Monday, December 03, 2012

Recruiting 2012--Sharif Custis and Jackson Porter

Several sources report UMass has added two verbals to the Minutemen's 2012 class.


Sharif Custis is a 6-3 210 pound athlete from St. John Neuman HS in Philadelphia. He played both TE and DE in HS.

Philly.com has an article on Custis' verbal to UMass.

ESPN's player page has him running a 4.63 40.


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Jackson Porter is a 6-1, 185 pound athlete from Ellicott City, MD.

Porter #7/ Nate Pierce image
I've blogged about Jackson Porter before.


The video above has been added since my previous blog post.

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Monday December 3rd, 2012

Lots of MAC conference news today. Looks like the Minutemen played seven bowl teams in our first year in FBS.

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The MAC received a record seven bowl invites.

From the above article:


2012 MAC Bowl Schedule:
Northern Illinois vs. Florida State, Discover Orange Bowl, Jan. 1
Kent State vs. Arkansas State, GoDaddy.com Bowl, Jan. 6
Toledo vs. Utah State, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 15
Ball State vs. Central Florida, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, Dec. 21
Bowling Green vs. San Jose State, Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman, Dec. 27
Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Advocare V100 Independence Bowl, Dec. 28
Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky, Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, Dec. 26

The big score for the MAC is NIU vs Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

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In addition, Vanderbilt was invited to the Music City Bowl.

And Michigan was picked for the Outback Bowl.

ESPN has a detailed look at each bowl here.

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NIU's offensive coordinator Rod Carey was promoted to HC.

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At Maine, Jovan Belcher was a member of an anti-violence group.

Maine Football reacts to Belcher's death (video).

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Sunday, December 02, 2012

Sunday--December 2nd 2012


Click on image for larger view.

Taylor Olmstead chooses UConn baseball over UMass football.

Olmstead was a Top-30 Connecticut player.

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That didn't take long. Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren was hired by North Carolina State hours after he won the MAC Championship game.

NIU post about Doreen's leaving.  Kinda disloyal that he's not going to coach the Huskies Bowl game.

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Bowl game selection show today at 8:30 pm.

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The NY Post says the Big East should change its name.

Syracuse.com discusses if the Big East basketball schools should form their own league.

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THE BLOG TOTALLY UNDERSTANDS.

Deceased Minnesota fan's funeral will consist of a pizza party and watching the Vikings-Packers game.

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Saturday, December 01, 2012

Saturday--December 1st, 2012


Click on image for a larger view.

Harry Plumer of MassLive continues his position review from 2012. This time it's the offensive line. Plumer says the OL was an  area of concern this year and likely to be again next year.


I concur and when I do my "What went right and wrong in UMass' first year in FBS series" the offensive line will definitely be in the wrong side of ledger.


In a recruiting note, Coach Molnar says Cameron Mock, a 6-7 305 pound OL from Clayton, NM will join the Minutemen in January 2013. Mock appeared on the 2012 recruiting list, but not on the fall roster. He was First-Team All-State and First Team All-District OL in 2011.

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Philly.com says there will another round of recruiting Penn State players now that the season is over. UMass is mentioned as being active during the first round. Might be an opportunity to pick up a upper class offensive lineman. As in the story above, UMass will receive a bunch of good OL recruits this year, but they'll all be freshmen. A JUCO or fifth-year senior would be a great addition to a very young Minutemen offensive line.

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A Bleacher Report article lists Victor Cruz as one of the NFL's 15 "most marketable" players.

The Poughkeepsie Journal says Victor Cruz is looking for a big finish. (fixed link)

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I watched the MAC Conference Championship game last night. Good game. Two very solid squads that will represent the MAC in bowl games.

Hustle Belt says BCS or not, smile because it MAC Championship game happened.

North Carolina State is looking at several MAC coaches.

GoDaddy.com bowl, schedule for January 6th,  is looking at the MAC.

The NCAA did not do the MAC any favors when it granted an eligibility waiver to Georgia Tech for a bowl bid.

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Friday, November 30, 2012

Recruiting 2014-- Cameron Polk

Steve Risley image
ESPN reports UMass has offered to Cameron Polk, a 6-2 175 pound WR from Fishers, IN.

ESPN article here.

This article has more on Polk.

Polk's stats here.


Also drawing interest from most of the Big Ten Schools.

