UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Najhi Logan II

Back in August I blogged about Nahji Logan, a 6-3 215 pound OLB verbaling to UMass.

Updating...

Hudl.com has Senior season highlights. First Team All-League, 88 TT and 19 TFL.

This article from December features Logan

This article features Logan's play in his school's Thanksgiving Day game.

Given the state of the Minuteman linebacking corps, Logan should play early and often.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Miles Turner II

Hudl.com image

Back in July I blogged about Myles Turner, a 6-3 225 pound LB from Bullis School in MD committing to UMass.

Updating his info.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

2019 Defensive MVP.

With the low number of linebackers on the roster, Turner should be in line for some immediate playing time in 2020.

UMass Football News--December 29th, 2019

If you haven't listened to Adam Breneman's interview with UMass head coach Walt Bell, it's worth a listen. Bell talks recruiting and more.

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UConn is in the process of finalizing a four game series with Buffalo.

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2020 opponent Albany red-shirt freshman QB Jeff Undercuffler was named ECAC Freshman of the the year and also 2nd team All-ECAC.

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Appalachian State's stud RB Darrynton Evans declares for the NFL Draft.

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New Mexico names a new head coach for 2020.

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After a frustrating loss in the Military Bowl, Temple looks forward to the 2020 season.

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FIU loses two starters to the transfer portal.

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Auburn looks at Wednesday's trip to the Outback Bowl as a business trip.

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A Sea of Red previews Liberty's 2020 season and predicts a 56-14 Flames victory over UMass.

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UMass Football News--December 28th, 2019

UMass currently has 27 commits listed in the 247Sports 2020 Minutemen recruiting page.

The NCAA currently allows 25 scholarships per year. A couple of the listed recruits may blue shirt and Spring arrivals can be added to the 2019 recruiting class if it did not exceed the limit (and I don't think it did). Nevertheless, it would seem the 2020 class is mostly complete.

A small number of scholarships are probably still available. The 2020 transfer portal could be one option to try to add immediate help to the 2020 class.

One area of need that has not yet received a lot of recruiting help is linebacker.

UMass did not recruit any LB's in the 2019 class. In 2018 (Whipple's last class) UMass signed three LB's of whom only DaShon Ross is still with the team. The 2020 class has two linebackers. That's effectively three linebackers in three years.

The transfer portal lists 75 linebackers (if I counted right) available. From the Northeast (where the coaching staff might be familiar with the player's history) 247Sports shows three portal linebackers from UConn, two from Pitt and one from Rutgers.

2019 Penn State transfer Jarvis Miller went 12-11 GP-GS 60 TT (fourth on the defense) 4.5 TFL and 1.0 SACKS.

It will be interesting to see if the coaching staff will try for any of the available transfer linebackers.

UMass Football News--December 27th, 2019

The Berkshire Eagle has a post on UMass QB commits Kyle Lindquist and Will Koch.

The article mentions QB's in the transfer portal:

"There are 58 quarterbacks in the Transfer Portal according to 247sports.com. Among the players who are immediately eligible to play in 2020 are Anthony Brown from Boston College, Michael Beaudry from UConn, Mo Hasan of Vanderbilt, and Jett Dudley of Texas Tech. None of those players have been actively linked to UMass as of now."

 Four scholarships for QB's (counting Brady Martin and a potential grad transfer) would be more than I'd like to use given the state of the rest of the roster, but a senior transfer might solidify the whole position.

BTW, UMass freshman QB recruit Will Koch was just named the area Offensive-Player-of-the-Year.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has some upgrades to the UMass recruiting class ratings.

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2019 opponent BYU lost to Hawaii on Christmas Eve.

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Fellow 2019 opponent Louisiana Tech is known for its offense, but the Bulldogs defense smothered Miami last night in the Independence Bowl.

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UMass Football News--December 26th, 2019

I totally missed this. O.C Johnson,  5-10 165 pound WR from DeMantha Catholic set the all-time UMass true freshman receiving record in 2019. My UMass record book does not have records by class, so I can't report who's record Johnson broke.

