Wednesday--March 29th, 2017

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There's a new version of the 2017 Spring roster up. It has the early enrollees from January. The revised roster shows the numbers they were assigned.

Michael Curtis QB 6-2 210 # 17  (ex James Sosinski)

Jake Froehlich LB 6-1 245 #47 (ex Michael Dowe)

Spencer Goldberg OL 6-4 295 # 70 (ex Ryan Johnson)

DaVone Hall DL 6-3 315 #75 (not assigned in 2016)

Jaylen Larry OL 6-3 287 # 76 (ex Tyshon Henderson)

Alex Piechocki DL 6-6 260 # 91 (ex Chris Carter)

Mike Ruane LB 6-0 227 # 33 (ex Rodney Mills)

Patrick Volcy WR 6-3 190 # 80 (ex Jalen Williams)

David Weinstock OL 6-1 287 # 78 (ex Matt Sparks)

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Speaking of Jalen Williams, he worked out for the 49rs.

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Kyle Daluz of the UMass Daily Collegian has a post on new UMass DL coach Dave Wissman.

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Buffalo Low Down.com has a profile of Vladimir Ducasse. Vlad's been an OG most of his pro career. Up State NY.com asks if he can play right tackle.

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USF DB Hassan Childs was shot multiple times in a possible road rage incident.  The Minutemen play at USF on October 14th.

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Monday--February 1st, 2016

Catching up on non-recruiting news.

UMass adds former UMass players Matt Dawson and Scott Woodward to the staff.

UMass post on Dawson's appointment here. Matty Vautour has a story about the new coaches and coaching position changes here.

Dan Malone has a longer report on the additions.

NBC Sports has a story about coaching additions at UMass and Hawaii.

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The latest iteration of the Spring football roster has the new coaches plus the early enrolled players.

Numbers available:

1--ex Tajae Sharpe & Kelton Brackett
3--ex Kassan Messiah
4--ex Randall Jette
6--ex Jamal Wilson
7--ex Blake Frohnapfel
9-ex Trey Dudley-Giles
10--ex Marken Michel
15--ex A.J. Doyle
16--ex Elgin Long
17--ex Jovan Santos-Knox
20--ex Lorenzo Woodley
22-ex Shadrach Abrokwah
23--ex Blake Lucas
25--ex Joe Colton
33--ex Rodney Mills
54--ex Trey Seals
55-ex Josh Bruns
62--ex Zach Belcher
64--ex Al Leneus
70--ex Ryan Johnson
77--ex Tyrell Smith
78--ex Matt Sparks
88--ex Bernard Davis
91--ex Chris Carter
92--ex Robert Kitching III

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Former UMass player and coach Clarence Brooks has been battling esophageal cancer.

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The Detroit Free Press has a story on why colleges and recruits play musical chairs.

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For the nth time, there is going to be a new start-up spring  pro football league.

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Saturday--December 17th, 2015

Hey, it's snowing here in Jaffrey. First snow of the season. It's been weirdly warm so far this year. Last year it was a snow apocalypse all year.

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Seven Minutemen received All-Conference awards from Phil Steele. Tajae Sharpe was named an All-American. Marquis Young and Rodney Mills were named to offensive teams and Jovan Santos-Knox, Trey Seals were on the defensive teams. James Oliphant was named to the special teams honor role.

All of Phil Steele's MAC selections here.

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CAA standard-bearer Richmond got smoked by North Dakota State last night. I watched that game and I don't remember the Spiders getting a first down in the first half.

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Boston College picks up a fifth-year transfer QB as former Kentucky QB Patrick Towles says he'll play for the Eagles.

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The Salt Lake Tribune says Terry Bowden has made Akron into a winner.

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Sunday--October 18th, 2015

Well, we knew the predictions for a 6-6 season were razor thin. Basically, UMass needed to fix the flaws in the 2014 team. The kicking and punting game. The running game. The Minutemen needed to fill the hole left when Jean Sifrin declared for the NFL Draft. And we needed to stay healthy, because we have little depth, especially on defense.

The punting game is better and Rodney Mills is a good second receiver when healthy. The other goals are not happening so far. Marquis Young needs to be the starting TB. He just has more pop than anyone else. I know he's fumbled, but we need his rushing production.

There was a great crowd for the game and walking around before the contest felt like some of the big time schools Mrs Blog and I have visited. The fans want to support the team. We just need to win to make it happen.

