Sunday News---- August 15th, 2010

Victor Cruz says he wants to "kick the crap out of the Jets". Another story mentioning Cruz here.

The Giants and Jets play tomorrow on Monday Night Football.

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Yesterday's edition of the CAA Blogger's post on league training camps here.

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The Big Sky says they have the best FCS TV package.

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This article from the Boston Globe features former UMass assistant coach (1978-90, 1992-93) and current Boston College Bill McGovern.

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A Kennebec Journal write says the CAA is where Maine should be.

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The SWAC's preseason Defensive Player-of-the-Year is Christian Anthony. He suffered a heart attack in Grambling's training camp. Hope he fully recovers.

Sunday News --- August 8th, 2010

I believe the UMass Football team reports today with the first practice tomorrow.

The CAA football Blogger has updates on a number of CAA teams who start their training camps this weekend here.

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An alert reader pointed out a neat UMass coaching connection.

When Coach MacPherson was HC at Syracuse, one of his assistant coaches was Clarence Brooks, who recruited current UMass OC Brian Picucci to play for the Orange.

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BTW, former UMass player and coach Ben Albert is now coaching for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Today is twenty-seven days until UMass' season opens. Wearing #27 for UMass is Darren Thellen, a 6-2 200 pd RS SO DB from Brockton, MA. In 2009 Thellen was the 8th leading tackler with 11 GP 7 Started 26 UT 13 AT 39 TT 1.5-5 TFL 1 INT 2 BrUp.

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Thursday News---August 5th, 2010

Former UMass RB coach (1998-03) Mike Cassano has rejoined Mark Whipple at the U. Cassano is also mentioned here.

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Maryland DC Don Brown and UMass get several mentions in this article about Maryland playing the Navy option.

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Andrew Gaddess of The Sports Network says the Northeast Conference is inspired by the coming of playoff eligibility.

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FCS/I-A football gains another FBS QB transfer as former LSU signal caller Chris Garrett transfers to Northwestern State.

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The CAA Blogger starts his coverage of summer training camps for the league teams.

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The UMass Online Store has a number of new UMass Football items. I'm picking up a couple of those "UMass Football" decals.

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Today is thirty days until football opens (1 month!). Wearing #30 for UMass is Igor Garcia, a 6-1 180 pd FR K from Medford, MA. Garcia is a 2010 recruit.

Friday News ---- July 2nd, 2010

The Maize & Brew Blog features UMass' John Griffin.

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Wonder if Peabody's Michael O'Brien would walk-on for UMass football this fall? Welcome to Isenberg School of Management, the Blog's old school----before it had its current name, of course.

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Craig Haley of The Sports Network goes five questions with Grambling's HC Rod Broadway.

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Former UMass DL Malik Hall has been appointed as Defensive Coordination for Wagner. Hall was one of Hofstra's coaches that lost their jobs when the Pride folded their program.

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed David Ball.

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The CAA Football blogger says Villanova's Matt Szczur will return to the Wildcats roster this fall.

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Sixty-four days until football. Wearing #64 for UMass this year is Nicholes Gottshall, a 6-3 315 pd RS SO from Woburn, MA. Nick did not see any game time in 2009.

Former UMass Assistant Coach Bob Karmelowicz passes away

Former UMass assistant coach Bob Karmelowicz passed away last Saturday. He was offensive line coach at UMass in 1980.

Karmelowicz spent 18 years of his career in the NFL. Articles here and here.

Tuesday News -- March 30th, 2010

Former UMass assistant coach Eddie Morrissey has been named OL coach at Princeton.

I've blogged about Morrissey several times before.

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Interesting article on the business of selling a college education. UMass gets to keep the tuition of out-of-state students, while in-state tuition goes to the state's general fund. Now we know why state colleges "cost" (in the accounting sense) out-of-state football scholarships the way they do.

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Don Brown is making an impact on the Terps recruiting.

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UMass' 2010 OOC opponent Holy Cross has a 28 page Spring Prospectus up here (pdf download). Besides UMass, the Crusaders' OOC schedule has them tangling with Howard, Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth in 2010.

