UMass Football News--Leap Day 2024

 The UMass Midnight Ride's "Outside Amherst" podcast reports on UMass joining the MAC.

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Western Mass News reports on students, football analysts reacting to the news the Minutemen are joining the MAC.

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Forbes has a post on how soon UConn and Notre Dame will be the only Independents in college football.

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Last Word on Sports has options for the MAC to expand to 14 teams.

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Speaking of UConn:

The Huskies finalize their 2024 schedule. UConn will play four Power Five opponents this year. I would think the Huskies would want to keep the series with UMass going, so we could see them as one of the annual four out-of-conference games.

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UMass Football News--February 28th, 2024

 Hustle Belt has a post on why Western Kentucky makes sense for both the MAC and for the Hilltoppers.

Adding Western Kentucky would add another good basketball school to the conference. The Hilltoppers are currently have the 16th most career victories and have the eighth best winning percentage in NCAA history. Western Kentucky is currently third in CUSA with a 19-8. record.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on UMass joining the MAC.

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A federal judge rules that the NCAA's regulations of NIL are unenforceable. 

The Power Five schools might dump the NCAA and form their own governing body.

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Gamers will not be able to add players to EA Football if the player does not opt-in to the NIL agreement.

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UMass Football News--February 27th, 2024---UMass Joins the MAC

 Multiple sources are saying the MAC college presidents have voted to accept UMass as a league member.

UMass hockey would stay in Hockey East and social media is saying UMass Lax could petition to stay in A10 lacrosse as an associate member.

In my view, this is a good move for the Minutemen. It's very hard to win with an Independent schedule. Even Army, which is an attractive opponent, could not make it work.

The MAC is a stable, geographically compact Group-of-Five league,

much more so than CUSA or the Sun Belt. In addition, the MAC schools are all public universities with similar institutional cultures. UMass is playing five MAC schools this year and had two scheduled for 2025.

The MAC has multiple bowl tie-ins:

From this article:

The top-ranked MAC champion will be in the mix for the Fiesta, Cotton, or Chick-fil-A Peach if it's the highest-ranked Group of Five champ - and if it's not in the College Football Playoff.

The MAC doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

- Bahamas Bowl vs Conference USA
- Camellia Bowl vs American Athletic or Sun Belt
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs Mountain West
- LendingTree Bowl vs Sun Belt
- Barstool Arizona Bowl vs Mountain West
- Quick Lane Bowl vs Big Ten

To be determined among the Group of Five conferences. MAC will get spots in two of these bowls ...

- Duluth Trading Co. Cure Bowl vs Group of Five
- Frisco Bowl vs Group of Five
- Myrtle Beach Bowl vs American Athletic or Sun Belt
- New Mexico Bowl vs Conference USA
- RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs Group of Five 

The MAC has a media package from ESPN that reportedly pays about $8 million a year.  UMass did not get any media revenue as an Independent.

This is probably more than CUSA's package.

As far as UMass basketball, the Minutemen were contractually obligated to play four MAC games/year back when we were a member of that league. I can't remember UMass losing any of the 16 MAC games we played during our four-year previous stint in the MAC. The idea now is to win the MAC championship and go to the NCAA sometime before the next ice-age. UMass had it's best hoops year in recent memory in 2014 when we played four MAC teams (and beat them all) on route to a 24-9 year.

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Lots of news links, all of them pretty much saying the same thing.

MassLive, UMass joining the MAC 

The Hampshire Gazette has a post on the move. The story covers the possible effects on basketball. 

Our old friends at Hustle Belt have a story on the move.

Adding UMass will give the MAC an odd number of teams. This article says keep an eye on Western Kentucky.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Tyrell Lewis

Dayton Daily News image

 Tyrell Lewis, a 6-1 200 pound dual-threat QB from Dayton, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article covers his offer from Louisville.

This article features Lewis and his step brother Teaunn Hunter.

Lewis has thirteen offers including seven from the MAC plus Power Five Louisville. UMass features a dual-threat QB offense and Lewis would be a good fit in Amherst. The Minutemen offered early and that should account for something.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Elisha Durham

 

Detroit News image

Elisha Durham, a 6-0 150 pound WR from West Bloomfield, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article talks about his offer from Wisconsin and his recruiting.

Durham is a three-star recruit and has eleven offers. Wisconsin has offered as well as a number of MAC schools. He has also drawn interest from Michigan State. There is lots of playing time available in Amherst and Durham could have an exciting career with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Teauann Hunter

 Teaunn Hunter, a 6-0 170 pound WR from Dayton, Oh has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Hunter. 

This article from 247Sports covers his visit to Purdue.