Johnson went 12-10 GP-GS 37-272 7.4 AVE 2 TD's 40 LONG.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a profile and Q & A with JUCO QB recruit Kyle Lindquist. We all knew the Minutemen defense would struggle in 2019, but the non-functioning offense was much worse than I expected. I expect a new starter in 2020 and a whole new depth chart at the QB position. Lindquist will be in for Spring ball and I hope he or Brady Martin or Will Koch will lead us out of the wilderness.

FYI, UMass QB's had a combined EFF rating of 103.41. Opponent QB's were a collective 178.23....

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Christmas Day ---2020

Merry Christmas to all UMass coaches, players , fans and blog readers. May Santa bring us 25 scholarship recruits, 4 or five gray shirts or blue shirts and a dozen walk-ons.

I'm still having fun with the blog (although 2019 certainly made it major effort to do so ) and I intend to keep it going in 2020.

Keep the faith everyone!

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UMass Football News--December 24th, 2019

Bond company announces the completion of the new UMass practice facility and stadium upgrades.

"A brand new 96,000 square foot synthetic turf practice field was installed parallel to McGuirk Stadium, complete with a seasonal air supported structure to accommodate football, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, baseball and recreational sports during the winter months."

The new facility is 240 feet wide by 400 feet long and is 80 feet high.

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Tajae Sharpe had five catches for 69 yards and two TD's in the Titans game against the Saints this weekend.

This video has both of Sharpe's TD sequences.

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Dear Santa:

Please have Brady Martin sign his LOI soon....

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Viczaril Alobwede

Twitter image

Viczaril Alobwede, a 6-5 230 pound DE from Stone Mountain, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

247Sports also has senior highlights.

UMass is the only offer listed on 247Sports.

UMass Football News--December 22nd, 2019

If you haven't listened to the UMass Plant the Flag podcast interview with Coach Bell on the early recruiting day results, it's here. It has some good news that will be ignored in many circles. Coach Bell relates the team GPA set another record for the Fall semester. In addition, the team APR was the highest of the FBS era. It's also interesting to hear his comments on the recruits.

UMass' current 247Sports 149.51 recruiting ranking would put us

• 3rd in the MAC
• 3rd in Conference USA
• 2nd in the Mountain West
• 4th in the Sun Belt.
• 7th in AAC (ahead of Temple and Houston)

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Isaiah Rogers continued to rake in the honors as he was named All ECAC as a DB and returner.

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2019 opponent Charlotte lost to Buffalo in the Bahamas Bowl.

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Liberty, known for their high-octane offense, did it with defense to beat Georgia Southern in Cure Bowl. I watched the game and the Flames shut down Georgia Southern's vaunted running game, holding the Eagles to 4-17 on third down attempts.

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FIU lost to Arkansas State 34-26 in the Carmella Bowl.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Edward Vesterinen

Twitter image

Edward Vesterinen is a 6-4 240 pound DE from Finland who has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

A member of Brandon Collier's European recruiting service.

Hudl.com has video.

Vesterinen also has a FBS offer from Coastal Carolina. UMass needs all the recruiting streams it can get and the Minutemen need DE's, a weakness that persisted through the whole Whipple era. Vesterinen would make a strong 2020 defensive recruiting class even better.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Te'Rai Powell signs with UMass

Twitter image

Te"Rai Powell, a 6-0 188 pound Athlete has signed with UMass. This is the Minuteman's 19th signing of the 2020 recruiting cycle.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Originally verbaled to Rutgers before the coaching change.

MaxPreps has stats.

Powell had 14 offers including Army, Navy, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan and Bowling Green. Also took a OV to Boston College.

UMass Football News--December 20th, 2019

A couple of quotes from Coach Bell on the recruiting.

"What a day! Thanks to everyone that helped us throughout the recruiting process on our campus, on the road, and in every town in which we recruit. More surprises to come! Let’s go! Recruit, develop, coach."

Bold my emphasis.  I think there is more positive recruiting coming in this class.

Coach Bell to Josh Walfish on his Twitter feed.

"Listening back to Bell from earlier and this quote stuck out about keeping commits loyal to UMass: "For us the whole thing was understand what you see on tape and what you see on Saturday isn't why you're coming, you're coming to ensure it doesn't ever look like that ever again."

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If you missed it Marken Michel is back on the Phildelphia Eagles practice squad. Fan Sided has three reasons to promote Michel from the practice squad.

Jackson Porter signed with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad in late November.

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Nearly 20 UConn players have entered the transfer portal.

