UMass Football 2019 recruiting--C.J. Hansen II

UMass Athletic Dept image

I've blogged about C.J. Hansen, a 6-4 295 pound OL from New Jersey before.

Nj.com reports Hansen just picked up his first Power Five offer from Rutgers.

Besides UMass, Hansen has FBS offers from Marshall and the Scarlet Knights.

UMass Football news--March 31st, 2018

USA Today looks at the questions Independents (including UMass) are addressing in their Spring practice.

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Duquesne played to a 20-20 tie in their Spring Game. The Dukes feature a roster that has a number of FBS transfers.

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Anonymous donors match up $750000 for Georgia Southern's athletic endowments.

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Former standout Miami QB Keven Dorsey joins the FIU staff.

FIU and Miami will play their 2019 game at Marlins Park. Miami and FIU have not played since 2007 after a memorable brawl.

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The Charlotte 49ers have six QB's in contention in Spring Practice.

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SB Nation previews the 2018 Ohio Bobcats and projects a 73% chance of a Ohio win over the Mianutemen.

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Recruiting 2019--Antonio Evans

Here's something a little different. Antonio Evans a 5-10 240 FB from West Orange HS in FL has Tweeted he's interested in UMass.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps page here.

I have no idea if the Minutemen are reciprocally interested, but it's nice to know we're out there where potential recruits know about us.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Kenneth Dotson

Dotson #99/Lamar Football image

Kenneth Dotson, a 6-3 255 pound DE from Houston, TX has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

UMass is the first team to offer Dotson.

UMass Football News--March 28th, 2018

Matty Vautour reports the young UMass defensive line is coming together this Spring.

Matty reports the starting DL looks like:

Joe Previte RSSR 6-2 265. Started all 12 games in 2017. Totaled 10 UT 15 AT 25 TT 3 TFL 1 FR

Leon Flanagan, Jr  JR 6-2 220. 9 GP 0 GS 9 UT 7 AT 16 TT 3 TFL 1 BKUP 1 INT

Jake Byczo SO 6-3 250 12 GP 0 GS 6 UT 17 AT 23 TT 2.0 TFL

Chris DiTommaso SO 6-4 275 Redshirt in 2017

For reserves:

Mario Patton RSJR 6-1 315 11 GP 0 GS 2 UT 6 AT 8 TT 2 BKUP

Also on the Spring roster are:

Zack Loane SO 5-11 240 Redshirted in 2017

Basit Dennis RSSR 6-1 270 1 GP 0 GS in 2017

Davone Hall, SR RSSR  6-3 325 DNP in 2017

Alex Piechocki SO 6-5 255 Redshirted in 2017

Caleb Washington, 6-1 250 Redshirted in 2017

Charlie Timite RSSO 6-3 275 12 GP 0 GS 5 UT 5 AT 10 TT 1 TFL.

In the 2018 recruiting class are:

Uchenna Ezewike 6-2 220

Shannon Junior 6-3 210

Arnold Mbembe 6-6 240

Timothy Moulton 6-3 240

For 2018, the Minutemen defensive line looks light by FBS standards. Leon Flanagan will probably be the rush DE. Let's hope they're all fast and highly motivated...

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Old Dominion gets their best WR back from a season-ending injury during the UMass game last year.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Ryan O'Keefe

James Harmes image

Ryan O'Keefe, a 5-10 165 pound DB/Athlete from Round Rock, TX has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Highly successful running track.

Okeefe has five offers including Army, Air Force, Bowling Green and Tulsa.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Donovan Bunch

Twitter image

Back on January 24th, UMass offered to Donovan Bunch, a 5-10 162 pound CB from Atco, NJ.

His 247Sports page.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from January of 2018 features Bunch.

MaxPreps has stats.

Bunch has eleven offers including just about everybody in the Northeast including BC, Syracuse, Temple, Rutgers and Buffalo.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Alex Hogan

Hudl.com image

Alex Hogan, a 5-11 165 pound CB from Houston, TX has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Hogan attending a local combine.

His HS, Lamar, is known as "DB high".

Hogan has 13 offers, including five from Power Five schools. UMass is the only offer from the Northeast.

UMass Football News--March 24th, 2018

The UMass Football Twitter feed has sights and sounds from the Minutemen's Pro Day.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has story on Minutemen legacy Hannah Palau, the daughter of Mark Palau. Mark won letters with UMass football in 1971 and 1972.

