UMass Football News--December 31st, 2022

 The New England Football Journal has a post on Marcus Cushnie and Jalen Mackie's declaring for the NFL draft.

The NEFJ also has a story about what Jabrill Peppers has to say about playing defense for Don Brown. 

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Brandon Mackinnon, a 6-5 280 pound transfer OL from Northern Illinois has a UMass offer.

This article from 2021 features Mackinnon.

Mackinnon is originally from Lakeville, MA. He won numerous honors prepping at the Hun School in NJ. Mackinnon also had an offer from UMass coming out prep school. He could play in front of family and friends at UMass.

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UMass Football News--December 30th, 2022

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 Shawn Harris, a 5-9 170 pound grad transfer from Stony Brook has announced his commitment to UMass.

Harris was the Sea Wolves leading receiver in 2022. He went 11 GP 26-431 16.58 AVE 1 TD 70 LONG.

Like UMass, Stony Brook had QB limitations in 2022. Sea Wolves QB's had a collective EFF of 110.50 and threw 16 INT's. Harris should see a lot of opportunity in the WR room in Amherst.

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Tyler Magnuson, a 6-6 280 pound transfer OL from Syracuse has a UMass offer.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

Magnuson DNP during his time at Syracuse. He was All-state in HS in Minnesota. Magnuson should find a lot of playing time available in the rebuilding UMass O-line.

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UMass Football News--December 29th, 2022

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 Connor Scaglione, a 6-4 305 pound transfer OL from Princeton has a UMass offer.

Scaglione started all ten games in 2022 for the Tigers. Also 2022 All-Ivy. 

He has one year of eligibility and would provide some senior leadership and experience to the Minutemen offensive. Plus a chance to play against Auburn and Penn State..

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Did Notre Dame tamper with Sam Hartman?

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UMass Football News--December 28th, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a pair of articles on two of the recent transfer portal commitments. 

First, he reports DB Steven Ortiz is looking forward to playing closer to his East Coast roots.

Ortiz, a former four-star recruit, should prosper in the Don Brown's defense. Brown takes a personal hand coaching DB's himself. Ortiz has a lot of potential and hopefully for both him and the UMass defense, he'll get to express it in Amherst.

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Mike also has a post on transfer LB Tyler Martin thrilled to be back home.

Martin has the physical build to be a dominate run-stopper. A good defense needs a tackling-machine LB to be effective. Jalen Mackie performed that function this year.

The Minutemen went from #128th in total defense in 2021 to #58 in 2022. Run defense was #126 in 2021 (235.4 yards/game) to #116 in 2022 (194.3 yards/game). 

Martin is a pro-size MLB, who also was a former four-star recruit,  should do well in Don Brown's attacking defense. 

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Buffalo beat Georgia Southern yesterday  to become the fourth of UMass' 2022 opponents to win a bowl game.

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UMass Football News--December 27th, 2022

 The UMass Daily Collegian has a post on UMass' signing day.

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The Hampshire Gazette also covers the six HS players that signed a LOI.

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UMass has offered to Konner Fox, a 6-5 263 pound TE transfer from Kansas State. 

This article covers his entering the transfer portal.

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UMass has offered to Elijah Rose, a 5-11 195 pound DB/Athlete from Union City, NJ.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

A 2024 grad, Rose currently has offers from Akron and UMass.

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UMass Football News--December 26th, 2022

 

Jalen Mackie declares for the NFL draft. Sat with his parents and relatives this year. Nice folks.

Mackie was UMass' leading tackler in 2022. He went 12 GP 36 UT 62 At 98 TT 14-37 TFL 3.5 SACKS and 1 INT. Good luck to him in the NFL.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a interview with transfer QB Carlos Davis.

Improving QB play is the issue in 2023 recruiting. There was some talk on social media UMass should tailor the offense more around the skills we had. I think that was exactly what they were trying to do. The Minutemen had a very limited play making ability at that position.

2022's results were almost identical to 2021's---with different offensive coordinators. In 2022 we were #131 in passing EFF (#128 in 2021). In 2022 we were #126 in passing offense and #126 in 2021. Two different offensive schemes and two different OC's produced nearly identical results. That means the problem was with the QB talent.

Hopefully, Davis will provide a (successful) transition year to Ahmad Haston.

