UMass Football News--August 13th, 2024

 

The Hampshire Gazette/Greenfield Recorder reports Don Brown's "Thunderstruck" drill is still a feature of the Minutemen's practice.

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

UMass athletes (including football) complete the second annual Bridge program.

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

The MAC conference stands alone in having zero teams getting votes in the AP preseason 2025 vote. Miami (Ohio) did get some votes in the coaches poll.

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

Jelani Stafford, a 6-1 300 pound athlete has made a name for himself playing both ways for the UConn Huskies.

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

The Liberty Flames look to defend their C-USA title. 

The College Football Network has Liberty having the second easiest schedule in 2024, which will help.

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

The CFN also ranks schedule difficulty for the entire MAC Conference. Says UMass will be the easiest game for Miami (Ohio).

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

UMass Football News--Aughust 12th, 2024

 R,J. Young ranks UMass #112 in his preseason college football rankings.

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

BVM comments (probably their AI comments) on UMass' #112 ranking.

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

UMass' opening opponent Eastern Michigan kicks off fall camp with energy and unity.

EMU's LB JT Killen has been named to the Shrine Bowl's 1000 list.

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

Game Haus predicts September 28th opponent Miami (Ohio) to win the MAC.

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

Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy says the NCAA is becoming a "non-factor" in college football.

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

UCLA HC Rick Neuheisel says Oregon has an "unlimited" NIL from booster Phil Knight.

Remember when SMU was given the death penalty because boosters were giving money to the Mustangs players?

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

UMass Football News--August 10th, 2024

 The Hampshire Gazette says UMass' experienced offensive line should be a strength in 2024

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

Western Mass News has UMass players react to being playable in EA Sports College Football 25.

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

In a probably AI written post,  College football News previews the November 30th UMass-UConn game. Note that the story has both the Minutemen's and the Huskies' 2023 won-loss record wrong.

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

VSin predicts UMass will finish under the 3.5 win mark.

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

Speaking of UConn..

Coach Mora says the Huskies must earn the fans trust. 

College Football News says UConn's 2024 schedule is more than winnable.

VSin predicts the Huskies will make the over at 4.5 wins in 2024.

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

UMass Football Blog News--August 9th, 2024

 I had to publish today's blog post twice because Blogger found it had "sensitive content"

From Blogger's e-mail:

"Hello,

    As you may know, our Community Guidelines (https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we allow-- and don't allow-- on Blogger. Your post titled "UMass Football News--August 9th, 2024" was flagged to us for review. This post was put behind a warning for readers because it contains sensitive content; the post is visible at http://umass74.blogspot.com/2024/08/umass-football-news-august-9th-2024.html. Your blog readers must acknowledge the warning before being able to read the post/blog.

    Why was your blog post put behind a warning for readers?
    Your content has been evaluated according to our Adult Content policy. Please visit our Community Guidelines page linked in this email to learn more.

    We apply warning messages to posts that contain sensitive content. If you are interested in having the status reviewed, please update the content to adhere to Blogger's Community Guidelines. Once the content is updated, you may republish it at https://www.blogger.com/go/appeal-post?blogId=13308828&postId=327900882215462301. This will trigger a review of the post. You may have the option to pursue your claims in court. If you have legal questions or wish to examine legal options that may be available to you, you may want to consult with your own legal counsel.

    For more information, please review the following resources:

    Terms of Service: https://www.blogger.com/go/terms
    Blogger Community Guidelines: https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy

    Sincerely,

The Blogger team"

Maybe I hurt Blogger's AI content supervisor's feelings with declaring the UMass Football Blog and AI-free zone :)

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

UMass Football News--August 9th, 2024

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

UMass Football News--August 8th, 2024

 

UMass athletic dept image

The Hampshire Gazette has a post on new Minutemen offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery settling in at UMass.

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

Lately UMass has been playing teams out of the NEC for our FCS game. This year Merrimack and Sacred Heart left the MAC for the non-football MAAC, so both teams will play as independents this year.

UMass' 2024 opponents Wagner and CCSU are picked #6 and #7 in the NEC preseason rankings.

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

Four QB's are in contention to start for UConn.

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

Meanwhile in Starkville, confidence in Mississippi State's offense is high. 

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

UMass Football News--August 7th, 2024

 The Hampshire Gazette has Coach Dudzinski on the growth of defensive leadership in Don Brown's third year.

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

Opening opponent Eastern Michigan is +3500 to win the MAC championship.

