Monday--April 16th, 2012

There is another iteration of the Spring Roster up. Added are:

• Vance Barton LS RSJR 6-2-240
• Derek Beck WR Fr 6-4 205 -Spent a prep semester at Bridgeton Academy
• Jaurice Jones WR FR 6-1 180
• Rodney Mills WR FR 601 205

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Former UMass kicker Chris Koepplin gets another mention in this Bleacher report post.

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Paterson, NJ threw Victor Cruz a parade yesterday.

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James Ihedigbo is one of six remaining Patriots unrestricted free agents who are unsigned.

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I guess those high-octane MAC offenses extends to Baseball. Kent State 31-Bowling Green 20.

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Recruiting 2013--Cameron Ruff

Ruff #68/Image credit unknown

Rival.com reports UMass has offered to Cameron Ruff, a 6-4 295 pd OG from Jesuit HS in Tampa.

Ruff's Rivals page here.

This article mentions him.

Ruff runs an INT back for a touchdown.

Ruff holds offers from Cincinnati, Florida Atlantic, Iowa State, Purdue and Western Kentucky. Furman and Samford have offered from FCS.

Sunday--April 15th, 2012

It's a fairly slow news day for football.

There is a somewhat garbled story about former UMass offensive lineman Greg Niland.

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Victor Cruz hand delivers the first Nike Giants Jersey to J. Cole.

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News from the MAC conference:

The Bowden family unites to sell the Akron program.

What's the formula for Buffalo to return to the MAC title?

Two QB system works for Toledo.

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Recruiting 2013-- DonQuale Williams

Rivals.com reports UMass is interested in DonQuale Williams, a 6-1 185 pound WR out of Williston Northampton HS in Easthampton, MA.

Williams' Rivals page here.

Under Armour data page here.

Also drawing interest from Temple and Towson.

Saturday-- April 14th, 2012

AP image

Former UMass kicker Chris Koepplin has signed a free agent contract with the Patriots. I thought Chris had kicked well during his stint with them last year. Apparently, the Pats thought so too.

Another article from ESPN on Koepplin's signing.

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Football Scoop has a short video about spring highlights at Indiana. The Hoosiers will be long remembered as UMass' first home Big Ten team and first FBS team to play the Minutemen at Gillette.

Speaking of Indiana, they added six JUCO's this spring.

We never had much luck getting FBS teams to visit McGuirk. Villanova, Ball State and Rutgers in 1967 are the only ones I can recall. Anyone know any other team?

A commenter noted Boston College, of course. I received an e-mail mentioning Toledo in 1976. 

UPDATE: My e-mail correspondent says Buffalo was FBS like Rutgers and Villanova, but dropped football. They were then reincarnated as a FCS/I-AA team, then moved to the MAC. The Ivys could be considered FBS teams back in the 50's and 60's too.

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Philly.com wonders if Temple is ready for the Big East.

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Bleacher Report has a slide show on "Ten college football programs that are clean as a whistle". After this year, the Minutemen will have played four of them.

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UMass Football History--1989

I've added 16 scans from three game day programs and from the 1989 press guide to the UMass Football History Picassa Web album in the side bar of the blog.

Included in the scans is a copy of the 1989 Spring Game handout.

Use the little magnifying glass symbol to enlarge the images, which make reading the text easier.

Click on images for a larger view

UMass would finish 1989 5-5-1 and 3-5 in the Yankee Conference. UMass won the Yankee Conference Bean Pot in 1988 and would win it again in 1990. I believe UMass' 28-28 tie against JMU in 1989 was the last tie in the program's history.

All-Yankee Conference in 1989 were:

• George Karelas LB --150 TT in '89
• Matt Tulley LB
• Chip Mitchell WR -- set a then UMass career record of 1,590 receiving yards
• Kai Dietiker OL
• Anthony Guidice OL
• Joe Cullen-- there is an article about him in the scans.

1989 was the debut of Gary Wilkos.  Despite not starting until the fifth game of the season, Wilkos had 1,171 yards passing and was the second leading rusher on the team with 632 yards. Wilkos was a potential All-American at QB. Wilkos was ECAC Rookie-of-the-Week at Delaware. He also won the New England Gold Helmet award, and the Bill Knight Award for the Minutemen's win over New Hampshire.

 # 18 is Wilkos. #49 is fullback Duncan MacRae. #69 was OG Phil Hallard.

Although not visually exciting, included is a scan of the cover of the UMass-Lehigh game program. The 1989 game was the only time Mrs. Blog and I would visit Goodman Stadium.

I vividly remember Jerome Bledsoe having a great game against the Engineers. UMass rang up 50 rushes for 326 yards. Bledsoe had 209 yards on 19 carries for a 11.0 yards per carry average. He was named ECAC Offense Player-of-the Week. Bledsoe didn't have a lot of long runs. He just flat ran over Lehigh's defense. The Engineer defenders bounced off the 5-10 180 pd Bledsoe all day.

