UMass Football News-- December 6th, 2019

I watched the NJAA Championship Game last night. Links to the box score, photos and more here.

Robert Kennedy, a 5-10 180 CB had a good game for Lackawanna. He had 5 TT and 2 BKUP's . I've blogged about Kennedy before. The game featured defense and the two teams had over 20 total TFL.

The 247Sports UMass Pennsylvania prospects lists only Kennedy from Lackawanna. The Minutemen do not appear to be recruiting anyone from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Another write-up on the game here.

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Pro Football Focus has Isaiah Rogers as First Team All-American. It was a treat watching him run back kicks this year.

Rogers was also picked All-New England.

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Inside Athletics has a interview with UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford. He relates the UMass brain trust wants to build the football program with four-year recruits. He feels retraining recruiting classes is critical to Minutemen future success.

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I read a 247Sports article (and I can't find it again) that related over 1,900 college football players have entered the transfer portal over the the last 12 months. That's a fairly mind-boggling average of over 14 players per FBS program. That would be a projected loss of 58 players per team over a four year period.

This could be the start of a new era in college football if this level of turnover continues. Rebuilding UConn just lost eight players to the portal.

Keeping players may replace recruiting players as the critical dynamic in team building.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Zakee Swann

Tim Wynkoop image

Zakee Swann, a 5-7 170 pound RB from Irvington, NJ has  a UMass offer.

247Sports two-star player.

First Team All-Conference 2019.

This article features Swann. He took a visit to Amherst back in March.

Besides UMass, Swann has FBS offers from Buffalo, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Indiana.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Kyle Monangai

Twitter image

Kyle Monangai, a 5-9 203 pound RB from Don Bosco Prep has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Had an ankle injury late in November.

NJ.com has Monangai as one of the top uncommitted New Jersey players.

Monangai has 23 total offers including all of the Service academies plus Buffalo, Cal and Central Michigan from FBS.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Brock Sturges

Twitter image

Brock Sturges, a 5-10 200 pound RB from Butler C.C. has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Formerly at Arizona State.

Butler Grizzlies bio.

Hudl.com has video.

Sturges has offers from Akron, Arkansas State, Charlotte, Texas State and Western Kentucky.

UMass Football History--Jerry Whechel and Pete Pietz at the Tangerine Bowl

A blog reader sent me a publicity photo from UMass' 1964 Tangerine Bowl.

Minutemen QB Jerry Whechel went 8-14 142 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Whechel also kicked the extra points for UMass and missed one of them. Down 13-0, Eastern Carolina won the game on a late two-point conversion 14-13.

Wehchel lettered for UMass in 1962, 1963 and was Captain in 1964
Pete Pietz was a guard and lettered in 1963 and was Captain in 1964.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Ryan Ives

Hudl.com image

Ryan Ives, a 6-5 265 pound DE from Manatee, FL has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

MaxPreps has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Ives.

Ives has seven FBS offers including UMass, Appalachian State, Bowling Green, FIU, Southern Mississippi, Toledo and Tulane.

UMass Football News--December 1st, 2019

Isaiah Rogers ------ if you want to make your stomach lurch, try contemplating this season if Coach Bell had not convinced Rogers and Bilal Ally to return this year.

Rogers is a warrior. He did not quit. In several games, his returns were literally the only offense we had.

Rogers had 42 TT, 3.0 TFL, 1 FF, 4 INTS, 10 BRKU and just for icing on the cake 1 blocked kick.

Thanks for all his work and let's hope he has a career in the pros.

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Matty Vautour has a post on UMass football struggles. He reports some of the roster turnover was due to the A.D. not from Coach Bell.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Paris Shand

Twitter image

Paris Shand, a 6-5 240 pound DE from Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Originally from Canada.

This article from 247Sports (requires membership) covers Virginia's offer to Shand.

Shand has offers from Central Michigan, Vanderbilt and Virginia plus a number of Northeast FCS schools.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Harrison Ashby

Twitter image

Harrison Ashby, a 6-5 250 pound TE from Pearl River C.C. has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

Pearl River bio here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article mentions Ashby.

