UMass Football News--March 31st, 2021

Transfer QB Tyler Lytle/UMass athletic dept image

 Kyle Grabowski of the Hampshire Gazette reports on UMass' first spring practice in two years.

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Gazette says Coach Bell is pleased after the Minutemen's first practice.

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The latest addition to the UMass coaching staff is Jamey McClendon who is replacing Cato June. McClendon had been a analyst at UMass and USF. No bio up yet on the UMass web site.

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Some video and still images from the practice over on the UMass Football's Twitter feed.

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UMass Football News--March 30th, 2021

 Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle has a post on UMass' Spring practice schedule.

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 UMass has named DT Billy Wooden as the recipient of the 2020 Michael Boland Inspirational Award.

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Today is the first day of the 2021 Spring Ball. This will be the first camp under Coach Bell that has enough depth (in most units) to provide some competition.

Hopefully, the school administration will allow fans at the Spring game. UMass a lots of new players including transfers Bryce Watts, Tyler Lytle, Kay'Ron Adams, Tray Pettway, Jonathan White and Darryl Munoz, 

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UConn shuts down its spring practices three sessions short due to positive COVID tests.

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2021 opponent Rhode Island gave up 551 yards of total offense in a home loss to Delaware Sunday.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Malik Tullis

 

Hudl.com image

Malik Tullis, a 6-2 260 pound DE from Fairburn, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article talks about his offer from Georgia Tech.

Besides UMass, Tullis has offers from Syracuse and Georgia Tech. UMass offers a Northeast education and chance to make an impact with the improving Minutemen defense.

 

UMass Football News--March 27th, 2021

 UMass Spring football gets pushed up a week.

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The Berkshire Eagle has a post on UMass' Pro Day.

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Former UMass assistant coach Jon Bills will be the HC of one of FAU's squads in their Spring game. 

Note to the UMass administration: the Owls are allowing fans for their spring game. I don't see how a couple of hundred UMass fans scattered about in the stands would be an existential threat to the university...

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Chase Belcher

Gerald Thomas III image

 Chase Belcher, a 6-1 215 pound athlete from Valdosta, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article from September 2020 mentions Belcher.

Belcher probably projects as a WR in college. There is a lot of room in Amherst for him to earn early playing time. Besides UMass, Becher has an offer from South Alabama.

UMass Football News--March 25th, 2021

 

Today is UMass' Pro Day. 

The Berkshire Eagle also has a post on the event. Participating will be Larnel Coleman, Jarvis Miller and Jarell Addo.

Draft Diamonds has a 2019 post about Addo.

Giants Wire has a story from 2020 featuring Jarvis Miller.

NFL Draft Buzz has a capsule on Larnel Coleman.

Titans Wire reports Coleman met with Tennessee.

Bolts from the Blue says the Chargers are interested in Coleman.

Draft Diamonds also has a post on Coleman.

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The Chicago Bears signed former UMass OT Elijah Wilkinson to a one year contract. 

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Former UMass assistant coach Cato June joins the Bowling Green staff. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2021--Rico Arnold transfers to UMass

 Rico Arnold, a 6-1 184 pound WR from Charlotte University has joined the Minutemen via the transfer portal.

Arnold's 49ers bio here. He was a member of the C-USA's All-Freshman team in 2018 with 22 receptions for 302 yards and 1 TD. Had three catches for 43 yards vs UMass that year.

Sat out 2019 with a season-ending foot injury.

Arnold provides immediate help with the Minutemen's depleted WR corps. He has a big frame and could be the starting "X" or "Y" receiver.

UMass Football News--March 23rd, 2021

 Spring Football starts today! Priorities are:

1. Find a starting QB.

2. Find a running game. This is the Minutemen's eight year in FBS. We have yet to finish higher than #100 in rushing and are usually in the bottom ten. In 2020 we were #126 out of 127 FBS teams.

3. Find an offensive line. UMass lost both 2020 starting offensive tackles and the starting center. Finding a running game is dependent on a much more productive OL in 2021.

4. Continue the resurrection of the Minutemen defense. UMass finished #118 in total defense in 2020, which was a big improvement from 2019. The Minutemen defense gave up 561 yards per game and 7.7 yards a play in 2019. In 2020 the totals were 482 yards a game and 6.91 yards a play. UMass needs to replace two of the three starting LB's from 2020.

Hopefully, UMass will allow some spectators for the Spring game!

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Maine beat Stony Brook Saturday 35-19. The Black Bears are 2-1 this season and the victory over Stony Brook pushed Maine into the FCS Top-25.

