UMass Football News--January 31st, 2023

 

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Draft Diamonds has an interview with Marcus Cushnie. Marcus' UMass bio here.

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Jack Driscoll is in the Super Bowl. Driscoll's Eagles bio here.

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247Sports has the 30 best college uniforms for 2023.

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If you're bored and can't find anything to watch on TV, try YouTube's full game replay of 2022's Florida-Florida State game. 

I watched it over two days while on my treadmill. Lot's of great college football action. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Taebon Bennie-Powell

 

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Taebon Bennie-Powell, a 6-1 170 pound athlete, has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video. 

This link has a short recruiting video with Bennie-Powell.

Bennie-Powell has Power Five offers from Pitt, Duke and Kentucky. UMass, Eastern Kentucky and Miami (Ohio) have offered from the Group-of-Five. Coach Brown is the top D-back coach in the country and Bennie-Powell would do well in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Cameron Frazier

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 Cameron Frazier, a 5-11 160 pound Athlete from KIPP HS on Columbus, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article features his offer from Michigan.

Frazier has fourteen offers including Power Five's Michigan, Michigan State and Pitt. UMass, UConn and BC have offer from the Northeast. Instead of one of the crowd at a Power Five, Frazier could be a featured player for the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2023---Garrison Butler

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 Garrison Butler, a 6-2 270 pound DL from Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has junior highlights.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article mentions his offer from Pitt.

Butler has offers from Pitt, Iowa State and UMass. He could find a home in Amherst, playing for the best defensive coach in college football.

UMass Football News--January 27th, 2023

 Former UMass TE Jake Orlando wants to prove himself at Buffalo.

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Former  UMass TE Josiah Johnson joins the Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

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Scott Woodward and Liam Coen recruit a QB to Kentucky.  

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Rico Watkins, a UMass de-commit, is rated as one of Florida's top unsigned recruits.

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HAPPENED TO US ALL THE TIME

Brian Kelly was mistakenly paid an additional $1 million in 2022.

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UMass Football News--January 26th, 2023

 The New England Football Journal reports Ellis Merriweather did a good job representing UMass one last time.

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NFL Draft Diamonds profiles Merriweather.

NFL Drift Bible has another profile of Merriweather here. 

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247Sports has UMass #82 in 2023 transfer portal ranking.

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UMass Football News--January 25th, 2023

 After two days without power, I'm back.

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Ellis Merriweather ended up co-offensive player-of-the-game in the Tropical All-Star bowl.

Video clip of him scoring a TD here.  Let's hope he gets drafted an has a nice NFL career. He deserves it.

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New Era Prep has UMass recruit Ahmad Haston as their MVP of the Year. I'm excited about Haston joining the Minutemen. I'd like to see him as a three-year starter who takes UMass to a bowl game and accumulates the most wins of any QB in the FBS era.

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This article cover the 2022 results of Michigan's out-transfers including Sammy Faustin and George Johnson III of UMass.

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This article covers Michigan State's in-transfers including former UMass LB Aaron Alexander.

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Former UMass player EJ Barthal joins the Nebraska staff a RB coach. Barthal earned letters for UMass in 2006 and '07.

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UMass Football News--January 23rd, 2023

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post and interview with Clemson/Georgia Tech transfer QB Taishun Phommachanh.

The Minutemen really, really needed improved play at the QB position after the last three years. And you can't have just one guy because a high ankle sprain could put UMass back in futility.  QB is one position you can't "scheme" around.

Carlos Davis, Taishun and true freshman Ahmad Haston should give the Minutemen depth and flexibility.

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UMass Football Recruiting ---Cooper Ackerman

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 Cooper Ackerman, a 6-4 230 pound DE from Shrewsbury, MA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Rutgers Wire has a post on Ackerman's visit to the Scarlet Knights.

Ackerman has offers from BC, UConn and Rutgers as well as UMass. He could play for the best defensive coach in college football in Amherst.

UMass Football News--January 21st, 2023

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 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post and interviews with senior transfer LB Jerry Roberts.

The UMass defense made a remarkable turnaround under Coach Brown last season. Still, the Minutemen could use experience and athleticism everywhere. Roberts, with 18 starts for a Power Five school brings another dimension to the UMass defense. He's played for Don Brown before and being a senior adds maturity and judgement to his play. He should be able to showcase his talents in Brown's attacking defense.

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UConn lands Maine transfer QB Joe Fagnano. He went 16-27 209 yards and 2 TD's in the Black Bears's 35-10 win over UMass in 2021.

