UMass Football News--August 31st, 2019

Well, we had a bad second quarter, but I still liked some of what I saw. First, we averaged 5.5 yards a carry against a Big Ten team. Cam Robinson and Bilal Ally did a good job carrying the rock. UMass had 186 yards rushing for the night.

The passing game did have nine different receivers catch a pass. Neither Randall West or Andrew Brito looked really dialed in during their first game. 121 passing yards was not enough to balance the rushing attack. O.C Johnson looked like a find in his first game for the Minutemen. Overall the offensive line played pretty good against a big Rutgers defense.

The UMass defense looked out-manned in the second quarter (and they were), but the defense only allowed 13 points in the second half and did not quit. The defense did have 3 INT's One Rutgers TD was the result of UMass going for it on fourth down at their own 31.

Isaiah Rogers had three nice kickoff returns and two INT's.

The Minutemen did get some tough breaks as that punt clearly touched a Rutger's player. That would have broken up the Scarlet Knight's momentum in the third quarter. The onside kick also should have worked.

I knew the defense was going to work in progress in 2019. The offense showed some good things and I need to remember we were playing a Big Ten team.

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UMass write-up on the game.

NJ.com said Rutgers rolled after an upset scare.

Josh Walfish reports UMass faded after a quick start.

Josh also has Cam Robinson looks good during his game at running back.

The Daily Collegian said defensive struggles sank the Minutemen.

The Berkshire Eagle reports UMass faded after a hot start.

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Army managed only 284 total yards in hard-fought win over Rice.

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Game Day Rutgers --- 2019

What I'm looking for this evening:

A quarterback. The spread is supposed to be about the system. Even against a Big Ten defense, I'm looking for UMass to move the ball. Our wide receivers are, I believe, the strongest and deepest unit on our club. Instead of the Andy Isabella home run ball, I'd like to see drive-extending catches. I'd like to see Randall West be in control of the offense. No bad balls, no turnovers.

I'm looking for a semblance  of a running game. UMass is really thin at RB, but we need more than around 2 yards a carry. I'm looking for some push from the offensive line when we run. If we can run the ball some, UMass could make the Scarlet Knights sweat tonight.

On defense: did anyone notice we had a Freshman PWO (Johnathan Weir) in the Rutger game two-deep? That pretty much shows how blown up our defensive roster was after last year. Nothing against Weir, he seems like a tough, determined kid (see the next paragraph)and I hope he has a great career at UMass, but DC Amdul-Rahim has maybe one or two players that a Big Ten coach would look at.

Just before I went on vacation I was watching the UMass-Georgia game on DVR while on the treadmill in my basement. Instead of watching Andy Isabella running around in Georgia's back field, I just watched the defensive series. Nobody from the Minutemen defense looked excited about colliding with the Bulldogs' 6-3 230 pound QB. Mostly we were trying to arm grab him as he went by. UMass would punt the ball to the Georgia 28 yard line and two rushing plays later the Bulldogs would be on the UMass 30.

I'd like for UMass to fly to the ball. I'd like to see professional writers describe the UMass defense as "scrappy". I'd like to see we have a DL other than just Jake Byczko. I'm looking for spirit and toughness on defense.

Let's give the Scarlet Knights a hard time.Go UMass!!!

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UPDATE: Mass goes with the all-whites and the script "umass" tonight. We had our biggest win ever with that combo...

How to watch the UMass-Rutgers game if you don't have cable.

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Josh Walfish has a post on how adversity molded QB Randall West.

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Rutger blog "On the Banks" previews the Scarlet Knights-Minutemen game.

McLane Carter named QB starter for Rutgers.

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MassLive reports first year coach Walt Bell set to lead UMass into a new season.

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The Boston Herald says UMass braces for a battle with Rutgers.

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The Berkshire Eagle reports the Minutemen hit to road to Rutgers.

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UConn needed a truly terrible call in the last two minutes of last night's game to avoid a upset by Wagner.

SIU gave up 30 unanswered points in falling to SEMO.

Charlotte won big over Gardner-Webb 49-28.

FIU got whacked by Tulane 42-14.

