UMass Football News--September 13th, 2017

UMass has their game notes for Temple up. Rene Ingoglia will be doing the game for ESPNU.

Rene's Twitter feed has some images of himself and the Orlando Police dept dealing with Hurricane Irma

So does Temple.

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Matty Vautour report UMass' Pennsylvanians are looking forward to playing at Lincoln Field.

In the article Matty report UMass senior DL Sha-Ki Holines may play Friday against Temple. Holines started nine games in 2016 and was a Phil Steele First Team All-Independent team member. His return should help the defensive line.

One bright spot in the loss to Old Dominion was the defensive line play. True freshman Jake Byczko 6-3 250 had 2 UT 8 AT 10 TT and 1 TFL.

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Ryan Ames of the UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen face a crucial fourth game against Temple Friday.

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Keeper's College Football Ranking has UMass a 12.97 point underdog to the Owls. BC and UConn are also double-digit dogs.

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CBS Philly reports Temple is getting ready for Friday Night Lights.

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Temple QB Logan Marchi is feeling more mobile.

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UMass Football News--August 29th, 2017

Matty Vautour has a post on the UMass Coaches are getting the team and themselves back on track. Matty says senior DL Sha-Ki Holines will be a game-time decision Saturday. He also mentions the Minutemen had two DL players make their first game appearance: RSFR 6-3 275 pound Charlie Timite and true freshman 6-3 250 pound Jake Bycko.

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Mike Traini has a post on A.D. Ryan Bamford's question-and-answer session on Facebook Live. A number of replies concern the football program.

• the football schedules for 2018 and 2019 are complete
• future games could include Rutgers and Akron
• priority improvement for McGuirk would include a new scoreboard
• UMass is considering a new indoor practice facility

There's more in the article and it's worth a read. Again, I'm impressed with Bamford. He knows what he's doing and I think we'll see the results in UMass football, basketball and hockey.

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Howard Herman has report on UMass losing to Hawaii on a late TD.

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The Sentinel and Enterprise says the Pop Warner kids at halftime had a great time.

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West Hawaii Today reports Hawaii had some breakdowns too.

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KHON TV reports on John Ursua's big night against the Minutemen. Lots of video of Ursua running free in the UMass backfield :(

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Coastal Carolina adds nine games to future schedules.

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The Virginia Pilot report Old Dominion's new QB will be Blake LaRussa.

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UMass Football News--August 22nd 2017

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UMass has their game notes for Hawaii up.

So does Hawaii.

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Matty Vautour reports the UMass defense looks to create more turnovers. He also has a projected two-deep for the defense.

Matty also reports that Sha-Ki Holines DT 6-4 265 will be be a game-time decision. Mario Patton 6-1 315 will back him up.

He wrote:" If the Minutemen start the lineup revealed on the depth chart, they’ll have four players making their first UMass starts — Sadiq Palmer (wide receiver), Malik Lee (fullback), Bryton Barr (linebacker) and Tyler Hayes (safety)."

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GMS Sprots previews the UMass-Hawaii game and predicts the Warriors over the Minutemen 34-30.

Sports Chat Place previews the Hawaii game and predicts a UMass victory.

A Crestview News-Bulletin writer picks the UMass-Hawaill "to be over in minutes" and the Warriors by 18.

Hawaii flies to Massachusetts today.

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A Fan Sided Tennessee writer looks at the Vols opponents and concludes UMass is "basically a FCS team"

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Mississippi State has a story with GIF's for each Bulldogs opponent.

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T.J. Sharpe is back healthy and practicing with Titians.

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Former UMass coach Dave Sollazo isn't wasting any time as new head coach at Naugatuck High School. (fixed link)

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UMass Football News--July 15th, 2017

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UMass currently has 14 defensive lineman on the roster:

Ali Ali-Musa  #90 DL 6-2 274 SR 12-11 GP-GS 16 UT 21 AT 37 TT 4.5 TFL 1 PD 2 FF
Domenico Cipriani #63 DL 6-3 290 RSFR Redshirted in 2016
Basit Dennis #69 DL 6-1 268 RSJR 3-0 GP_GS 1 TT
Da'Sean Downey #4 DL 6-4 225 SR 10-6 GP-GS 25 UT 23 At 44 UT 8.5 TFL 4 FF 6 SACKS
Leon Flanagan, #54 DL 6-1 212 SO 2-0 GP-GS
DaVone Hall, #75 DL 6-3 315 RSJR JUCO transfer
D'Shan Harley #88 DL 6-5 215 RSSO 7-1 GP-GS 3 UT 3 AT 6 TT
Sha-Ki Holines #95 DL 6-3 257 RSSR 12-9 GP-GS 18 UT 26 AT 44 TT 7.0 TFL 1 FF
Roderick Jones, #11 DL 6-2 260 RSSR 10-1 GP-GS 13 TT 1 TFL
Mario Patton #96 DL 6-0 297 RSSO 12-0 GP-GS 5 UT 7 AT 12 TT 1.0 TFL 1 PD
Alex Piechocki #91 DL 6-6 260 FR in for Spring semister
Joe Previte #61 DL 6-2 269 RSJR 8-4 GP-GS 4 UT 18 AT 22 TT 4.5 TFL 1 FR
Sharif Saleem #93 DL 6-5 251 RSFR Redshirted in 2016
Charly Timite #94 DL 6-3 307 RSFR Redshirted in 2016