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image by Mark Krug

This article features former UMass QB James Sosinski.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Christian Njoku

Njoku #90/ Steve Gonzales image

Christian Njoku, a 6-1 248 pound DT from Bellaire, TX picked up a UMass offer on March 20th.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article mentions Njoku who performed in a combine with 32 other under-the-radar Texas recruits.

Njoku has four offers with UMass as the only club from the Northeast.

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UMass Football News--March 23rd, 2018

UMass held its Pro Day yesterday. There is an image gallery here.

The UMass website has the story and a roster of Minutemen players who participated.

Mark Chiarelli of MassLive has a post on Pro Day and features last year's graduate John Robinson-Woodget.

The UMass Football Twitter feed has some video from the event.

Thomas Johnson of the Daily Collegian has a story about Pro Day and features Da'Sean Downey.

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JUCO transfer QB David Pindell is leading the pack to be starting QB for the UConn Huskies this year.

UConn also had their Pro Day recently.

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Charlotte Football takes on a sense of urgency this Spring.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Cavon Butler

Butler #3/ Hudl.com image

Cavon Butler, a 6-4 265 pound DE from Toledo, OH has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from September of 2017 features Butler.

Besides UMass, Butler has offers from Pitt and Toledo.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--David Ojabo, Aeveas DiCosmo and Izaiah Henderson II

NJ. Com has a story on the eleven hottest 2019 recruits from New Jersey. UMass has offered three of them.

I've blogged about Henderson before.

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Ojabo #71, Twitter image

David Ojabo is a 6-6 245 pound DE from Blair Academy in NJ.

247Sports three-star recruit.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from nj.com features Ojabo.

Ojabo has 24 offers including UConn, BC, Temple, Syracuse and Pitt from the Northeast.

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Hudl.com image

Aeneas DiCosmo is a 6-3 220 pound DE from Bergen Catholic in NJ.

247Sports three-star recruit.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features DiCosmo.

DiCosmo holds 28 offers including Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers and three Ivy League schools from the Northeast.

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UMass Football News--March 21st, 2018

Hampshire Gazette image

Matty Vautour has a post on Jorden Fredericks joining the UMass running backs corps this Spring.

Fredericks should be a good addition to the Minutemen running game. The running game has been mostly absent in Whipple's second tour in Amherst. The pro-set offense works much better with a run game. The UMass run game picked up in the second half of 2017, but we struggled to run ball sometimes even against Group of Five teams (79 yards against Coastal Carolina, 79 against ODU, 115 against Hawaii and we were out-rushed 148 to 100 against Maine).

Some better, more physical play from the OL would help too. Federicks' Syracuse bio. He was New York's 2014 Gatorade Player-of-the Year. Also honorable mention Freshman All-American in his first year at Syracuse.

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A USA Today writer has Andrew Ford as one of the top-ten QB's in the Group-of-Five conferences. BTW, I think two of Ford's four INT's were off the receiver's hands. I think I remember one off Breneman and one off Isabella.

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Twitter image

UMass QB recruit Jaret Pallotta just was named All-Ohio Div I in basketball. Will Coach McCall pay him a visit when he arrives on campus?

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UMass Football recruiting 2019--Stanley King

247Sports image

Stanley King, a 6-5 175 pound WR from Camden, NJ has been offered by UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from nj.com features King.

MaxPreps has stats.

King holds ten offers including BC, Rutgers, Temple and Buffalo. King took an UV to UMass in February.

UMass Football News--March 20th, 2018

Matty Vautour has a post on James Ihedigbo retiring from football.

NBC Sports also has a post on Ihedigbo's retirement.

Ihedigbo's Instagram post shows him in his UMass uniform.

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The Duquesne Duke looks at the Dukes 2018 schedule. Duquesne plays three first-time opponents this year: UMass, Lock Haven and Hawaii. The writer expects the Dukes to contend for the NEC championship.

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That bridge collapse in Florida was part of FIU's campus.

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The Charlotte Observer has five questions for 49's football now that Spring practice has started. The article says Charlotte will switch to a pro-style offense and a 4-3 defense.

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UConn looks to improve its defense in 2018.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Tyler Rudolph

247Sports image

Tyler Rudolph, a 6-1 205 pound Safety from Watherbury, CT has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports four-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Rudolph has 18 offers including just about all the FBS programs in the Northeast. Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, Temple, UConn, BC and Rutgers have all offered.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Shamar A. Martin

Hudl.com image

Shamar Martin, a 6-0 175 pound CB from San Diego, CA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Martin has eight offers including Power Five schools Utah, Utah State and Arizona.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--C.J. Hanson

Twitter image

C.J. Hanson, a 6-5 285 pound OL from Jackson, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Hanson's recruiting.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Besides UMass, Hanson has an offer from Marshall.