Including UMass, Ashby has six FBS offers from Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe, North Alabama, South Alabama and Southern Mississippi.

Thanksgiving 2020

The original Thanksgiving was a celebration of triumph over adversity. We UMass fans know a lot about adversity. I'm thankful for all the friends I've met through Minutemen football and the blog.

I'm also thankful this season is over :)

Things got better for the Pilgrims. Things will get better for us too. Enjoy the day and I'll be back doing UMass recruiting tomorrow.

UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Dan Villari and Chance Nolan II

Some news on two QB's UMass is interested in for the 2020 recruiting cycle. IMHO, the Minutemen absolutely , positively need another QB commit for 2020. We all hope Brady Martin is the man, but UMass could be one turned ankle away from another year of offensive struggles.

I blogged about dual-threat QB Dan Villari back on November 14th, He's reopened his recruiting.

Daniel DeMato image.

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I also blogged about Chance Nolan, a 6-2 186 pound dual-threat QB from Saddleback C.C. back on November 13th.

He just added an offer from Temple.

image credit unknown

A dual-threat QB would be a big addition to the UMass offense. We do not currently have a dual-threat guy on the roster.

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UMass Football News--November 26th, 2019

UMass did not fumble once during the 2019 season.

Bilal Ally went 12-11 GP-GS 166-853 5.1 AVE 7 TD's 63 LONG

Cam Roberson went 12-1 GP-GS 116-355 3.1 AVE 2 TD's 40 LONG

Gilberto Torres went 5-0 GP-GS 33-135 3.8 AVE 1 TD 19 LONG.

UMass averaged 3.5 yards/rush 14 rushing TD's 124.6 average/game

Opponents averaged 6.5 yards/rush scored 50 (!) TD's averaged 299.1 yards/game.

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Josh Walfish reports the young UMass roster looks to grow after a challenging year.

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One thing UMass needs to grow is the roster. I was struck several times during home games it seemed the visiting team had more players on their traveling squad than UMass had on the home side. That included UMass players in a jersey, but not in pads.

BYU had a lot of players during their visit to UMass----and they were all in pads. Visiting teams usually bring about 50-55 players depending on their budget. It's probably going to take at least two recruiting classes to get back to limit, but for next year the Minutemen need to increase the size of the roster to something more reasonable.

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I'm going to be doing a recruiting review by position. As usual, I'll add the disclaimer that I'm not an "insider" and I don't claim to be a football genius. I'll start sometime this week with quarterbacks.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Sammy Solomon

Sammy Solomon, a 6-3 283 pound DT from Pittstown, PA has a UMass offer.

247Sports three-star player.

PennLive has a paragraph on Solomon as one of the top available players from PA (scroll to near the end).

Hudl.com has video.

This article features Solomon.

Solomon has offers from mostly Northeast schools. Boston College, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia and Bowling Green have offered. There is lots of playing time available at UMass.

UMass Football News--November 24th, 2019

Well, I actually had a good day at McGuirk yesterday. It was a beautiful clear November day. UMass found its spark in the second half. The Minutemen played with spirit and never quit.

A tip of the hat to BYU who took their foot off the gas. The two faith-based schools, BYU and Liberty showed the most class this year.

In addition to the game,  I got to meet a Blog-friend who at one time led the UMass Olympic weightlifting team. The UMass team would lift in the basement of Boyden. The team did well despite receiving minimal support from UMass (the team only had two bars). Great guy.

I also sat with UMass freshman DL Johnathan Weir's parents. Nice people. Weir is a 5-10 230 pound defensive lineman with a big heart. He led the team in TFL before banging up his knee. Now I have someone personal to root for.

Then I came home and watch the UMass hoops team play Virginia on DVD. The Minutemen basketball team was not intimidated by the #7 Cavaliers. If a few more of those three-pointers fell, it would have been a really tight game. I really like the freshman players.

That's what UMass football needs. We need more talent and kids like Weir who want to be here. Pro Football has "capologists". We need a guy to figure out how to pack as many recruits into the 2020 class as we can get. A big motivated class will turn this thing around. Let's get after it.

Go UMass.

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UMass write-up here.