Although it has not been announced, most UMass fans expect the Minutemen to change to a 4-3 base defense. As football junkies know, defensive linemen are the scarcest recruits.

The college football magazines predict UMass will start Joe Previte and Ali Ali-Musa as the two DT's with Da'Sean Downey and Sha-Ki Holines as the two DE's.

Downey led the Minutemen with 6 sacks in 2016 and he could prosper in a 4-3 as there would be less unassigned offensive linemen facing the defense.

Joe Previte was having a good season before suffering a elbow injury against South Carolina.

UMass does get four new defensive linemen for 2017. Domenico Cipriani, Sharif Saleem and Charly Timite come off redshirt seasons. JUCO transfer DaVone Hall weighs 305 and could provide immediate help inside.

Charlie Timite was a 247Sports three-star recruit. Sharif Saleem was two stars. Cipriani was unrated by recruiting services.

The Minutemen brought in five defensive linemen for 2017 and Alex Piechocki and DaVone Hall were in for the Spring semester. Two-star 2017 recruits Hunter Brown, Jake Byczko and  Caeleb Washington are probably looking at a redshirt year.

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April 20th, 2017---Spring Game Day!

Hope to see everyone at the Spring Game tonight. It's also an excellent time to renew or join the Gridiron Club. I just got my "thank you for your recent donation" letter from the athletic dept yesterday.

If you can't afford the basic membership, send any donation. Your name on the football donor list really helps in the culture wars. They'd probably rather have 100 people send $10 than one person send $1000. Being a member shows people care about the program. Your name has a real "force multiplier" effect. Help UMass football win.

Details on the Spring game here.

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Matty Vautour has a post on the Spring game. He notes Shane Huber (still rehabbing a torn ACL) plus Ali Ali-Musa, DaSean Downey and Sha-Ki Holines will all sit out the game. Those are four defensive starters, so hopefully they'll all be ready to go by summer.

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Dawgnation.com has details of the contract UMass received for playing at Georgia in 2018.

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UMass' last opponent of the coming season BYU, will feature running backs by committee.

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Monday--April 3rd, 2017

Jeff Lajoie of the Hampshire Gazette profiles new UMass DL coach Dave Wissman.

Wissman will have more defensive line depth this year. That may have been part of the reason to switch to a four-down front.

Ali Ali-Musa 6-2 274 SR
Domenico Cipriani 6-3 290 RS FR
Basit Dennis 6-1 268 RS JR
Leon Flanagan, Jr 6-1 212 SO (listed as a LB last year. DE this year?)
DaVone Hall 6-3 315 JUCO RS JR
D'Shan Harley 6-5 215 RS SO
Sha-Ki Holines 6-3 257 RS SR
Roderick Jones 6-2 260 RS SR
Mario Patton 6-0 297 RS SO
Alex Piechocki 6-6 260 FR
Joe Previte 6-2 269 RS JR
Sharif Saleem 6-5 251 RS FR
Charlie Timite 6-3 307 RS FR

I would speculate Ali Ali-Musa, Sha-Ki Holines and Mario Patton would be three of the starting four DL. That would leave one position open. Joe Previte played well before suffering an elbow injury late in the season.

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Underdog Dynasty previews the 2017 Sun Belt conference. UMass will be an honorary member this year as we play Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.

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Georgia Southern returns to their signature option offense this year and ran for 371 yards and five TD's in their Spring Game Saturday.

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Tuesday--July 12th, 2016

Mississippi State blog Maroon & White Nation is looking at 2016 opponents and covers UMass DT Shi-Ki Holines.

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Real GM looks at South Carolina's schedule and says UMass could be the worst FBS level team.

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Tulane OLB Nico Marley might the best player you've never heard of.

Speaking of the Green Wave, Tulane has players on the Outland Trophy and Bednarik Watch lists.

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The UConn Blog previews Boston College.