I left early. I've had season tickets continuously since 1976. Probably missed less than ten home games in that period. Most of the ten or so were due to various relatives who selfishly scheduled their funerals on a Saturday. My protests that Aunt Martha would have wanted me to go to the game usually didn't cut any ice with Mrs. Blog.

I left early because it was my class reunion was being held that evening. The highlight of the reunion was a video address to the gathering by one of my classmates. He has ALS. This was a man who ran in the New York and London Marathons. He is now totally paralyzed except for his eyelids. Using his computer, he game a rousing speech to the class. He finds meaning in life and he's not going to quit. It was inspiring.

Nuthin' is easy. It was still a good week for UMass football with A.D. Ryan Bamford scheduling those future games against UConn and BC. See you at Gillette next Saturday.

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UMass' writeup on the game.

Matty Vautour says the offense sputtered.

He also comments on how the big tailgate boosted Amherst businesses. Again, when Mrs Blog and I went to Notre Dame, we payed $209/night to stay 15 miles away from South Bend. Indiana makes tons of $$ of the sales tax, room tax, taxes the various businesses pay. If we had 30% of that, Massachusetts would be solidly in the black concerning the expenditures on UMass football.

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Dan Malone reports on UMass dropping to 1-5.

Mark Whipple says the UMass offensive plan wasn't good. Kent State leads the MAC in just about every defensive category. What Ball State is to offense, the Golden Flashes are on defense.

Blake Frohnapfel and Jovan Santos-Knox talk about staying positive.

Dan asks if anything positive came out of the defeat.

Frohnapfel explains his safety.

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Lots of blowouts in MAC conference games yesterday. Note the margin of victory of Bowling Green over Akron.

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Game Day--Kent State October 17th, 2015

Image credit unknown

Well, the weather is supposed to be cool, but 0% chance of rain for the game today and the 3:30 pm start time should be as warm as the day is going to get. With some sun, it should be a nice fall day.

The fall foliage should be about peak in Amherst too. Get some warm stuff on and join me in supporting the team today. Kent State has a good defense. I expect a close game like FIU. However, I think the Minutemen can throw the ball on anyone. With Rodney Mills back, the Minutemen should have multiple threats. It would bode well for the rest of the season if UMass could jump-start the running game.

The Minutemen are finally in the section of the schedule where we should be highly competitive. BC is a double-digit underdog to Clemson. UConn is a slight favorite over UCF. I'd really like to see UMass win today. I'll be there cheering for the Maroon & White.

Go UMass!!!

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The UMass Football Blog won't be updated tomorrow until early afternoon.

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I went to a high school reunion function last night. The female bartender was wearing a UMass football t-shirt...

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Senator Rosenberg will be honorary captain for today's game.

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Matty Vautour has a post on today's game. Adrian Zullo will attend the game. Tajae Sharpe should break Zullo's career yards receiving today.

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Dan Malone previews today's game.

He has five keys to the game and a final score prediction.

Dan says UMass can't let the hangover from Bowling Green effect today's effort.

He also has the TV and other media options for the game.

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Kent State leads the MAC in total defense and pass defense efficiency.

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Hustle Belt previews the Golden Flashes vs the Minutemen.

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Ohio.com reports Kent State won't name a starting QB until game time.

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Information on all the MAC games here.

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UMass runners run "nearly naked" for charity.

More naked running news.

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Monday--October 12th, 2015

If you missed the offensive totals from Saturday's game it was 725 (school record for Bowling Green) and 516 for UMass. Total 1,231 yards.

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Rodney Mills stock is up, but that was about it for the Bowling Green game.

Dan Malone says the Minutemen defense hit a new low.

UMass opens as a five point favorite for homecoming. 

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Temple, Bowling Green and Notre Dame open as favorites and Colorado and FIU as underdogs.

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Matty Vautour has a post on the return of Rodney Mills. He also mentions James Oliphant and Dan Jonah scored their first TD of the season. Mrs Blog and I talked with Jonah's parents at rest stop out in Ohio on the way back from Notre Dame. His folks noticed my "UMass Football' sticker on my truck and came over to say "Hi". Nice people.

Jonah also played baseball for UMass.

Khary Bailey-Smith was the last UMass player to return a kickoff for a TD. He ran it back 93 yards against Miami (Ohio) on 10/4/14. Oliphant's return was the 7th longest in Minutemen history.

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Kent State's only points against Toledo was a recovered errant snap in the endzone as the Golden Flashes lost by 31.