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UMass Football News--Christmas Day 2022

 

Merry Christmas from chilly Milford, NH to all UMass fans, players and staff!

May Santa bring the long-suffering Minuteman fan base some victories in 2022.

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UMass Football News--December 24th, 2022

 

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Coach Moore Tweeted the Minutemen have signed another recruit probably from the transfer OV last weekend.

No confirmation yet on social media as to the name of the player.

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UConn finalizes their 2023 schedule. The UMass game will be the last game of the season and will be held at a neutral site. Gillette? Fenway?

BTW, Marshall beat UConn 28-14 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on December 19th.

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UMass has offered to Maquel Haywood, 5-8 189 pound transfer RB from Navy.

Haywood was Navy's second leading rusher. He went 73-486 6.5 AVE 49 LONG. Haywood also had 8-17 receptions 17.1 AVE 2 TD's 43 LONG.

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UMass Football News--December 23rd, 2022

 The Cumberland Times-News has a nice article on UMass' freshman recruit Payton Miller.

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Jaren Lewis, a 6-2 207 pound transfer QB from Kansas State has a UMass offer.

This article cover Lewis' entering the transfer portal. Lewis DNP for the Cats in 2022

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Jimmie Holiday, a 6-2 205 pound transfer WR from Tennessee has a UMass offer.

This article covers Holiday's entering the transfer portal. 

Holiday played in 12 games in 2022 for the Vols. He went 6-106 1 TD receiving. He was Tennessee's leading kick returner with 14-281 34 LONG.

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UMass Football News--December 22nd, 2022

 

UMass athletic dept image.

Yesterday was the first day of the early signing period. UMass signed six recruits out of high school.

The Minutemen athletic dept has bios and background on all of the recruits in this post.

The Hampshire Gazette has a story on the early signing day. 

The Massachusetts Daily Collegian also has a story on signing day. 

All of the recruits were rated three-stars by 247Sports.

More recruiting and transfers to come..

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SFgates says NIL casts a cloud over national signing day.

Yahoo sports says no it didn't.

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UMass Football News--Winter Solstice 2022

 Today is Winter Solstice. Tomorrow the great pendulum will start to swing back towards the light of Spring and Summer.

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Prior the to 2022 season Eastern Michigan was lightly regarded. The Eagles stormed back yesterday to win over San Jose State to finish a historic season.

Two of UMass' 2022 opponents hooked up in the Boca Raton Bowl. Toledo escaped with a 21-19 win over Liberty after a failed two-point conversion for the Flames. That was the second time this year a failed conversion cost Liberty a win.

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Marcellus Anderson, a 6-5 310 pound IOL transfer from Saginaw Valley State has committed to UMass.

Hudl.com has 2022 highlights.

Anderson was twice All-League at Saginaw Valley State. UMass needs athleticism on the O-line. Anderson should be in the mix immediately.

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Jalen Anderson a 6-2 210 pound transfer Safety from Miami has committed to UMass.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

Harrell was a four-star recruit coming out of HS. He has double-digit Power Five offers as a recruit. He has a pro-sized frame and Don Brown has put a lot of DB's in the NFL. Harrell should have a chance to shine in Brown's aggressive defense.

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UMass Football News--December 20th, 2022

 UMass picked up three transfer commits yesterday.

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Tyler Martin, a 6-3 238 pound LB transfer from Arizona committed to UMass.

Martin is a Power Five-sized LB from a Power Five school. He will have a lot of fun playing in Don Brown's attacking defense. He has four years of eligibility and was one of the highest rated recruits from Massachusetts in 2021.

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Anthony Simpson, a 5-11 205 pound WR/Athlete from Arizona has committed to UMass.

Simpson appeared in 20 games for the Wildcats over the last two years. In 2021, he was the primary kick returner for Arizona. He totaled 18-342 19.0 AVE and 30 LONG.

Simpson was a three-star recruit coming out Bloomfield, CT in 2021. He ran track in HS and should add speed in UMass' wide receiver room.

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Also committing was Jermaine Wiggins, a 6-2 230 pound DL from Arizona.

Wiggins was originally from Lawrence, MA and attended Bridgeton Academy in Maine. He was the #1 rated recruit in ME in 2022.

Wiggins brings speed to the DL and he should be in rotation early for the Minutemen.

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Desert Swarm reports on Martin and Simpson transferring  to UMass.