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UMass Football news-- December 19th, 2019

The UMass website has football welcomes 18 signers on the first day of the early commit period.

Josh Walfish report the Minutemen bulk up in the trenches.

The Berkshire Eagles says UMass inks 18 signatures on the first day of the early signing period.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on what we learned from the early signing period.

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My take on the recruiting class is that it's an excellent start. Rivals has UMass as #80 and 247Sports has the Minutemen 82nd. Recruiting rankings are highly subjective, but also tend to have a high correlation to actual success. For example: 247Sports has the top-five recruiting classes for 2020 as Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU. Hard to argue with those results.

UMass needs more than one year to turn things around. When Western Michigan went from 0-11 to a New Year's Day bowl, the Broncos had three MAC leading recruiting classes in a row.

I liked the emphasis on linemen. Since UMass moved to FBS we have never ranked higher the #100 in rushing offense. We are currently #115 through the end of regular season. Generally, if you can run the rock, you've got a good looking offense (and a good looking QB). The Minutemen signed three OL and two running backs. I'd like to see a marked improvement in the rushing offense in 2020.

UMass also signed two QB's, which should impact the other offensive problem the Minutemen had in 2019, the fact we did not have a QB. I like Kyle Lindquist. He comes out the California JUCO leagues that gave us Todd Bankhead. Hopefully , he'll have a similar impact.

In addition, the class contains five defensive lineman. As everyone knows, DL's are the scarcest recruits. The class has a rush defensive end (something UMass has not had since Ali Ali-Musa).

Linebacker is one area that's going to take another recruit class. This class has two LB's and we could use about six or seven.

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In another moral booster, The Far Side is back. My all-time favorite comic has returned here.

 
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Early Signing Day 2020

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on what to expect in the early signing period.

Josh Walfish reports UMass has important holes to fill in this recruiting class.

Josh also has a post on Coach Bell expecting the most highly rated recruiting class in UMass history.

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The UMass Football Tweeter feed has the signings as they come in.

The first new commit who had not previously verbaled to UMass is 6-2 RB Ellis Merriweather. I blogged about Merriweather on Monday.  

Merriweather fills a real void in the UMass roster. Along with Jared Cole, the two RB's should add depth and talent to the Minuteman running back corps.

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I'll be back with any news on new recruits later today.

Well, that didn't take long. Joe Horn, a 6-1 300 pound OC from the Hun School has signed with the Minutemen. I blogged about Horn back in June. Horn adds another highly rated offensive lineman to this year's recruiting class.

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UMass also adds Will Koch a 6-0 195 pound pro-style QB from Niceville FL. I blogged about Koch here. That's three new commits so far today.

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The Minutemen just added Cody Jones, a 6-1 185 pound DB from Sandy Creek, GA.

Jones 247Sports page. Three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Chose UMass over FBS offers from Buffalo, Akron and Georgia Southern. Four new commits today.

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OK, I gotta go and shovel snow. More blog updates later today.

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UMass adds a big addition to the signed class with Sammy Solomon. He's a 6-3 295 DT who chose UMass over offers from BC, Rutgers and Syracuse. I blogged about Solomon back in November. UMass currently has 18 early signers.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Kyle Lindquist verbals to UMass

Kyle Lindquist, a 6-4 212 pound pro-style QB from Butte College has Tweeted he's committed to UMass.

I blogged about Lindquist last Saturday.

#6 ranked JUCO pro-style QB in the nation.

Also NorCal Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Year.

The Minutemen really need some effective QB play. Hopefully Lindquist and Brady Martin will start the renaissance.  I'm excited about seeing both of them play for UMass.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Ellis Merriweather

Twitter image

Ellis Merriweather, a 6-2 225 pound RB from Garden City C.C. visited UMass this weekend.

247Sports page here.

Garden City bio here.

Hudl.com has video.

I thought I had blogged about Merriweather before, but apparently not. He is currently committed to Texas Tech as a PWO. Lots of playing time available with the Minutemen as well as a scholarship.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Onuma Dieke verbals to UMass

I've blogged about Onuma Dieke, a 6-4 185 pound WR from Atlanta, GA twice before.

He Tweeted he's committed to UMass.

