UMass Football News--June 30th, 2021

 Four Minutemen make the Phil Steele preseason All-Independent team.

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Pro Football Network has 2021 rankings for all 130 college teams. It has UMass as #130 and opens with "UMass has not had a winning season since 1904...."

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UMass will play Texas A & M at College Station in 2022.

    09/03 - at Tulane
    09/10 - at Toledo
    09/17 - Stony Brook
    09/24 - at Temple
    10/01 - at Eastern Michigan
    10/08 - Liberty
    10/15 - Buffalo
    10/29 - New Mexico State
    11/12 - at Arkansas State
    11/19 - at Texas A&M
    11/26 - Army

That's a tougher schedule than 2021----and it does not have UConn. If you missed it, Buffalo has won 30 games in the last four years (the most in the MAC). Tulane went 6-6 in 2020 with wins over Army and Temple. UMass could add another FCS team.

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A Tennessee site previews common opponent Pittsburgh. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jayden Sumpter

 

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Jayden Sumpter, a 5-9 175 pound RB from Philadelphia, PA has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video. 

2020 All-Catholic Team Honorable Mention.

Sumpter also has an offer from Boston College. With only three recruited RB's on the roster, there is a lot of room in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Donovan McKoy

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 Donovan McKoy, a 6-5 195 pound WR from St. Joseph Regional HS in New Jersey has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has hoops highlights.

This Twitter post has comments from Rutgers' Chop 23 football camp. Most recruiting news from NJ.com has now been paywalled :(

McKoy has a pro-sized frame and could win lots of playing time in Amherst. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Tayvon Nelson

Rivals.com image

 Tayvon Nelson, a 6-1 175 pound CB from Christ the King Regional HS in NY has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Nelson, a big-framed DB, has thirteen offers, mostly from Power Five Schools. Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia have offered from the Northeast. Nelson could find a lot of playing time in a reviving Minutemen defense.

UMass Football Recruiting 2021--Isaiah Major

 

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Isaiah Major, a 6-1 225 pound LB from Independence Community College in Kansas has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video.

Independence Pirates has some stats.

UMass is thin at linebacker and has no senior or junior players on the roster. Major could supply leadership to a young unit.

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Jaylen McClain

 

Hudl.com image

Jaylen McClain, a 6-0 175 pound DB/athlete from West Orange, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

This article covers McClain's offer from Rutgers. 

Hudl.com has video.

McClain already has FBS offers from UMass, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Syracuse and Temple. There is lots of playing available with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Jacob Newman

 

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Jacob Newman, a 6-0 190 pound RB/Athlete from Meyers Park HS in NC has a UMass offer. 

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

All-Conference 2021.

2nd Team All-Observer.

UMass is the first FBS offer for Newman. RB is a position where UMass needs depth . There should be a lot of playing time up for grabs in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Jackson Paradis II

 

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Jackson Paradis, a 6-0 225 pound RB from the Tilton School in NH recently took a visit to UMass.

I blogged about Paradis back in June of 2020.

His updated 247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Paradis has 12 total offers including Army, Navy and Buffalo from the Northeast. He also has a Power Five offer from Wake Forest. The Minutemen only have three recruited RB's on the roster and he could see a lot of playing time in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Derek Osman

 

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Derek Osman, a 6-4 290 pound OL from Choate Rosemary Hall school in CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Osman and his recruiting.

Osman, a National Honor Society Member, has offers from Harvard and Yale as well as FBS UMass, North Texas and Rice.  UMass offers top public university academics as well as a chance to play against Power Five football schools.

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Ryan Puglisi

 

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Ryan Puglisi, a 6-3 190 pound QB from Lawrence Academy in MA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article has coverage of Puglisi.

QB Hit list has a profile of him.

Puglisi has offers from Boston College and UMass. There is a lot of room in Amherst for future playing time.

UMass Football News--June 18th, 2021

 UMass adds Jim Reid and Roy Philon to the football staff.

Jimmie Reid is a UMass legend and hopefully, he won't be "interim" for much longer. He'll make the defense better.

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UMass adds an associate AD for Academic Success. Good to see UMass continues to be serious about academics and graduation. Merkerson's UMass bio here. He comes over from Boston College, which long has had one of the best graduation rates in college football.