The Eagles play Washington and Jacksonville State as part of their OOC schedule. Washington is a national title contender and the Gamecocks went 9-4 last year, losing the C-USA title game to New Mexico State.

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

Covers has a MAC conference season preview and betting odds.

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

Authorities arrest a man who threatened a "mass causality" event at last year's Army-Navy game.

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

2024 SEC opponent Mississippi State is searching for stability. 

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

UConn head coach Jim Mora talks about transfer QB Nick Evers.

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

UMass Football News--August 6th, 2024

 The American Football Coaches preseason coaches poll is up. UMass plays #1 Georgia and #11 Missouri from the top-25. Liberty and Miami (Ohio) are in "others receiving votes" category.

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

The Greenfield Recorder has a story about the Minutemen defense being tested against three SEC opponents.

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

WHY I'M OPTIMISTIC. PART III

Do you remember 2022 when Gino Campiotti, our QB, would roll out looking to pass and then pull it down and run for two or three yards? My long term friend who has been sitting with me all these years kept muttering "No one was open, no one was open".

I think this year's wide receiver group has the potential to be the deepest we've seen in a long time.

It all starts with slot receiver Anthony Simpson. He was Phil Steel's First Team All-independent in 2023. He went 57-792, 3 TD's in 2023. I think this year Simpson will have some help.

Sterling Galban 5-10 170 (graduate transfer from Jacksonville State/Texas Tech. He had 39-559 and 4 TD's for the Gamecocks.)

Frank Ladson Jr 6-3 200 (graduate transfer from Miami. He went 17 GP 9 GS 27-298 and 1 TD with the Hurricanes.  Also appeared in over 30 games for Clemson)

Jakobie Keeney-James 6-1 195 (graduate transfer from Eastern Washington. He had 61-825 and 4 TD's in his career for the Eagles).

In addition UMass added:

Dominick Mazzotti 6-4 250 (graduate transfer TE from San Jose State. He went 34 GP 20 GS 57-747 and 5 TD's  for the Spartans).

Taken as a group, this is a big upgrade from 2022. Minutemen QB Taisun Phommachanh should have a lot of open WR's to work with.

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

UMass Football News--August 5th, 2024

 WHY I'M OPTIMISTIC, PART II

I said in my last post I thought the 2024 Minutemen had the most talent of the FBS era.

Coach Brown loves DB's and I think this year's secondary is good, as good as anyone in the Group-of-Five in fact.

I think probable starters are:

CB Isaiah Rutherford 6-1 195 (2023 College Football Network All-Independent Honorable mention)

CB Lake Ellis 6-0 180 (transfer from Bryant. 180 TT, 6 INT's 19 BKUP for the Bulldogs)

SS Te'Rai Powell 6-0 195 (2023 All-Independent Honorable Mention)

FS Tyler Rudolph 6-0 210 (2023 2nd Team All-Independent)

UMass adds Leonard St. Gourdin 6-3 200 (transfer from Dartmouth, 47 TT 8 BKUP 2 FF)

UMass could play a 3-3-5 defense in some circumstances with this group. This is an all-senior unit and I think they're going to play some exciting football this year.

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

Eastern Michigan, UMass' opening opponent has a 3.5 wins over-and-under.

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

Hustle Belt has "What's new with the Toledo Rockets?". Toledo has been the MAC's best team for the past 15 years, but can they continue after losing DeQuan Finn and Penny Boone (the MAC's MVP and Offensive Player-of-the-Year).

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

Hustle Belt also previews 2024 opponent Northern Illinois's offense. Our last tour with the MAC coincided with P.J. Fleck's era at the Huskies. They usually scored 50+ points against us.

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

UMass Football News--August 3rd, 2024

 

UMass Football is open for business and Coach Brown has a opening camp presser.

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

The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass QB Taisun Phommachanh is healthy.

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

The Gazette also has a post on the Minutemen opening camp. 

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

UMass and UConn are mentioned in this post (maybe mostly AI written) on lesser know college football rivalries. 

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

Eastern Michigan, UMass' opening game opponent, has started Fall camp. The page includes some video from their camp.

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

Devon St. Clair, a 6-2 195 pound Athlete from Orlando, FL has committed to UMass

I blogged about St. Clair back on June 16th. Welcome to Amherst and I look forward to Following his career with the Minutemen.

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

UMass' first SEC opponent Missouri will have a new defensive scheme.