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All the scores and stats from Saturday's MAC conference games.

Toledo jumps to #22 in the AP poll.

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James Ihedigbo says the Lions are the worst he's seen.

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Wednesday--October 7th, 2015

Bowling Green has their game notes for UMass up.

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On the way back from the Falcons win at Buffalo, Coach Dino Barbers and an athletic trainer helped rescue a woman from a burning car.

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UMass rises in Dan Malone's MAC power rankings.

Dan has Mark Whipple's scouting report on Bowling Green.

Dan reports Robert Kitching and Rodney Mills may be able to play against Bowling Green and Tajae Sharpe was ECAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week.

#1 Tajae Sharpe

UMass' post on Sharpe being honored.

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Bowling Green's defense says they have room to improve.

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The FIU student newspaper reports on the Panthers loss to UMass.

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Matty Vautour says red-zone production will be critical against the Falcons.

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Marken Michel is turning into a reliable connection for the Minutemen says the UMass Daily Collegian.

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Tom Gilson, a former UMass player has signed a two-year contract with the Los Angles arena football team.

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Julian Talley worked out for the Chicago Bears.

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Iowa coach Kirk Frenentz talks about Hawkeye LB coach Jim Reid and UMass.

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Victor Cruz wonders when the setbacks will end.

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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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Sunday--September 27th, 2015

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Hey UMass fans, we hung with the Irish for the first half. Don't feel bad, that's a really talented Notre Dame offense. Too big and too much team speed for the UMass "D".

We missed a couple of plays that would have made it closer. At the end of the first half we dropped a pass over the middle that would have given UMass a first down at least and prevented Notre Dame's last score of the first half. We also missed a chance to score on Frohnapfel's last series.

And if I was Kelly, I would have gotten out of the hurry-up and passing a couple of series before he did. He didn't have to keep the pedal to the metal that long.

UMass had 450 yards of offense and Ross Comis was 8 for 8 leading the UMass reserves. That pretty much settled who's our 2nd string QB. Another thing we did accomplish was the kicking game was finally decided. Freshman Marquis Young looked good. Andy Isabella did well running back kicks. FR QB James Sosinski made the traveling squad to Notre Dame.

Rodney Mills and Khary Bailey Smith DNP due to injuries. Those two would have helped.

Whipple needs a couple more years recruiting before we can stand up to a team as good as Notre Dame. No shame in that. Nobody quit. I'm not either.

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The UMass website has the game writeup, stats and notes.

Besides Mrs. Blog and I, there were a number of UMass at South Bend.

Dan Malone says UMass started strong, but couldn't keep it close.

Dan reports the Minutemen were never in a position to win.

Dan runs the numbers from South Bend.

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Matty Vautour says UMass was overmatched.

Matty has notes from the game.

Matty experiences Notre Dame.

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From the Notre Dame website:

The Irish break out offensively.

Notre Dame has game notes for both sides.

In the game quotes, Kelley said:" You know, hats off to UMass and the way they competed."

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All the MAC results here.

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Colorado won easily over Nichols.

Temple had a bye.

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UConn lost to Navy.

Boston College beat NIU.

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Friday--September 18th, 2015

If you havn't joined the Gridiron Club, now would be an excellent time to do so. They're having their

first tailgate of the season at Gillette.


After many months of anticipation, it's time for the UMass Minutemen to return back to the Commonwealth and take the field at Gillette Stadium against Temple on Saturday, September 19th.

All members of the Gridiron Club and Football Alumni are invited to stop by the Gridiron Club Tailgate for a pregame tailgate prior to Saturday's game with festivities beginning at 1:00 pm. Feel free to bring your own beverages, food, and participate in a pot-luck style tailgate party. This is great opportunity to meet other Gridiron Club members as well as UMass Football alumni. Look for the Gridiron Banner in Lot 5 near  the E2 entrance and we will see you on Saturday.

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Dan Malone has a podcast with Owlscoop's John DiCarlo.

Rodney Mills is not concerned by opening game drops.

Dan has three things the Minutemen need to improve in their second game.

He has five keys to the game and a final score prediction.

Dan says the Minutemen look to regroup.

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Matty Vautour has the Minutemen and the Owls meet on the gridiron for the first time.

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VAVEL.com previews the game.

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Campus Insiders predicts Owls 34 UMass 14.

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The Boston Herald reports Robert Kitching and the UMass defense look to rebound against Temple.

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Temple President Neil Theobald will travel with the team to Gillette.