BYU lost to rival Utah 30-12.

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UMass Football News--August 29th, 2019

Josh Walfish has the UMass two-deep on his Twitter feed. On the two-deep:

• I don't think the depth chart matters much with the WR's. Would like to see Randall West go 24-31 289 yards with completions to eight different receivers on Friday night.
• Eleven FR or RSFR in the defensive two-deep! Lots more to come in 2020.

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Josh also has the Minutemen get creative with running back depth. Josh mentions speedy Cam Robinson 5-11 190 JUCO WR will see some reps at RB.

Arguably, the difference between Whipple I and Whipple II was  Steve Baylark and Marcel Shipp. One big litmus test against Rutgers will be the rushing totals. I would like to see more that 100 yards rushing against what was a decent Scarlet Knight defense in 2018. If we run 21 times and average 2.1 yards a carry, then we'll need a lot of recruiting work going forward.

Josh also has family steals the show at Fall training camp.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts has a preview of the Rutgers-UMass game and predicts a 41-27 Scarlet Knights win.

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We have a hype video!

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The Knight Report previews the Rutgers-UMass game.

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USA Today covers guarantee games cover much more than money. Mentions UMass-Rutgers.

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NJ. com has story lines from Rutgers football.

247Sports reports on ten potential breakout players for the Scarlet Knights in 2019.

Rutgers is dealing with a depleted TE position for the UMass game.

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UConn opens tonight against Wagner. You can watch it on ESPN3.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant says the Huskies need to blow out Wagner.

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UMass Football News--August 28th, 2019

UMass Athletic Dept image

Josh Walfish says it's Randall West as the starting QB.

West reflects on his senior season.

The Berkshire Eagle reports Randall West has been named starting QB.

The Daily Collegian says West won the QB competition.

Congrats to Randy! He seems a mature, sensible kid  who had to wait a long time for his chance. We'll be rooting for him Friday to have a breakout game.

West's UMass bio.
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UMass Drum line's 2018 cadence. Turn your speakers up! I'm ready for some football!

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The UConn Blog previews the Huskies 2019 game against UMass.

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NJ.com interviews Coach Bell about Jersey players and preparing for Rutgers.

NJ.com reports a Jersey guy will start at QB against the Scarlet Knights.

A NJ.com writer says Rutgers should win Friday's game by "at least three TD's"

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The Boston Globe says UMass is aiming for a turnaround with Coach Bell.

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The Rutger blog "On the Banks has a podcast on the UMass game.

A couple of On the Banks writers think the Minutemen make them "nervous".

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UMass announces new fan experiences for the 2019 season. New Video board, new auxiliary board, Minutemen Club inside the stadium and lots more.

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A Rutgers TE suffers a "serious injury in practice.

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Southern Illinois - Southeast Missouri will be played tomorrow and video will be available here (I think).

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UMass Football News--August 27th, 2019

UMass unveils the 2019 uniforms. Image gallery here.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts has a post on the new unis.

I like 'em. The "Massachusetts" is similar to hockey jerseys (I think). The script "u" was worn by the

team from 1993 to 2002. It was designed by the coaches of that era. Let's get better before we wear anything fancy. I like the traditional Maroon jersey and white pants for home. I like the all-whites for road work. During our National championship run the Minutemen wore white jerseys and maroon pants on some of the road playoff games.

To the right is the 1993-2003 helmet.

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The 2019 edition of the UMass record book is up on the Minutemen web site.

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CBS Sports has a post on the slate of games on college football's first weekend. Quote from the article:

"Walt Bell is the man to lead the Minutemen to new heights: A long way of saying I think UMass can make its season opener against Rutgers way more competitive than any Rutgers fan wants. Bell is a first-year head coach with a young staff looking to shake things up at a tough place to win, so let's see if he can make the Scarlet Knights sweat a little bit in Piscataway. -- Chip:"

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Josh Walfish reports Coach Bell with announce the starting QB today.

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The Berkshire Eagle says the Minutemen are entering game prep.

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The UConn blog previews their 2019 game with UMass.