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

UMass Football News--August 2nd, 2024

 UMass should be on the field today as the Minutemen get ready for the season opener against Eastern Michigan on August 31st.

WHY I'M OPTIMISTIC PART II

UMass Football Blog image

I've mentioned several times about my practice visit in 2021 where UMass was practicing with eight offensive linemen.

I think the 2024 offensive linemen room is the deepest and maybe most talented group UMass has had in a long time. The big guys up front make the offense go and with Taisen Phommachanh at QB, I have high hopes for this year's offense.

Some pundits have predicted the starting O-line could be:

LT Brayden Rhome 6-6 300 (transfer from Cal)

LG Mao Glynn 6-3 305 (transfer from Cincinnati)

C Josh Atwood 6-2 330 (last year's starter)

RG Paul Tchio 6-5 305 (transfer from Georgia Tech/Clemson)

RT Ethan Mottinger 6-5 315 (last year's starter)

Also available are:

Benjamin Roy 6-2 295 (transfer from UCLA)

 Peyton Miller 6-3 310 Redshirt Freshman

Luke Painton 6-6 315 (Graduate transfer from Columbia)

Wyatt Terlaak 6-4 335 (appeared in several games last year) 

Cole Erickson 6-6 290 Redshirt Sophomore

Brock Taylor 6-3 315 Freshman

William Jones 6-2 310 (transfer from Grambling State)

Tanner Burlingame 6-5 305 Freshman

Riley Bloch 6-3 295 Freshman 

Jaxon King 6-6 310 (transfer from Grambling State)

Ryan Mosesso 6-5 310 Redshirt Junior

The Minutemen have 16 OL's going into camp and that's about where a FBS team should be.

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

Hustle Belt has 2024 preseason MAC conference awards Watchlist tracker.

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

UMass Football News--August 1st, 2024

 

I believe Fall camp starts today with meetings and other procedural stuff. On-the-field work starts tomorrow.

The latest version of the 2024 roster is up.

I'm optimistic. I think the 2024 roster has more FBS-level players than any roster we have had since we went to the top division in 2012.

The 2024 schedule is difficult. We play three SEC teams and the probable conference champs in the MAC and C-USA. UMass plays five MAC teams, which are in our wheelhouse, but we play four of the five on the road. See home field advantage.

Despite the schedule I think the Minutemen have a chance to win four or five games. We should beat Central Connecticut State and Wagner. UMass is currently a slim 1-point favorite over Eastern Michigan. The Minutemen should be competitive with Buffalo and Western Michigan on the road. Our best ever MAC result was 3-5 in 2014 in the MAC East under Coach Whipple.

Crucial to our season is UConn. It's our bowl game. UMass has to play the Huskies one week after getting beat up by Georgia. UConn plays Syracuse on the road the same weekend. At least it's a home game for the Minutemen. 

UMass could have a chance to upset Liberty. The Flames play a cakewalk schedule, ranked by some as the lowest difficulty in 2024. The Minutemen will be coming off a bye week and we're playing at home. The Flames will be coming off a road game with Middle Tennessee State. The Flames are a warm weather team and I'm hoping for a cold, drizzling, November day at McGuirk. I think Liberty will lose at least once in 2024 and we have as good a chance as anyone on their schedule.

So I'm hoping for four or five wins. To make six wins and a bowl game UMass will have to beat three of five MAC teams and beat UConn or Liberty.

Go UMass!

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

If you're thinking of traveling to Georgia to see UMass play the Dogs, be prepared for one of the highest priced tickets in college football. 

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

Yahoo News thinks 2024 opponents Missouri and Georgia could make the college football playoffs.

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Sharard Vaughn

"X" image

 Sharard Vaughn, a 6-1 200 pound Athlete from Toledo, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from April covers his visit to Louisville. 

Ranked as the #16 WR in Ohio.

Kent State, Marshall, Miami and Toledo have offered from the MAC. Vaughn could get an excellent education and play for the rising UMass offense in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Kory Amachree

"X" image

Kory Amachree, a 6-0 195 pound RB from Haslett, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

This article covers his visit to Wisconsin. 

This article discusses his recruitment by Michigan State.

Amachree has twenty-nine offers including multiple Big Ten schools. A number of MAC schools have offered as well. Boston College and UMass have offered from the Northeast. Amachree could see the field a lot earlier with the Minutemen and get an excellent East coast education in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Preston Fryzel

"X" image

 Preston Fryzel, a 6-4 210 pound TE from Toledo, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Fryzel is the focus of this article.