Recruiting 2013-- Johnny Thomas III

Carl Russo image
I've blogged about Johnny Thomas, a 5-11 195 pound Peabody native twice before.

This article has more details about Thomas' senior season. He's run for 1,744 yards and 15 TD's. Thomas' 2, 879 yards places him second in St. John's prep history behind some guy named Chris Zardas.

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Friday--November 30th, 2012

Harry Plumer of MassLive looks at the UMass defensive line and says the Minutemen will have to replace the interior of the unit for 2013.

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Jets OL coach Dave Guglielmo is apparently not happy having Vlad Ducasse rotating into the Jets starting lineup.

Josh Samuda has played in all eleven of the Dolphins games this year.

James Ihedigbo says beating the Steelers once "Doesn't mean jack".

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CBS Sports says the stable MAC had a banner year.

If NIU wins tonight's MAC Championship game, the Huskies can dream of the Orange Bowl.

Details on tonight's MAC Championship game.

A MAC team in the BCS could mean an $8 million boost for the league.

Lindy Sports says the quiet MAC is rising up.

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Carver High School Band was excited to be part of UMass' Band Day at Gillette.

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Thursday--November 29th, 2012

Perry McIntyre, Darren Thellen, and Colter Johnson made the 1st, 2nd, and third string All-MAC team respectively.

McIntyre finished with 61 UT 74 AT 132 TT 7.5-24 TFL 3.0-14 SACKS 4 BU 4 PD.

Thellen finished 2nd on the team in defensive statistics: 45 UT 34 AT 79 TT 1.0-2 TFL 3-84 INT 3 BU 6 PD 1 FF.

Johnson finished 64-2803 YARDS 43.8 AVE 66 LONG 5 TB 7 FC 16 I20 19 50+

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UMass finished second-to-last in the All-MAC standings. We were better than hapless Akron and close to Buffalo and Miami (Ohio).

MAC Report Online covers the entire All-MAC slate.
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Joe Colton was awarded a scholarship. Colton finished 6th in defensive statistics: 11-2 GP-GS 27 UT 22 AT 49 TT 1.0-2 TFL 1-16 INT 2 PU 2 PD 2 FF 1 BLKD KICK.

MassLive also has a story about Colton and his efforts for the Minutemen.

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Click on image for larger view.

Harry Plumer of MassLive looks at the status of the Minutemen's linebacking corps and says the question is in the middle.

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Philly.com says when Temple and the other new Big East basketball schools become full members of the Big East this July, they will have the numbers to vote for Big East basketball to dissolve if they want to.

The Washington Post says UConn got left behind again.

Navy, however, remains committed.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Recruiting 2013--Jonathan Dublin


Rivals.com reports UMass is interested in Jonathan Dublin, a 5-11 155 pound WR from Tampa, FL.

Rivals page here.

YouTube Video here.

Also drawing interest from Florida Atlantic, Florida International and Northern Illinois.


Wednesday--November 28th, 2012

Harry Plumer of Masslive has a post-season wrap-up of the UMass secondary. Coach Molnar is quoted as looking to bring in one safety and two corners in 2013 recruiting.

CBS Sports Boston says Coach Molnar and the UMass players are already prepping for the 2013 season.

UMass TE Rob Blanchflower was named Co-Athlete-of-the-week for his 10 catch 100-yard effort against CMU.

Dave Roback image
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Cleveland.com looks at post season honors in the MAC.

Utah State will be one MAC bowl opponent, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

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BTW, Vanderbilt finished 8-4.

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Tulane and East Carolina join the Big East.

Louisville to the ACC.

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Tuesday--November 27th, 2012

Shortly I'm going start a series on what went right and wrong in 2012 as well as looking at recruiting needs. There's a lot to cover and talk about.

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Matty V has an article on Coach Molnar planning for the future. The article talks about recruiting and transfers in and out.

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Stephen Sellner of the UMass Daily Collegian says don't judge UMass football future by this season.

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Fox Sports previews Friday's MAC Conference Championship game between Kent State and NIU.

More on the MAC Championship game.

WBIR has this week's MAC Conference news and notes.

Hustle Belt has this week's MAC power ratings. The writer says UMass had CMU fans worried until we threw two INT's in three offensive plays.

Central Michigan's Zurlon Tipton was named MAC West Division Player-of-the-Week for his 175 yard 4 TD performance against UMass. Tipton averaged 7.2 yards/carry against the Minutemen.

