Recruiting 2016--Ali Ali-Musa and Tedrick Lowery sign with the Minutemen

Bob Mcgovern has a post on 2016 recruits Ali Ali-Musa and Tedrick Lowery signing with the Minuteme (as opposed to verbaling).

Letter-of-Intent Day is February 4th, 2016.

Now officially signed, both Ali-Musa and Lowery will be on campus for the start of the Spring semester.

I originally blogged about Ali-Musa verbaling to UMass back on September 19th.

I blogged about Tedrick Lowery's commit on December 9th.

Recruiting 2015--Tedrick Lowery verbals to UMass

Kenny Jennings image

Bob McGovern reports on his Twitter feed Tedrick Lowery, a 6-0 225 pound Safety from Tyler Junior College has verbaled to UMass.

This article features Lowery signing with Tyler Junior College.

Quote from the article:

"He won four awards this year, including First Team All State defense, one of the best defense backs in all of state, honorable mention runner back, All District defense, and MVP Offense for district. "

Lowery's 247Sports page.

UPDATE: Bob McGovern has a post on Lowery's verbal.

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Recruiting 2016--Tedrick Lowery III

Ricardo Brazziell image

I've blogged about Tedrick Lowery, a 6-0 225 pound Safety from Tyler CC a couple of times before.

The Austin Statesman has a story about Lowery signing with the Minutemen.

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Friday before South Carolina--October 21st, 2016

From the UMass Athletic Dept:

UMASS vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 
PREGAME RECEPTION INFORMATION
Saturday, October 22, 2016

We are excited that you will be joining us for the South Carolina game this weekend. For your convenience, see map indicating our tailgate location (Seawell's Banquet Facility) marked by a yellow star located just northwest of Williams-Brice Stadium.  Look for the University of Massachusetts Welcome sign at the entrance of Seawell's.  Reception will be held from 9:30-11:30am.  A cash bar will be available during the tailgate for your enjoyment.  Tickets remain available for purchase upon entrance at $25 per individual.

Representatives from UMass Athletics and the UMass Amherst Alumni Association will be happy to assist you on game day with any questions you may have. 

Seawell's Banquet Facility
1125 Rosewood Drive
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
(803) 771-7385

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Dan Malone reports UMass hopes the third time is the charm against the SEC.

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Matty Vautour reports Marquis Young and Tedrick Lowery are still "questionable" for Saturday's game. Whipple said Bilal Ally and Sekai Lindsay will get reps from the TB slot. John Robinson-Woodgett and JUCO Malik Lee could get some carries out of the fullback position.

Tedrick Lowery played well against SEC opposition early in the season. With Shane Huber out for the season with an ACL Lowery is a big component in UMass' run-stopping.

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The State has a guide to game day activities, if you're lucky enough to be attending.

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Who's starting for the Gamecocks at QB is still top secret. 

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The Big Lead says UMass will keep it under the spread.

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SEC Country reports the Gamecocks are looking for offensive consistency.

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Troy beat South Alabama to become bowl eligible last night. Troy is 6-1 for the season and undefeated in the Sun belt. Looks like Neal Brown has it going down in Alabama.

BYU lost to Boise State by one point despite having a 5-0 edge in turnovers.

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Two UConn players arrested on drug and weapons charges.

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UMass Football News--July 6th, 2017

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Former UMass player Tracey Belton won the Arena Football league defensive player-of-the-week award.

Washington Valor press release.

This article features Belton.

Belton was the 2016 Arena Football Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

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The current UMass roster lists eleven LB's:

Jarell Addo #26 LB 6-0 190 RSJR DNP 2016
Bryton Barr #44 LB 6-0 225 RSJR Transfer from Towson
James Bowe, #13 LB 6-0 192 SO 11-0 GP-GS 12 UT 14 AT 26 TT
Colbert Calhoun #35 LB 5-11 219  SR 12-8 GP-GS 28 UT 30 AT 58 TT 4.0 TFL 1 PD 1 FF
Steve Casali #34 LB 6-1 236 RSSR12-12 GP-GS 47 UT 58 AT 105 TT 9.5 TFL 6 PD 1 FF 3 FR
Jake Froehlich #47 LB 6-1 245 RSSO Transfer from Oregon
Shane Huber #8 LB 6-3 237 RSSR 4-3 GP-GS 7 UT 13 AT 20 TT 2.5 TFL 2 PD
Tedrick Lowery #6 LB 6-0 221 SR 8-8 GP-GS 14 UT 23 AT 37 TT 2.0 TFL 2 PD 1 FR
Jeremy Rodriguez #49 LB 6-1 227 RSJR 12-0 GP-GS 3 UT 7 AT 10 TT
Mike Ruane #33 LB 6-0 227 FR Spring enrollee
Adam Tucker #58 LB 6-1 192 RSFR DNP 2016

Last year, new UMass defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham played a 4-3 defense at Western Michigan. I don't know if he'll do the same with the Minutemen.

In a 3-4 defense Steve Casali totaled 105 total tackles. He'll be a fixture in the 2017 defense.

Shane Huber is coming off a second knee injury. He was injured in the fourth game of the 2016 season. It usually takes about a year to recover from an ACL, so he may or may not be ready for the start of 2017. If healthy, he'll start as a senior.