Dieke is a pro-sized receiver who should prosper in the UMass spread offense. He chose UMass over an offer from Southern Alabama.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Will Koch

image credit unknown

Will Koch, a 6-0 195 pound pro-style QB from Niceville, FL is making an official visit to Amherst this weekend.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from October features Koch.

Koch has an offer from Southern Mississippi and a PWO for UCF.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Robert Kennedy III

I've blogged about Robert Kennedy, a 5-10 180 pound CB from Lackawana C.C. twice before.

During the NJAA Championship game Kennedy was around the ball all night. Lots of playing time available in in Amherst.

He also has a FBS offer from Marshall.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Kyle Lindquist

Kyle Lindquist, a 6-4 212 pound pro-style QB from Butte College will take an OV to Amherst this weekend.

247Sports Page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from 2018 talks about Lindquist joining Butte.

Fresno State bio here.

Threw for seven TD's in one game this season, which broke Aaron Rogers record at the same school.

Another article on Lindquist's seven-TD game.

Matt Bates image

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Albert Reese IV

Albert Reese IV, a 6-7 295 pound OT from Edmonton Alberta is taking an official visit to UMass this weekend.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

National Prospect ID.com has some info.

Reese has two FCS offers. Drew interest from Arizona.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Jackson Manning verbals to UMass

Jackson Manning a 6-5 240 pound TE/DE has verbaled to UMass.

I blogged about Manning way back on Monday.

The Minutemen need help on both positions Manning plays. It'll be interesting to watch his career. Welcome to Amherst.

UMass Football recruiting 2020--Holden Willis

Sammie Dunlap image

Holden Willis, a 6-4 205 pound WR from Greenback, TN has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Class 1A Division Mr. Football.

Recently received a PWO offer from Tennessee.

Willis currently has six offers with UMass as the only offer from FBS.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Evan Anderson

Evan Anderson, a 6-3 325 pound OG from Orlando has a UMass offer. Recently had a home visit by the Minutemen staff.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Anderson has FBS offers from Bowling green, FIU, FAU, Kent State, Toledo, Troy and USF. It all starts with the OL. Lots of playing time available up in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Dymere Miller

Dymere Miller, a 6-0 175 pound Athlete from Salisbury School took an OV to UMass last weekend.

247Sports page here.

Salisbury School has an extensive bio here.

This article from 2018 has Miller #91 in the top 225 players from Pennsylvania.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Also Daily Local News 2019 All-Area Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Miller currently has five offers with UMass as the only offer from FBS.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Tyrell Lawrence II

Twitter image

Tyrell Lawrence, a 6-7 344 pound OT from Clearwater International Academy has a UMass offer.

He took an OV to UMass last weekend.

I blogged about Lawrence back in May.

Hudl.com has 2019 video.

Lawrence is getting late interest from Syracuse, Pitt and Minnesota. Check the rosters Tyrell; Power Five interest is great, but UMass is where the playing time resides.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Jackson Manning

Jackson Manning, a 6-5 240 pound TE/DE from Kennesaw, GA made a visit to Amherst this weekend.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

NCSA recruiting profile here.

UMass is the first FBS offer for Manning. Both TE and DE is a position of need for the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Onuma Dieke II

Ben Ennis  image

Onuma Dieke, a 6-4 185 pound WR from Atlanta, GA recently had a home visit by the UMass staff. I blogged about Dieke back in November.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from October features Dieke.

This article has some stats from his junior year.

Dieke also has a FBS offer from Southern Alabama.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Mike Mikula verbals to UMass

Twitter image

Mike Mikula, a 5-11 180 pound WR has Tweeted he'll attend UMass as a PWO.

Hudl.com has video.

NCSA Recruiting profile here.

MyPrepWeek.com has a Q & A with Mikula here.

Welcome to UMass Mike. Hope you have a fun career with the Minutemen.

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Blog Note: No blog post tomorrow, December 9th.

UMass Football News-- December 6th, 2019

I watched the NJAA Championship Game last night. Links to the box score, photos and more here.

Robert Kennedy, a 5-10 180 CB had a good game for Lackawanna. He had 5 TT and 2 BKUP's . I've blogged about Kennedy before. The game featured defense and the two teams had over 20 total TFL.

The 247Sports UMass Pennsylvania prospects lists only Kennedy from Lackawanna. The Minutemen do not appear to be recruiting anyone from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Another write-up on the game here.