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Looks like Syracuse is going to end up with two FCS teams on their schedule this year.

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Tuesday News --- Feburary 23rd, 2010

The UMass Daily Collegian has another story about Vladimir Ducasse. Vlad is also mentioned in this Atlanta Journal article on players to watch from small/mid-major schools .

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Former UMass assistant coach Mike Cassano has been named running backs coach at the University of Miami.

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The Worcester Telegram has a story about Holy Cross' QB Dominic Randolph. Note that the article says UMass' Pro-Day is March 25th.

Maybe Matty Vautour will attend and give us some info on UMass players.

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The Richmond Spiders are in the process of having an unprecedented year in Football and Basketball.

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Bob Huggins says it's time for basketball to split into FBS and FCS divisions like football.

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Any Given Saturday has a new owner.

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The Weatherman is calling for back-to-back 12+ inch snow storms here Jaffrey over the next couple days...

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Friday News---February 12th, 2010

Former UMass Head Coach Bob Pickett's funeral Mass will be held this morning at 9:15 in Portland, ME.

Note the request by the family:"In lieu of flowers, the Pickett family requests that contributions be made to a scholarship fund they are establishing at UMass. Contributions can be made to Coach Bob Pickett Football Scholarship Fund, care of University of Massachusetts, 308 Mullins Center, Amherst, Mass. 01003 or telephone (413) 577-4290. "

Classy man and a classy family.

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In more sad news for UMass, Garry Pearson, former UMass Hall-of-Fame RB passed away Tuesday.

Articles by the Springfield Republican and the UMass Athletic Dept are here and here respectively. Matty Vautour has a short article here.

I have some material about Pearson that has not appeared in the Blog. My flatbed scanner is giving me problems, but I'll try to get the material up in a day or so.
Click on the image and Blogger displays a much larger view. The original scan from the 1982 program is in the Blog section sidebar on UMass Football History.

News-- February 9th, 2010

Former UMass running backs coach Mike Cassano has joined Mark Whipple in Miami.

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Pennsylvania teams Penn State, Villanova and California University of Pennsylvania won the Lambert Trophy, Lambert Cup and the DII Lambert cup respectively.

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A Maryland legislator wants the Terps to play more in-state FCS/I-AA teams.

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Holy Cross, one of our OOC opponents this year, adds a First Team All-State player from Pennsylvania. Note that Patriot League teams don't give scholarships. Then see this quote:

"Holland will receive a grant-in-aid package from Holy Cross that amounts to close to a full scholarship according to the Old Forge HS Guidance Department."

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While New England schools are dropping football, future CAA team Georgia State is going full ahead with its football facilities.

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Saturday News ---- 08/01/09

Former UMass coach Frank Forcucci is now Defensive Coordinator for Northeastern.

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Former UMass DT Malik Hall joins the Fordham staff under Tom Messala.

Former UMass assistant coach Eddie Morrissey has also joined the coaching staf at Fordham.

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The CAA Media Day video vault has Coach Morris' interview up.

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Kansas State-UMass tickets are going fast. The return of Bill Synder has heightened interest in the game. See this article and this article.

UMass won't be the only team on the field with a new starter at QB.

Yesterday I called 1-800-221-CATS and ordered two tickets for the UMass section.

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Monday musings -- 05/11/09

New London HS had a good year in 2008. Fourteen of sixteen seniors will be playing football in college (article has quotes from UMass recruit Tyler Major).

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New Hampshire's Spring Game produced a raft of articles. The Daily Democrat here. Concord Monitor here . Seacoast Online here . Frank Coppola has an article for New Hampshire Football report here . Roger Brown of New Hampshire Football report has an article on the rebuilt Wildcat offensive line.

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Nice human interest story about FCS/I-AA WR Ramses Barden from Cal Poly trying to make the NY Giants.

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Former UMass assistant Coach Frank Forcucci has joined Northeastern as their Defensive Coordinator and DB coach.

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Former UMass player Malik Hall and former UMass assistant coach Edie Morrissey have joined the football staff at Fordham .