BYU write-up here.

Cougar RB Jackson McChesney set a freshman rushing record for BYU.

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UConn had a close loss to ECU.

#25 Southern Illinois kept it close against #1 North Dakota State.

Charlotte is bowl eligible with a win over Marshall.

Coastal Carolina lost a close one to Louisiana-Monroe.

Akron lost to Miami earlier in the week.

FIU upset Miami for their first win over a Power Five team.

Louisiana Tech lost to UAB in a game that may have cost Tech the C-USA title.

Virginia ran over Liberty 55-27.

Minnesota beat Northwestern 38-22.

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Game Day BYU--2020

Last game of the 2019 season. The UMass defense has turned out two of their best efforts over the Army and Northwestern games only to not have it reflected on the score. Three INT's , two special team goofs and two go-for-it on forth downs all resulted in opponent scores.

The offense did move the ball last week, but not into the endzone. It would be nice to play a solid game and give the Cougars a hard time today.

There are only so many game days in my life. I'm not going to miss any. I'll be there cheering for the seniors and UMass.

Go UMass!

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The Deseret News has how to watch or listen to the Cougars-Minutemen game.

The News also expects BYU to roll big time.

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The Herald breaks down BYU's offense.

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BYU's game notes.

UMass game notes for Senior Day.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Anthony Smith

Hudl.com image

Anthony Smith (good name), a 6-2 190 pound WR from Huntingtown, MD has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has some stats. Averaged 24.5 yards/catch.

Hudl.com has video.

Smith also has an offer from Navy. He's from Maryland, which is a priority area for the UMass staff.

How's this for clairvoyance,  I randomly chose a UMass prospect this morning and the athletic dept sends him some love soon after. Sometimes I amaze myself how much I control the universe :)

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UMass Football News--November 22nd, 2019

MassLive.com has a story about UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford expecting to announce Minuteman football will have multiple bowl tie-ins through 2025.

This is a big deal for UMass football. As it stands, UMass would not be chosen for a bowl even if eligible. By joining Liberty and New Mexico state with bowl tie-ins, the Minutemen have a goal to shoot for in every season. ESPN provides coverage for many of the made-for-TV bowls. People watch them and they make money (or they would not exist). Along with the new practice bubble, it shows improvements in the program. Now we need some improvement on the field.

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Josh Walfish reports on the last game for twelve UMass seniors. He also talks about eight true freshmen who played this year, thus burning their redshirts. DL Xavier Gonsales, DB Taj Jones, and WR Dariyan Wiley have played less than five games, so they will retain four years of eligibility. Coach Bell said he hope not to have to play OL Xavier Graham as his appearance against BYU would put him over the limit to redshirt this year.

Vanquish the Foe, provides information for BYU fans visiting exotic Boston.

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Flo Football previews the BYU-UMass game.

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The Deseret News reports the Cougars are among the nation's leaders in defensive takeaways.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Robert Kennedy

Twitter image

Robert Kennedy, a 5-10 180 pound CB from Lackawana C.C. has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

This article from October features Kennedy.

Another article from 2018 covers Kennedy's decision to attend a JUCO.

247Sports shows Kennedy making an Amherst visit in December. UMass is his only FBS offer at this time.

UMass Football News--November 21st, 2019

The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen look to the future as they prepare for the last game of 2019.

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Vanquish the Foe has the Cougars depth chart, injury report and more going into the UMass game.

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BTW, the BYU administration extended the Cougars HC Kalani Sitake's contract.

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CBS Sports predicts bowl games for Charlotte, BYU, Louisiana Tech and Liberty.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Xavion Steele

Adam Aranda image

Xavion Steele, a 5-10 180 pound CB from Fullerton College has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Ranked as a three-star player on this JUCO CB rating.

Fullerton bio has stats.

Hudl.com has video.

Twin brother of Xavier Steele.

This article features Steele.

Steele has offers from UTEP, Arkansas State, New Mexico State and San Jose State. I like Steele's brother Xavier. He's a physical player who is probably playing out of position at LB due to UMass' roster issues. Xavion would be a nice pickup for the Minutemen defensive backfield.