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Pro Football Focus has Isaiah Rogers as First Team All-American. It was a treat watching him run back kicks this year.

Rogers was also picked All-New England.

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Inside Athletics has a interview with UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford. He relates the UMass brain trust wants to build the football program with four-year recruits. He feels retraining recruiting classes is critical to Minutemen future success.

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I read a 247Sports article (and I can't find it again) that related over 1,900 college football players have entered the transfer portal over the the last 12 months. That's a fairly mind-boggling average of over 14 players per FBS program. That would be a projected loss of 58 players per team over a four year period.

This could be the start of a new era in college football if this level of turnover continues. Rebuilding UConn just lost eight players to the portal.

Keeping players may replace recruiting players as the critical dynamic in team building.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Zakee Swann

Tim Wynkoop image

Zakee Swann, a 5-7 170 pound RB from Irvington, NJ has  a UMass offer.

247Sports two-star player.

First Team All-Conference 2019.

This article features Swann. He took a visit to Amherst back in March.

Besides UMass, Swann has FBS offers from Buffalo, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Indiana.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Kyle Monangai

Twitter image

Kyle Monangai, a 5-9 203 pound RB from Don Bosco Prep has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Had an ankle injury late in November.

NJ.com has Monangai as one of the top uncommitted New Jersey players.

Monangai has 23 total offers including all of the Service academies plus Buffalo, Cal and Central Michigan from FBS.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Brock Sturges

Twitter image

Brock Sturges, a 5-10 200 pound RB from Butler C.C. has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Formerly at Arizona State.

Butler Grizzlies bio.

Hudl.com has video.

Sturges has offers from Akron, Arkansas State, Charlotte, Texas State and Western Kentucky.

UMass Football History--Jerry Whechel and Pete Pietz at the Tangerine Bowl

A blog reader sent me a publicity photo from UMass' 1964 Tangerine Bowl.

Minutemen QB Jerry Whechel went 8-14 142 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Whechel also kicked the extra points for UMass and missed one of them. Down 13-0, Eastern Carolina won the game on a late two-point conversion 14-13.

Wehchel lettered for UMass in 1962, 1963 and was Captain in 1964
Pete Pietz was a guard and lettered in 1963 and was Captain in 1964.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Ryan Ives

Hudl.com image

Ryan Ives, a 6-5 265 pound DE from Manatee, FL has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

MaxPreps has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Ives.

Ives has seven FBS offers including UMass, Appalachian State, Bowling Green, FIU, Southern Mississippi, Toledo and Tulane.

UMass Football News--December 1st, 2019

Isaiah Rogers ------ if you want to make your stomach lurch, try contemplating this season if Coach Bell had not convinced Rogers and Bilal Ally to return this year.

Rogers is a warrior. He did not quit. In several games, his returns were literally the only offense we had.

Rogers had 42 TT, 3.0 TFL, 1 FF, 4 INTS, 10 BRKU and just for icing on the cake 1 blocked kick.

Thanks for all his work and let's hope he has a career in the pros.

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Matty Vautour has a post on UMass football struggles. He reports some of the roster turnover was due to the A.D. not from Coach Bell.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Paris Shand

Twitter image

Paris Shand, a 6-5 240 pound DE from Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Originally from Canada.

This article from 247Sports (requires membership) covers Virginia's offer to Shand.

Shand has offers from Central Michigan, Vanderbilt and Virginia plus a number of Northeast FCS schools.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Harrison Ashby

Twitter image

Harrison Ashby, a 6-5 250 pound TE from Pearl River C.C. has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Pearl River bio here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Ashby.

Including UMass, Ashby has six FBS offers from Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe, North Alabama, South Alabama and Southern Mississippi.

Thanksgiving 2020

The original Thanksgiving was a celebration of triumph over adversity. We UMass fans know a lot about adversity. I'm thankful for all the friends I've met through Minutemen football and the blog.

I'm also thankful this season is over :)

Things got better for the Pilgrims. Things will get better for us too. Enjoy the day and I'll be back doing UMass recruiting tomorrow.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Dan Villari and Chance Nolan II

Some news on two QB's UMass is interested in for the 2020 recruiting cycle. IMHO, the Minutemen absolutely , positively need another QB commit for 2020. We all hope Brady Martin is the man, but UMass could be one turned ankle away from another year of offensive struggles.