The Lehigh game was another episode in Jimmie Reid's coaching legend. Reid was known to chew out opposing players if he thought they were not playing the game the way he thought they should.

After the Friday practice some of the Engineer players doffed their pads and settled down in the bleachers to watch the UMass practice. Coach Reid went charging into the stands to tell the Lehigh players to get their asses back into the clubhouse and start getting ready to play the next day.

Anyone have any 1989 memories to add in comments?

Friday--April 13, 2012

As everyone knows, I'm an amateur astronomer. Today is Friday the 13th. Calendar years usually have two or three Friday-the-13ths. However, 2012 is unusual in the fact that all three Friday-the-13ths occur 13 weeks apart. Doomsday cultists make of that what you will.

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Matty V says UMass coaches have been praising the UMass defensive backs. Like last year, not much depth, but good players.

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Victor Cruz has a story about his time at UMass and his perseverance.

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Alabama made the BCS championship game ---- and lost $2 million doing it.

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Recruiting 2012---John Jennings II

I've blogged about John Jennings before.

This article from Boston.com talks about his athleticism and says he is a top-50 prospect as a kicker.

Thursday -- April 12th, 2012

Matty V. says Kellen Pagel is leading RSFR Mike Wegzyn in the QB battle so far.

RSSO Brandon Hill is out of Spring practice with a shoulder injury that will require surgery.

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Jeff Thomas says UMass will likely release an official version of its future schedule next week.

He also says the renovations to McGuirk and the new 38,000 square foot practice facility are on schedule and should be complete in July of 2014.

Adding a new press box to McGuirk indicates to me that UMass will play some games in Amherst after 2014.

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Mrs Blog and I belong to the Minuteman Club as well as the 100 yard Club. The Minutemen Club now sends out a e-newsletter.

Hopefully all UMass football fans will join either/both. The annual dues for the Minuteman Club is only $25.

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UCONN Coach Pasqualoni joked that the Huskies may not name their starting QB until the night before the UMass game.

OT, but UConn is considering moving to Hockey East.

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I didn't get the UMass 1989 history post completed. Hope to have it up for you tomorrow.

Recruiting 2012--Khary Bailey-Smith II

Marc Vasconellos image

UMass recruit Khary Bailey-Smith recently had a 22'-3 1/2 broad jump.

 The article says he hopes to continue his track career at UMass.

Wednesday--- April 11th, 2012

Whoa! UMass Vs Notre Dame in 2015. Matty V. has the story.

Notre Dame stadium ----under a blue-gray sky etc. Notre dame stadium facts.

Unless there is a zombie apocalypse, Mrs. Blog and I are going to be there. Even if there is a zombie apocalypse, and they play the game, we'll be there.

He also relates that Marcel Shipp and Victor Cruz may be among the alumni who will appear in the spring game.

Several other news sites also have a story, but they are just repeating Matty's article

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A Bleacher Report writer says UMass is a "gimmie" for Michigan.

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Business West has an interview with new UMass Chancoller Kumble Subbaswamy, who says he supports UMass athletics and football's move to FGS.

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Former UMass AD Ian McCaw has been praised for his work at Baylor. Unfortunately, the fecal particulate hit the rotary oscillator at Baylor yesterday.

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Tomorrow, I'll have another blog post on UMass history with scans from 1989 football season. Included is some memories of a road trip to Lehigh and a scan of the roster handout from the 1989 spring game.

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Recruiting 2013--Sam Zeff

247 Sports image

Rivals.com reports UMass has offered to Sam Zeff, a 6-5 277 pd OT from Montclair, NJ.

Zeff's Rivals page here.

247 Sports page here.

Zeff also holds offers from UConn and Rutgers.

Tuesday--April 10th, 2012

This article looks at the OOC schedule for the various leagues. It notes that UMass ties for the most BCS level schools in its OOC opponents.

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Phil Steele looks at the number of high quality players recruited by every school in FBS. UMass is ranked ahead of three MAC schools and thirteen other FBS/I-A teams.

I think it confirms our feeling that Coach Molnar and staff did a pretty good recruiting job in a limited amount of time. 

I count 21 JR's or RS JR's on the Spring Roster. Next year's class will be critical for us to be competitive in the MAC.

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Georgia state announced that they will leave the CAA (short stay) and join the Sun Belt conference in 2013.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the move. This move may have ramifications for the A10. I would think Charlotte would like to do the same thing.

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East Coast Bias looks at UConn prospects for 2012. Note that the Huskies aren't settled in the QB position either.

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Bobby Bowden thinks Akron will rebound.

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Recruiting 2013--Nigel Harris

Tampa Bay online image

Rivals.com says UMass has offered to Nigel Harris, a 6-1 194 pd OLB from Hillsborough HS in Tampa.

