UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Tim Baldin and Donovan Turner commit to UMass.

 Two players committed to UMass over the weekend.

 Tim Baldwin is a 6-0 211 pound RB transfer from Indiana.

His 247Sports page here.

Hoosiers bio here.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal.

Coming out of HS Baldwin was ranked the #16 rated player from Virginia and the #37 ranked RB in the nation. UMass is thin on RB's and Baldwin should earn a lot of playing time early.

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Donovan Turner is a 6-1 185 pound CB from Long Beach, CA.

247Sports three-star player.

This article features Turner. 

Originally committed to Morgan State.

Turner has a pro-sized frame for a CB and he should thrive in Brown's aggressive defense.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Arron Alexander and Tyler Leinberger

 Arron Alexander, a 6-1 205 pound LB from Michigan and Tyler Leinberger a 6-4 310 pound OT from Virginia were scheduled to take OV's to Amherst this weekend.

I blogged about Alexander on Thursday.

Leinberger committed to UMass on December 16th. 

I don't know if the storm disrupted their visit; Western Mass did not get the snow fall the eastern part of the state received.

UMass needs help in the LB room and Alexander would be a nice addition to the 2022 class. He would have a lot of fun in Brown's blitz-happy defense.

 Leinberger is a good addition to the UMass offensive line and could be a major contributor in future years.

UMass Football News--January 29th, 2022

 

UMass has a post on the Spring enrollees joining the Minutemen.

BTW, the Spring 2022 football roster is up. 

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 UMass makes the final four for kicker AJ Vinatieri. 

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Former UMass TE Adam Brememan resigns from his position at Arizona State.

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UMass Football News--Janury 28th, 2022

 UMass has a post on announcing the Minutemen's 2022 schedule.

UMass also has an article on the details of the February 2nd Signing Show on NESN. 

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle looks at UMass' 2022 schedule. 

Herman also interviews incoming JUCO QB Gino Campiotti.

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FBS Schedules.com has a post on UMass announcing their 2022 scheduld.

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Arizona hires a coach to replace Ryan Partridge, who is now WR coach at UMass. 

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New Mexico State announces their 2022 schedule including a road game at UMass.

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Navy A.D. and former UMass associate A.D. Chuck Gladchuk has been named to the college football playoff committee. 

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Could the CAA become a FCS "Super Conference"? 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Aaron Alexander

247Sports image

 Aaron Alexander, a 6-1 205 pound weak-side LB from Belleville, Michigan has a UMass offer. Alexander will take an OV to Amherst this weekend.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video. 

Our old friends at Maize & Brew have a post on his decommitting from Michigan.

Besides UMass Alexander has offers from Michigan, Marshall and Eastern Illinois. He would thrive in Brown's attacking defense and would add speed and athleticism to the Minutemen linebacker room.

UMass Football News--January 26th, 2022

 Coach Kenny Lucky joins the Minutemen as a analyst/special teams coach.

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 Coach Scott McLafferty takes over as Director of Sports Performance.

UMass athletic office's press release about McLafferty's hire. Strength and Conditioning coaches probably spend more time with the players than anyone else. A good fit really helps the program.

This YouTube video interviews McLafferty.

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This 247Sports story grades Coach Brown and his staff as a D+ hire. UConn gets a C+. 

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This South Bend Tribune article discusses the greater investment in offense for Indiana Football. It includes a $700,000 salary for Coach Bell.

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The widely traveled former UMass player Joseph Norwood joins the Memphis team.

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UMass Football Recriuiting 2024--Elijah Rushing

247Sports image

 Elijah Rushing, a 6-5 228 pound DE from Tucson, AZ has a UMass offer.

247Sports four-star player.

MaxPreps has stats. 

This article covers his visit to Oregon.

Quote from the above article:

"The exciting weekend was capped off with his seventh offer from UMass, a program that Rushing said is one of the two schools that is contacting him the most right now, along with Oregon."

Rushing is rated the #1 edge rusher in the nation and has seven offers, all Power Five except for the Minutemen. If Rushing is interested in the NFL, there is none better than Don Brown to get him there. He would make a major impact in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Reece Sylvester

 

Hudl.com image

Reece Sylvester, a 5-11 180 pound safety from Baytown, TX has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video. 