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MLive predicts Week #3 MAC games.

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The Chicago Sun-Times has a story featuring Vladimir Ducasse.

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Thursday--August 27th, 2015

Dan Malone has five questions with Australian recruit Travis Reynolds. There are a lot of good athletes down under. With Rodney Mills graduating this year, the TE position should be totally open in 2016. Reynolds has the size and athleticism to be a contender for a starting position.

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Dan also has a story on Shane Huber looking to get back on the field. Huber and Jovan Santos-Knox should give the Minutemen a strong up-the-middle in a 3-4 defense. Our front seven on defense has probably been our weakest area since the move to FBS. That's starting to change. It's got to change as we transition to an independent schedule. Now if UMass can get some pass rush off the edges...

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Dan also has a picture gallery from Wednesday's practice.

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Rodney Mills

Speaking of the TE position, Matty Vautour has a post about Rodney Mills and Logan Laurent.

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Hustle Belt continues its Top Seventy MAC players countdown with #8 Blake Frohnapfel.

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Collegian writer Anthony Chiusano has an article on the Minutemen linebackers.

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ABC Sports has six teams coming off a bad season that have a chance to go bowling: one of them is UMass. What a difference one year with coach Whipple makes.

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Mile High Sports says the Colorado Buffs should be happy with six wins and they include UMass in that category.

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The Indy Star reports Ball State has reasons for optimism.

MLive says it's time for Western Michigan to win big.

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College football starts this Saturday with North Dakota State vs Montana.

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Monday--July 13th, 2015

It's a slow news day on the internet so let's look at the seniors on the 2015 offense's two deep squad.

QB

Blake Fronapfel

FB

Rodney Mills
Matt Tuleja

TB

Jamal Wilson

WR

Jalen Williams
Tajae Sharpe
Marken Michel
(Bernard Davis and Elgin Long will also be seniors in 2015)

LT

None

LG

None

C

Matt Sparks
Josh Bruns

RG

None

RT

Ryan Johnson

UMass should be if fairly good shape in 2016 at tailback and offensive line. The Minutemen will have a new center to go along with a completely new passing game.

QB will be totally open in 2016 and at least four slots in the wide receiver two deep.

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Sports Illustrated looks at Big 12 expansion candidates. If the Big 12 poaches one or more AAC teams, that could open a slot for the Minutemen.

WVU Sports says the college football landscape is sure to keep changing.

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A UCLA blog previews the Colorado Buffs.

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The Sports Chat place previews the 2015 Temple Owls. They think Temple wins the AAC and gets double-digit wins for the second time in program history.

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The Notre Dame blog "One foot down" previews new Irish QB Malik Zaire. His Norte Dame bio.

The entire Norte Dame roster is here. Be sure to check out Brian Kelly's 34 member staff.

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Football Scoop has a college football recruiting letter-----from 1919.

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Tuesday--July 7th, 2015

Rodney Mills is featured in this preview by the MAC Blog Hustle Belt.

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Phil Steele disagrees with the over/under lines for three of UMass' 2015 opponents: Buffalo, Bowling Green and Colorado.

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Speaking of the Buffs, Jim Leavitt is revitalizing Colorado football.

Today's U previews the 2015 Buffs.

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Goshen News features Notre Dame TE Durham Smythe. His Notre Dame bio.

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Nine Florida International players were named to the C-USA preseason All-conference team by Athlon Sports.

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The AAC will have seven bowl contracts in 2014-2015

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Florida State loses freshman QB Deandre Johnson.

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James Ihedigbo says the Lions want Super Bowls.

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I went through the rosters of all the Canadian Football League teams; for the first time in years UMass does not have a player on any of the teams.

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Friday--June 12th, 2015

I've linked to Phil Steele's % of tackles returning, % of offensive yards returning and % of lettermen returning.

Today I thought I'd take a look at MAC returning starters. Figures from the Athlon Sports 2015 College Football magazine

Offense:

3 Miami (Ohio)
4 Akron, Toledo
5 Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan
6 Buffalo, Northern Illinois
7 Kent State
9 UMass, Ohio, Western Michigan
10 Bowling Green, Ball State

Note on UMass: the Minutemen return 10 starters from the end of season two-deep, if you consider Shadrach Abrokah as the starter. I would consider the TB position as the top up-for-grabs position in Summer camp. Whipple could keep Rodney Mills as H-Back or move him to TE. I think he'll do the former unless he thinks there is really no production available from other candidates for TE. Back while I was away, Dan Malone's report on the Spring Game said Lorenzo Woodley's stock was up and TE's were down.