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Gator Country says the Florida secondary lost a ton of talent to the NFL last year----and this year's secondary might be even better.

A network analyst loves the Gators.

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Old Dominion's stadium expansion will have some interesting features.

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Louisiana Tech, which went 9-4 in football last year, has C-USA's lowest athletic budget.

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Thursday--April 14th, 2016

The latest edition of "Made in Massachusetts" features coach Dawson.

He'll have the following DL to work with in 2016.

Peter Angeh SR 6-1 268 12-12 GP-GS 10 UT 23 AT 33 TT 3.5-10 TFL 1.5-8 Sacks
Enoch Asante SR 6-2 262 10-3 GP-GS 2 UT 14 At 16 TT 0.5-2 TFL
Basit Dennis RSSO 6-1 268
Sha-Ki Holines RSJR 6-3 264 10-5 GP-GS 13 UT 20 AT 33 TT 9.0-TFL 1.5-13 SACKS
P.Ekpen Iduoze RSSR 6-1 318
Joe Previte RSSO 6-2 290 5-0 GP-GS 2 UT 5 AT 7 TT 1.0-3 TFL 1.0-3 SACKS
Mario Patton RSFR 6-1 310

Joining the Minutemen this Spring is

Ali Ali-Musa JU 6-3 270 JUCO 247Sports three-star recruit.

Joining UMass in August will be:

Leyshaun Askew 6-6 285 ESPN three-star recruit
Sharif Saleem 6-6 255 247Sports two-star recruit
Charlie Timite 6-3 250 247Sports three-star recruit
T.J. Rayam 6-1 308 Unrated

Ali Ali-Musa should join the starting rotation right away. One or two of the talented freshman class will play in 2016.

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ESPN's Football Power Index gives FCS Southern Utah a better chance of upsetting BYU than UMass.

The Cougars work to find the best 11 in Spring camp.

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NFL.com profiles the 2016 fantasy draft. Mentions Tajae Sharpe.

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NCAA.com says the 2016 college football season starts August 26th or the 27th (depending on which side of the International Dateline you're on as Cal meets Hawaii at ANZ Stadium in Australia.

When Mrs Blog and I were in Australia last year, we drove past ANZ Stadium.

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Monday--November 16th, 2015

Update:

Tonight will be the final UMass Football Radio show of the season.

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I was just noticing how deep into the roster the Minutemen went at Eastern Michigan.

Dan Jonah (1 career catch) started and played most of the game as the "Y" receiver.

Jordan Hamilton (2 career tackles prior to Saturday) played the whole game at one corner. Jesse Monteiro made his first start.  Jackson Porter also played in the Minutemen secondary. Hamilton had 8 tackles and a FF.

Sha-Ki Holines had a good game on the D-line. He 2.5-14 TFL a SACK and one QB hurry.

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Jamal Wilson and Marquis Young will be on this week's UMass Insider.

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UMass' big rushing total against EMU jumped the Minutemen from #125 to #107 in NCAA rushing stats.

Marquis Young is #25 in the nation with his 6.19 yards per carry.

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EMU linebacker Great Ibe was named Walter Camp FBS defensive player-of-the-week for his 21 tackles against UMass.

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Dan Malone reports UMass opened as a 9-point favorite over Miami (Ohio). An interesting line is Ball State by > 7 points over Toledo. Memphus is a 1.5 favorite over Temple. Notre Dame is 16 over BC and Western Kentucky is 14 over FIU. All the odds here.

Keepers College Football Rankings has the Minutemen by 7.62 (.htm download).

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Toledo moved to the top of the "others receiving votes" in the AP poll. Temple's loss knocked them out of the Top-25 in both the AP and Coaches Poll.

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Game Day--Florida International

Glen Wong, UMass professor and longtime supporter of UMass football and Minutemen sports in general will be today's honorary captain.

Well, we lucked out with the weather; it's going to be cool but only a slight chance of a few passing showers. Mrs Blog and I will be there. Hope everyone turns out to support the team.

FIU has injury problems. They may be without leading tackler Treyvon Williams and OC Trenton Saunders. In addition, the have injuries in the defensive secondary.

Injury report from the Miami Herald:

FIU injuries: Questionable — DB Niko Gonzalez (undisclosed); DB Wilkenson Myrtil (concussion). Doubtful — OL Trenton Saunders (undisclosed); LB Treyvon Williams (knee). Out — LB Davison Colimon (pectoral); DB Jordan Davis (knee); S Shermarke Spence (arm); WR Shawn Abrams (undisclosed); RB Napoleon Maxwell (ACL); OL Jordan Budwig (shoulder).

