Tuesday--March 31st, 2015

Jean Sifrin's March 30th 2015 Pro Day.

Dan Malone reports Jean Sifrin improved most of his previous stats from the NFL Combine. Sifrin ran an unofficial 4.75, which was a full .1 of a second faster than his Combine time. That would have put him 3rd among TE's at the Combine.

Matty Vautour reports on UMass players trying to impress scouts at Pro Day. Daniel Maynes did 35 reps in the bench press.

Besides Sifrin, other UMass seniors and former players participated: Stanley Andre, Daniel Maynes, Quayshun Smith, Alex Kenney and Brian McDonald, former Minutemen Galen Clemons, Antoine Tharpe and John Griffin.

WWLP gets the number of UMass players previously drafted by the NFL wrong, but reports on UMass Pro Day.

The UMass Daily Collegian reports on Pro Day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former UMass player E.J. Barthel has been named Director of Recruiting at Rutgers.

Another story about Barthel's appointment here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former UMass player Tracey Belton is playing for the New Orleans Voodoo.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting 2016--Eron Carter

Hudl.com image

Several recruiting sites indicate UMass has offered to Eron Carter, a 6-2 215 OLB from Palataka, FL

247Sports page here.

NCSA Sports has some stats.

MaxPreps has more stats.

Besides UMass Carter has offers from Army and Troy.

Monday--march 30th, 2015

UMass holds its Pro Day today. Hopefully, the UMass website will have some video and interviews.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ralphie Reoprt says new talent for the Buffs should result in more wins for Colorado.

ESPN says improvement for Colorado begins in the weight room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Elkheart Truth gives its impressions of Notre Dame's Spring practice.

Irish coach Brian Kelly is pleased with Notre Dame's pass rushers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the Temple Owls are trying to make progress.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMass fans have bad memories of Old Dominion QB Tyler Heinicke, who started his first game against UMass and led the Monarchs to a 48-33 win. Old Dominion will have to get by without him this year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ESPN reports Victor Cruz may not be ready for the Giants season opener.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm getting really sick of NCAA Tourney commercials.

BTW, John Calipari is holding his own version of Pro Day.

Saturday--March 28th, 2015

The UMass website has a video feature on new Minutemen special teams coach Mark Michaels. He also coaches outside linebackers. Let's hope he can make an improvement in what was a big trouble spot for UMass last year. The video shows him coaching the linebackers.

The last 2014 depth chart listed the OLB two-deep as:

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

Trey Seals 6-4 237
Peter Ngobidi 6-2 221

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Malone reports that the last two games of the 2014 season left a bitter taste for the UMass staff and players.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hayne Palmour IV image

Matty Vautour has a story about incoming grayshirt freshman Lamarriel Taylor. Taylor's UMass bio.

Taylor could be an impact receiver for UMass. He has FBS size at 6-3 185.

This story from February 2014 features Taylor. If Taylor has NFL dreams, he's in the right system with Whipple. It should be fun to watch his development.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CBS Sports looks at five Group-of-Five teams that could crash the college playoffs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The NFL Spin Zone says the Giants are justifiably optimistic about the return of Victor Cruz.

Tom Coughlin says Cruz will be back to the player he was.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BC Blog "BC Interruption" thinks the Eagles need an indoor training facility.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday--March 27th, 2015

UMass Twitter feed

Remember when Steve Baylark ran over Montana to put UMass in the National Championship game?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matty Vautour reports UMass seniors want to build for the future of the program.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comcast Sports Chicago has a draft profile of Jean Sifrin. It has a video interview with him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syracuse is looking for opponents in 2016.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Campus Insiders looks at Notre Dame's 2015 schedule.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only 1% of Floridians root for Florida International.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bleacher Report features Toledo's Kareem Hunt. He ran over UMass to the tune of 26-198 1 TD.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OT, but the Wall Street Journal has a couple of interesting sports articles.

How good is Kentucky? Good enough so that the Cats don't bother with watching game tapes. BTW, a West Virginia player's prediction that the Mountaineers would upset Kentucky didn't work out.

Remember North Dakota lost their nickname a couple of years ago? They still don't have a mascot or moniker .

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday--March 26th, 2015

If you didn't watch Josh Maurer's interview with Ryan Bamford, you should. Most of the questions are about football and Bamford's responses are interesting. He said the same thing Coach Whipple said during his hire---- UMass has the resources to win at the FBS level. When talking about a conference Bamford says building the brand (meaning winning) is important our chances to get into a conference.

He flatly says it's doable and I see no reason why he would say so in public if he felt it wasn't so.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Malone has a story about Blake Fronapfel's experience on the A.D. search committee.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matty Vautour has more quotes from Frohnapfel and Coach Whipple on Bamford's hiring.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bamforrd was congratulated by Michael Strickland and Bamford Tweeted back a joke about joining the ACC. Various media types yucked it up over that. And here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bloomfield Enterprise talks about Colorado's future schedule and spends a lot of time on the 2021 Buffs-Minutemen game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMass gets a mention is this story by CBS Sports on who has the most returning starters for the 2015 season.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hustle Belt previews Kent State's 2015 season, and miracle of miracles, does not predict a win over UMass.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting 2017--A.J. Dillon

Dillon's Twitter feed

Nj.com reports UMass has offered to A.J. Dillon, a 6-1 227 pound RB from Lawrence Academy on Groton, MA.