Hunter has 10+ offers including a number of MAC schools plus Power Five Purdue. He could have an excellent career in Amherst with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Derrick Jackson III

Twitter image

 Derrick Jackson III, a 6-0 185 pound Safety from Cass Technical in Detroit, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Honorable Mention All-Michigan.

UMass was the first to offer Jackson. He has offers from three MAC teams as well as three Ivies. Jackson could play for the best DB coach in college in Amherst playing for Coach Brown.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Jaezen Lewis

Twitter image

 Jaezen Lewis, a 6-6 305 pound OT from Massilon, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Lewis.

"Big Stacks" has offers from five MAC schools plus Marshall and UMass. He could find a home, as well as the best food in FBS football, with Coach Alex Miller in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Tyjuan Esper

 

Tyjuan Esper, a 5-9 160 pound WR from Southfield, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

 Esper has offers from Eastern Michigan, Appalachian State and UMass from FBS. The speedy WR would be a good fit in the Minutemen's reviving offense.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Tyree Green

Twitter image

 Tyree Green, a 5-11 180 pound Athlete from Reynondsburg, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

Green would probably project as a WR or DB in college football. He has eight offers including five from the MAC. He could find a home in Amherst playing on either side of the ball.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Deion Winstead

Arron Warren image

 Deion Winstead, a 5-11 185 pound RB from  Owensboro, KY has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from September of '23 mentions Winstead.

UMass was the first offer for Winstead. UMass wants to run first and Winstead could be an excellent fit in Amherst.

UMass Football News--February 16th, 2024

 

UMass officially announces Shane Montgomery as the Minutemen's new offensive coordinator.

The Hampshire Gazette has a post on the Montgomery hire.

The UMass Daily Collegian also covers the new offensive coordinator. 

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It is expected that the new twelve-team college football playoff with have a 5+7 format. 

Without finalization of the format, ESPN might pull its $7.8 billion broadcast offer.

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2024 opponents Georgia and Missouri are #1 and #7 in ESPN's early 2024 Top-25 rankings.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Khy'lek Jarrett

 

Rivals.com image

Khy'lek Jarrett, a 6-3 205 pound Edge from Cincinnati, Ohio has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Honorable Mention All-Ohio.

This article is pay-walled, but has an image of Jarrett with Neal Brown. 

Jarrett has five offers including Power Five BC and West Virginia. He has a big frame and would be a good fit in Don Brown's attacking defense.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Ty Watkins

Twitter image

 Ty Watkins, a 6-5 215 pound Edge from Cincinnati, Ohio has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

Watkins has seven offers including five MAC Schools. He has FBS size and could play for the best defensive coach in college football with the Minutemen.

UMass Football News--February 13th, 2024

Bullrun.com image

 Football Scoop reports UMass has hired veteran offensive coach Shane Montgomery as offensive coordinator.

Montgomery was FCS coordinator-of-the-year in 2019.

Montgomery has 32 years of coaching experience and was OC for six different college teams. 

He should have plenty of offensive tools to work with in 2024. The UMass QB room and running backs should competitive with most Group-of-Five teams. The Minutemen brought in four transfer WR's and two transfer TE's. In addition, freshman WR Kezion Dia-Johnson is one of the highest-rated recruits in UMass' FBS era.

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Sports Illustrated has a post on UMass Football legend Victor Cruz's Super Bowl performance.

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THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING

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UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Lenord St.Gourdin commits to UMass

 

Leonard St. Gourdin, a 6-3 205 pound strong safety graduate transfer from Dartmouth has committed to UMass.

Big Green bio here.

St.Gourdin was an Honorable Mention All-Ivy in 2023. He went 10 GP 35 UT 13 AT 48 TT 1 TFL 8 BU 2 FF.

Thirty-Five solo tackles is impressive. St.Gourdin should be an important addition to a deep Minuteman secondary.

UMass Football Blog news--February 11th, 2024

 Hi Everyone. With the recruits signed and the transfers on campus, college football is entering the "slow news" spring period.

I've been cranking out posts seven days a week since August. Starting today there will be no Sunday posts unless there is some big event.

See you tomorrow.

UMass Football News--February 10th, 2024

 The UMass Daily Collegian has a post on UMass' signing nine freshman recruits.

The Minutemen should have several scholarships available for 2024. There will probably be no changes to the roster until after Spring ball. 

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Mike Maynard of the Daily Collegian also has a post on the players UMass signed with the transfer portal.

More transfer players will probably be available after teams sort themselves out during Spring ball.

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Hero Sports has the gains and losses for UMass in the transfer portal. If I counted right, of the 10 players UMass lost to the transfer portal, 3 stayed in FBS and seven dropped to FCS or lower.

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Boston College did hire Bill O'Brien as HC. The Eagles have been a non-factor in the ACC for a number of years. Can O'Brien bring them back?