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Rhode Island beat Albany in overtime Saturday. That was the second game in a row the Rams beat a Top-25 FCS team. 

Rhode Island is currently #9 in the FCS rankings, which is the highest in decades.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Adarrius Harshaw

 

Twitter image

Adarrius Harshaw, a 5-10 155 pound WR from Canton, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 1,497 receiving yards and 14 TD's in two years.

First Team All-Region.

Besides UMass, Harshaw has offers from Charlotte, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and USF. Wide receiver is a position where UMass has some needs. Harshaw could play early and often in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Mikal LeGall

 

Connection Newspapers image

Mikal LeGall, a 6-0 215 pound RB from Chantilly, VA has a UMass offer.

247Sport page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Ran for 1001 yards and 23 TD's in 2019.

Also can play defense.

UMass is the first offer for LeGall. Also showing interest is Syracuse, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina and Kent State.

UMass Football News--March 19th, 2020

 Athlon Sports has a post that mentions former UMass player Liam Coen as the new OC at Kentucky.

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Chase Sutton image

 This article covers Penn's assistant coaches including former UMass head coach Kevin Morris who is OC and QB coach for the Quakers.

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Former UMass RB Kevin Brown is sparking a renaissance at Rhode Island.

Quote from Rhode Island coach John Fleming:

“Kevin, I have a hard time even looking at as a transfer because we had really had him committed for two years before he made the egregious error of going and testing the waters at UMass for whatever reason.”

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I was watching Idaho-Eastern Washington on YouTube a couple of days ago. Former UMass coach Charlie Molnar is in his seventh year with the Vandals.

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Recently I wondered on the blog when was the last time a UMass team had beaten a #1 team. Was it in this century? A blog reader e-mailed me to say it was just last year when UMass Lacrosse beat #1 Yale. 2020 is kinda blur for me...

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Jahsin Jacobs

 

Twitter image

Jahsin Jacobs, a 6-1 290 pound DT from Paterson, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Jacobs.

First Team All Passaic County.

UMass is the first team to offer Jacobs. Rutgers also showing interest. Jacobs could be a valuable addition to the improving Minuteman defense.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Cole Spence

 

247Sports image

Cole Spence, a 6-6 220 pound TE from Alpharetta, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

Scoutrout.com has a page with a lot of detail on Spence.

This article by a Vanderbilt site on 247Sports covers his offer from Vandy. 

Spence has 23 total offers including Buffalo and Liberty. Power Five Vanderbilt has also offered. UMass offers a high-quality Northeast education and a chance to play early and often in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Landry Lyddy

Crescent City Sports image

 Landry Lyddy, a 6-1 191 pound pro-style QB from Shreveport, LA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 4,037 passing yards and 47 TD's.

All-State in 2020.

Had 464 passing yards in the Class IV State Championship game.

Lyddy also has an offer from UAB. He'd be a good fit in the UMass offense.

UMass Football News--March 15th, 2021

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on updates to the Spring football roster.

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UMass commit Brady Olsen threw 4 TD's in Milford's 34-0 win over Attleboro.

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Former UMass assistant coach Ted Dasher has been hired as HC of the Hamburg (Germany) Sea Devils. Dasher was a defense secondary coach in Amherst from 2012-2014.

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Maine knocked off #13 Albany 38-34 and rang up over 400 yards of offense.

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Rhode Island had their best win in a decade as the Rams upset #6 Villanova in overtime.

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BTW, I've been meaning to congratulate UMass Hockey over their win against #1 Boston College. Another UMass fan and I have been talking off line about when was the last time a Minutemen team beat a #1 team. Was UMass and Marcus Camby in 1995 over Kentucky or were the Georgia Southern Eagles #1 in 1998?

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Caleb Wheatland

Twitter image

 Caleb Wheatland, a 6-2 235 pound LB from Chantilly, VA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article July of 2020 features Wheatland.

Wheatland has FBS offers from Ball State, Utah State and Liberty. Linebacker is a position of need for the Minutemen and Wheatland could play early in Amherst.

UMass Football News--March 12th, 2021

The UMass 2021 Spring Roster is up. 

The coaching staff page has also been updated.

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 247Sports has a question-and-answer session with Villanova transfer Mike Ruane.

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UConn LB Jackson Mitchell is evolving into a student of the game.

The Huskies add a home-and-home against Ole Miss and a home game against Sacred Heart.

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247Sports also has a Q and A with Villanova potential recruit Octavian Smith.