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BC Interruption has possible names for the Eagles new coach.

Eagle in Atlanta looks at five coaches from the MAC as possible fits for Boston College.

Three Boston College verbals remain committed to the Eagles.

One verbal will wait and see.

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NJ.com says it was a tough week for the Big East Commissioner.

BTW, the MAC finished ahead of the Big East in power rankings.

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Monday, November 26, 2012

Recruiting 2013--Noah Robinson

Image credit unknown
Rivals.com says UMass is interested in Noah Robinson, a 6-4 215 pound OLB from Worcester, MA.

Robinson's Rivals page here.

Robinson had an excellent 2012 season for Doherty.


2011 highlight video above.

Also drawing interest from UConn, BC, Tennessee, Purdue and Penn State.

Monday--Novenber 26th, 2012

Kent State and Northern Illinois were #18 and #19 in the latest AP Bowl. All this week's polls here.

In our first year of FBS football UMass played four teams receiving votes in the Top-25 lists: Michigan, Vanderbilt, Northern Illinois and Ball State.

Kent State could be one win from playing in a BCS Bowl.

Akron Sports Now has a regular season MAC wrap-up.

The News-Herald says the MAC title game could have BCS implications.

Hustle Belt has several articles:

Will Central Michigan get a bowl game by default?

The MAC in a BCS Bowl?

Coping with sudden MAC/BCS expectations.

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Boston College fired Coach Coach Spaziani and mentions Mark Whipple as a possible candidate.

I was thinking UMass might make a run at some of the Eagles verbals, but BC has few Northeast recruits in their 2013 class.

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Victor Cruz caught three balls for thirty-six yards and a TD last night against the Packers.

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Sunday--November 25th, 2012

The Boston Herald says UMass football set a sturdy foundation. The Herald reports UMass played 30 freshmen or redshirt freshmen and 17 started at various times. The experience should help in future years.

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Harry Plumer of MassLive reports several Minutemen players had career days against CMU. Rob Blancheflower had 10 catches for 100 yards. Jovan Santos-Knox and Khary Bailey-Smith both set career highs in tackles.

Perry McIntyre entered the UMass record book with career totals of 354 TT and 204 AT.

TT:

  1. 411.5 Khari Samual 1995-98
  2. 404.0 Kole Ayi 1997-00
  3. 394.0 John McKeown 1985-89
  4. 365.0 Vito Perrone 1984-87
  5. 361.0 Tyler Holmes 2008-11
  6. 360.0 Jason Hatchell 2004-2007
  7. 354.0 Perry McIntyre 2009-12
  8. 307.5 Jeremy Cain 1999-03
AT:
  1. 298 John McKeown 1985-88
  2. 227 George Karelas 1987-89
  3. 206 Jason Hatchell 2003-07
  4. 204 Perry McIntyre 2009-12
  5. 199 Vito Perrone 1984-87
TT Season
  1. 140.5 Kole Ayi 1998 (13 games)
  2. 136.5 Khari Samuel 1998 (13 games)
  3. 132.0 Perry McIntyre 2012 (12 games)
Colter Johnson's 43.8 yards/punt was good for 2nd place on the all-time single season record book.

Single season punting average
  1. 45.22 Brett Arnold 2008
  2. 43.8 Colter Johnson 2012
  3. 43.02 CJ Koegal 2005
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Matt Sussman of Hustle Belt has a recap of Friday's league games.

If NIU wins another MAC championship, could the Huskies get assigned a non tie-in bowl?

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Saturday--November 24th, 2012

UMass Seniors
Click on image for a larger view.

UMass was once again competitive for two quarters and faded in the second half after a raft of interceptions.

If you were not at the game, you may have missed the size differential between CMU and the UMass defense. Those guys were huge!  UMass defense---Central Michigan Offense.

Coach Molnar still has a lot of recruiting to do.

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UMass Athletic Dept website write-up.

Matty V. has UMass loses in final game.

A.J. Doyle "OK" in his first start.

MassLive says UMass closes with a loss to Central Michigan.

The UMass Daily Collegian said it was a disappointing end to a difficult season.

MassLive said Minutemen seniors had an emotional goodbye.

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MassLive says if the Big East comes calling, UMass should just say no.

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MAC final week results.