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UMass Football News -- December 19th, 2022

 

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Carlos a 3-3 225 pound transfer QB from Western Carolina has committed to UMass.

I blogged about Davis last Friday.

Davis' career stats at Western Carolina were 14 GP 224-336-2783 18 INT's 23 TD's.

Last year the Minutemen were dead last in FBS in team passing efficiency at 86.30. UMass QB's threw 4 passing TD's and had 14 INT's. You just can't run an offense like that. Davis has one year of eligibility, which should dovetail nicely with incoming QB Ahmad Haston. He could spend a red-shirt year learning the offense without the pressure of having to carry the team immediately.

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Also reported committed is former Appalachian State WR Christian Wells. I also blogged about Wells on Friday.

There is a need for speed in the Minutemen WR corps. Wells could provide some needed help in the WR room.

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UMass coach Moore reports there were six additional commits over the weekend. We should hear more details shortly.

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UMass Football News--December 18th, 2022

 

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Kenneth Jiles, Jr, a 6-6 240 pound DE from Hocking College has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Jiles has five offers including FIU, Toledo and recently took a visit to New Mexico.

He would have a lot of fun and also lots of playing time in Don Brown's attacking defense.

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ESPN reports there are over 1600 players in the transfer portal.

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UMass Football News--December 17th, 2022

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 Shawn Terry, a 5-10 170 pound WR/DB from Ironton, OH has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video Highlights.

A 2025 recruit, UMass is the first offer for Terry.

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Jamier Scott, a 6-1 177 pound athlete from Cincinnati, OH has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video highlights. 

A 2025 graduate, Scott already has Power Five offers from Penn State, Wisconsin and West Virginia as well as a number of MAC schools.

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UMass Football News--December 16th, 2022

 The UMass athletic dept has a post on seven Minutemen making Phil Steele's post season all-independent team.

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CBS Sports has a parody botton-25 playoff with Colorado being named champion.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on a big recruiting weekend for the UMass staff.

UMass needs speed, size and experience everywhere. so let's hope for some good results from the visits.

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Making a visit last weekend was transfer QB Carlos Davis from FCS Western Carolina. In 2020 Davis went 7 GP-GS 149.6 EFF 148-22 1837 67.3 AVE 16TD's.

Davis also rushed 68 times for 338 yards.

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Also visiting last week was Christian Wells, a 5-11 180 pound transfer WR from Appalachian State. In 2022 Wells went 8 GP 9-170 3 TD's 75 LONG for the Mountaineers.

Wells seems to have committed to UMass in this Instagram post.

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UMass Football News--December 15th, 2022

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 UMass picks up its first commit from the transfer portal when JB Brown, a 6-3 280 pound DL from Arizona verbaled to UMass. 

Tucson.com has a story on Brown joining UMass.

Brown should be a valuable addition to the Minutemen. He's a seventh-year senior and he should bring leadership and work ethic to Amherst.

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Philip Wilder, a 6-5 305 pound transfer OT from Southeast Missouri State has a UMass offer.

Wilder was a two-year starter for the Red Hawks. The Minutemen need athleticism and experience on the O-line. Wilder could find a lot of playing time in Amherst.

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UMass Football News--December 14th, 2022

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 Wallace Unamba, a 6-5 335 pound OL from Kilgore Community College has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Unamba has 15 offers from mostly Group-of-Five schools. UMass was one of the first to offer.

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Anthony Simpson, a 5-11 180 pound transfer WR from Arizona has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Simpson went 11 GP 4-56 13 AVE 57 LONG.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal.

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John Paul Flores, a 6-5 310 pound transfer OL from Virginia has a UMass offer.

This article covers his entering the portal.

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UMass Football News--December 13th, 2022

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 Shawn Harris, Jr, a 5-9 170 pound grad transfer WR from Stony Brook has a UMass offer.

Harris led the Sea Hawks in 2022 with 26-431 16.58 AVE 1 TD 70 LONG. 

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Gage Larvadain, a 5-10 160 pound transfer WR from Southeast Louisiana University has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Larvadain led the Lions in receiving going 59-731 12.39 AVE 2 TD's 46 LONG.

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UMass Football News--December 12th, 2022

 

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Shambre Jackson, a 6-3 278 pound transfer DL from Florida State received a visit by the UMass Staff. This article covers his entering the transfer portal.