Sylvester has FBS offers from Rice and UMass also has five FCS offers. He would do well in Coach Brown's blitz-happy defense and could have a great career in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Michael Williams

 

SI.com image

Michael Williams, a 6-3 220 pound LB from West Brookfield, MI had an OV to UMass on January 14th.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video. 

Visited Michigan in July.

This article from May 2020 features Williams.

Williams, a high three-star player, has 19 offers. He would thrive in Brown's attacking defense and, in addition, has the chance to be remembered as an impact player for the program.

UMass Football News --January 22nd, 2022

 Taking OV's to UMass this weekend will be Minutemen commits CB Cornelius Wright and RB Donta Whack.

Also visiting will be OT Nikko Pohahau from City College of San Francisco. Pohahau has a UMass offer, but has not committed so far.

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This article mentions incoming Penn State transfer Tyler Rudolph.

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UMass adds Mike Livingston as a defensive analyst and special teams coach.

The Minutemen also adds Matt Zanellato as a offensive analyst and assistant wide receivers coach.

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College Football News has UMass last in their 2021 final power rankings.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Dallas Elliott

Twitter image

 Dallas Elliott, a 6-3 180 pound WR/DB from Williston-Northampton had an OV to UMass this weekend.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

Maxpreps page here.

Elliot is also a college-level baseball player. Elliott has FCS offers from Rhode Island and Merrimack. The Minutemen need athletes everywhere and the versatile Elliott could play offense or defense in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Cole Garcia commits to UMass

 

 

Cole Gracia, a 6-4 328 pound grad transfer from Rice has committed to UMass.

Rice bio here. Garcia had 16 career starts for the Owls.

At the Roost's 2018 offensive rookie-of-the-year.

The New England Football Journal has a post on Garcia's joining the Minutemen. 

Garcia adds upper class maturity and experience to the UMass offensive line. He should be in line for a starting position in Amherst.

UMass Football News--January 19th, 2022

 The Manteca Bulletin has a post on JUCO QB Gino Campiotti joining the Minutemen.

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Inside NU previews four transfer portal players to Northwestern including former UMass DL Taishan Holmes.

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247Sports has a post on former UMass LS Evan Deckers joining Duke. 

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Virginia Tech adds former UMass assistant coach Brian Christ to their football staff. Christ coached WR's and TE's in two stints with the Minutemen 1996-2001 and 2007-2011.

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The Centre Daily has a mention of Penn State incoming and outgoing transfers including UMass commit Tyler Rudolph.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Gregory Desrosiers and Marcus Cushnie commit to UMass

 UMass has added two more verbals to their 2022 class.

Desrosiers is a 5-11 202 pound WR/RB transfer from Louisville. I blogged about Desrosiers on Sunday.

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 Marcus Cushnie is a 6-2 250 DE grad transfer from Florida State. I blogged about Cushnie back on January 8th.

Noles Game Day has a short post on Cushnie joining the Minutemen.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022, Gino Campiotti, Jeremiah McGill, Derrieon Craig,George Johnson and Darius Gooden commit to UMass

 UMass had a stellar weekend as six recruits committed to the Minutemen. Five of the commits are known at this time. Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on this weekend's recruiting.

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 Geno Campiotti, a JUCO QB has committed to UMass. I blogged about Campiotti last Thursday.

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 Jeremiah McGill, a Safety from Hollywood, FL committed to UMass. I blogged about McGill last Monday.

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 Derrieon Craig, a LB from St Thomas Aquinas in Florida has joined the Minutemen. I blogged about Craig last Wednesday.

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 Darius Gooden, a 6-2 195 pound safety transfer from Rutgers has committed to UMass.

Rutgers bio here.  247Sports page here. This article talks about his entering the transfer portal.

Gooden, a big framed DB, should be a strong addition the UMass secondary.

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George Johnson, a 6-0 186 pound athlete transfer from Michigan has verbaled to UMass. Johnson can play WR or DB.

Johnson's Michigan bio.

This article talks about his entering the transfer portal. This post from August 2021 features Johnson.

The Minutemen need athleticism everywhere and Johnson should see playing time early in Amherst.

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More recruiting news tomorrow.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Gregory Desrosiers

Desrosiers #3/ Eagle Tribune image

 Gregory Desrosiers, a 5-11 202 pound WR/RB transfer from Louisville has received a UMass offer.