UMass Football News-- March 16th, 2018

Matty Vautour has a post on the progress of Spring Ball.

The big news is that the Spring Game will be Friday, April 13th, at 6:00 pm. Athletic Dept notice on the Spring Game here.

Matty relates Tyler Hayes (shoulder) and Tyris Lebeau (undisclosed) are both out of action after offseason surgeries.

UMass adds legacy QB Mike Fallon the son of former UMass QB Mike Fallon, Sr. His father won letters in 1976 and 1977. UMass went 8-3 in 1977 and hosted Lehigh in the first round of the DII playoffs. I was there. The Minutemen were down 23-0 and came back to tie the game. UMass got called on a pass interference late in the fourth quarter and Lehigh threw the winning TD the next play (if I remember right). Fallon went 12-29 -138 yards and 3TD's

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The AAC is overhauling football officiating oversight. I believe UMass gets its home game officiating crews from the AAC.

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Ex-UConn head coach Bob Diaco joins the Oklahoma staff.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Joseph Tacopina

Justin Weeks image

Joseph Tacopina, a 6-0 165 pound kicker from Cheshire Acedemy in CT has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

MaxPreps has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

 Honorable mention All-NEPSAC.

Tacopina does not have a 247Sports profile at this time.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Deven Brantley

Dailey News image

Deven Brantley, a 6-3 220 pound athlete from Riverdale, GA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Second Team All-Region in defense in 2017.

UMass is the first FBS offer for Brantley.

UMass Football News-February 14th, 2018

Hampshire Gazette image

Adam Breneman retires from football. More here.

Matty Vautour also has a post on Brenenman's retirement.

Breneman's full statement about his retirement.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post about Breneman.

Too bad for Breneman. He had the softest set of hands I've seen from a TE. He has a positive attitude and all UMass fans are sure he will be a success at whatever he turns to next. Good luck to him and thanks for two great years with the Minutemen.

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One of BYU's eight quarterbacks decides to transfer.

The Cougars will be running a new offense this year.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Cosmos Kwete

YurView image

Cosmos Kwete, a 6-3 210 pound DE from Phoenix, AZ has been mentioned on Twitter that he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article features Kwete and his brother Eloi.

Another story relates the Kwete brothers long journey to America.

Besides UMass, Kwete holds an offer from Kansas.

UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Jacquez Carter decommits from UMass

Mike Traini, of "Fight Massachusetts" reports Jacquez Carter has decommited from UMass.

I've blogged about Carter before.

Well, that makes another scholarship available. The Minutemen could use a couple Spring signings.

UMass Football News--March 12th, 2018

Duquesne revises their 2018 football schedule.

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USF is into pads for the first time in Spring football.

USF really, really wants an indoor practice facility.

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OT, but..

Matt McCall gets a mention for the open Georgia basketball head coach position.

John Calipari says Kentucky is playing like his UMass teams.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Justin Menard

Jeff Hernfon image

Justin Menard, a 5-11 180 pound DB from Stockbridge, GA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Also runs track.

Recruit Georgia has a profile of Menard.

Menard has eleven offers including Rutgers and Temple from the Northeast.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Jamal Hill

Twitter image

Jamal Hill, a 6-2 185 pound Safety from Morrow, GA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

First Team All-Region in 2017.

NCSA Recruiting has some physical stats.

Hill has four FBS offers including Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky.

UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Cletus Mathurin

Twitter image

Cletus Mathurin, a 6-2 290 pound DT from Hartford, CT has Tweeted he's received a offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Besides UMass, Mathurin has FBS offers from Army and Old Dominion.

UMass Football News--March 8th, 2018

Duquesne releases its 2018 schedule. The Dukes get UMass and Hawaii as their FBS games.

The Tribune Live also has a post on Duquesne's trip to Hawaii and UMass.

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Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome has been named a captain for the 2018 Irish football team. Newsome holds the Notre Dame single game punting record of 52.4 yards a punt----set against UMass in 2015.

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Troy football adds games with South Carolina and Memphis. Article says other notable teams scheduled in the future include UMass.

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Ohio releases their 2018 schedule. The Bobcats finished 9-4 in 2017, which included a win over UMass in a game where the two teams scored 108 points.

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UMass Football Recruiting--2019

Twitter image

Malachi Burby, a 6-3 265 pound DE from Berlin, CT has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247ports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article says Burby is interested in business, so Isenberg school of Business may give UMass an edge.

Burby has five offers including Temple, Buffalo, UConn and Old Dominion.