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Mike Traini also has an interview with Notre Dame transfer Noah Boykin. He'll likely sit out this year, but he should see a lot of playing time in the future.

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Rutgers coach Chris Ash talks about his QB situation and game prep for UMass.

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UMass Football News--August 26th, 2019

Mike Curtis reflects on his senior year.

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Josh Walfish reports the message of Coach Bell and his staff is resonating with recruits.

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The Berkshire Eagle says the UMass starting QB spot is going down to the wire.

Same deal at Rutgers.

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247Sports has college football's Week #1 TV schedule.

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The Herald has game predictions for BYU entire 2019 season.

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The Ashbury Park Press looks at how Rutgers students will reenact the first college football game prior to Friday's UMass-Rutgers tilt.

The Scarlet Knights acquire a transfer punter.

The Knight Report also takes a run at predicting the Scarlet Knights season.

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Inside NU predicts Northwestern's season. Everybody agrees UMass is a "lock".

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UMass Football News--August 25th, 2019

With the verbal of three-star LB Nahji Logan, UMass now has 17 recruits for 2020. Sixteen of the recruits are rated three-star. I'm pretty sure that's a Minutemen record. Besides the number of recruits, the overall recruiting ranking in relation to other FBS teams is also a record high. This bodes well for the future.

I'm hoping for a competitive game Friday against Rutgers. However they are a Big Ten team, but the 2020 recruiting makes me think the future is bright.

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Rutgers will have a large contingent of potential recruits on hand for the Scarlet Knights-Minutemen contest Saturday. Maybe the recruits will look at UMass too...

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Sports Chat Place picks Rutgers to get a "comfortable" win over UMass Saturday and beat the spread.

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The Lynchburg News and Adventure reports Liberty looks to improve its defense in 2019. Talks about the UMass-Liberty game last year that UMass won in overtime.

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On the Banks has five big questions for Rutgers as they start their season against UMass.

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UConn announces a two-game series with Boston College in 2022 and 2023.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Nahji Logan verbals to UMass

Nahji Logan, a 6-3 217 pound OLB from Horsham, PA has Tweeted he's committed to UMass.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from PennLive.com has some info about Logan and his commit to UMass.

Chose UMass over FBS offers from Temple, Akron and Bowling Green. UMass needs players in the front seven. Logan has the frame to play DE or LB.

UMass Football News--August 24th, 2019

I'm back. When they said "rustic" up in Cape Breton National Park, they weren't kidding.

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The latest edition of the 2019 roster is up.

UMass announces the home broadcast team for UMass Football. Josh Maurer returns as well as Adam Goldstein and Adam Breneman and Brandon London. That should be an excellent group!

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Ray Thomas-Ishhman is named to the Senior Bowl watch list. Ray is playing guard this year. It's his natural position and we all hope he has a strong senior year. He's come a long way and I would not be surprised if he was a free agent in the NFL draft and then makes the development squad of some pro team.

Three Rutgers players make the Senior Bowl watch list.

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Josh Walfish has a post on Larnel Coleman and Ray Thomas-Ishman anchoring the left side of the 2019 UMass offensive line.

Josh also says the Minutemen starting OL will be

LT Larnel Coleman 6-7 300
LG Ray Thomas-Ishman 6-5 320
C Jaylen Larry 6-3 280
RG Mike Yeradi 6-4 320
RT Brian Abosi 6-8 300

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Josh also has a feature on the return to Western Massachusetts of native son Jason Tudryn.

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Off Tackle Empire does a Q and A with me about UMass' 2019 foray into the Big Ten.

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The Berkshire Eagle says UMass wraps up camp, prepares for Rutgers.

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NJ.com reports who will start for UMass at QB is still under wraps.

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The Herald ranks UMass #10 in anticipated games for the BYU Cougars in 2019.

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UMass Football News--August 19th, 2019

The Blog will be off line until August 23rd. Mrs Blog and I are continuing our Nova Scotia vacation up at Cape Breton National Park at a "rustic" cabin with no telephone or Wi-Fi. I should be back after that as we move down to Digby for the last stage of the trip.

