UMass Football News--April 30th, 2022

 

Come down to Amherst and check out the 2022 Minutemen in the Spring game today at 12:00 noon. Live stream on NESN!

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UMass corner Bryce Watts is waiting for the NFL draft.

NFL Draft profile.

Draft Diamonds interviews Bryce Watts.

The Fan has Watts as a draft "sleeper". 

Sports Illustrated has Watts as a Day Three pick. 

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2022 opponent Stony Brook wraps up its Spring practice. 

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UMass Football News--April 29th, 2022

 

Hampshire Gazette image

The player in the image is Jamir Roberts, who was the featured kick returner for the Minutemen in 2021,

The Gazette says UMass' last practice  felt like fall.

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This story features Jon Kromenhoek, the son of former UMass player Jon M. Kromenhoek (lettered 1991, '92,'93). Lots of UMass connections here.

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FBS Schedules has Saturday's Spring game TV schedule including UMass.

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UConn QB Steve Krajewski has entered the transfer portal. Krajewski was the Huskies QB for last year's game against UConn. He went 13-26 128 yards 1 TD 1 INT against the UMass defense.

The UConn Daily Campus recaps the Husky's Spring game.

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UMass Football News--April 28th, 2022

 

UMass athletic dept has a Game Day Central post on Saturday's Spring Game.

During last evening's Zoom meeting with the Grid Iron Club Coach Brown said:

• There would be a four-quarter drill and scrimmage
• It'll be full speed, but not tackling to the ground
• They will play AC DC's "Thunder stuck"  over the speakers
• The game will be on NESN with interviews, nine camera stations and split screen video.

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FBS Schedules has a story about seven new coaching hires that might have a rocky start to the 2022 season.

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Mark Blaudschun says BC needs stability at athletic director.

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MassLive looks at Massachusetts natives who might be chosen in this year's NFL draft. The article includes UMass' Bryce Watts.

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UMass Football News--April 27th, 2022

The Hampshire Gazette reports the UMass linebacker corps is being reshaped. 

Let's hope so. I watched the UMass-Coastal Carolina game on my tread mill yesterday afternoon. The full game is available on the internet. The Chants averaged 6.9 yards/carry in a 53-3 Coastal Carolina victory. Coastal did not punt once during the game. The Minutemen were dead last in 2021 in rushing yards allowed a game in FBS.

I had previously watched UMass-Florida State where the Seminoles ran through tackles all day.

Spring linebackers:

Miles Turner 6-1 235

Zududo Igwenagu 6-4 230

Nahji Logan 6-4 225

Gerrell Johnson 6-3 225

Da'Shon Ross 6-1 235

Derrion Craig 5-10 210 Freshman

Dominic Shofield 6-3 240

Mike Saliba 6-0 215

Josh Brunelle 6-0 235

Ethan Dumont 6-0 210

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle reports it's been a happy homecoming for coaches Brower and Albert.

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BC Interruption has UMass AD Ryan Bamford as a potential contender for the open AD job at Boston College.

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SB Nation wonders if Andy Isabella could end up with the Patriots.  

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UMass Football News--April 26th, 2022

 

UMass Athletic Dept image

The athletic dept has an update on the last week of Spring ball.

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The Oklahoman says Coach Brown is in the top three coaching hires in 2022. 

The article ranks Jerry Kill at New Mexico State and Jim Mora at UConn considerably below that. Coach Brown has a major rebuilding job in Amherst. In many aspects we need a lot of improvement just to be competitive. I think he'll do it, but we'll have to endure another three-year rebuild period.

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USA Today predicts 2022 opponent Texas A&M to go 10-2 and finish 3rd in the SEC behind Alabama and Georgia.

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The Rams.com has NFL mock draft that has them picking Bryce Watts in the seventh round.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Connor Vasher transfers to UMass

 

Conner Vasher, a 6-3 295 pound OL from Savannah State has transferred to UMass.

Tigers bio here.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

Vasher was a three-year starter for the Tigers and was first-team All-conference in 2021. Welcome to the Minutemen Conner!