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The Victory Bell Rings has three reasons why 2023 opponent Penn State will make the CFP. 

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College Football News has UMass last in its 2023 preseason poll.

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UMass Football News--January 20th, 2023

 

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UMass added its sixth commit from last weekend's OV's. Jalen John, a 5-11 180 pound RB from Arizona has joined the Minutemen.

At Arizona John went 11 GP 66-280 4.2 AVE 23 LONG. Also had 11-66 yards receiving. 

Coach Brown says he wants to have a run-first offense and the Minutemen have added a lot of fresh talent in the RB room.

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Owen Murphy, a 6-6 300 OL transfer from Akron has received an offer from UMass.

Murphy's Akron bio here. 

UMass still needs experience on the O-line. Murphy has 17 starts at the FBS level and also plays OT. He could find a lot of playing time in Amherst with Coach Miller.

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UMass Football News--January 19th, 2023

 The New England Football Journal has three articles on UMass recruiting:

UMass adds Jackson Paradis out of the transfer portal.

The Minutemen land former four-star recruit Taisun Phommachanh.  

Don Brown once again uses the transfer portal to fortify UMass' roster. 

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post and interview with Buffalo transfer Jackson Paradis. 

Paradis' grandfather, Sheldon D. Paradis won a letter with the Minutemen in 1962.

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Elijah Philippe, a 6-7 300 pound JUCO OL has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Philippe has 16 offers including multiple Power Five/SEC offers. Instead of adding depth to a SEC school, Phillipe could have an excellent chance of starting in Amherst.

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UMass Football News--January 18th, 2023

 

UMass has picked up another commit from last weekend's OV's. Dashaun Jerkins is 5-11 185 pound Safety from Old Miss/Vanderbilt. 

The Minutemen's defense had a remarkable turnaround last year that was overshadowed by the offense's troubles. The UMass "D" went from the bottom of FBS to #55 in total defense and were in the top-25 in a couple of defensive categories. Still, there is room for improvement. Jerkins is a senior with 27 SEC starts in the defensive backfield. He should have a good senior season playing for Don Brown.

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Also present was previous commit Zachery Anderson. Besides the skill players, UMass needs athleticism and speed on the OL. I'm looking forward to following Anderson's career in Amherst.

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A Fan Sided writer reports five former Arizona Wildcats are reuniting at UMass.

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The Eagle-Tribune reports Jackson Paradis is joining UMass.

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The Greenville New says QB Taisun Phommachanh in one the move again.

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UMass Football News--January 17th, 2023

 UMass added at least four commits from this weekend's official visits.

Jerry Roberts, a 6-2 230 pound MLB transfer from Arizona committed to UMass.

Robert a former starter for a Power Five school should be an instant help to the resurgent UMass defense.

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Jackson Paradis, a 6-0 225 pound RB transfer from Buffalo has committed to UMass.

Paradis, who was the New Hampshire Gatoraid Player-of-the-year, will be an excellent addition to the Minutemen running game. I look forward to following his career in Amherst.

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Taisun Phommachanh, a 6-3 225 pound dual-threat QB transfer from Georgia Tech/Clemson has committed to UMass. 

UMass has struggled mightily with QB play since Andrew Ford graduated. I hope to see Phommachanh change that problem as in immediately..

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Mark Pope, a 6-0 172 pound WR transfer from Miami/Jackson State has committed to UMass

I have not blogged about Pope before. He was a top-100 player and four-star recruit for Miami. In 2020 he made ten starts for the Hurricanes and was third in catches  and third in receiving yards.

This article from December 2022, covers his entering the transfer portal.

UMass needs to jump start the Minutemen offense and Pope, a veteran WR should make an instant impact in Amherst.

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UMass Football News--January 16th, 2023

 Coach Jeff Moore Tweets UMass had three commits on Sunday from the official visits this weekend.

The holiday today will probably delay announcements about the names of the commits and possibly more news about the weekend.

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In 2024 recruiting, UMass has offered to Jakorion Caffey, a 5-11 190 pound RB from Avon, OH.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has junior highlights. Averaged 8.4 yards/carry.

This article from October features Caffey.

Caffey has eights offers including three from Power Five BC, Pitt and Maryland. He has offers from UMass and four MAC schools from the Group-of-Five. 

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UMass Football News--January 15th, 2023

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on this weekend's transfer official visits.

Of the nine players visiting, four have not been covered here.

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Taisun Phommachanh, is a 6-3 227 pound dual-threat QB from Georgia Tech.