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Wednesday News ---- April 1st, 2009

Josh Buchanan has yet another version of his "Top 100 Small School Prospects".

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Former UMass player and coach Mike Dawson gets some ink (electrons?) in a post by Eagle in Atlanta about his role as special teams coach for Boston College.

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Raw data:

• Rhode Island's Spring roster
  
• The Rams open Spring Football
• The Richmond Spiders Spring Prospectus (pdf)
• James Madison started Spring Practice yesterday

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Only two days until Spring Football!

Saturday News ---- 03/28/09

If you're keeping an eye on Miami now that Mark Whipple is their OC, then this spring preview article gives him some ink.

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Maine's Pro-day was Thursday; and the big attraction was Jovan Belcher.

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Report on Spring Football for William & Mary.

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Six days until UMass Spring Practice starts.

Friday News --- 03/27/09

Josh Buchanan has Day1 of his "Small School Mock NFL Draft", with Richmond DE Lawrence Sidbury as the #1 pick.

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Former UMass assistant coach Frank Forucci has been named Defensive Coordinator and DB coach for the Northeastern Huskies.

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Dave Coulson has FCS/I-AA news here.

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The main UMass Athletic Dept page has a video interview with Liam Coen and Courtney Robinson about the UMass Pro Day. It'll be moved eventually to the the football page.

Robinson states he ran a sub 4.4 40 and Coen seemed to believe he had done better than during the Boston College Pro Day.

If I hear anything more on the results, you'll be the first to know.

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A couple of stories about 2009 opponent Stony Brook: here and here.

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Sept. 5th UMass opponent Kansas State looses a couple of players.

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Only seven days until Spring Football starts!

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Thursday news -- 03/26/09

The UMass website is reporting that today at 10:00 am is UMass' Pro day. They promise reports.

UPDATE: The UMass site has a image gallery here. Participating in the Pro Day were Ben Coblyn, Liam Coen, Courtney Robinson, Sean Smalls, Ian Jorgensen and Brian Ellis.

Note to UMass webmaster: Sean is still listed on the Spring 2009 roster.
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Former UMass assistant coach Eddie Morrissey has been hired at Fordham. So has former UMass player Malik Hall. Story about both of them here.

Ive blogged about Morressey before; and I've also reported on Hall.

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Like UMass, James Madison will be starting a new quarterback this fall.

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Big Doin's in Delaware. Like most states, Delaware has financial problems. The state has proposed that Delaware allow Sports betting.

If the law passes, the NCAA will not allow the University of Delaware to host playoff games, which would make a huge impact in the CAA.

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The CAA has the latest edition of their Spring Football Blog up: including reports from Villanova and Northeastern.

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Thursday News ------ 03/12/09

For the first time in thirty years ECU and Appalachian State will play this fall.

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A number of UMass seniors included in this "Small School Sleepers" NFL Draft List.

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Sometimes the coaching shuffle is hard to keep straight. Former UMass DL/Special Teams coach Sean Spencer left earlier this year to join Bowling Green.

Now follow the changes in this article . Relevant quote:"

After a little more than two months on the job, Mike Elko resigned from UTC last week to accept the defensive coordinator position at Bowling Green under coach Dave Clawson, Elko’s and Huesman’s old boss at Richmond. Elko also coached with Clawson at Fordham University before joining him at Richmond.

Elko will take over for Joe Trainer, who left Bowling Green to become the head coach at Rhode Island. Huesman, who hired Elko away from Hofstra on Jan. 4, said he was surprised by the move."

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Big doin's at Dartmouth. The new AD wants to drop the traditional game with UNH and also wants the Ivy League to participate in the FCS playoffs.

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Anyone who has lived in Massachusetts knows the state marches to different drummer than the the rest of the country. In most states, the local newspapers routinely support athletics at their public universities.