Defense:

3 Buffalo
5 Bowling Green, Central Michigan
6 Akron (five Power Five transfers coming in)
7 Kent State, Western Michigan, Ohio, Ball State, Eastern Michigan
8 Miami (Ohio) Northern Illinois, Toledo
9 UMass

Bonus:

Colorado 6 Offense-9 defense
Florida International 6 offense-8 defense
Temple 7 offense-10 defense
Notre Dame 7 offense 10 defense

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The Mississippi State Blog "For whom the cowbell Tolls" says the Bulldog's series with UMass makes sense.

BTW, I haven't mentioned that Mississippi State fans are the only fans with a dispensation making ringing cowbells legal.

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The CT Post says Syracuse or BC should be UConn's big rivals.

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This article about Chip Kelly mentions former UMass assistant coach Bill McGovern (1987-90, 1992-93) and UMass.

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Football Schedules has a downloadable .pdf MAC helmet schedule here.

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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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Saturday-- April 4th, 2015

UMass has a new Spring practice video: competition in the backfield. It's not posted on YouTube, so I can't embed it in the blog.

As we've talked about a number of times, most pundits talk about Whipple's vertical passing game, but his offense usually allows big rushing numbers too. Last year, UMass never really got on track. The Minutemen averaged 109.3 yards/game rushing. Opponents averaged 191.8.

Part of the problem was only Shadrach Abrokwah was able to stay healthy. Jamal Wilson averaged 4.4 yards a carry and that was during the Power Five section of our schedule. Lorenzo Woodley and J. T. Blyden showed flashes, but were not consistent. Probably the statistic that shows the lack of flash in the UMass running game was longest carry:

• Abrokwah 24 yards
• Woodley 43 yards
• Blyden 18 yards
• Wilson 11 yards

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Dan Malone has a feature on Rodney Mills, the Swiss army knife of the Minutemen offense.

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Andrew Chuma, the son of former UMass player Mike Chuma (1979, 1980, 1981) signed a letter of intent to Lafayette.

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The Detroit Free Press says Western Michigan is tearing up recruiting.

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The new College Football Hall-of-Fame opens in Atlanta.

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Friday--April 3rd, 2015

UMass has a offensive line drills video up.

Some offensive line changes in the Spring roster.

Femi Oyewole RS SO 6-1 255 is now listed as a DL

Two linemen from the fall are not on the Spring roster:

Sam Zeff RS FR 6-5 288
Rich Queen RS FR 6-3 285

Mike Tice says if the offense is a car, then the offensive line is the engine.

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Mills #33

Matty Vautour features Rodney Mills.

Last year Mills went 12-7 GP-GS 30-489 5 TD's 16.3 AVE 72 LONG 40.8 yrds/game. He was third in receptions for 2014.

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RotoWorld says Jean Sifrin will visit the Dolphins before NFL Draft day.

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The College Football playoff committee will keep weekly rankings in 2015.

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Football Scoop has who wears what in college football. Lists all the MAC teams.

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Wednesday--January 14th, 2015

UMass confirms that Jean Sifrin will declare for the NFL draft.

Dan Malone has an article on Sifrin.

MassLive has video highlights of his one-year career with UMass.

Matty V. also has a post on Sifrin leaving.

WWLP-22 has an article on Sifrin.

Sifrin #87/Mills # 33

Sifrin totaled 11-9 GP-GS 42-642 15.3 AVE 6 TD 76 LONG 58.4 AVE/Game. As Matty V. says in his article, his replacement in the receiver hierarchy will probably be Rodney Mills.

Mills does not have the NFL size of Sifrin, but as long as he is as productive, the Minutemen won't suffer. Mills went 12-7 GP-GS 30-489 16.3 AVE 5 TD's 72 LONG 40.8 AVE/Game.

The Blog hopes that Sifrin would return to UMass after (or during) the NFL and finish his degree. A number of former UMass players have done just that.

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UConn's last home game on December 6th against SMU drew 5,300 at Rentschler field.

UConn averaged 27,576 and BC averaged 34,270 home attendance in 2014, another reason that the three New England schools should play each other every year.

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Bleacher Report ranks the MAC conference #11 after the bowl season.

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A mid-December early signing period could be on the horizon.