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Sports Book has UMass in the bottom-five for win totals in 2021. Louisiana Monroe, UMass, Kansas, UNLV and Bowling Green open at 1.5 win totals.

This article has all the win totals. Coastal Carolina has 11 and Liberty 9. UConn has 2.5 and New Mexico State 2.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2021--Issaih Agnew commits to UMass

Hudl.com image

 Issaih Agnew, a 5-8 185 pound RB from St. Paul HS in Worcester has committed to UMass as a PWO.

Hudl.com has video. 

Scored 5 TD's in this game in April.

UMass needs more depth at RB. Hope Agnew earns a scholarship and has a great career in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Robert Long

 

QB Hit List image

Robert Long is a 6-1 200 pound dual-threat QB from St. Peters Prep in NJ. He has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

This article covers his offer from UMass.

Long has a Power Five offer from Maryland. UMass, Temple and Old Dominion have offered from the Group-of-Five.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Sam Dec

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 Sam Dec, a 6=4 250 pound OT from Nease HS in FL has a UMass offer. He recently took an OV to Amherst.

247Sports three-star player. 

Hudl.com has video.

NCSA profile here.

Dec has sixteen offers, mostly from Group-of-Five schools. UMass, UConn and Navy have offered from the Northeast. UMass has lots of future playing time available and the best food in college football.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Zion Fowler

Pittsburgh Sport Now image

 Zion Fowler, a 6-1 185 pound Athlete from St. Peter's Prep in NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Fowler and his offer from Pitt.

Fowler can play WR or Safety. He has a Power Five offer from Pitt. There is a lot of playing up for grabs in Amherst and Fowler could play early at UMass.

UMass Football Recruiting 2021--Rhakim Williams

 

UMaine image

Rhakim Williams, a 6-2 225 pound graduate transfer LB from Maine has a UMass PWO offer.

Black Bears bio here.

This article mentions Williams plus a preview of 2021 opponent Maine.

Linebacker is one of the youngest units at UMass. The current roster has eight linebackers and six are freshmen. The two oldest players are redshirt sophomores. Williams could make a real impact with his maturity and leadership.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Zyian Moultrie-Goddard

 

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Zyian Moultrie-Goddard, a 6-2 240 pound LB from New Rochelle, NY has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features his offer from Neal Brown's West Virginia team.

Seventeen Iona Prep players will play in college (mentions Moultrie-Goddard).

Moultrie-Goddard has Power Five offers from Arizona State, Syracuse, Tennessee and West Virginia. There is lots of playing time available Amherst and Moultrie-Goddard would find a good fit at UMass.

UMass Football News--June 10th, 2021

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on UMass' projected 2021 season.

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Looking at the Minutemen's 2021 opponents is pretty hit-or-miss because of the screwed up 2020 season. Some teams DNP, many played an altered schedules or had games canceled. That makes it hard to relate 2020 to potential strength in 2021. Anyway, here is my ranking of UMass' 2021 opponents.

1. Liberty-- The Flames finished #17 in the final AP poll last year. They are probably better this year. Liberty returns 20 (!) starters and super star QB Malik Willis.
2. Boston College--The Eagles may have their best team in the last seven or eight years. BC's O-line features two All-Americans.
3. Florida State--The Seminoles face a brutal schedule, but should climb to .500 in the ACC. 
4. Coastal Carolina-- The Chants went 11-1 in 2020. Coastal only plays one Power Five team (Kansas) in 2021. They could go 12-0 this year.
5. Pitt--Looks like another 6-5 season in 2021.
6. Toledo--The Rockets return 19 starters and will again challenge for MAC West crown.
7. Army--The Black Knights went 9-3 in 2020, but face a tougher schedule this year. Army's defense was #2 in the nation in scoring defense in 2020 and returns seven starters.
8. Eastern Michigan--The Eagles went 2-4 in 2020 and most pundits are picking them 5th in MAC West.
9. UConn--The Huskies DNP in 2020 and lost pretty heavily in the transfer portal. Right now, UConn's only apparent bright spot is Worcester RB Kevin Mensah.
10. Rhode Island--The Rams may have their best team in many, many years. Rhode Island brought in a bunch of Power Five transfers and should compete for the CAA North championship. Tennessee transfer Kasim Hill could be the best QB in the CAA.
    