I blogged about dual-threat QB Dan Villari back on November 14th, He's reopened his recruiting.

Daniel DeMato image.

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I also blogged about Chance Nolan, a 6-2 186 pound dual-threat QB from Saddleback C.C. back on November 13th.

He just added an offer from Temple.

image credit unknown

A dual-threat QB would be a big addition to the UMass offense. We do not currently have a dual-threat guy on the roster.

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UMass Football News--November 26th, 2019

UMass did not fumble once during the 2019 season.

Bilal Ally went 12-11 GP-GS 166-853 5.1 AVE 7 TD's 63 LONG

Cam Roberson went 12-1 GP-GS 116-355 3.1 AVE 2 TD's 40 LONG

Gilberto Torres went 5-0 GP-GS 33-135 3.8 AVE 1 TD 19 LONG.

UMass averaged 3.5 yards/rush 14 rushing TD's 124.6 average/game

Opponents averaged 6.5 yards/rush scored 50 (!) TD's averaged 299.1 yards/game.

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Josh Walfish reports the young UMass roster looks to grow after a challenging year.

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One thing UMass needs to grow is the roster. I was struck several times during home games it seemed the visiting team had more players on their traveling squad than UMass had on the home side. That included UMass players in a jersey, but not in pads.

BYU had a lot of players during their visit to UMass----and they were all in pads. Visiting teams usually bring about 50-55 players depending on their budget. It's probably going to take at least two recruiting classes to get back to limit, but for next year the Minutemen need to increase the size of the roster to something more reasonable.

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I'm going to be doing a recruiting review by position. As usual, I'll add the disclaimer that I'm not an "insider" and I don't claim to be a football genius. I'll start sometime this week with quarterbacks.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Sammy Solomon

Sammy Solomon, a 6-3 283 pound DT from Pittstown, PA has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

PennLive has a paragraph on Solomon as one of the top available players from PA (scroll to near the end).

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Solomon.

Solomon has offers from mostly Northeast schools. Boston College, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia and Bowling Green have offered. There is lots of playing time available at UMass.

UMass Football News--November 24th, 2019

Well, I actually had a good day at McGuirk yesterday. It was a beautiful clear November day. UMass found its spark in the second half. The Minutemen played with spirit and never quit.

A tip of the hat to BYU who took their foot off the gas. The two faith-based schools, BYU and Liberty showed the most class this year.

In addition to the game,  I got to meet a Blog-friend who at one time led the UMass Olympic weightlifting team. The UMass team would lift in the basement of Boyden. The team did well despite receiving minimal support from UMass (the team only had two bars). Great guy.

I also sat with UMass freshman DL Johnathan Weir's parents. Nice people. Weir is a 5-10 230 pound defensive lineman with a big heart. He led the team in TFL before banging up his knee. Now I have someone personal to root for.

Then I came home and watch the UMass hoops team play Virginia on DVD. The Minutemen basketball team was not intimidated by the #7 Cavaliers. If a few more of those three-pointers fell, it would have been a really tight game. I really like the freshman players.

That's what UMass football needs. We need more talent and kids like Weir who want to be here. Pro Football has "capologists". We need a guy to figure out how to pack as many recruits into the 2020 class as we can get. A big motivated class will turn this thing around. Let's get after it.

Go UMass.

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UMass write-up here.

BYU write-up here.

Cougar RB Jackson McChesney set a freshman rushing record for BYU.

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UConn had a close loss to ECU.

#25 Southern Illinois kept it close against #1 North Dakota State.

Charlotte is bowl eligible with a win over Marshall.

Coastal Carolina lost a close one to Louisiana-Monroe.

Akron lost to Miami earlier in the week.

FIU upset Miami for their first win over a Power Five team.

Louisiana Tech lost to UAB in a game that may have cost Tech the C-USA title.

Virginia ran over Liberty 55-27.

Minnesota beat Northwestern 38-22.

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Game Day BYU--2020

Last game of the 2019 season. The UMass defense has turned out two of their best efforts over the Army and Northwestern games only to not have it reflected on the score. Three INT's , two special team goofs and two go-for-it on forth downs all resulted in opponent scores.