Nj.com article here.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Partial quote from a 03/23/15 article on Scout.com about Dillon:

Boston College and Massachusetts are the first two offers for Dillon, who plans to take his time as a rising junior.
“I’m looking for somewhere I’m going to play,” he said. “I don’t need to start right away, but I don’t want to go to a school where I won’t play until I’m a senior – like a factory sort of school. … I don’t want to just be a player. I want to be someone that the coaches genuinely want to be there.”

Besides UMass, Dillon holds an offer from BC.

Wednesday--March 25th, 2015

Dan Malone has three impressions from Ryan Bamford's first press conference.

Bamford says he's not going to shy away from the challenges inherent in the UMass football program.

Chancellor Subbaswamy says Bamford is a marvelous fit for the athletic department.

Matty Vautour reports Bamford will have a full plate issues to deal with. One positive thing about the timing is Bamford will be able to bring in two lieutenants. That should help balance the power of entrenched interests. Being able to have his own team should be a positive for him and for the department.

The Boston Herald says UMass introduces its new athletic director.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SB Nation previews 2015 OOC opponent Florida International.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Former Buffalo HC Jeff Quinn is hired as a non-coaching assistant at Notre Dame.

The Irish get three 2016 verbals.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of Buffalo, the Bulls start their Spring practice with new HC Lance Leipold.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday--March 24th, 2015

Dan Malone says new UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford bring "intimate knowledge of FBS football".

Dan also has quotes from Bamford's former bosses on his appointment as UMass A.D.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matty Vautour reports Georgia Tech A.D. Mike Bobinski thinks Bamford will be "a great fit at UMass".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMass' official announcement here.

Georgia Tech's announcement here.

Ramblin' wreck blog "From the rumble seat" comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the Minutemen Club

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The UMass Blog certainly welcomes Ryan Bamford to UMass. I hope he is wildly successful in Amherst, stays six years and is then offered a multi-million dollar contract as A.D in a Power Five school.

He really needs to shake things up at UMass. I hope he receives the support he needs from the school administration and from UMass alums. We are currently punching under our weight in a number of sports. I think UMass is one of the nation's top public universities. In athletics, we should be able to perform at the level of other Group-of-Five schools.

Let's Go UMass!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMass will hold its Pro Day March 30th.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Calls were made for UAB President Ray Watts to resign after documents indicate the school's press releases of the plan to cut UAB football were untrue.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting 2016--Donald Stewart

Saed Hindash image

NJ.com reports UMass has offered to Donald Stewart, 6-4 180 pound WR from Paramus Catholic in NJ.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

This article from January 2015 features Stewart.

MaxPreps has stats.

Partial quote from a November 2014 story on Stewart from Scout.com.


Stewart plans on making a bevy of official visits in the winter and spring, but a handful of school are already in regular contact with him.

“The six schools I talk to every week are Stanford, Penn State, Duke, Northwestern, Boston College and Temple,” Stewart said. “I don’t have a top five but when I do, academics are going to be big.”

Stewart holds ten offers including Boston College, Temple, Syracuse and Rutgers from the Northeast.

Monday--March 23rd, 2015

From the UMass football Twitter feed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Georgia Tech image

Dan Malone reports, according to sources, Georgia Tech associate director Ryan Bamford has been chosen as the next UMass A.D.

Matty Vautour also has a post on Bamford.

Let's hope Mr. Bamford provides the shot in the arm, the athletics department needs.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The victim of an assault by yet un-named UMass football player is complaining that the player is receiving too lenient treatment. I don't condone any fighting. UMass football does not need anymore head winds than it already is experiencing. Keep in mind, however, that the linked article is only giving one side of the story.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miami (Ohio) signs a four-star defensive back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forbes says college football players should be able to major in football.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting 2016--Jacob Hallenbeck

Newspapers report Jacob Hallenbeck, a 6-3 212 pound Pro-Style QB will visit UMass on April 11th.

Syracuse.com article here.

Rivals.com three-star player.

YouTube 2013 highlights here.

Hallenbeck has an offer from North Carolina. Drawing interest from Syracuse and UConn.

Saturday--March 21st, 2015

From Wednesday's Twitter feed

I lift. Maybe not quite as much as UMass players  :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMass looses the 2016 game with Rhode Island. The Minutemen could end up playing two or more FCS teams in 2016.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matty Vautour says it's down to three candidates for the A.D. search. Matty Vautour points out with the change in the Rhode Island game, it would actually be easier to find an FBS team for a date earlier in the schedule, so it may work out to UMass' advantage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim Kenney explains his vision for St. Bonaventure athletic department.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Central Michigan reports on their Pro Day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OT, but Coach Cal and the Cats are gearing up for Cincinnati (mentions UMass).