11. Maine--Not much stands out for the Black Bears. They're probably looking at another .500 season.
12. New Mexico State--The Aggies lost to FCS Tarleton State 17-43 and had a last minute win over FCS Dixie State this Spring. Those two teams were by no means FCS powers.

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 Congrats to the UMass team for their Spring grades. Coach Bell and staff have really turned around the academic performance of the team.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Marc Stampley

 

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Marc Stampley, a 5-11 170 pound Safety from Fayetteville, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

This article from two years ago is a nice human interest story about Stampley.

Besides UMass, Stampley has an offer from Arkansas State. UMass has been recruiting GA heavily and Stampley would be a fine addition to a future Minutemen defensive backfield.

UMass Football News--June 8th, 2021

 If you didn't get a chance to watch the interview with Coach Bell on the New England Football Journal, it's here.

• Coach Bell was asked his expectations for the 2021 season and he responded "be bowl eligible". That would imply 5 or 6 wins, which would be the most wins of the FBS era. Five wins would make most UMass fans very happy after what we've been through.
• Bell said Tyler Lytle was expected to win the battle to start at Colorado, but he tested positive for COVID and had to sit out 21 days of fall camp. Bell thinks he will do well at UMass.
• He said the fact UMass had to quarantine after every game in 2020 did not did not allow freshmen like QB Garrett Dzuro to show what they can do.
• Bell said what I've said here, that the UMass defensive backfield could be the deepest unit on the team. He also said the depth on the O-line is much improved.
• He said linebacker and running backs are probably the thinnest rooms right now.
• Bell confirmed he's hired Coach Jimmie Reid to work with defense. I think Reid will be an impact coach on the Minutemen defense. Reid has been defensive coordinator at five different teams including Virginia and Boston College. The UMass defensive line and secondary could lead the way to a resurrected Minutemen "D". 

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UConn will allow 100% capacity at home games and tailgating in 2021. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Jaylen Bell

247Sports image

 Jaylen "Hollywood" Bell a 5-11 150 pound CB from Grayson HS in Georgia has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

This article features his offer from Georgia.

Bell has Power Five offers from Georgia, Florida State and Ole Miss.  There is a lot of playing time up for grabs in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Chase Brewster

Hudl.com image

 Chase Brewster, a 6-5 195 pound QB from the Tilton School has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

NCSA profile here.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Tilton is coached by Matt Dawson, a UMass four-year letter winner and captain in 1999. The Minutemen are the first offer for Brewster. There should be plenty of playing time available in the future in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jaden Keefner

 

Jim Keefner image

Jaden Keefner, a 6-2 215 pound QB from Pittsfield, MA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from October of 2020 features Keefner.

UMass was the first offer for Keefner. Also drawing interest from a number of FCS schools.

UMass Football News--June 3rd, 2021

UMass Athletic Dept image

 Here's one I hope is true: Jim Reid to become interim defensive tackles coach.

I've always been a Jimmie Reid fan. He did a lot in Amherst with a very limited budget and number of scholarships. He has extensive coaching experience and is well respected by New England HS coaches. He was recently Defensive Coordinator for a Power Five team.

Sometimes you can't go home again, but I really hope this works out. Reid will make the UMass defense (and UMass football) better. Welcome back Coach Reid!

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College Football News previews  2021 UMass Football. 

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New Mexico State announces a home-and-home with Air Force. UMass will play New Mexico State every year through 2023. If both stay independents, the series will probably be extended.

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The UConn Blog reports the pundits predict a tough year for the Huskies. The October 9th game in McGuirk will be a big game for both teams.

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BC Interruption reports Pro Football Focus predicts eight wins for the Eagles.

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West Virginia Gazette says Florida State has struggled with FCS/low level FBS teams.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Dante Reno

 

Rick Cinclair image

Dante Reno, a 6-2 200 pound QB from Loomis Chaffee School in CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article covers his offer from Iowa.

Reno has more than eight offers, all from Power Five schools. Syracuse and West Virginia have offered from the Northeast. UMass can offer lots of available playing time in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Olaus Alinen

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 Olaus Alinen, a 6-7 315 pound OL from Loomis Chaffee School in CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports four-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Alinen and his recruitment. 

Alinen has fifteen offers all from Power Five schools except for UMass. 247Sports lists the Minutemen as one of his "interests". He'd be a big catch in all aspects of the word for UMass football.