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Rutgers students will reenact the first college football game between Rutgers and Princeton before the UMass-Rutgers game on August 30th.

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Scarlet Nation looks at the first two opponents in Rutgers' season---UMass and Iowa and thinks the Minutemen are the closest thing to a guaranteed win in 2019.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" points out UMass now has 15 three-star recruits for 2020. That's good for the #2 rank in the Independents, slightly ahead of BYU. Recruiting usually takes about two years to show up in the win-loss column, but this is much better than the last two years of Whipple's tenure. Top Group-of-Five teams typically recruit in the high teens to low twenty's in three-star recruits. Coach Bell still has some scholarships to give for the 2020 cycle. Better days should be coming for the battered psyche's of UMass fans.

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The Hartford Courant says there are a lot of opportunities available for freshmen at UConn football.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Daniel Moyer

Hudl.com image

Daniel Moyer, a 5-8 170 pound CB/athlete from Pfafftown, NC has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

UMass in his top eight.

UMass Football News--August 17th, 2019

The new UMass practice field turf is in. This is going to be a big aid to the program when the practice bubble is available in the Winter.

The UMass Football Twitter account has aerial video of the new field. I gotta get a drone...

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Josh Walfish reports that sophomore DB Joseph Norwood is on the rise for Minutemen defense. Senior safety Martin Mangram has also returned to UMass to work on his Master's degree. Mangram is a number of players who have returned to the Minutemen program after Coach Bell was named to head the team.

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The Rutgers QB battle to decide who will start against UMass is still ongoing.

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TE Charles Finney, a TE with a UMass offer, commits to West Virginia.

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The Boston Herald looks at the upcoming season in Massachusetts HS football including Lawrence Academy with UMass-bound QB Brady Martin.

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Sporting News comments on Andy Isabella's TD catch (scroll down ).

The News-Herald also has a post on Andy's catch.

UMass Football News--August 16th, 2019

The Berkshire Eagle report the Minuteman's new (and young) staff are excited about building the UMass program.

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Andy Isabella's first NFL TD. MassLive has a story about the catch

Clutch Points says the catch was "dazzling"

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247Sports says Rutgers' QB competition is close to being over.

The Spun says Rutgers HC Chris Ash could be on the hot seat.

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The Watertown Press wonders what would happen if the Ivies were allowed to play FBS schools. Mentions UMass-Harvard.

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UMass Football News--August 15th, 2019

The Boston Herald report graduate transfers Jordan Adams and Jarvis Miller are providing some needed reinforcements for UMass.

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Hampshire Gazette image

Josh Walfish reports on Fall camp for the UMass linebacking corps. He mentions Chinedu Ogbonna, Cole McCubery, Mike Ruane and transfer Jarvis Miller.

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The Post-Gazette says a former UMass skill player called Whipple a "genus" at designing offenses to attack each opponent's weaknesses.

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NJ.com reports on the high school showcase "Rumble on the Raritan". UMass offer Jada Byers will play.

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Andy Isabella was held out of the Cardinals first preseason with a minor knee injury, but he should play against the Raiders. The game is tonight on ESPN

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The Hartford Courant reports UConn is also having a quarterback battle.

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UMass Football News--August 14th, 2019

Josh Walfish has a post on UMass' young defensive line is gaining confidence. Josh mentions Dennis Osagiede, Jake Byczko and the return of Charlie Timite. The DL may have been the Minutemen's weakest unit last year. No pass rush, no outside contain, not much run stopping.

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NJ.com wonders if Rutgers will face a New Jersey QB when they open against UMass.

NJ.com has a podcast on the Scarlet Knights own QB battle.

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UMass and Georgia will play again in November of 2024. The Minutemen will receive $1.9 million for the game. That's almost four times the guaranty FCS Tennessee Tech will receive for playing the Dogs the same year.

Future college football schedules has story on Georgia's guaranty games.

UMass needs two home games and one away game to complete the 2024 schedule.

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247Sports has the best case and worse case win-loss records for Big Ten teams in 2019

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KSL.com reports BYU's defense is relying on senior leadership for success in 2019.

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The News Herald says Andy Isabella is OK after a "minor knee" injury.