UMass injuries: Questionable — TE Brandon Howard (undisclosed); DB Kelton Brackett (knee); LB Peter Ngobidi (foot); LB Da’Sean Downey (ankle). Doubtful — TE Sharif Custis (knee). Out — WR Jalen Williams (quad); DB Khary Bailey-Smith (knee); DL Sha-Ki Holines (knee).

 If we hung 27 points on Notre Dame, Frohnapfel and Co should have a big day. Rodney Mills should be back and he should add another dimension to our offense.

Dress warm and watch UMass get our first win of the season. Go UMass!!!

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Minutemen kicker Mike Caggiano is preparing to hold his kicking job.

MassLive has the media options for today's game.

Dan Malone says UMass should unleash Marquis Young. Actually, I think the Minutemen rushing corps looks better than last year. Young has the speed and pop we've lacked the last three years. Jamal Wilson should have won the game against Temple. He made a nice play to put UMass ahead. Sekay Lindsay has started to run more down hill.

Unmentioned in UMass's three losses, the Minutemen have 10 plays of over thirty yards in three games. Whipple's offense is working, we need to be playing MAC-level teams.

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Matty Vautour says UMass looks to build momentum against Panthers.

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Dozens of volunteers will be recycling waste at McGuirk.

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The Boston Herald says UMass looks for a win.

The Miami Herald reports FIU is wary of Whipple's offense.

The Herald says the Panthers need to get their running game rolling.

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Temple improved to 4-0 with a 37-3 win over Charlotte last night. The Owl's kicker who won the game against us missed an extra point and a field goal. Sigh.

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UConn played future UMass opponent BYU close for three quarters.

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Interesting TV games today are:

Oregon @ Colorado.

Notre Dame @ Clemson.

And, if you like clubbing baby seals, Eastern Michigan at LSU.

  The side story is EMU has the worst rushing defense in FBS. LSU's Leonarde Fourette may be the best RB in the nation.

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Wednesday--July 1st, 2015

The ink was barely dry from my highlighter when the UMass website puts up another iteration of the 2015 roster. This time all the freshmen are included and most have bios.

Latest roster

Marquis Young--RB 5-11 200 wearing #8 same as Shane Huber
Randell West--QB 6-5 22 wearing #13 worn by Jordan Broadnax last year
James Sosinski--QB 6-6 240 wearing #17 same as Jovan Santos-Knox
Micah Morel--DB 6-0 200 wearing #22 same as Shadrach Abrokwah
Andy Isabella--RB 5-10 185 wearing #23 and J.T Blyden is still missing
Mehki Williams--RB 5-9 180 wearing #25 same as Joe Colton
Mike Caggiano--K 5-11 170 wearing #31 worn by Iric Harris last year
Sekai Lindsey--RB 5-9 210 wearing #35 worn by Stanley Andre last year
Lee Moses--DB 6-1 190 wearing #40 worn by Jon Lucier last year
Brandon Mangram-- DB 5-11 180 wearing #43 worn by Matthew Wylie last year (transferred)
Kenny Kearn--RB 6-0 227 wearing #46 same as Lucas Amato
James Oliphant--DB 5-8 165 wearing #48 number not assigned last year
Mike Yerardi--OL 6-4 295 wearing #50 worn by Mike Wynne last year
Joe Parsons--OL 6-4 305 wearing #56 worn by Sam Zeff last year (transferred)
Reche Thomas--OL 6-4 315 wearing #57 worn by Leo Krizanovic last year
Peter Comaroto--LS 5-11 215 wearing #59 number not assigned last year
Derek Dumais--OL 6-5 325 wearing #72 worn by Rich Queen last year (transferred)
Lamarriel Taylor--WR 6-2 185 wearing #86 worn by Shaquille Harris last year (now wearing #14)
Jon Derolus--WR 6-0 175 wearing #81 same as Kevin Lovaincy
Travis Reynolds--TE 6-5 245 wearing #87 same as T.J. Kelley (G'Day mate!)
Jack Coventry--K 6-1 180 wearing #91 worn by Chris Carter last year
Jesse Noel--WR wearing #93 worn by Seamus Murray last year
Kyle Horn--TE 6-4 250 wearing #95  same as Sha-Ki Holines
Mario Patton--DL 6-4 315 wearing #96 worn by Brian McDonald last year
Aaron Kinsey--LB 6-4 210 wearing #97 worn by Daniel Maynes last year
D'Shan Harley--LB 6-5 210 wearing #98 worn by Ryan Heath last year
Dejion Evans--WR 6-3 no number assigned
Tom Rodrick--LB 6-3 230 no number assigned

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The Notre Dame blog "One foot down" discusses the Irish's 2015 including UMass as a "layup" game.