Harris' Rivals page here.

This article features him.

Harris also holds offers from Purdue, South Florida, Vanderbilt and Virginia.

Monday--April 9th, 2012

Yesterday, I linked to an article about three possible FCS Vs FBS upsets. TSN has a conference by conference look at FCS games against FBS.

Our new MAC brothers play three teams UMass has a history with. Towson Vs Kent State looks like the best shot for an FCS upset. The Tigers went 9-3 and were CAA champs. We've played Morgan State a couple of times, but they should be out classed by Akron. Rhode Island plays Bowling Green. The Rams continue to reduce scholarships as they cycle into the NEC next year.

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Speaking of Bowling Green, a Rhode Island win might be the end of Dave Clawson.

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The Minutemen will play a no-huddle offense this year. So will Penn State.

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Nineteen days until the UMass Spring Game.

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Recruiting 2013-- Nik D'Avanzo

Rivals image

Rivals.com is reporting that UMass has offered to Nik D'Avanzo, 6-3 260 pd DT from Archbishop Curley HS in Baltimore, MD.

D'Avanzo's Rivals page here.

Member of the Baltimore Coaches Super 22 Team.

There does not seem to be a junior highlight video, but this game of St. Pauls Vs Curley has D'Avanzo (#40) involved in a number of plays as a fullback and DT. 

D'Avanzo is also drawing interest from Maryland.

Sunday--April 8th, 2012

As everyone knows, I'm an amateur astronomer. Today is Easter, which falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox.  Although April 8th is fairly early for Easter, the day can fall between March 22nd and April 25th. The next latest date (April 25th) is not that far away in 2038. Celebrating Easter on the earliest date of March 22nd will have to wait until 2285. Wonder how UMass will do that year?

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Rivals finally has a UMass team page in MAC/FBS section.

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Three FCS Vs FBS games that could go to the little guys.

I think UNH will have a pretty good chance to beat Minnesota on September 8th. North Dakota State won by 13 over the Gophers last year.

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Victor Cruz might be falling behind Patrick Willis in the Madden Cover race.

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Recruiting 2013 --- Shaquem Griffin

UMass has offered to Shaquem Griffin a 6-2 190 pd safety from St. Petersburg, FL.

Griffin is the twin brother of Shaquill Griffin.

Shaquem's Rivals page here.

He was born without fingers on his left hand. This story tells how he is able to work out without being able to grip weights with that hand.

He's been able to map out a life without limits.

Griffin holds offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, Akron and Western Kentucky.

Saturday--April 7th, 2012

If you didn't see the link in yesterday's comments to this SB Nation article on OOC schedule strength, you should read it.

In the linked story is another link to a 2012 ranking that has UMass ahead of eight established FBS teams.

It says what every Minuteman fan knows about this year's schedule. Since we are not eligible for either a bowl or for the MAC championship, it's a clever move to maximize our income in 2012. After this year, I would hope we would move towards a more standard schedule of two money games, one winable FBS game (such as a Sunbelt team) and a FCS team we could play at McGuirk.

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Victor Cruz models the Giants new Nike uniforms.

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The Cincinnati Bengals released their 2011 starting safety yesterday. That could open a chance for more playing time for Jeromy Miles.

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Friday--April 6th, 2012

Fall 2011 defensive linemen

Continuing our series on the UMass defense. Last year there were no seniors on the defensive line's two-deep.

Not appearing on the  2012 Spring roster was:

• Theo Agnew RSJR 11-3 GP-GS 19 UT 17 AT 36 TT 3.0-8 TFL 1 Fumble Rcv. Agnew was the leading tackler of the defensive linemen.

 Listed on the Spring roster are:

• Kevin Byrne RSJR8-8 GP-GS 13 UT 13 AT 26 TT 1.0-2 TFL 1.0-4 SACK
• Galen Clemons RSJR 11-0 GP-GS 10 UT 13 AT 23 TT 1.5-2 TFL
• Tyler Major RSJR
• Daniel Maynes RSSR
• Brandon Potvin RSJR 11-7 GP-GS 18 UT 18 AT 36 TT 4.5-20 TFL 1.0-11 SACK 1 BKUP
• Trey Seals RSFR
• Charles Thompson RSSR 11-11 GP-GS 16 UT 19 AT 35 TT 4.0-17 3.0-12 SACK 2 BKUP

There are two defensive linemen on the 2012 recruiting list.

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UMass football will host an inaugural coaches clinic on April 14th.

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Broncoblitz.com ranks the MAC OOC schedules. They say UMass has an "impressive" schedule for a first year FBS team.

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A Bleacher Report guy give the first loss of every college team in 2012. Indiana's first loss? At UMass. the Hoosiers have been having their troubles, but beating a Big 10 team in our first year would be a stretch.

Another Bleacher writer has Michigan-UMass as one of the biggest mismatches of 2012.

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