The offense did move the ball last week, but not into the endzone. It would be nice to play a solid game and give the Cougars a hard time today.

There are only so many game days in my life. I'm not going to miss any. I'll be there cheering for the seniors and UMass.

Go UMass!

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The Deseret News has how to watch or listen to the Cougars-Minutemen game.

The News also expects BYU to roll big time.

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The Herald breaks down BYU's offense.

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BYU's game notes.

UMass game notes for Senior Day.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Anthony Smith

Hudl.com image

Anthony Smith (good name), a 6-2 190 pound WR from Huntingtown, MD has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has some stats. Averaged 24.5 yards/catch.

Hudl.com has video.

Smith also has an offer from Navy. He's from Maryland, which is a priority area for the UMass staff.

How's this for clairvoyance,  I randomly chose a UMass prospect this morning and the athletic dept sends him some love soon after. Sometimes I amaze myself how much I control the universe :)

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UMass Football News--November 22nd, 2019

MassLive.com has a story about UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford expecting to announce Minuteman football will have multiple bowl tie-ins through 2025.

This is a big deal for UMass football. As it stands, UMass would not be chosen for a bowl even if eligible. By joining Liberty and New Mexico state with bowl tie-ins, the Minutemen have a goal to shoot for in every season. ESPN provides coverage for many of the made-for-TV bowls. People watch them and they make money (or they would not exist). Along with the new practice bubble, it shows improvements in the program. Now we need some improvement on the field.

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Josh Walfish reports on the last game for twelve UMass seniors. He also talks about eight true freshmen who played this year, thus burning their redshirts. DL Xavier Gonsales, DB Taj Jones, and WR Dariyan Wiley have played less than five games, so they will retain four years of eligibility. Coach Bell said he hope not to have to play OL Xavier Graham as his appearance against BYU would put him over the limit to redshirt this year.

Vanquish the Foe, provides information for BYU fans visiting exotic Boston.

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Flo Football previews the BYU-UMass game.

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The Deseret News reports the Cougars are among the nation's leaders in defensive takeaways.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Robert Kennedy

Twitter image

Robert Kennedy, a 5-10 180 pound CB from Lackawana C.C. has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from October features Kennedy.

Another article from 2018 covers Kennedy's decision to attend a JUCO.

247Sports shows Kennedy making an Amherst visit in December. UMass is his only FBS offer at this time.

UMass Football News--November 21st, 2019

The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen look to the future as they prepare for the last game of 2019.

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Vanquish the Foe has the Cougars depth chart, injury report and more going into the UMass game.

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BTW, the BYU administration extended the Cougars HC Kalani Sitake's contract.

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CBS Sports predicts bowl games for Charlotte, BYU, Louisiana Tech and Liberty.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Xavion Steele

Adam Aranda image

Xavion Steele, a 5-10 180 pound CB from Fullerton College has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Ranked as a three-star player on this JUCO CB rating.

Fullerton bio has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

Twin brother of Xavier Steele.

This article features Steele.

Steele has offers from UTEP, Arkansas State, New Mexico State and San Jose State. I like Steele's brother Xavier. He's a physical player who is probably playing out of position at LB due to UMass' roster issues. Xavion would be a nice pickup for the Minutemen defensive backfield.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Jaden Farmer

Jaden Farmer, a 6-1 215 pound LB from National Christian Academy in Maryland has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

This article mentions Farmer and his teammate and UMass verbal Tristan Armstrong.

Farmer is from Washington, DC, which is coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim's wheelhouse. UMass is the first offer for Farmer.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Taishan Holmes verbals to UMass

UPDATE: Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post about Holmes committing to UMass and some quotes from him.

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Taishan Holmes a 6-2 300 pound DT from Garden City C.C. has verbaled to UMass.

I blogged about Holmes back on November 4th.

Holmes is the second DT in the 2020 recruiting class. According the the 247Sports UMass scholarship distribution page, the Minutemen have zero senior or junior defensive tackles, which shows the state of the roster. All the 2019 freshmen DL's played this year.

If Holmes comes in for Spring semester, UMass might be able to assign him to the 2019 class, which would open another slot for 2020.  See rule #2 here. The Minutemen were probably under the 25 man limit in 2019.

Welcome to UMass and I hope he has a great career with the Minutemen.