Scout.com has a story about the strengths and weaknesses of Notre Dame's opponents.

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Marshall fans complain about the Herd scheduling Appalachian State.

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Bloguin.com has five MAC conference story lines for 2015.

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Some UMass fan compiled this Minutemen pump-up video. It's well done.

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Thursday--June 11th, 2015

Start times for the Minutemen's home games vs Temple and Kent State have been announced.

Temple's announcement.

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Complete MAC Conference TV schedule through September 19th.

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Athlon Sports ranks Mark Whipple #93 among all 128 FBS coaches.

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The Boston College blog "BC Interruption" envies UMass' Mississippi State game.

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NBC Sports looks at the over-and-under odds for PAC-12 teams including Colorado.

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Fan Sided.com previews Toledo and predicts a nine win season for the Rockets.

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Phil Steele has UMass, Temple and Notre Dame in the top ten of all FBS in % of tackles returning for 2015.

The Minutemen lost only NG Daniel Maynes (44 TT), Leo Krizanovic (15 TT)  and ILB StanleyAndre  (128 TT)  from the November 2014 two Deep chart.

Returning in the two-deep are:

DE Peter Angeh Jr 6-2 258
Enock Asante Jr 6-2 264

NT Robert Kitching SR 6-1 307

DT Sha-Ki Holines RSSO 6-3 260

ILB Shane Huber SO 6-3 250
Vondel Langston RSJR 6-2 220

ILB Jovan Santos-Knox JR 6-2 240
Steve Casali RSSO 6-2 234

OLB Da'Sean Downey SO 6-5 234
John Robinson Woodgett RSJR 6-2 228

OLB Trey Seals RSSR 6-4 237
Peter Ngobidi JR 6-2 221
Kessan Messiah SR 6-4 237

CB Randall Jette RSSR 5-11 180

SS Joey Colton SR 5-10 195

FS Khary Bailey-Smith SR 6-2 194
Zeke Edmonds SO 6-0 200

CB Trey Dudley-Giles SR 5-11 182
Jackson Porter RSSO 6-1 192

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NBC Sports report some people think Notre Dame is a College Football Playoff contender.

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Akron offers to a kid in junior high.

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Tuesday--June 2nd, 2015

Phil Steele names ten Minutemen to his preseason All-Mac Teams.

Dan Malone has an article on Steele's selections. Both articles only list the UMass selections; Phil Steele's website has all the MAC honorees.

The UMass players are:


QB Blake Frohnapfel,SR (first team)
WR Tajae Sharpe,SR (first)
TE Rodney Mills,SR (first)
LB Jovan Santos-Knox,SR (first)
CB Randall Jette,SR (first)
CB Trey Dudley-Giles,SR (third)
KR Khary Bailey-Smith,SR (third)
RB Shadrach Abrokwah,JR (fourth)
OL Tyrell Smith,JR (fourth)
LB Kassan Messiah,Sr (fourth)

As Dan notes, nine of the ten players were recruited by Coach Molnar. Despite all that went wrong with his tenure at UMass, the man could recruit.

In addition, I think Shane Huber SO and Marken Michel SR and Sha-Ki Holines  SO have a chance to make this year's All-MAC team.

Hustle Belt also has a post on Phil Steele's All-MAC team. UMass ties for fourth in the MAC in total number of selected players.

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The UMass website reports the Minutemen-Buffs game has its kickoff time set and the game will be carried on the PAC-12 Network. UMass fans should be able to watch the game on either Comcast or Dish Network.

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In a stunning turn of events, UAB is going to reinstate football. Dan Malone says Kelton Brackett is still coming to UMass. Tough that Brackett will not be able to play again with his teammates, but as a senior, his options are severely limited. He should be a significant addition to the UMass secondary this year. Brackett's UAB bio.

Matty Vautour also has a post on Brackett.

ESPN has more on UAB's move to reinstate football.

UDA Today says UAB is back all the team's momentum from 2014 is dead.

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College football matrix has UMass tied for 8th in the nation in returning starters.

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The Irish blog "Slap the sign" previews Notre Dame's season including UMass. Clearly I did not spend enough time on considering the name of the UMass Football Blog when I started it.

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UMass plays at Ball State on November 12th, the Cardinals have a new field surface this year.

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Thursday--May 21st, 2016

Matty Vautour has "In honor of David Letterman: 10 rising UMass sophomores".

The list includes Sha-Ki Holines. The 6-3 260 pound SO had nine starts in twelve games. He went 34 TT 3.0 TFL 2.0 Sacks.