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AZ.com ranks Notre Dame #22 in pre-season 2015. If the Irish find a QB, they could be top-ten material next year.

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Friday, January 2nd, 2015

Matty Vautour says sources from the UMass program believe Jean Sifrin will declare for the NFL Draft.

Sifrin, at 27 years old, is probably wise to declare. I think he'd get more money after a bowl game, but there's always the chance of injury. If he's drafted, then it's a good trade off. A free agent contract would be less (a lot less) financially rewarding.

Rodney Mills would be Sifrin's probable replacement at TE.

Other TE's on the roster (class is for 2015):

Sharif Custis RSSO 6-3 210 DNP in 2014
Jon Denton SR 6-6 260 12 games played in 2014. No catches
Jordan Fiske RSFR 6-3 225 DNP in 2014
Brandon Howard RSSO 6-5 250 12 games played,4 catches for 57 yards and two kickoff returns
Jon Lucier RSFR 6-6 215 DNP in 2014
Todd Stafford RSSO 6-7 261 1 game played in 2014

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Matty also reports grayshirts Randall West and Lamarriel Taylor will join the Minutemen for the Spring Semester.

Randall West 6-4 220 spent the fall rehabbing a torn ACL suffered late in Senior season. By no being on campus this fall, he saved a redshirt season. West played against top competition in North Jersey, so he could be a force at QB. He's another reason to go to the Spring game.

Lamarriel Taylor 6-3 185 had 72 catches for 1,516 yards and 23 TD's for Mission Bay HS in CA. He should also prosper in Whipple's vertical passing game. Taylor was a two-star recruit on 247Spots.

YouTube interview of Taylor from 2013. Hudl.com has senior season highlights.

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The Blog's sister lives in Eugene, OR. She relates that Eugene passed an ordinance banning fireworks except for the Fourth of July and New Years. I'll bet it was noisy in Eugene last night.

NBC also reports the playoffs are a financial bonanza for the Power Five conferences.

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OT, but NBC Sports predicts the NIT for UMass hoops.

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Monday---December 15th, 2014

On Saturday, Dan Malone continued his 2014 review series this time covering receivers.

If anything in UMass football showed the impact of Whipple/Frohnapfel it was the wide receiver corps.  The Minutemen had 16 players in 2014 catch the football and two more Jon Denton and Elgin Long make contributions. In 2013 the longest reception by a WR was 38 yards. In 2014, the Minutemen had SIX receivers with catches of 50 yards or more. Suddenly, UMass had lots of good lookin' receivers.

The Starters:

Tajae Sharpe GS-GP 12-12 85-1281 7 TD 77 LONG 106.6.8 AVE/G
Jean Sirfin GS-GP11-9 42-642 6 YD 76 LONG 58.4
Rodney Mills GS-GP 12-7 30-489 5 TD 72 LONG 40.8
Marken Michel GS-GP 12-5 30-386 1 TD 50 LONG 30.8
Jalen Williams GS-GP 11-3 20-307 4 TD's 60 LONG 27.9

In the Rotation (just about everybody but freshmen and walk-ons)

Alex Kenney GS-GP 12-5 9-190 1 TD 80 LONG 15.8
Shakur Nesmith GS-GP 10-1 7-105 1 TD 36 LONG (see 2013) 105
Brandon Howard  GS-GP 12-2 4-57 22 LONG  4.8
Bernard Davis GS-GP 11-2 2-20 14 LONG  1.8
Shaq Harris GP-GS 0-7 1-36 7 Kick returns 140 yards
Jon Denton GS-GP 8-1 (blocking)
Elgin Long GS-GP 7-0 Wildcat

Reserves

Alfred Adarkwah FR
J.T Kelley FR
Ryan Heath FR
Dan Jonah JR
Kevin Lovaincy SO
Conner Lemieux RSFR
Sharif Custis RSFR
Jordan Fiske FR
Jon Lucier FR
Todd Stafford RSFR

Sharpe flat out looked like a NFL receiver catching sideline outs from Fronapfel. Sifrin appeared raw in aspects, but he physically was a mis-match for most teams. Watching Frohnapfel throw and the the wide receivers catch was the most fun UMass fans have had in a long time.

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Thank you video from the Minutemen Club.

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David Tolintino, a 6-2, 275 pound DT from St. Peters Prep in NJ verbaled to Navy. Tolintino had a UMass offer.

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Northern Illinois to the Big Ten?

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OT, but Lou Roe's son is playing hoops for Hopkins Academy.

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