That's not been the case in Bay State. Massachusetts' most influential paper, the Boston Globe, has for decades, been down on UMass sports. Oh, there might be a nice article on women's tennis or something, but any sign that UMass might be gaining traction on achieving some national recognition in basketball and football, prompts a rapid and repeated negative pushback from the Globe. When UMass fans gather over some beers, trying to determine the reason for the Globe's animus is a frequent topic of discussion.

Boston's second tier newspaper the Boston Herald, while not going to SEC levels of cheerleading, consistently adopts a friendlier tone to Minuteman sports.

The balance of power may shift soon...

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Friday News--- 02/27/09

Tonight is the UMass Football Banquet. Hope to see some of the Blog community there.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has a story on the 2009 UMass Schedule and the staff hirings here.

The UMass Athletic Dept website has an article on the 2009 schedule here.

Matty Vautour has an article on the schedule and staff changes here.

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Rejoining the UMass staff will be Steve Tirrell, who was with Coach Brown from 2004-2006. For the last two seasons he has been assistant Head Coach at Nichols.

Tirrell was formerly DC for Brown and has also been an assistant coach for Coach Whipple (1996-1997).

This seems like a good hire. Tirrell is familiar with UMass football and many of the current staff.





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Joining the UMass staff for the first time will be Dyran Peke. For the past four seasons he has been the cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator for Delaware.

Last year Coach Brown was the DB coach and Sean Spencer was the special teams coordinator.

Peke has recruiting connections in Virginia and Florida. He has been DB backs coach at Cornell and Delaware. Seems like a good hire.






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I did a little checking about the Albany game being moved to McGuirk. Last year the Great Danes home attendance averaged 3,165. They drew 5,111 for what was probably their biggest home game against Hofstra.

The 2008 UMass-Albany night game at McGuirk drew 15,111. UMass undoubtedly thought that revenue from the sixth home game would exceed any sweetening of the guarantee paid to Albany------ and the Great Danes felt they would do better taking the offer.

BTW, my images of the UMass 28-14 victory are still available here .

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It's official: Tennessee Tech will be Kansas State's second FCS/I-AA game in 2009.

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Tuesday Telex ----- 02/24/09

Two former UMass administrators, Bob De Carolis of Oregon and Thorr Bjorn of Rhode Island share the Harold J. VanderZwaag Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UMass Sports Management Program.

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Former UMass DE/LB Mike Dawson has been hired by the Boston College Eagles as an assistant special teams coach.

BC Blogger "Eagle in Atlanta" comments .

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Brandon London has been re-signed by the Miami Dolphins .

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Questions and Answers with Richmond RB Josh Vaughn.

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Former UMass assistant coach Robert Talley is being mentioned as possible replacement HC at Rhode Island.

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BTW, former UMass WR Neal Brown did interview for the UMass Head Coaching job last month. Brown is still the youngest OC in DI football.

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Delaware and Delaware State will play their first ever regular season game this year.

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Friday follies 02/06/09

The Springfield Republican has more news about western Mass players including Alex Scyourka, who many thought would get an offer from UMass.

The Laconia Citizen has a nice article about UMass recruit Christian Birt. That's what football should be all about: bringing people together.

Another article mentioning Birt here .

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Jeromy Miles is on Draft Daddy's Juniors-to-watch list.

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Don't remember if I mentioned this before, but former UMass assistant coach John Zamberlin is head coach of Idaho State. I sat with him at an athletic dept function back in the day, and had a fairly long talk about UMass football.

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We signed more players than Boston College did.

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Matty Vautour says he doesn't know how well UMass did with this year's recruits.

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Raw Data for the CAA South:

• Delaware signs 20 recruits
• James Madison signs 18
• Richmond signs 14
• Towson signs 15 (New Tigers HC Rob Ambrose was in the same situation as Kevin Morris)
• Villanova signs 12
• William & Mary signs 10

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Six days until Letter-of-Intent Day 01/29/2009

Adam White of the Bennington Banner remembers Mark Whipple.

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A couple of Albany players have NFL hopes.

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College basketball tanks in the Big Twelve.

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Sometimes the buddy system works in football recruiting.

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I first read a couple of these links on the Double T Nation and The Wiz of Odds blogs.