norfolk State.

Wednesday--June 12, 2013

Tampa Bay cut Nick Speller. Hopefully he'll get another chance with some other team.

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Holly Anderson says every college football fan should back a MAC team.

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UMass was ranked 9th in the MAC in the latest APR stats by the NCAA. Coaching changes usually cause a lot of transfer/leaving, which can affect a school's APR. Coach Molnar seems to be a disciplinarian on academics, so UMass' score should improve.

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The Group of Five Conference are looking into new destinations for bowl games. Many of them are in warm weather locations, so hopefully Coach Molnar will provide a long weekend in Florida or California for UMass fans some time in the not-too-distant future.

Orlando in December?

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Mike Cox/ NY Giants image

The Giants blog "Big Blue View" previews the G-Men's mandatory mini-camp.

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Will Boston College and UConn schedule a series? A UMass-BC-UConn Cup would a winner for all the schools. It's a money saving bus trip for all three schools and a chance to bring your fan base to two local games.

Speaking of UConn, USA Today says they're #92.

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UMass fans planning to make the trip to Wisconsin will visit maybe the best college football town in America.

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Kansas State gets ninth place in this ranking of the Big 12's OOC schedules.

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