Isabella buys cleats for his old high school team.

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UMass Football News--August 13th, 2019

UMass Athletic dept image

Josh Walfish has the good, the bad and the ugly from the Minutemen's first scrimmage.

Josh mentions UMass freshman RB Kevin Brown had  a good  day with three long runs from scrimmage.

The UMass Athletic Dept has a short post on the second week of practice.

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The News-Advance previews UMass for Liberty fans. Says to follow Josh Walfish and  UMass Football on Twitter. Does not  mention the UMass Football Blog :(

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Sports Video.org reports on UMass and Flo Sports signing a two year deal.

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CBS Sports picks the best college football team in each  state and decides BC is best in Massachusetts.

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A Rutgers ex-football player is arrested for plotting to murder his former girlfriend's parents.

The Ashbury Park press wonders if transfer QB McLane Carter has impressed enough to start for Rutgers.

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The Daily Stampede previews the 2019 BYU Cougars.

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UMass Football News--August 12th, 2019

Blog Note: Mrs Blog and I are leaving today for two weeks in Nova Scotia. As usual, I'll try to keep the blog going. There will be one stretch of four days next week when I will not have internet access. We'll be staying in what is described as a "rustic" cabin at Cape Breton National park. No telephone, no TV and no internet.

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Josh Walfish has a notebook about UMass camp including the QB competition. UMass has seven QB's on the roster.

Josh reports Andrew Brito, Mike Curtis, Mike Fallon and Randall West took all the 7-on-7 and 11-on 11 offensive drills.

He also mentions 6-2 245 pound Adam Deese who has been moved to TE. That's a wide open position in the new offense.

Josh also mentions the good performance of freshman CB Josh Wallace. Wallace was ranked the #24 overall player out of Maryland by 247Sports. I think by the end of the season there will be a lot of new faces on the starting defense.

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Auburn senior RT Jack Driscoll has a video interview about the Auburn team. Driscoll is a UMass grad who played two years for the Minutemen.

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Liberty adds three OL verbals including three-star Brian Hannibal, who had a UMass offer.

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Vladimir Ducasse has been released by the Buffalo Bills.

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The Hartford Courant has notes from UConn's camp.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Andy-Jeffery M'ba

Andy-Jeffery M'ba, a 6-6 315 pound DT from Paris, France has a UMass offer.

247Sports four-star player.

Hudl.com has some video.

Recently de-committed from Virginia.

M'ba has 23 total offers, mostly from Power Five schools. UMass, Rutgers and BC have offered from the Northeast. He'd be a game changer for the Minutemen defense.

UMass Football News--August 10th, 2019

The UMass athletic dept says UMass brings energy to the first week of training camp.

From the article:

"All 2019 UMass Football Preseason Camp practices are open to the public for viewing from the McGuirk Alumni Stadium grandstands. The team practices from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. each day through Fri., Aug. 16, with no practice on Tues., Aug. 13. Practice shifts to 9:25 a.m. beginning on Sat., Aug. 17 with an off-day on Mon., Aug. 19."

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle has grad transfers Miller and Adams bring valuable experience to the 2019 Minutemen.

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Matt Vautour has a post on UMass alum Marken Michel making the most of his chance to play for the Eagles.

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Josh Walfish reports on senior QB Randall West's last camp with the Minutemen.

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Penn Live has a story featuring former UMass coach Sean Spencer.

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Sports Betting Dime discusses if Rutgers and UConn can hit the over. The story says their likely chances of a win is against UMass.

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Army Blog "Against All Enemies" breaks down the Black Knights 2019 schedule. I was there the last time UMass played at Michie Stadium. It's a great place to watch a game.

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The News-Gazette predicts the season for the entire Big Ten. It says pencil in wins over UMass and Liberty for Rutgers.

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UMass Football News--August 9th, 2019

Sadiq Palmer/ Hampshire Gazette image

Josh Walfish reports the Minutemen passing attack will feature WR's by committee.

Back in December of last year, the wide receiver unit was, I felt, maybe the top unit in terms of depth and talent going into 2019. If we're going to have an offense in 2019, it's probably going to mostly fall on the WR's. Football Study Hall has a nice article on the deference between the pro set and the spread.