This article covers his visit to Cincinnati. 

Fryzel has Power Five offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Pitt, Minnesota and Cincinnati. Toledo and Kent State have offered from the MAC. Fryzel could get a quality education and see the field early playing for Coach Brown.

UMass Football News--July 27th, 2024

 

HERO Sports says take the over on 3.5 wins for the Minutemen in 2024.

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

Vegas Insider has UMass over-and-under at 3.5 wins across the board.

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

Covers has Georgia at 10.5 wins, Mississippi State 3.5 and Missouri at 9.5.

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

Sports Line has the MAC conference championship lines.

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

The recent anti-trust lawsuit settlement will raise scholarship limits to 105, which may be the demise of walk-on players.

The rise in scholarships will distort the gap between top-25 schools and the rest of football. Players who would have been signed by teams like Indiana and Illinois will now add depth for Michigan and Ohio State. It will further cement the dominance of the top half of the Power Five leagues over the bottom half.

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Sam Hamilton

 

247Sports image

Sam Hamilton, a 6-4 235 pound TE from Cincinnati, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video here and here.

This article features Hamilton.

Hamilton has six offers with Kentucky offering from Power Five. Toledo, Miami, Central Michigan and Toledo have offered from the MAC.

He could get an East Coast education and find a lot of playing time with Coach Brown in Amherst.

UMass Football News--July 25th, 2024

 

Click on an image and blogger displays a larger view.

The UMass website has video on the return of black uniforms for the Minutemen.

As far a I can remember UMass last wore black unis against Indiana on 09/08/12. We were blown out in our 2nd game in FBS at Gillette 45-6 (I was there). AFAIK, we did not wear the black uniforms again.

If UMass wears them against Eastern Michigan on 08/31/24 it will have been 4375 days (11 years, 11 months and 23 days) between their appearance..

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

Lancaster Online has another story on the passing of former UMass A.D. Bob Marcum. 

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

Athlon Sports ranks the MAC conference quarterbacks. 

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

Scheduling issues and College Football playoff expansion pushed Army to leave Independent status and join the AAC.

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

UMass Football News--July 24th, 2024

 

 

UMass places two on the pre-season Shrine Bowl poll. WR transfer from Miami Frank Ladson and transfer TE Dominick Mazzotti should give QB Taison Phommachanh more targets than he has had since Clemson.

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

Former UMass A.D. Bob Marcum passed away on July 23rd. I had a couple of one-on-one talks with Bob back in the day. He was the first professional A.D. UMass had. Previous to him, the position was used  a parking spot for Boston politicians.

UPDATE: The UMass website has a post on Marcum's passing and his legacy as the school's A.D.

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

Yard Barker ranks the MAC's non-conference schedules. UMass' 2024 schedule would have been the toughest if we were a conference member this year.

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

EA Sports College Football 25 rolls out 25 patches.

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Milan Parris

 

"X" image

Milan Parris, a 6-4 185 pound WR from Stow, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

One of the top Great Lakes 2024 WR prospects. 

Parris has ten offers with Kentucky, Purdue and Wisconsin offering from Power Five. Four MAC teams (five counting UMass) have also offered. There is a lot of talent at Power Five schools to get around before seeing playing time. Parris could find a home and some early starts in Amherst.

UMass Football News--July 22nd, 2024

 Peyton Miller is the focus of this article by the Cumberland Times-News.

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

Despite being in the MAC only four years, UMass appears in the MAC record book several times.

Blake Fronapfel is #2 all-time in single game passing yards (589 vs BGSU in 2014). It took a 7 overtime game for a Buffalo QB to throw for more yards than Blake.

Fronapfel is also #19 in single game passing attempts (61 in the same game as above).

Despite Fronapfel's heroics, UMass lost that game 47-42.

Ross Comis is tied for #1 in single game passing percentage (minimum 8 attempts). He went 8-8 against Notre Dame in 2015.

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

UMass places two players on the College Football News preseason All-Independents team (now including Oregon State and Washington State)

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

In this 2024 preseason strength-of-schedule UConn and Liberty are in the bottom-5. UMass is tied at #20 with SEC powerhouse Georgia.

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

UMass Football News--July 20th, 2024

 

The UMass Football Golf Classic is sold out, but the Midnight Ride Collective is sponsoring a silent auction to help support Minutemen football.

Help support UMass football by purchasing season tickets or belonging to the Midnight Ride Collective or the Gridiron club.