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jaelon Barbarin

 

Hudl.com image

Jaelon Barbarin, a 5-9 180 pound athlete from Simi Valley, CA has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star athlete.

Hudl.com has video.

Holds record in the the 100 meter sprint.

Another story about his track accomplishments.

Besides UMass, Barbarin has an FBS offer from San Jose State. The Minutemen need speed and athletes and he could contribute early in Amherst.

UMass Football News--April 22nd, 2022

 The Hampshire Gazette has the latest edition of the UMass Spring football notebook.

Rutgers transfer Kay'Ron Adams 5-10 210 is back at running back. Adams looked good in last year's Spring game, but was injured early and did not get a chance to show what he could do.

UMass Athletic Dept image

Joshua Johnson 6-5 235 is practicing more as a TE. He's an athletic player and could have a future in the next level as a TE.

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The New England Football Journal visits Spring camp and has a number of quotes from Johnson.

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2023 RB Jaquez Keys takes a visit to Wisconsin. Has a UMass offer.

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The #2 2023 Massachusetts recruit picks up an offer from UCLA. Has an offer from UMass and BC.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Hanes Hammer

Hudl.com image

 Hanes Hammer (good name) a 6-5 272 pound OL from North Cross school in VA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Hammer has FBS offers from Eastern Michigan and UMass. He currently has three FCS offers from Richmond, William & Mary and Dartmouth.  Hammer would do well with Coach Miller and the resurgent Minutemen offense.

UMass Football News--April 20th, 2022

 Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle has a post on the development of the UMass secondary in Spring ball.

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Hampshire Gazette image

The Hampshire Gazette says the Minutemen defensive backs are dominating early. 

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The starting DB's for the last game of the season in 2021 were:

Josh Wallace 6-0 190

Donte Lindsey 5-11 190

Jordan Mahoney 5-11 170

Te'Rai Powell 6-0 190 Phil Steele All-Independent second team

Coach Brown like to play packages, so we will probably see a lot of Nickle and Dime sets this year.

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Michigan State DB Antoine Booth has entered the transfer portal. Had a UMass offer before choosing the Spartans.

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UConn's Blue and White game will be Friday night.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jyree Roberts II

 On April 12th I blogged about Jyree Roberts, a 6-1 225 LB committing to UMass.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post about and an interview with Roberts.

A competitive defense is something we have not had since the move to FBS. In particular we have not had a run stopping MLB.

Recently I have been watching UMass full-game replays over at nfl-video.com. They have the full Minutemen games against Pitt, Florida State, Coastal Carolina and BC (with no commercials).

In the first two plays by Florida State, the Seminoles ripped off about 60 yards rushing. In both plays, UMass had a defender in hole. The Florida State player just ran through the tackle.

Hope Roberts has a great four-year career with the Minutemen and we remember 2022 and 2023 as when the great turnaround in defense happened.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Ryder Kurtz

 

Twitter image

Ryder Kurtz, a 6-5 235 pound TE from St. Paul's school in CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

NCSA profile here.

Besides UMass, Kurtz has an offer from Cornell and is drawing interest from other Ivies. The Minutemen did not recruit a TE in 2022, so Kurtz could find playing time early in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Isaiah Ragland

 

Centerville Football image

Isaiah Ragland, a 5-9 195 pound RB from Clifton, VA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

First Team Washington Post All-Met.  Ran for 2,686 yards in 13 games.

Military Bowl DC Touchdown Club High School Football Player of the Week.

Ragland is drawing interest from Eastern Carolina and several FCS teams. UMass is his first offer. The Minutemen are light on RB's and Ragland could contribute early in Amherst.

UMass Football News--Ides of April 2022

UMass athletic dept image

 

 The Hampshire Gazette reports the UMass running game will be more than Ellis Merriweather this year.

Ellis Merriweather is a two-time team captain and the Minutemen's only 1,000 yard rusher of the FBS era.