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UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Erik Gayle

247Sports image

 

 Erick Gayle, a 6-3 215 pound Edge from Cincinnati, Ohio has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

On3.com page here. 

Gayle has 12 offers with a mixture of Power Five and Group-of-Five schools. Boston College and UMass have offered from the Northeast. Gayle could play for the best defensive coach in football in Amherst.

UMass Football News--February 8th, 2024

 

UMass Sports Management grad Tim Silvernail joins the Minutemen. Silvernail has held a number of positions in FBS football including director of recruiting operations for both Rutgers and Buffalo.

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UMass officially announces their 2024 schedule. Playing three Power Five teams will be a challenge. We will also play MAC perennial power Toledo and likely CUSA champion Liberty.

The difficult schedule is the result of being an independent. Liberty, one of the Group-of-Five's strongest teams does not play a Power Five opponent in 2024, while UMass plays three.

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Boston College's HC search is down to two candidates. 

Football Scoop says BC's hire could create a ripple effect through college football. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Riley Bloch commits to UMass

 Riley Bloch, a 6-3 285 pound IOL from Needham has committed to UMass as a PWO.

Hudl.com has video. 

NCSA recruiting profile here.

Drew interest from Boston College.

Bloch will add depth to a UMass offensive line that has been thin in the past. It will be fun watching Bloch develop. Hope he has a great career with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--James Horton commits to UMass

 

James Horton, 6-0 220 pound long snapper from Westport, CT has committed to UMass.

Cut-and-past from Kohl's kicking camps:

"Horton rips the ball and has great pop on his snaps. At the Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp and finished the charting aspect of camp by scoring on 15 of his total long snaps. At the Kohl’s Eastern Showcase, Horton had an average snap time of .67 seconds with multiple .66 second snaps. Not only does Horton have the type of explosiveness that is difficult to teach, but he also has very clean rotation. He has a rare combination of power and control and the sky is the limit for this young man."

Hudl.com has video.

Horton had an offer from Sacred Heart. Drew interest from Power Five Penn State, Syracuse, Minnesota and South Carolina. Horton should be in line to start immediately for UMass.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Zayd Rogan

Twitter image

 Zayd Rogan, a 5-10 170 pound CB from Marietta, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This post covers his visit to Louisville. 

Rogan has 22 offers including BC and UConn from the Northeast. Coach Brown has put a ton of DB's in the NFL and Rogan could have an excellent career in Amherst.

UMass Football News--February 4th, 2024

 

UMass football back at work for the 2024 season here and video here.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on UMass announcing 22 transfers for Spring ball.

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Hampshire Gazette image

Former UMass star Liam Coen has been named OC for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Congrats to Liam! Hopefully he will end up as a head coach in the NFL.

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UMass Football News--February 3rd, 2024

 

Berkshire Eagle image

UMass' OC Steve Casula is leaving to be TE's coach for Michigan.

Our old friends over at "Maize & Brew" also have a post on Casula's joining the Michigan staff. 

The UMass Daily Collegian also covers Casula's leaving.

During Casula's first year with the Minutemen, he did not have a lot to work with. UMass finished 2022 #130 in scoring offense and #128 in total offense.

In 2023 the Minutemen improved 42 slots to #86 in total offense and gained 35 slots to #95 in scoring offense.

I liked the dual-threat, run first offense. I think it suits a bad-weather team like the Minutemen. We'll have to see what the new OC brings.

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The SEC and Big 10 announce a joint advisory group.

I predict Power Five football is moving towards a "super" conference of about 40 teams in three or four divisions. That conference will ditch the NCAA and have their own governance staff.

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UMass Football News --Groundhog Day 2024

 As yesterday was the first day of the Spring semester, UMass announced the 2024 transfers. 

UMass press release covering the 19 transfers and 3 walk-ons joining Minutemen football. 

The Hampshire Gazette has a post on the transfers joining UMass football.

Probably more to come after schools hold Spring ball.

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Also UMass announced the 2024 Spring schedule with practices starting March 28th. The Spring game will be April 27th.

Former UMass stars Adam Breneman and Rene Ingoglia may attend.

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Some potential candidates for the vacant Boston College HC.

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UMass Football News--February 1st, 2024

Update: Signing announcements have started on the UMass "X" feed.

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UMass administrative assistant Steve Tirell is moving to coaching defensive line.

The UMass website has a post on Tirell's move to the sidelines.

Tirell has long connections with UMass and Coach Brown. He coached at UMass two different times: 2004-2007 and 2009-2011.  Tirell is a New England guy and should be an excellent addition to the assistant coaches.

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In some news that might have recruiting/transfer ramifications for UMass, Boston College HC Jeff Hafley is leaving for the NFL.

Our old friends over at BC Interruption react. 

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Kansas will play their entire 2024 season on the road due to stadium construction.

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