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

This article features two-time All-Ivy LB Macklin Ayers who is joining the Minutemen this summer.

Also joining UMass from Dartmouth is safety Leonard St. Gourdin.

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

The MAC conference held its Media Day Friday.

Five things to know about the Media Day.

The Blade sorts out the 2024 MAC.

UMass opens its season against Eastern Michigan. EMU's website says the Eagles shone at the MAC media event. 

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Malachi Ervin

Hudl.com image

 Malachi Ervin, a 6-4 205 pound Edge from Pickerington, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Ervin has offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo. He has a big frame and he could be a good fit into Don Brown's attacking defense.

UMass Football News--July 18th, 2024

"X" image

 CBS sports has a post on UMass commit Conner Mathews.

I blogged about Mathews back on June 27th and June 19th.

Mathews' lifting totals are impressive for his age. A college training program should provide even more upside.

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

The Athol Daily News has a post on how UMass players rate in the new College Football 25 game.

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

Josh Atwood gets a mention in this post by Metro-West on local players in EA Sports College Football 25. 

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

SB Nation has one transfer for each MAC school who will make a difference in 2024.

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

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal looks a changes in college football for 2024 including playoff expansion and helmet communications. 

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Savion Robinson commits to UMass

 
Savion Robinson a 6-0 185 pound WR from Southwest C.C. has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

From his "X" page:

60+ receptions
550+ yards through 8 games

The news Minutemen WR room should be strong with the addition of Robinson. Besides UMass, he had three DII offers and drew interest from Power Five USC.

I'll look forward to watching his career with UMass.

UMass Football News--July 16th, 2024

 

Images from the UMass Football "X" feed.

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

The Toledo Blade ranks the MAC's stadiums with McGuirk last. 

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

Hustle Belt has general rankings for the MAC conference on (in?) college Football 25. 

SI.com has the ranking for UConn. 

BTW, College Football 25's servers are getting crushed.

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

G5Football Daily has Miami (Ohio) Redhawks a slight favorite to win the MAC again. 

UMass will play Miami on September 28th at Yager Stadium.

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Will Jones commits to UMass

 

"X" image

Will Jones, a 6-3 300 pound guard/center transfer from Grambling State has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here.

Laney College ("last chance U") highlights here.

Tigers bio here. 

Jones is the second Grambling OL to transfer to UMass. He's a solid addition to the Minutemen's offensive line and should add depth to the inside of the OL.

UMass Football News--July 13th, 2024

 

Daily News image

The Dayton Daily News has nice (and not paywalled) story about DB JC Clark joining the Minutemen.

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

SI.com has a post on UMass landing DT Brandon McElroy.

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

Single game tickets for the 2024 UMass season are now available.

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

Hustle Belt will do preseason previews for all MAC teams plus one future member.

The MAC's media day is not that far off occurring on July 19th. 

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

Yardbarker ranks the MAC's non-conference schedules.

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Donmiel Rogers

Hudl.com image

 Donmiel Rogers, a 5-9 161 pound CB from Cincinnati, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Buckeye Huddle has a post that mentions Rogers.

Rogers has seven offers including BC, Georgia Tech and West Virginia from Power Five. Toledo and Kent State have offered from the MAC. Coach Brown likes DB's and has put a bunch of them into the NFL. Rodgers could find a home in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2024--Brandon McElroy commits to UMass

 

Brandon McElroy, a 6-5 310 pound DL from Glendale C.C./Marshall  has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here.

Glendale stats here.

Marshall stats here. 

Hudl.com has video from 2021. 

McElroy has Power Five size and he should be in the DL mix right away. The Minutemen needed more size and bodies on the defensive line and McElroy could be an important part of solution for 2024.

UMass Football News--July 10th, 2024

 Our old friends over at "Hustle Belt" has "What's new for the 2024 Minutemen?" Good article written by actual humans.

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

CBS Sports ranks all 134 college football coaches' job security.

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

HERO Sports reports on the Group-of-Five football schools are discussing their own playoff system.

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

Hero Sports has ACC Conference Realignment News.

Would Boston College get an invite to another Power Five conference if the ACC breaks up? The Eagles are in a big advertising market and they have one of the best graduation rates in all of college football.

However, BC has never won the ACC championship and have not been Atlantic Division winner since 2008.

In 2021-2022 Boston college's athletic dept budget was in the bottom three in the ACC. They would be even lower in the Big Ten, Big Twelve or the SEC.