Kay'Ron Adams, a transfer from Rutgers looks to contribute early.

Cyrus Bonsu has one career carry for five yards.

Jared Chisari looked quick and went 19-124 (6.5 yards/carry) and had 2 TD's in 2021.

Donta Whack, a true freshman from Sanford, FL could see some reps this year.

Romeo Holden, a redshirt senior transfer from Monmouth adds some depth and senior leadership.

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle says the UMass defensive line is getting a graduate-level course in defensive football.

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Former Minutemen offensive lineman Dalton Tomlison will play his final year for Western Carolina.

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UConn's Spring game will be on-campus on April 21st.

The Huskies new offensive coordinator has big plans for UConn's offense.

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UMass Football News--April 14th, 2022

 The Hampshire Gazette has two posts on the new UMass staff.

Valdamar Brower is on a mission to make UMass win again.

Ben Albert wants to right the ship in Amherst. 

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The New England Football Journal checks in at UMass' spring practice.

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UConn RB Nathan Carter comments on the new culture and new attitude in Storrs.

Carter ran for 126 yards on 20 carries against the Minutemen last year. 

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ESPN releases a preseason Top-25 computer ranking. UMass 2022 Power Five opponent Texas A&M is #14.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2022--Jalon Ferrell transfers to UMass

 Jalon Ferrell, a 6-2 180 pound DB transfer from UConn has joined the Minutemen.

UConn bio here.

247Sports page here.

YouTube highlights here.

Ferrell is a good special teams player as well as DB. He runs to the ball and that's exactly what Coach Brown preaches. Hope he has a great two years in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jyree Roberts commits to UMass

 

Jyree Roberts, a 6-1 225 pound LB from Cathedral Prep in Eire, PA has verbaled to UMass. Roberts is the first commit for 2023.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has junior highlights.

This article features Roberts. 

Younger brother of Arizona LB Jerry Roberts.

Roberts was also drawing interest from Buffalo. Hope he has a great career with the Minutemen.

UMass Football News--April 11th, 2022

 Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle says "aggressive" is the word for UMass and its defense.

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UMass athletic dept image

The UMass athletic dept has the UMass football notebook: Week #2.

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Former UMass punter George Georgopoulos join the Mississippi State Bulldogs. 

Georgopoulos was one of the Minutemen's best players in 2021. 

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Boston College looks ahead to the 2022 season after a disappointing 2021 campaign.   The Eagles must replace four starters in an offensive line that many pundits felt was among the best in college football.

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UMass recruiting coordinator coach Jeff Moore says big news is coming...

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jayden Bass

Twitter image

 Jayden Bass, a 6-5 295 pound OL from Springfield Central in MA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article covers his recruiting visit to Rutgers.

The New England Football Journal has a post about his visit to UMass.

Bass has 10 offers including all the Service academies plus 4 MAC teams and UConn. He could play in front of family and friends in Amherst as well as playing for one of the nation's top coaches.

UMass Football News--April 8th, 2022

 The Hampshire Gazette reports on Alex Miller's work with the UMass offensive line.

The Gazette notes Josh Atwood 6-3 330 has been moved to center. 

The starters for the last game of 2021 (New Mexico State) were:

RT Johnny Hassard 6-5 290

RG Max Longman 6-4 315

C Dalton Tomlison (in transfer portal)

LG Helber Fagundes 6-5 325

LT Ethan Mottinger 6-5 315

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UMass announces the details of the Spring Game. The big news is the game will be available on NESN,  so non-local Minutemen fans can see the game.

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The Gazette says playing in pads helps separate the gamers from the pretenders on the practice field.

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The UMass dance team heads back to the Nationals. 

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Notebook from week #2 of Spring practice at Stony Brook. UMass has lost three in a row to FCS teams.

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UConn signs a home-and-home with Wyoming.

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Indiana is learning to master "significant changes" with Coach Bell's new offense. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Timothy Bruen

 

Twitter image

Timothy Bruen, a 6-6 280 pound OT from Catholic Memorial in MA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has junior highlights.