If UMass stays in the 3-4, and I think they will, the Minutemen's DL starters should be:

DE Peter Angeh JR 6-2 258
NT Robert Kitching III SR 6-1 307
DE Sha-Ki Holines RSO 6-3 260

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A Bleacher Report writer looks at Notre Dame's 2015 and puts UMass into the "sure thing" category.

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Louisana Tech explains their rational for adding UMass in 2016.

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Jesse Allen of Hustle Belt looks at UMass football from the prospective of a video game.

Another Hustle Belt writer looks at what would happen if Everett Golson transferred to teams in the MAC. He'd be second string at UMass, IMHO...

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Ryan Williams has a pessimistic outlook on Victor Cruz's torn patella tendon.

The Giants Beat says Cruz has been seen cutting at the Giants mini camp.

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A Bleacher Report writer predicts NIU to again win the MAC Championship.

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Thursday--January 29th, 2015

The UMass website reports that the Minutemen have increased the number of Academic All-Conference selections every year since joining FBS and the MAC.

The UMass Athletics Twitter feed says 25 Minutemen players made the Dean's List.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has another article on Marcel Shipp's leaving for the Jets. It has some player quotes about Shipp.

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Roubins Joseph and Sha-Ki Holines, friends and former Commerce teammates, will line up opposite to each other next year when UMass plays at Buffalo.

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Phil Steele has UMass tied for #2 in the college football universe in returning starters in 2015.

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The College Football Playoffs looks at the ramifications of Navy joining the AAC in 2015.

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The Irish Illustrated looks at the gains and losses to NFL draft by Notre Dame's 2015 opponents (includes UMass).

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The LA Times has college football recruiting 101.

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SOON WE WILL HAVE NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS LEFT

UMass will ban dorm visitors for the Super Bowl.

Wednesday-- December 31st, 2014

Last Friday I looked at the 2014 redshirts.

Let's take a look at this year's first time  players and and freshman redshirts and what they accomplished. Redshirts who DNP not included. Forgive me if I missed anyone.

Quarterbacks:

Blake Frohnapfel GS Transfer 3345 Yards 23 TD's-- Bulger Lowe Award, First Team All-MAC, First Team All New England, First Team All-ECAC.
Austin Whipple RSFR 325 yards 3 TD's. Six game played, two start. #2 quarterback

Wide Receivers:

Alex Kenney GS Transfer 12 games played, 5 starts, 9 rec 190 yards and 1 TD.
Jalen Williams JUCO JR played 11 games, 20-307 4 TD's

TE's:

Todd Stafford RSFR One game played (Buffalo)
Jean Sifrin JUCO JR 11 games played, 9 starts 642 yards 6 TD, 1st Team All-MAC, All-ECAC
Jon Denton JUCO JR 12 games played.

RB's

J.T. Blyden FR Five games played, one start. Third in team total rushing 116 yards
Andrew Libby FR 10 games played, 6 KR for 100 Yards, 5 rec for 26 yards
Daquan Mack RSFR 3 games played, no stats
Matt Tuleja JT Transfer 11 games played, 2 starts 3-22 1 TD

DB's

Jesse Monteiro RSFR 12 games played, no starts 9 TT
Jackson Porter FR 11 games played, 8 Starts. 41 TT
Zeke Edmonds FR 9 games played 15 TT
Lucas Amato RSFR 12 games played, 1 start , 8 TT

LB/DE's

DaSean Downey 12 games played, 5 starts 35 TT, 1 BKUP

Defensive Line:

Sha-Ki Holines RSFR Transfer 12 games played, 9 starts 34 TT, 3 TFL

Kickers:

Matthew Wylie FR 2 games played 6 KO for 311 yards 0-1 field goals.
Logan Laurent RSFR 5 games played, 4-6 FG, 13-18 EP.

Punter:

Brian McDonald GS Transfer 12 starts 57 punts, 2150 yards

Long Snapper:

Nick Berus RSFR Started all 12 games

Offensive Line:

Ryan Johnson JUCO JR 11 games played, no starts
Lukas Kotler FR 11 games played, no starts

Whipple hit home runs with Frohnapfel and Sifrin. Nick Berus started all 12 games and will likely do so in 2015. The defensive secondary probably gained more experience than any other unit. Sha-Ki Holines was a force with the DL. UMass did not get a lot impact from new players in the kicking game or running backs. Both areas will probably be a focus in recruiting.

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College football continues to gain in popularity. The big shift in the sport is TV revenue. The NIU-Marshall bowl game only drew about 25,000 spectators, but 1.1 million watched on TV.

College football accounted for $7.3 billion in revenue recently.