UMass Football News--March 7th, 2018

More stuff about the recent scheduling additions:

FBS Schedules has a post on Temple adding UMass and Akron.

The Augusta Free Press has a story about Liberty extending its series with UMass.

Best College Sports also has a post on Temple and UMass getting together in 2020 and 2022.

The UMass future schedules now extend to 2028.

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Twitch, an Amazon on-line streaming source, has added Eleven Sports. UMass football fans will have another way to access the games.

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NCAA mulls rules changes for 2018, including allowing teams to fair-catch a kickoff and get the ball on the 25 yardline.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Quinn Murphy

Twitter image

Quinn Murphy, a 6-6 310 pound OL from Duxbury, MA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

The Patriot Ledger says Duxbury follows its offensive line.

Inside the Huddle has a section on Murphy in a post from last year.

Murphy also has an offer from Dartmouth.

UMass Football News--March 6th, 2018

UMass announces more future schedules.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on the UMass announcement.

IMHO, this is further evidence of Ryan Bamford's astute touch with the football program. UMass sets up series with Northeast teams Temple and Army. Both those teams are within our wheelhouse and UMass fans can expect competitive games.  Liberty is an independent and we need to schedule fellow independents. Eastern Michigan, Akron and Coastal Carolina are again winnable games.

The Minutemen will also meet old CAA foes Albany and Maine. Both teams should bring some fans to Amherst.

Philly.com has a story on Temple's adding UMass and Akron to its future schedule.

The Akron Beacon Journal has a post on the Zips adding UMass and Temple to their future schedule.

The Lynchburg New Advance talks about UMass and the Flames extending their football series.

NBC Sports has a post on the UMass-Temple series.

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Matty Vautour reports UMass QB Randall West is enjoying his stint with the Minutemen basketball team. West has done really well. He's obviously an intelligent kid and you can see he's trying to play the way McCall wants. He's made a positive impact with minimal practice time.

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UMass Football recruiting 2019--Anthony Red

Twitter image

Anthony Red, a 6-6 285 pound OL from Bloomfield, CT has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Red also has an offer from Temple.

Umass Football News--March 5th, 2018

UMass starts Spring Practice: image gallery here.

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WPRI.com has a video interview with Liam Coen about his football journey.

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BYU also opens Spring practice. BTW, the Cougars have eight QB's on the roster.

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Former UMass coach Jimmie Reid has been moved to defensive ends coach in defensive shuffle at Boston College.

Athlon Sports previews the Eagles.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Bam Brima

Hudl.com image

Bam Brima, a 6-6 230 DE from Williamsport, PA (originally from Worcester) has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article features Brima.

Besides UMass, Brima has offers from Akron and Kent state.

UMass Football News--March 3rd, 2018

The Boston Herald reports Liam Coen is ready for the NFL.

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Former UMass player Theluxton Pierre has been named head coach at Everett.

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And ESPN reporter calls Georgia's non-conference schedule "atrocious". 

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Patriots.com has a post that has a lot of coverage of former UMass assistant coach Shane Waldron joining the Rams staff.

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Liberty's stadium expansion is in full swing.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--C.J. Hansen

Twitter image

C.J. Hansen, a 6-5 285 pound OL from Jackson, NJ has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports three-star recruit.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Hansen recently attended a Junior Day at UMass. He holds 5 offers mostly from FCS schools. Drawing interest from BC, Pitt, Rutgers and Temple.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Giambi Boyd

Hudl.com image

Giambi Boyd, a 5-10 140 pound DB from Houston, TX has Tweeted he's received his first offer from UMass.

Hudl.com has video.

No 247Sports page yet for Boyd.

UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Jacquez Carter IV

Logan Newell image

The Naples Daily News has a post on Jacquez Carter verbaling to UMass.

I've blogged about Carter a number of times before.

At 6-2, Carter has NFL size for a DB. It will be interesting to follow his career at UMass.

UMass Football News--March 1st, 2018

Coastal Carolina publishes its 2018 schedule. The Chants visit Amherst in October.

The Chants lose a player amid sexual assault allegations.

Myrtle Beach online looks at the Chants 2018 schedule. Note that the Sunbelt has five bowl affiliations.

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Georgia Southern announces their 2018 schedule. UMass visits Paulson Stadium on September 8th. The last time UMass played at Paulson, the Minutemen lost a second round FCS playoff game 38 to 21 on December 4th, 1999.

The George-Anne says the 2018 season raises anticipation for Eagle fans.

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Sports Illustrated on why some college football programs don't wait for Spring to start Spring Practice.

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