247Sports four-star recruit out of HS. Georgia Tech bio here. This article covers his entering the transfer portal. Phommachanh has the skill set to run the offense UMass wants to play. He has two years remaining and could find a home in Amherst.

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Scott Elliot is a 6-3 298 pound IOL transfer from Harvard. Harvard bio here. Elliot is a Holliston native and was a member of several All-Ivy post season teams. UMass needs athleticism and talent in the OL. Elliot has two years remaining eligibility and he should be in the mix to start.

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Jalen John, a 5-11 185 pound RB transfer from Arizona. Wildcats bio here.

John averaged 4.2 yards/carry for Arizona. He was a three-star recruit out of HS.

John has three years of eligibility remaining. UMass needs offensive firepower everywhere and John should add to be RB room immediately.

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Dashaun Jerkins is a 6-0 200 Safety from Ole Miss/Vanderbilt. Ole Miss bio here.

This article covers his transfer from Vandy to Ole Miss.

Jerkins made 27 starts for Vanderbilt in the SEC. UMass needs senior leadership and Jerkins should find a lot of playing time in Amherst for his final year.

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UMass Football News--January 14th, 2023

 

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Hayden Jackson, a 5-11 155 pound WR from Douglasville, GA has UMass in his final three.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Also ran track. 

Jackson has five offers with UMass the only FBS school. He has some serious speed and could find a home in the Minutemen's rebuilding offense.

UMass Football News--January 13th, 2023

 

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Maximus Lockett (good football name), a 6-7 235 pound athlete from Northampton, MA has received a PWO from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Lockett also plays basketball. Drawing interest from UConn and BC. Lockett has the size to play a number of positions. He would have a chance to play in front of family and friends in Amherst.

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UMass Football News--January 12th, 2023

 

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Shambre Jackson, a 6-3 278 pound transfer strong-side defensive end from Florida State has a UMass offer.

Seminoles bio here.

247Sports four-star player.

This article discusses his signing with Florida State in 2021.

Jackson was a top-300 player coming out of HS. He would enjoy his craft and get a lot of playing time in Don Brown's package-heavy defense. 

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Arizona transfer LB Jerry Roberts, who I blogged about yesterday will take an official visit to UMass this weekend.

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UMass Football News--January 11th, 2023

 

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Jerry Roberts, a 6-2 230 pound transfer LB from Arizona has a UMass offer.

This article covers Roberts entering the transfer portal.

Roberts started all 12 games for the Wildcats in 2022. In 20 career games he had 112 TT, 6.5 TFL 1.5 SACKS. Roberts could showcase his skills in Don Brown's attacking defense. He would be a big addition to the Minutemen's defense.

I don't pay much attention to social media because most of it is elementary school recess level stuff, but Roberts' brother Jyree, Tweets an actually funny comment here.

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College Football News has it's final rankings for the 2022 season. UMass was not last.

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UMass Football News--January 10th, 2023

 

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

Mackinnon is from Lakeville, MA and can play in front of friends and family in Amherst. He was first team All-Prep at the Hun School in New Jersey. With a redshirt year at Northern Illinois plus a prep year after HS, Mackinnon could be in the mix for playing time immediately. He had a Power Five offer from Virginia and two offers from MAC schools coming out of Prep.

Fixing the offense includes upgrading the depth and athleticism of the OL. UMass could use some first-team All-Independent linemen.

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Ezra Christensen, a 6-2 266 pound DL from San Diego Mesa College has a UMass offer.

This article from 2021 features Christensen.

Hudl.com has some video highlights.

Christensen has 14 offers including Buffalo and UMass from the Northeast. He could find a lot of playing time in the resurgent Minutemen defense. 

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UMass Football News--January 9th, 2023

 

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Mike Traini, of "Fight Massachusetts" has an interview and post about transfer LB Jermaine Wiggins.

During UMass' tenure in FBS, we've had an effective offense for about four of those years (during Whipple's coaching), but the UMass defense has not been even MAC-level. This despite the fact that most of our wins were defensive grinds.

Coach Brown is building a defense that compete in FBS. Jermaine Wiggins is a 6-3 230 pound DE/LB that has Power Five ability.

He should be a good fit and he is familiar with Coach Brown and Coach Dudzinski. With four years of eligibility he is in the position to make an impact and have his career remembered by UMass fans. I've been ranting here for years about UMass' lack of contain on the defensive ends. I'm looking forward to seeing him play for the Minutemen.

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Former UMass OL Max Longman joins coach Bell at Indiana.