Part of a dominate OL for Catholic Memorial.

Besides UMass, Bruen has offers from Eastern Michigan, Maine and Rhode Island. He could play for Coach Alex Miler and in front of friends and family in Amherst.

UMass Football News--April 6th, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a comprehensive article on UMass' Junior Day recruiting event.

The new staff did pretty good with a limited time to recruit with the 2022 class. The next class will be the first the staff will have a full recruiting cycle and might be even more important.

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle reports Coach Brown will let position battles run their course.

Herman reports QB Zamir Wise has looked good in practice. He also says Florida State transfer DL Marcus Cushnie and transfer Vanderbilt DL Marcus Bradley have also impressed in practice.

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Former UMass LS Evan Deckers is now at Duke.

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BYU RB Jackson McChesney still wants to contribute. He set a Cougar freshman single-game rushing record against UMass. 

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Former UMass HC Walt Bell is making significant changes to Indiana's offense.

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More new numbers:

JUCO DB Juan Lua is wearing #25.

JUCO QB Gino Campiotti is wearing #5.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Jeremiah Warren

Twitter image

 Jeremiah Warren, a 6-4 285 pound DL from Belleview, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

First Team Detroit Free Press All-West.

Gets a mention near the end in this article about Ohio Under Armour camp.

Warren has five MAC offers plus Army and UMass have offered from the East. Warren would have excellent opportunities in Coach Brown's attacking defense.

UMass Football News--April 4th, 2022

 

UMass Athletic Dept image

UMass has Spring Practice Notebook #1.

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The latest version of the Spring roster is up.

Transfer numbers:

Marcus Cushnie DL from Florida State is wearing #0.

Greg Desrosiers RB from Rutgers is wearing #36.

George Johnson WR from Michigan is wearing #4.

Darius Gooden DB from Rutgers is wearing #28.

Isaiah Holiness WR from San Jose State is wearing #84.

Marcus Bradley DL from Vanderbilt is wearing #1. 

Zukudo Igwneagu LB from Rutgers is wearing $10.

Tyler Rudolph S from Penn State is wearing #2.

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Penn State transfer QB Ta'Quon roberson wants to start for UConn.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2023--Hilton Alexander II

Hudl.com image

 Hilton Alexander II, a 5-11 160 pound WR from Douglasville, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Hudl.com has video.

One of the top performers at the Adidas All-American Bowl combine.

Alexander has eleven offers including Marshall, Western Kentucky, Troy and UNLV. He would be a good fit in the Minutemen's retooling offense.

UMass Football News--April 1st, 2022

 

Chris Tucci image

The Hampshire Gazette has a post on offensive coordinator Steve Casula installing the new UMass offense.

For the third year in a row, the Minutemen are searching for a starting QB. QB Garrett Druzo is not on the Spring roster. He started the last two games of 2021 for UMass. 

Brady Olsen seemed to have the best grasp of the offense last year, but struggled with his passing accuracy. Zamir Wise ran the wildcat well, but he was not allowed to pass.

JUCO Gino Campiotti  could be a dual-threat QB, which would lead to less pressure on the offensive line than a pocket passer would create. Freshman QB Chase Brewster would likely red shirt if possible. 

RB Carter Scudo has been moved to WR. He's quick and could contribute as a slot receiver. UMass has added Isaiah Holiness from San Jose State. Another transfer from Michigan is George Johnson III.

6-5 WR Onuma Dieke had 14 receptions in 2021 and could be a mismatch for most defenses if UMass could get him the ball.

Both Coach Bell and Coach Brown praised the TE room. UMass did not recruit a TE in this cycle. The TE's appeared under-utilized in 2021 and would expand the UMass offense if we could get them the ball.

A surprise is moving RB Kay'Ron Adams to defense.

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Former FAMU RB Ike Williams has passed away. He was part of a Rattler rushing game that rang up 470 yards against UMass in the 1978 FCS National Championship game.

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247Sports says UMass is not going to make the College Football playoffs this year.

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