Quote from the article:

"I love the sport of basketball," Tranghese said. "But the collegiate athletic world as we know it is absolutely controlled by the sport of football."

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Tuesday--December 9th, 2014

Blake Frohnapfel and Tajae Sharpe were named to the All-New England Team.

Dan Malone has an article on Frohnapfel's and Sharpe's selection to the All-New England Team.

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Dan starts a 2014 position review with the Minutemen defensive line and thinks big things are in store in the future.

Let's parse the DL this way.

Graduating in 2014:

Daniel Maynes 12-11 GP-GS 13 UT 31 AT 44 TT 7.5 TFL 1.5 SACKS (most tackles by a DL).

Returning starters:

Peter Angeh 12-12 GP-GS 7 UT 27 AT 34 TT 4.0 TFL 1.0 SACKS
Sha-Ki Holines 12-9 GP-GS 7 UT 27 AT 34 TT 3.0 TFL 2.0 Sacks

Reserves:

Robert Kitching 12-3 GP-GS 8 UT 35 AT 43 TT 5.5 TFL 0.5 SACKS
Enock Asante 12-0 GP-GS 3 UT 15 AT 18 TT 4.0 TFL
Leo Krisanovic 11-1 GP-GS 6 UT 9 AT 15 TT 2.0 TFL

Other defensive linemen:

Michael Dowe SO
Joe Tyo FSFR
Al Leneus JU
Chris Carter FR
Jake Largay FR
Jack Wynne FR
Josh Smiley (Academically ineligible 2014)

One 2015 recruit so far:

Diasjon Robinson

UMass will gain FBS size down the road as Smiley, Carter, Largay and Wynne are all 6-5 or taller. The defense has not had the recruits the offense has had so far during our three years in FBS. I would think Whipple will bring in several JUCO or FBS transfers in this recruiting cycle. Our defensive stats are impacted by four BCS games, but UMass was 11th in total defense, 9th in run defense and (probably the most important) 11th in scoring defense in the MAC. Moving defense into the middle of the MAC in scoring defense would probably add two or three wins to our 2015 totals.

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UMass is one of a long list of teams interested in UAB safety Bobby Baker. Because UAB dropped football, Baker would not have to sit out a year.

Baker's UAB Bio.

The rest of the Blazers roster is here if you want to speculate on defensive linemen or whatever.
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Anthero Nicolau who coached in four Super Bowls (and one year-1970) at UMass, passed away.

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If you missed it, UConn lost to 0-11 SMU Saturday.

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Thursday--November 13th, 2014

UPDATE:  Dan Malone says no update on Fronapfel's injury until tomorrow.

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Click on an image and Blogger displays a larger view.

First off, congats to UMass fans and students! There were a legitimate  13,500 fans at the game and there was a lot of energy in the stadium. The weather was great and it was a fun game and atmosphere.

Second, kudos to the UMass defense. For the first time this season, the defense dominated. They were flying to the ball all night. Sha-ki Holines has a great first half. Trey Seals was all over the place in the second. Ball State was a running team and UMass shut that down. The defense really seemed energized.

On offense Tajae Sharpe has another monster game. He was open all night. I especially liked the performance of Lornezo Woodley. He looked like a three star running back last night. After a couple of good runs in the first half, he didn't get in the game until Shadrach Abrokwah went out. Woodley looked quick; he picked his holes, ran with his shoulders square and ran down hill. He had an impressive 90 yards.

Frohnapfel was having another productive game. He appeared to suffer an ankle or foot injury. Froh was in a lot of pain at the end and they put a boot around his foot and ankle.

On a personal note, I parked up by Whitmore. After the game I walked back through Southwest. By stock and by stone, it's been a long, long time since I was walking through Southwest close Midnight. I drove back to New Hampshire listening to a lot of ghosts in my head :)

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Hey! UMass is tied for second in the MAC East.

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UMass write-up on the game here. The UMass website has video highlights and post game interviews.

Ball State's coverage here.

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Dan Malone covers the game here and here.

He also reports on Frohnapfel's injury.

Tajae Sharpe says if Frohnapfel is out, UMass will have to come together.

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Matty Vautour says the Cardinals couldn't stop Tajae Sharpe.

Matty's game report here.

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The Indy Star says Ball State lost 24-10.

The South Bend Tribune says the Minuteman air game thumped the Cardinals.

The News-Sentinel said the loss ended Ball State's bowl hopes.

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ABC40 said the UMass defense shined.

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The Boston Globe said UMass looked prime time ready.

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Max Moore of Hustle Belt recaps the game.

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Tuesday--August 26th, 2014

I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get excited---and nervous. I want to see UMass do well.