I would guess Zack Simon as the "X" receiver, Samuel Emilus as the "Y" and Sadiq Palmer as the "Z". Jessie Britt, Brennon Dingle and JUCO Javon Turner should also get a lot of reps.

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Rutgers blog "On the Banks" has reasons for Scarlet Knights fans to be optimistic in 2019. The writer feels Rutgers will easily cover the 14.5 point spread against the Minutemen.

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The Montgomery Advisor reports Auburn has released its 2020 schedule including a "tune-up" game against UMass.

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Off Tackle Empire looks at Northwestern's schedule and predicts about a 7 and five record for the Wildcats.

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Bleeding Green Nation has Nate Sudfield throws a 75-yard TD pass to Marken Michael.

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UMass Football News--August 8th, 2019

Hampshire Gazette image

Josh Walfish has a post on Larnel Coleman becoming a leader on the offensive line.

Josh reports so far the OL looks as follows:

LT---Larnel  Coleman
LG --Ray Thomas Ishman
Center--Mike Yerardi or Jalen Larry
RG--Helber Fagundes or Parker Ogle or Mike Sullivan
RT--Brian Abosi or Bruce Wade.

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Underdog Dynasty has news from around the Group-of-Five leagues.

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Rutgers media guide lists the Scarlet Knights as playing the 4-3 defense, but really they play 3-4.

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Don Brown compares Michigan safety Daxton Hill to James Ihedigbo.

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SIU quarterbacks fail to separate themselves after the first scrimmage.

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The Spectrum News reports the Charlotte 49ers have no shortage of QB options.

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TOTALLY PLAUSIBLE

Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts is arrested for the possession of cocaine and tells the police it's bird poop.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020---Aaron Beckwith

Aaron Beckwith, a 6-3 270 pound DE from Germantown, MD has UMass in his final three.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Beckwith has nine total offers. Buffalo is coming of the best season in their program history. The Bulls went 10-4 with wins over Temple and Rutgers and an appearance in the Dollar General Bowl. Athlon Sports picks them 6-6 in 2019.

Central Michigan went 1-11 in 2018 and Athlon Sports picks the Chippewas last in the MAC West in this year.

Reasons to pick UMass? Well, best food in country for the fourth straight year.

Want to play against the best? The Minutemen have games scheduled against Auburn, BC, Army, Mississippi State, Missouri, Colorado and more.

Defensive End is a position of need for UMass. Lots of playing time available in the future.

UMass Football News--August 7th, 2019

Inside Northwestern has know your opponent: UMass.

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Josh Walfish reports Josiah Johnson juggles QB work and WR reps.

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The College Sports Journal previews the Charlotte 49ers.

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The Ashbury Park Press wonders if Rutgers' defense will finally improve.

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The Southern says the running game could help the Salukis' defense.

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The Hartford Courant says Husky running backs Kevin Mensah and Art Tompkins could form a potent backfield for UConn.

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UMass Football News--August 6th, 2019

Once again, UMass football will be available on the FLO network.

Flo Network, they started with $10,000, now they're challenging ESPN.

NESN has an announcement they'll be carrying UMass home games.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" writes UMass announces broadcast info, start times for the 2019 season.

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Mike also has an interview with Julian Ganthier, a recent 2020 DB commit.

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Josh Walfish reports the UMass Renascence started during the off season.

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NJ.com reports Phil Steele thinks Rutgers will beat the 14.5 point spread against UMass in the season opener for both teams.

Scarlet Knights LB Tyshon Fogg has an interesting way of decompressing during training camp.

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The Southern thinks the Salukis can still make the FCS playoffs despite playing two FBS teams.

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A 247Sports writer predicts the won-loss record for every Big Ten team including UMass opponents Rutgers and Northwestern.

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UMass Football News--August 5th, 2019

A blog reader had a short stop in Amherst and took the above image of practice.

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With this weekend's verbal from Julian Ganthier, UMass has 16 hard commits for the 2020 recruiting class.