Recruiting 2016--Phillip Patterson

Image credit unknown

Several recruiting sources indicate UMass has offered to Phillip Patterson, a 6-2 170 pound WR from Bayside HS in VA.

247Sports page here.

Rivals.com three-star player.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

This article from 2014 features Patterson.

Partial quote from a 03/06/15 article on Scout.com about Patterson:


"I plan on having my decision made before the season starts,” Patterson said. “I want to go to a place where I feel comfortable and somewhere my family likes as well. I also want to go to a school with a good combination of academics and athletics.

Last season, Patterson had 403 yards receiving and five touchdown receptions on offense. Defensively, he finished 43 tackles, two tackles for loss and six interceptions."

Besides UMass, Patterson has offers from Duke, East Carolina, Illinois, Navy, San Diego State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Friday--March 20th, 2015

It's Spring today! The vernal equinox happens at 22:45. There's also a total eclipse of the sun, but you've got be above the arctic circle to see totality. Lots of traditional celebrations for Spring: St Patrick's Day (sowing of peas in Ireland), Feast of Eostre (Saxon goddess of Spring) and Easter (first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox).

It's 12 degrees in Jaffrey with snow showers later today.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Scout.com article reports on the free-agency of college quarterbacks and notes twelve teams started transfer QB's last season (including UMass).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ralphie Report has a story about the Buffs Spring Game.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Temple football players were charged with aggravated assault after an off campus fight.

The Owls had their Pro Day Wednesday.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Florida International's Spring Football guide.

The Panthers started Spring practice yesterday.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The SEC rules Notre Dame, BYU and Army as "Power Five" opponents.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Boston College also held their Pro Day recently.

---------------------------------------------------------

Thursday--March 19th, 2015

Zeke Edmonds/UMass Twitter feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------

There's a long Brian Kelly transcript about Spring football at Notre Dame.

------------------------------------------------------------------

A PAC-12 blog ranks Colorado's OOC schedule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Derek Mason and Vanderbilt try to hit the reset button after 2014 (mentions the UMass missed field goal).

------------------------------------------------------------------

Western Michigan has the toughest schedule in the MAC in 2015.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

USA Today looks at the Spring prospectus for the AAC West. Navy joins the AAC this year.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Three Morgan State football players were stabbed on campus Tuesday.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting 2015--Johncarlo Valentin

Joseph Santoliquito image

Several recruiting sources indicate UMass has offered to Johncarlo Valentin, a 6-4 330 pound OG from Inhotep Charter School in Philadelphia, PA

Rivals.com two-star player.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Back in 2014, he was a member of the Nike New Jersey All-Combine Team.

This article from August of 2014 features Valentin.

Valentin has an offer from Temple. Drawing interest from Syracuse.

Wednesday--March 18th, 2015

Matty Vautour writes that UMass will bring four A.D. candidates to Amherst for interviews this Friday. Three are listed in the story. The fourth is unknown.

UMass sports really needs a shot in the arm. Let's hope the committee gets this one right.

Jim Fiore's Wikipedia bio.

Fiore's Dynamic Sports bio.

This article says Fiore did a lot as A.D. for Stony Brook.

I've already blogged about Ryan Bamford.

Allen Greene's Buffalo bio.

Green was involved in the facilities upgrade at Buffalo.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Former UMass assistant coach Bryan Crist has been hired as wide receivers coach at Youngstown State.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Toledo Blade previews the 2015 Rockets.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Victor Cruz says his recovery is going well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting 2016--Yeedee Thaenrat

image credit unknown

Several recruiting sources indicate UMass has offered to Yeedee Thaenrat, a 5-10 185 pound RB/DB from Father Judge HS in Philadelphia, PA.

Rivals.com three-star player.

Huld.com has highlight video.

NJ.com reports Thaenrat has overcome a lifetime of adversity.

Besides UMass, Thaenrat has an offer from Rutgers. Drawing interest from BC and Syracuse.

Tuesday---March 17th, 2015

The Bears signed Vladimir Ducasse to a one year contract.

Notice on the Bears' website.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NorthofBoston.com has an article featuring Bob Goodhue. He talks about UMass football and the A.D. search.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former UMass QB Mike Wegzyn has left the Tennessee football team.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

iSportsweb.com looks at Temple's 2015 season. The article has some info on AAC scheduling including splitting into two divisions and a conference championship game.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

RotoWorld has some comments by Scout.com's Kevin Weild about Jean Sifrin.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Ball State will play Notre Dame in 2018.

---------------------------------------------------------------

2015 OOC opponent Colorado played its Spring Game Sunday.

Three Buffs players are facing assault charges after a fight at a house party.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Boston College cancels its Spring Game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------