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Game Day-- Central Michigan

The last game of UMass' inaugural season will be played today against the Chippewas. Why isn't that politically incorrect? That's got to be the last Indian nickname in the football universe. The weather looks to be good. Sunny by afternoon and in the mid-50's.

It would be nice to get some good offensive line play today and make this a UMass win. CMU needs this game to be in consideration for a bowl. Winning would give the Minutemen something to build on during the off season.

I'll be there as usual. Hope a lot of UMass fans will avoid the Black Friday madness and come to cheer for the Minutemen.

Go UMass!!

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Matty V. has a story about Darren Thellen and the 15 other seniors who will be playing their last game for the Minutemen today.

The seniors are Darren Thellen, D.J. Adeoba, Tim Brandt , Chris Burns, Julian Colarusso, Michael Cox, Perry McIntyre, Stephane Milhim, Quinton Sales, Ian Shultis, Nick Speller, Chaz Thompson, Deion Walker, Alan Williams and Hafis Williams.

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MassLive.com has the half-payment status of UMass in 2011 and low attendance will cause a financial shortfall this year. Our "provisional" FBS status allows teams to play us less that the regular guarantees given to FBS teams. This will be the only year that happens. Revenue should be up in 2013 and following years.

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Boston.com has UMass hoping for an end of 2012 season win.

The Herald,com says Perry McIntyre and the Minutemen tackle the last game of the 2012 season.

Central Michigan Life says CMU needs this game to be bowl eligible.

The Moring Sun says CMU's bowl eligibility is on the line.

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NBC Sports says the Big East may vote to disband.

The Associated Press says UConn or Louisville may be the next to leave.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Recruiting 2013--- Sam Zeff III

I've blogged about UMass 2013 verbal Sam Zeff two times before. He's a 6-7 280 pound OL from Montclair HS in New Jersey.

NJ.com describes Zeff as "one of the best linemen in the state".

Scout.com image

Thanksgiving 2012--November 22


Hope all UMass friends and family have a great Thanksgiving today. I have a lot to be thankful for. I've truly enjoyed running the blog and meeting all of you.

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Matty V. reports A.J. Doyle will start against Central Michigan tomorrow. Coach Molnar states it will be the start of an open QB competition this spring.

Harry Plumer of MassLive also covers Doyle's start.

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The Enterprise News features Darren Thellin's last game as a Minutemen.

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UMass AD John McCutcheon says he hasn't had any contact with other conferences about the changes in the ACC and the Big East.  Which is not quite the same as a statement that we would not be interested...

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After his win at UMass last week the University of Buffalo extended the contract of Bull's HC Jeff Quinn. That caused quite a stir among Buffalo fans.

The Buffalo News has more on the effect of the new BCS format on the MAC.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Wednesday--November 21st, 2012

Matty V. says UMass is motivated to send the seniors out with a win.

Matty also reports UMass could have a Big East decision in its future. Matty points out, as did Mike Paquette in the comments yesterday, if Cincinnati and Louisville leave the Big East, the MAC would be a better football conference. Navy and Temple would be attractive opponents for UMass football, but the rest of the Big East would feature high travel costs and not much name recognition.

 The revised A10 would also be a better hoops league if the Catholic basketball schools split from the Big East.

The Times-Herald looks at Rutgers leaving the Big East.

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Speaking of Mike Paquette he has a new essay over at Hustle Belt on UMass is learning to win.

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Harry Plumer of MassLive reports UMass will face another physical running back in Central Michigan's Zurlon Tipton. Tipton's CM bio here. Besides having a great name, Tipton is 6-1 219.

CBS Boston has UMass gearing up for Friday's game with Central Michigan.

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CMU has its game notes for UMass up.

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer interviews the MAC's Jon Steinbrecher on the new BCS bowl arrangement.

Relevant quote:"I can't go into specific numbers, but it will be a lot more revenue for our conference and a lot more revenue for our member institutions. I'll just leave it at it's very, very significant. It's night and day."

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Football fans, we're different from other folks:

 Obituary blames man's death on the play of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Recruiting 2013 -- Jonathan Thomas II

Robert Klein image
I've blogged about Jonathan Thomas before. The 5-11 195 pound running back from St. John's Prep has been named a finalist in ESPN Boston "Mr. Football" award.

ESPN article here.

Besides the UMass offer, Penn State, BC and Virginia are showing interest.