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

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Preston Penn

 

"X" image

Preston Penn, a 6-3 215 pound LB/Safety from Columbus, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

Penn has thirteen offers including most of the MAC as well as Marshall and Power Five Kentucky. He could play linebacker, safety or Don Brown's "viper" position. Penn could get a quality East Coast education and maximize his football skills with the Minutemen.

UMass Football News--Julu 8th, 2024

 The UMass Football Blog is an AI-free site. All content (including mistakes) is written by me.

Stuff I link to is rapidly becoming another world. I've always been a technology/science buff so I've signed up with a number of language models and have been playing around with them. Over the weekend, I received an e-mail from one of them about the marvels of content generation they can provide.

"Key Benefits:

    Up to 100 article generations in parallel
    Streamlined content creation
    Customizable article parameters
    Ensured factual accuracy with citations"    

And

"Keep an eye out! We're in the process of expanding your options with an array of various article types to select from, ensuring you have the right fit for every content need.

    Comparison blogs
    Product reviews
    News articles
    Factual articles
    How-to guides
    Blog posts
    Technical guides"

Check out this article from Athlon Sports: UMass Football 2024: Season Preview and Prediction". It looks to me to be 100% AI written. The AI had access to the NCAA football stats and derived the rest of the verbiage off that.

Check out this doozy: College Football betting guide: Notre Dame, Independents, PAC-12 and Mountain West.

From the articles' section on UMass:

"Nearly independent no longer! UMass made its return to the MAC in 2025, where it resided from 2012-15. UMass resurrected its program after folding in 1906 and opted for independence after that four-year stretch. Since returning to the football field, it’s been tough sledding for the Minutemen."

The AI probably hit a source that said something like "UMass dropped it's MAC conference affiliation in 2016 and returned to Independent football". The AI couldn't copy that directly so the language model paraphrased the source into the wording above. Where did the 1906 come from? Language models tend to just invent "facts".

If you're interested in AI language models, and you should be, (because most of the "sports writing" you're going to be reading from now on will be coming from that source), I recommend: What is ChatGPT doing...and why does it work? 

 It's not just sports writing. Check out Retraction Watch's list of "100 scientific papers and peer reviews" that appear to have been written by ChatGPT. Those articles appeared in various professional journals.

Welcome to the post-truth world.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Tyson long

 

Hudl.com image

Tyson Long, a 6-0 170 pound CB from Pickering, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Long has sixteen offers with the entire MAC included. He has a Power Five offer from Kentucky and Liberty has offered from the Group-of-Five. Coach Brown has put more DB's in the NFL than just about anybody and Long would be a good fit with the Minutemen.

UMass Football News--July 5th, 2024

 Athlon Sports has a 2024 Minutemen preview and prediction.

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

UGA Sports has three questions about 2024 opponent UMass.

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

A to Z Sports has top-five universities to rebuild in EA Sports Dynasty Mode.  UMass is one of them.

CBS Sports has a deep dive into EA Sports Dynasty Mode.

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

GridIron Heroics ranks the Group-of-Five conferences (including the Independents).

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

Athlon Sports has 13 bold predictions about conference realignment. Article thinks UConn could join UMass in the MAC or join the soon-to-be-reduced ACC.

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

Happy Fourth of July 2024!

 

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Jax Markovich commits to UMass

 

"X" image

 

Jax Marcovich, a 6-4 235 pound TE from Scottsdale, AZ has committed to UMass.

I blogged about Marcovich back on June 22nd. 

One of the Arizona Republic's top-10 tight ends for 2024. 

MaxPreps has some stats.

Marcovich chose UMass over a Power Five offer from Cal and 18 other offers. He should prosper in the the Minutemen offense and I look forward to following his career in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Zayd Rogan

 

Hudl.com image

Zayd Rogan, a 5-10 170 pound CB from Marietta, GA has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

This article covers his visit to Louisville. 

Rogan has 24 offers including Power Five Missouri, Indiana and Louisville. UConn and BC have offered from the Northeast. Coach Brown is one of the top defensive secondary coaches in the country and Rogan would prosper with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Jaiden Melton

"X" image

 Jaiden Melton, a 6-0 170 pound DB from River Rouge, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Visited Eastern Michigan in January.

Melton has 10 offers including four MAC teams. Yale has offered from the Northeast. Coach Brown has put as many DB's in the NFL as Miami, Buffalo, Bowling Green and Toledo combined. Melton could get an East coast education and advance his craft in Amherst.