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UMass recruiting 2024--Timothy Carpenter

Timothy Carpenter, a 6-4 200 pound QB from Dayton Ohio has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star QB.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

This article from May 2022 covers his visit to Cincinnati. 

Besides UMass, Carpenter has four MAC offers plus Eastern Kentucky.

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UMass Football News--December 11th, 2022

 THIS IS NOT A BASKETBALL SCORE.

Incarnate Word 66 Sacramento State 63. 1,300 yards of offense..

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Holy Cross, arguably the best team in New England, lost to South Dakota State 42-21.

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Kym Wimberly Jr, a 5-10 185 pound WR grad transfer from Harvard has a UMass offer.

Wimberly, in 2022,  went 51-603 11.82 AVE 4 TD's 37 LONG. 2022 All-Ivy.

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Xavier Ward, a 6-2 205 pro-style transfer QB from Washington State has a UMass offer.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

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UMass Football News--December 10th, 2022

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 Landon Parker, a 6-3 210 pound grad transfer WR has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Parker went 40-803 20.06 AVE 3 TD's 68 LONG. 

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Marquez Cooper, a 5-7 190 pound transfer RB from Kent State has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Parker went 285-1331 4.7 yards/carry 13 TD's 46 LONG.

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Jaylon Barden, a 6-0 180 pound WR/Athlete transfer from Pitt has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Barden went 8 GP 3-19 6.3 AVE. This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

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UMass Football Newws--December 9th, 2022

 The UMass website reports seven Minutemen win All-Independent honors.

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Dontae Fleming, a 6-0 165 pound transfer WR from Louisiana has a UMass offer. 

In 2022, Fleming went 19-168 3 TD's 55 LONG.

This article from 2021 features Fleming.

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Jamari Gassett, a 5-10 175 pound transfer WR from Buffalo has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Gassett went 28-347 12.37 AVE 2 TD's 65 LONG.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal.

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Terry Roberts a 5-10 182 pound transfer DB from Iowa has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Roberts went 5 GP 9 UT 4 AT 13 TT 2 BKUP 1 INT.

This article covers Roberts entering the transfer portal. This article from September 2022 features Roberts.

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UMass Football News--December 8th, 2022

 Six Minutemen make Pro Football Network's All-Independents team. Only one on offense..

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Seven McGee, a 5-9 181 pound WR/RB transfer from Oregon has a UMass offer.

This article covers his leaving the Ducks. Most recruiting services had McGee a top-200 recruit and was rated four stars by most services.

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Bryson Broadway, a 6-4 275 pound OL transfer from Georgia State has a UMass offer.

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Taj Harris, a 6-2 172 pound WR transfer from Rutgers/Syracuse has a UMass offer.

Harris was a three-year starter for the Orange. This article covers his leaving Rutgers. 

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UMass Football News--December 7th, 2022

 The UMass coaching staff has been handing out a lot of offers. I'm going to ignore the 2023 offers for a while and concentrate on the transfer portal. Even so, I'll be running behind for a couple of days.

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Tyler Macon, a 6-0 180 pound pro-style QB transfer from Missouri has a UMass offer.

This article covers his entering the portal. Missouri has already scrubbed his roster bio.

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MJ Wright, a 6-0 192 pound WR graduate transfer from Fordham has a UMass offer.

In 2022. Wright went 51-978 19.2 AVE 12 TD's 84 LONG.

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Ty McCullouch, a 6-1 180 pound transfer WR from Colorado State has a UMass offer.

In 2022, McCullouch appeared in four games. Went 13-119 9.2 AVE 25 LONG.

This article covers his transferring from the Rams.

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More transfer offers tomorrow.

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UMass Football News--December 6th, 2022

 UMass adds a PWO DL to its 2023 class and makes several offers in the transfer portal.

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Jaden Wiggins, a 6-0 250 pound DL from Central Catholic in MA has committed to UMass.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

The Eagle-Tribune covers his commitment. 

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Naiem Simmons, a 5-10 175 pound WR transfer form Wagner has received a UMass offer.

Simmons went 50-796 6 TD's 71 LONG 72.36 receiving yards/game.

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Rocko (good name) Griffin, a 5-9 203 pound transfer RB from Vanderbilt has received a UMass offer.

Averaged 9.6 yards/carry in 2022. 

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