247Sports has the Minutemen neck-and-neck with BYU in the high 70's ranking out of 130 FBS teams. There is a strong correlation (in a macro sense) with recruiting and success in football. I think Bell and staff did an excellent job with the 2019 class given the limited time they had available to recruit. The 2020 class seems to be on course to be the best of UMass' FBS era. I think we'll see some of the results soon.

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True Freshman Cole Snyder is ready for whatever role Rutgers wants him to play.

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Longest bowl droughts for FBS teams: UMass is tied with Kent State, Louisiana Monroe and Texas state for six seasons.

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Boston College opens Fall Practice. Athlon Sports predicts a 6-6 season for the Eagles and a 3-5 ACC win total. BC needs to do well early as their last five games are @ Clemson, @ Syracuse, Florida State, @ Notre Dame and @Pitt.

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Andy Isabella may miss the Cardinals preseason opener with a "minor" knee problem.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Julien Ganthier verbals to UMass

Julian Ganthier, a 6-1 170 pound DB from Laurel, MD has committed to UMass.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Scout.com top-40 player in Maryland.

Chose UMass over FBS offers from Liberty and Rutgers.

UMass Football News--August 4th, 2019

The Berkshire Eagle reports UMass is back on the field and ready to practice.

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NJ.com reports dueling Rutgers QB's have a good relationship.

On the Banks reports on the importance of Rutgers new offensive coordinator.

Scarlet Knights transfer QB McLane Carter had an encouraging first day.

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Akron Football opens camp aware of the challenges ahead.

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UMass Football News--August 3rd, 2019

Hampshire Gazette image

Josh Walfish reports on the opening of UMass training camp. He says QB Josh Johnson has been taking reps with both the receivers and QB's.

The team is wearing new white Schutt helmets.

Josh said new QB Andrew Brito stood out with his arm strength.

Ray Thomas-Ishman has been moved to guard. 

WMUA has some video and Q &A with Coach Bell from the first practice.

BTW, I contacted the Sports information office and asked if any of the Fall practices will be open to the public. No word so far.

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The Boston Herald says the Walt Bell era opens at UMass.

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The UMass Twitter feed has some images from the practice.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" reports on the Minutemen's final recruiting camp of the summer.

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The Miami Herald reports FIU opens Fall practice with high expectations.

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Louisiana Tech opens Fall practice with former UConn coach Bob Diaco as defensive coordinator.

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Northwestern is ranked #25 in the 2019 preseason coaches poll.

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UMass Football News---August 2nd, 2019

The 2019 preseason practice roster is up.

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Josh Walfish says there's a new energy at the UMass football camp. He also said it looks like seniors Michael Curtis and Randall West, junior Andrew Brito, sophomore Josiah Johnson and redshirt freshman Jaret Pallott are the top competitors for the starting QB slot. He also reports Coach Bell does not like to platoon quarterbacks.

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UMass officially welcomes Notre Dame transfer Noah Boykin.

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Liberty completes their transition to FBS football.

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Jack Driscoll is listed as the starter at RT for Auburn for the second straight season.

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Rutgers starts camp minus some players.

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Hero Sports previews Southern Illinois.

The Southern Illinoisan says the Salukis look deep.

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Like the Minutemen, Charlotte starts camp with a new head coach.

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Coastal Carolina thinks they'll exceed expectations in 2019.

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Hustle Belt has the key story lines for Akron in 2019.

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UMass Football News--August 1st 2019

UMass Fall Camp opens tomorrow.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post and interview with JUCO offensive lineman Reggie Marks.

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Josh Walfish previews 2019 opponent BYU.

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The Scarlet Knights go into Fall camp with a quarterback battle.

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The BYU Cougars will lose WR Neil Pau'u to a redshirt season after taking a plea deal for DWI.

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My Fantasy Sports previews UConn's season and predicts a 2-10 record.

UConn introduced new defensive coordinator Lou Spanos at Media Day and it did not go well.

The UConn Blog previews the Huskies offensive line.

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247Sports reports BC has picked up a verbal from Owen McGowen, a 2021 local LB prospect who had a UMass offer.

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