I blogged about Smith back on February 13th.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Vince Carpenter

 

Twitter image

Vince Carpenter, a 6-6 290 pound OL from Little Silver, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

2nd Team All-Division in 2020.

Received a recruiting call from Kevin Morris who is OC at Penn. 

Carpenter has 14 total offers including UConn and Buffalo from the Northeast. East Carolina, Houston, Kent State, Kentucky, Nevada and Virginia have also offered from FBS.

UMass Football News--March 10th, 2021

 Penn Lives reports former All-American TE Adam Breneman is a rising star as an assistant coach at Arizona State.

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2021 opponent New Mexico State scored with 21 seconds left to defeat FCS Dixie State 36-29. The Aggies are 1-1 in Spring football.

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2021 opponent Maine got shellacked by Delaware 37-0 in the Black Bears opening Spring game.

2021 opponent Rhode Island opens this Saturday at Villanova.

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UConn starts their Spring program after a winter of strength training.

The Hartford Courant says the Huskie defense, despite losing three of their top-10 tacklers  to the transfer portal, will be better this year.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Nick Bryan

 

Mike Darnay image

Nick Bryan, a 6-4 270 pound OL from Clairton, PA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights. 

This article from Pittsburgh Sports Now features Bryan and his recruiting.

Besides UMass, Bryan has FBS offers from Ball State, Kent State and Old Dominion. UMass offers a chance to play in games against Power Five opponents and the best food in college football.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Tristan Wilson

Hudl.com image

 Tristan Wilson, a 6-5 300 pound OG from Lebanon HS in MO has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

This article from three days ago features Wilson's recruiting.

Wilson has 12 total offers with Kentucky, Baylor, K-State, Missouri, Arizona State, VA Tech and Illinois from the Power Five. UMass offers a high-quality northeast education plus a chance to play a lot of Power Five teams as an Independent.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Josh Hoover

Twitter image

 Josh Hoover, a 6-2 205 pro-style QB from Rockwell, TX has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 6428 yards passing in two seasons.

This article from last month covers his recruiting.

Hoover has 13 offers including Power Five Arkansas. UMass and UConn have offered from the Northeast. He'd be a good fit in the Minutemen offense.

UMass Football News--March 5th, 2021

 Former UMass RB Jared Cole has committed to Virginia Tech as a PWO.

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This Twitter post links to a story (paywalled) is about Luke Kromenhoek a freshman QB at Benedictine Military School, Savannah, GA. His father and coach is Jon Kromenhoek who lettered for UMass as a DB in 1991,'92 and '93.

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DON'T SCHEDULE THESE GUYS AGAIN.

If you missed it, Southern Illinois decisively ended North Dakota State's 39 game FCS winning streak.

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A Bleacher Report writer has former UMass player and coach Neal Brown as one of FBS' coaches who are building their programs the right way.

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If you get NBC Sports Boston on your cable network you can watch Albany at New Hampshire tonight at 6:00 pm.

UNH will play two of UMass' 2021 opponents this spring: Rhode Island on April 3rd and Maine on April 17th.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Amari Jones

 

WCTV image

Amari Jones, a 6-4 205 pound dual-threat QB from Valdosa, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

This article covers Jones' offer from Kansas.

Besides UMass Jones has offers from FIU, Kansas and UAB. He also has a Northeast offer from Dartmouth.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Kyle Lewis

 

Twitter image

Kyle Lewis, a 6-1 195 pound OLB/athlete from East Orange, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

First Team All-Division 2020.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Lewis has FBS offers from Buffalo, Kent State and Temple. He has a good-sized frame and would likely grow in a college training program. He can play multiple positions and UMass has lots of playing time available.

UMass Football recruiting 2022--Sam Martin Jr II

 

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Sam Martin, Jr, a 6-0 190 all-purpose RB from Paramus, NJ has UMass in his final seven.

I blogged about Martin back on December 22nd. 

Updated 247Sports page here.

This article by Rivals.com has quotes by Martin about his top-seven schools including UMass.

UPDATE: SILive has a post on Martin selecting seven schools in his offer cutdown.

Martin has a list of some fine academic schools. At the Power Five teams he'd be joining a much deeper roster. In Amherst, he'd have a chance to play early and often.

UMass Football Recruiting 2021--Martin Latham, jr commits to UMass

 

Twitter image

Martin Latham Jr, a 6-2 200 pound WR from Holy Cross has announced he will transfer to UMass as a PWO.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Latham had FCS offers from Holy Cross and Cornell before deciding on the Minutemen. Hope he earns a scholarship and has a great career in Amherst.