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Two articles on the Minutemen's first official two deep: Dan Malone and Matty Vautour.

I'd take the two-deep with several grains of salt. I doubt UMass would break true freshman J. T. Blyden's redshirt just to return kicks. Ryan Johnson, Jean Sifrin and Shane Huber could start later in the season.

QB- Blake Frohnaple, A.J. Doyle

Austin Whipple would be the 3rd QB

RB- Jamal Wilson, Lorenzo Woodley
FB-Rodney Mills, Daquan Mack

Mills at 6-1 215 would likely be another receiver out of the backfield

WR- Tajae Sharpe, Shakur Nesmith
WR -Jalen Williams, Alex Kenney

Marken Michel will also see a lot of snaps

TE: Brandon Howard, Jon Denton

LT-Tyrell Smith, Tyshon Henderson
LG-Fabian Hoeller, Michael Boland
C-Matt Sparks, Rich Queen
RG-Josh Bruns, Lucas Kolter
RT-Elijah Wilkinson, Cameron Mock

Hoeller would probably backup Sparks. Henderson will probably back up both tackle spots.

Defense

DE-Peter Angeh, Enock Asante
NT-Robert Kitching, Daniel Maynes
DT -Sha-Ki Holines, Leo Krizanovic


OLB -Kessan Messiah, Lucas Amato
ILB-Stanley Andre, John Robinson Woodgett
ILB-Jovan Santos-Knox, Steve Casali
OLB-Trey Seals, DaSean Downey

Along with WR's, this is a deep unit.

CB-Randall Jette, Iric Harris
S-Joe Colton, Khary Bailey-Smith
S-Trey Dudley-Giles, Zeke Edmonds
CB-Jackson Porter, Jesse Monteiro

Monteiro would probably be the nickle back. Edmonds, a true freshman, has had a good camp.

Special Teams

K-Blake Lucas, Matthew Wylie
P-Brian McDonald, Logan Laurent
LS-Nick Berus, Emmett Odegard
H-Blake Frohnapfel
KR-Trey Dudley-Giles, J.T. Blyden
PR-Trey Dudley-Giles, Bernard Davis

Five freshmen in the two-deep. Seventeen new starters.

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Matty Vautour also has 2014 may be the most important season in UMass history. Just remember opening with four BCS teams does not really measure the progress UMass has made.

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UMass is picked last in the MAC preseason coach's poll.

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BC loses LB Tim Joy for the season. Always hate to see a player get hurt.

The Boston Herald says mystery awaits the Eagles in their opening game.

A writer on BC Interruption predicts Boston College's season.

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Another game Saturday with interest by UMass fans:

Idaho plays at Florida.

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Friday--July 18th, 2014

Dan Malone looks at the Minutemen's defensive ends for 2014.

Peter Angeh's UMass bio.

Sha-Ki Holnes UMass bio.

Enock Asante's Minutemen bio.

Peter Angeh gets a sack in the Spring game

Enock Anante rushes A.J. Doyle

The UMass defensive line did well during the Spring game. They mostly controlled the line of scrimmage against a bigger offensive line. The Minutemen are going to be small by FBS standards this year. I was flipping through Lindy's looking for other teams that run the 3-4. UMass' starting three will probably be NT Daniel Maynes 6-285 and two of the three Asante 6-2 260, Holines 6-2 260 or Angeh 6-245. West Virginia plays the 3-4 and their starting three are 6-4 295, 6-4 293 and 6-3 303. Navy's three down are 6-2 251, 6-1 303 and 6-1 246.

UMass will have to play with a high intensity and get some rotation with the second string guys. Michael Dowe, Jr 6-2 240 and Joe Tyo 6-5 250 played DE in the Spring game.

Back a year or so ago when Holines verbaled to UMass, I received an e-mail from a Springfield fan who said Holines was a good pickup for UMass. The writer said Holines was an excellent athlete and had a big upside.

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ESPN looks at Colorado's OOC schedule including UMass.

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Jesse Allen of Hustle Belt previews UMass-Vanderbilt and predicts a big Commodores victory.

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Cleveland.com says veteran quarterbacks abound in the MAC East.

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Speaking of quarterbacks, Penn State's Christian Hackenberg has been named to the O'Brien watch list.

Penn State is also in college football's top-25 in ticket prices.

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The MAC will receive a much higher payout from the new college football playoff structure.

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USA Today previews #53 Toledo. UMass plays @ Toledo on 10/25.

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Steelers Depot thinks Rob Blanchflower will make the team.

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A Bleacher Report writer thinks Michael Cox will make the Giants 53-man roster.

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