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The Action Network has 2023 opponent Penn State as #7 in an early pre-season power ranking. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Jerimah Watkins

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 Jeremiah Watkins, a 6-1 185 pound WR from KIPP Columbus HS in Ohio recently received a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Took an unofficial visit to Michigan in November. 

Besides UMass, Watkins has FBS offers from Bowling Green, UAB and Western Michigan.

UMass Football News--January 7th, 2023

 

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Julius Welschof, a 6-7 266 pound transfer defensive end from Michigan has a UMass offer.

This article covers Welschof's entering the transfer portal.

Out of the portal, Welschof has an offer from USC. Also has an offer from Charlotte.

With one year of eligibility left, Welschof would want to maximize playing time and he could find it in Amherst playing for Don Brown. 

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The college football playoff expands to twelve teams in 2023.

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The NCAA looks at Michigan for possible college football infractions.

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UMass Football News--January 6th, 2023

 The New England Football Journal published its annual All-New England Team with four Minutemen making the grade.

The NEFJ also has a post on the top football moments in New England Football for 2022.

Kinda lost in the general misery of UMass fans in 2022 was UConn's historic win over BC. That was UConn's first win in 15 games with the Eagles. It was no fluke. The Huskies nearly held BC scoreless and flatly dominated the game.

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Shane Sutton, a 6-1 195 pound RB/WR transfer from Nichols College has a UMass offer.

In 2022, Sutton went 8 GP 35-219 5.9 AVE 2 TD's 36 LONG.

He was Commonwealth Conference offensive rookie-of-the-week on September 12th, 2022.

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UMass Football News--January 5th, 2022

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 CJ Hibber, a 5-8 160 pound RB from Petoskey, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

This article mentions Hibber, who rang up 324 all-purpose yards in a game where he played both ways. 

Hibber, a 2024 recruit, has FBS offers from UMass, Miami (OH) and Akron.

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Caleb Walker, a 6-5 295 pound OL from Sequoia Junior College has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

247Sports page here.

Walker has ten offers including Nevada, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, with Bryant and UMass offering from the Northeast.

There is a lot of playing time available in Amherst and Walker could be part of it.

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UMass Football News--January 4th, 2023

 

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post and interview with transfer WR Christian Wells.

Wells appeared in 35 career games for the Mountaineers. He brings senior maturity and a proven record of play. The Minutemen were #116 in passing offense in 2022 and improving requires upgraded play by the QB's, the offensive line and the wide receivers. We'll hope Wells has a really successful senior season in Amherst.

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Jalen Grant, a 6-3 285 pound IOL transfer from Bowling Green has a UMass offer.

Grant played in 30 games for the Falcons and had 27 starts. The Minutemen need offensive linemen and Grant would have a chance to play immediately in Amherst.

Grant also has offers out of the portal from South Florida, Troy, Nevada and Arkansas State.

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UMass Football News--January 3rd, 2023

 Tulane finished an epic season with an equally epic comeback win over USC in the Cotton Bowl.

UDA Today said Tulane's win sent college football fans into a frenzy.

Tulane had 369 total yards and 196 yards rushing against UMass in the season opener. Against USC, the PAC-10 Champs, the Green Wave rang up 539 total yards and 305 yards rushing.

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Chris Mayo, a 6-4 291 pound transfer OL from West Virginia has a UMass offer.

This article covers his entering the transfer portal. 

Mayo was a four-star recruit coming out of HS in 2020. 

In the transfer portal he currently has offers from UMass and Eastern Michigan. 

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UMass Football News--January 2nd, 2023

 

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Carson Contae, a 5-10 191 pound transfer RB from DII SMSU has a UMass offer.

Contae led the state of Florida in rushing yards in his junior year. Reportedly , runs a 4.47 40.

In the transfer portal, Contae has offers from Michigan State, Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College and Fresno State.

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Davion Parker, a 6-3 250 DL from Huntington HS in Texas has a UMass offer. He is a 2024 recruit.

Hudl.com has video Highlights. 

Parker has offers from Tennessee State and Alcorn State. 

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UMass Football News--New Years Day 2023

 

Happy New Years to all blog readers, UMass fans, players and staff! It's a new year, bright with promise. 

As you know, 2022 was not a great year, as Dave Barry's 2022 Year in Review, will attest.

I'm a true believer and 2023 is going to be better. Watch Linus' epic rant on next year's Great Pumpkin.

Just you wait, guys! We're going to get some wins this year! You'll see Auburn's lead is going to be low single digits going into the fourth quarter! We're going to have six first-team All-Independents! It's going to great!

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