Louisville bio here.

This article mentions his recruitment by the Cards.

Was a track and field star for Central Catholic.

The Minutemen need speed everywhere and Desrosiers could find a home in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Nikko Pohahau

Twitter image

 Nikko Pohahau, a 6-5 290 pound OL from City College of San Francisco will take an OV to UMass.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Originally signed with Colorado.

With UMass' new recruiting connections in California, recruiting Pohahau would add depth and experience to the offensive line. Coach Brown said he wants to run the ball and the OL leads the way. Pohahau could find a lot of playing time in Amherst.

UMass Football News--January 14th, 2022

Hampshire Gazette image

 I took part in Tuesday's UMass Grid Iron Zoom meeting. There were about 110 participants including many UMass football alums. Attending were Kerry Taylor, Matt Lawrence, Bob Foote and other UMass fans and supporters.

There will be at least one more Grid Iron Zoom meeting this Spring and would feature the assistant coaches.

Brown said he'd like to have some of the football alums have regular Zoom meetings with current players to provide some mentorship and life experience

This is some of the notes I took. Be advised Coach Brown sometimes speaks in parables and jumps around in his subject matter. Also my hearing is not very good so this is what I think he said. Do not consider this gospel.

On Spring:

• The Spring game will be April 30th.

• Spring practices will be open. 

On the facilities:

• Brown said recruits were surprised how nice the Minutemen weight room and performance center was.
• He felt the playing field's artificial surface was getting thin and needed to be replaced. 
• Brown wanted to add some kitchen facilities to the performance center so the players could go directly to class after workouts or practice.

On the schedule:

• Brown said except for the Power Five teams, UMass should be competitive with the rest of the schedule.
• He said the Minutemen should not take a back seat to Army or other Group-of-Five teams.

On offense:

• Brown said the Minutemen needed to able to run the ball. He said you can't win if you can't run.
• He felt Coach Miller and the offensive line will enable UMass to run.
• Brown said UMass will copy Michigan's run scheme.

On Defense:

• Brown said UMass will play man defense in the secondary.
• He said the front seven's duty was to "go get  the quarterback".
• Brown said UMass will blitz from any position including the DB's
• He said he'd call the defensive sets from the field.
  

 On coaching:

• Brown said he really liked his staff and felt they would be successful in Amherst.
• He said he'd coach the cornerbacks.

On recruiting:

• Brown said UMass will expand it's recruiting area.
• Coach Ryan Partridge was California HS coach of the year in 2018 and UMass would recruit California.
• Brown said he believed a number of Michigan HS coaches thought well of him and UMass would recruit Michigan.
• The Minutemen would return to recruiting Florida. 
• Coach Miller and Dudzinski would recruit the DMV area.
• Brown would recruit Eastern Mass and parts of CT.
• Coach Perkins would recruit Florida with help from Coach Brower.

On this week's recruiting visits:

• UMass is bringing in 12 recruits.
• Six are true freshmen.
• Six are transfer portal guys from Michigan State, Rice, Michigan, Rutgers, Louisville and a California JUCO All-American.

On joining a conference:

• Brown kinda talked around this topic. He said "we have to be ready.", which I took to mean not many conferences are enthused about taking a team that has won two games in three years. 
  

Brown is an inspiring guy to listen to. He seems really excited to be back and I think we'll finally turn the corner for FBS.

 

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Gino Campiotti

Twitter image

 Geno Campiotti, a 6-2 215 pound pro-style QB from Modesto Junior College will take an official visit to UMass this weekend.

247Sports page here.

All-Valley League offensive MVP.

This video talks about his recruitment for Alabama A&M.

Had a QB efficiency rating of 136 at MJC. UMass stats have not been updated since 10/14, but at that time the combined EEF for all Minutemen QB's was 101.9.

Campiotti has 13 offers, mostly DII schools. He would add some depth and competition in the QB room.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Derrieon Craig

247Sports image

 Derrieon Craig, a 5-10 210 pound LB from St Thomas Aquinas HS in Florida will take a OV to UMass this weekend.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Craig.

First Team All-Broward County.

UMass has a number of players from St. Thomas Aquinas during the Whipple I era. Craig is on the small side for FBS, but the only size that really matters is the size of his heart. He'd do well and play a lot in Brown's package-heavy attacking defense.

UMass Football Reecruiting 2022--Isaiah Holiness committs to UMass

 

Isaiah Holiness, a 5-10 182 pound WR transfer from San Jose State has committed to UMass.

Played both RB and WR for the Spartans.

This article from 2018 reports on his HS recruiting. Had offers from Utah State, San Jose State and UTEP. UMass needs all the athleticism it can get and Holiness should be a good fit in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Jeremiah McGill

Twitter image

 Jeremiah McGill, a 6-0 185 pound safety from Hollywood, FL will take an official visit to UMass on January 14th.

247Sports three-star player. Video highlights on the 247Sports page.

MaxPreps has some stats.

De-committed from UConn.

McGill should have a ball playing in Don Brown's blitz-happy attacking defense. He would be a good fit in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Jadon Jackson

Ole Miss athletic dept image

 Jadon Jackson, a 6-1 195 pound WR transfer from Old Miss has a UMass offer.

Old Miss bio here.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal.

This article from 2019 talks about his signing with the Rebels.

The speedy Jackson could compete for starting time right away in Amherst. He could make an impact in jump starting the Minutemen offense.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Marcus Cushnie

 

Florida State Athletic Dept image

Marcus Cushnie, a 6-2 250 DE grad transfer will take an official visit to UMass this weekend.

Florida State bio here. 

Had two tackles and 1.5 sacks during this year's game against UMass.

Cushnie was a standout FCS player at Alabama A&M before transferring to FSU. He has one year of eligibility and should have a blast playing in Don Brown's attacking defense.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Tyson Watson commits to UMass

 

Well, that didn't take long. As I blogged yesterday, Tyson Watson, a 6-6 265 pound DE transfer from Michigan State has now committed to UMass.

Spartans Wire has a post on his decision to join UMass.

MLive reports Watson is one of seventeen (so far) Spartans who have entered the transfer portal. 

The New England football journal also has a story on Watson's joining the 2022 recruiting class.

I have harped about UMass DE's for years. We have no edge rush. We have had no edge contain. May Watson be the start of better times for the UMass front four. Hope he has a great career with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Tyson Watson

 

247Sports image

Tyson Watson, a 6-6 265 pound DE transfer from Michigan State has a UMass offer.

Spartans bio here.

247Sports three-star player. 

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

Watson would have a great time in Brown's attacking defense and he would fill a longstanding UMass deficit in DE's.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Khalan Griffin

Rice Athletic Dept image

 Khalan Griffin, a 5-10 215 pound athlete transfer from Rice has a UMass offer.

Rice bio here.

2020 Rice freshman-of-the-year.

247Sports three-star player out of HS. 

Since entering the portal, Griffin has a number of offers, mostly from FCS schools. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Nick Nakwaasah

Twitter image

 Nick Nakwaasah, a 5-11 195 pound transfer DB from Central Arkansas has a UMass offer.

Central Arkansas bio here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Nakwaasah has transfer offers from Charlotte, Western Michigan, Kent State, Ball State and North Texas. DB's have always been a focus for Don Brown and Nakwaasah could find a lot of playing time for UMass.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--D'Andre Greeley

Twitter image

 D'Andre Greeley, a 6-0 195 pound DB from San Francisco C.C. has a UMass offer.

City College bio here.

247Sports page here. 

Had ten INT's last year.

Greeley also has FBS offers from Buffalo and Colorado State. Coach Brown loves DB's and Greeley could have a productive career in Amherst. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Marcus Bradley commits to UMass

 Marcus Bradley, a 6-3 275 pound defensive line transfer from Vanderbilt has committed to UMass.

Vanderbilt bio here.

247Sports four-star player out of HS.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

On3.com has some comments from his former coach.

Bradley has the chance to be a real impact player at UMass. Coach Brown and Coach Albert will help him iron out any difficulties he had at his previous school.

UMass Football Recruiting 2022-- C.J. Onyeshi

 

247Sports image

C.J. Onyechi, a 6-1 250 DE grad transfer from Rutgers has a UMass offer.

Rutgers bio here.

Was a 247Sports three-star player out of HS, 

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

Onyechi has one year of eligibility left. He would be in line to get a lot of playing time in Amherst.