Colbert Calhoun and Tedrick Lowery, both seniors had 16 starts between them. Both should see plenty of playing time.

Jake Froelich and Bryton Barr are both unknowns at this time. I would think Froelich would play inside and Barr outside.

With four senior linebackers, I would think the UMass coaching staff would like to reshirt 2017 recruit Mike Ruane.

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Tuesday before Boston College--September 6th, 2016

UMass has it's game notes up for the BC game.

A cut-and-paste from the game notes:

"UMass featured 10 first-time starters on offense and defense at No. 25 Florida. This total does not include tight end Adam Breneman, who made his first start as a Minuteman but previously started for the Penn State program.

On offense, the new starters included Ross Comis (QB), Marquis Young (RB), Jack Driscoll (OL), Jake Largay (OL) and Raquan Thomas (OL).

On defense, Ali Ali-Musa (DL), Steve Casali (LB), Tedrick Lowery (LB), James Allen (CB) and Lee Moses (SS) marked the first-time starters.

Seventeen members of the UMass football program made their first appearances as Minutemen during the 2016 season-opener at No. 25 Florida. These 17 include Ali Ali-Musa, Bilal Ally, James Bowe Jr., Adam Breneman, Colbert Calhoun, Jack Driscoll, Derek Dumais, Andrew Ford, Malik Lee, Tedrick Lowery, Brandon Mangram, Martin Mangram, Sadiq Palmer, Mario Patton, Travis Reynolds, Isaiah Rodgers and Raquan Thomas."

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Transcript from BC coach Steve Addazio's weekly press conference for UMass.

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Keepers College football ratings has BC over UMass by 24.02 (a .pdf download).

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The Gators felt UMass made it too close for comfort.

247Sports has a 132 image gallery from the Gators-Minutemen game.

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Andrew Ford

The UMass Daily Collegian features transfer QB Andrew Ford.

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BC Interruption kicks off its UMass week coverage.

Paul Johnson says Georgia Tech was lucky to beat Boston College.

Cillian Shields of the Boston Herald says, despite the loss, the Eagles trip to Ireland was a big success.

The Atlanta Journal reviews the BC-Georgia Tech game.

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The Minutemen's next foe after Boston College is Florida International. The Panthers play Maryland this week. 247 Sports takes a look at FIU after their loss to Indiana.

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For the first time since 1936, New Hampshire will play in a new stadium as they open in Wildcat Stadium.

Too bad they didn't take the opportunity to get rid of the track. I think tracks just ruin the atmosphere at football game by moving the fans back from the field. I've been to UNH games more than a dozen times and there is plenty of room next to the field to relocate the track.

Wednesday before Louisiana Tech--October 12th, 2016

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Matty Vautour has a report on the UMass injury situation. He reports Shane Huber is done for the season with an ACL injury. That's a shame both for Huber and for us. Huber was perhaps our best run-stopper. Steve Casali will take over making the defensive calls.

Whiple said Colburt Calhoun and Vondell Langston will see an increased work load. Whipple also mentioned Lucas Amato and Leon Flanagan may get some reps. Amato played in 20 games in 2015 and 2014. Flanagan is a true freshman.

Matty also reports Tedrick Lowery may return for the Louisiana Tech game. As I have mentioned before, I think Lowery was having an outstanding year before he was injured.

Matty has Whipple as non-committal on Ross Comis' status. At least he's not saying Comis is done for the year.

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Andrew Cyr of the UMass Daily Collegian has more on Huber's injury.

Mike Traini has a post on Huber.

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Louisiana Tech picks up a local QB recruit.

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The Virginia Pilot says ODU is defying preseason predictions.

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Former UMass foe Mississippi State and future 2016 opponent BYU play each other this weekend.

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Vladimir Ducasse has been signed by the Baltimore Ravens.

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The Tennessee Titans hope Tajae Sharpe has a breakout game against the Dolphins.

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Game Day BYU--November 19th, 2016

Good Morning from Provo, UT. Our motel is withing walking distance of Cougar Stadium, so we'll be hiking up to the game. Hope to see some other UMass fans.

Another week another Power Five team. BYU would hold its own in the Big12. Last week, with their running backs injured, BYU went back to their pass-every-down roots and threw for over 400 yards. The Cougars have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.

Hopefully, the bye week allowed UMass to get some players back. Getting Da'Sean Downey back would really help the defense as would Tedrick Lowery. Downey has 7.5 TFL and 5 SACKS in eight GP. Lowery has 31 TT in six GP.

The Minutemen need to avoid turnovers and stop those five minute meltdowns when everything goes wrong.

If you're watching on ESPN3, Mrs Blog and I will be the couple in Maroon & White.

Go UMass!!!

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Matty Vautour reports UMass heads into a two road-game finale for their 2016 season.

The Salt Lake Tribune says the Cougars are focusing on momentum and improvement.

The Deseret News has media and other facts about today's game.

Vanquish the foe has betting lines, computer projections and power rankings for the Minutemen-Cougars game.

KSL.com features UMass TE Adam Breneman as the Minutemen's offensive leader.

Wager Talk.com says take UMass and the points.

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The Day after Old Dominion--October 8th, 2016

Well, the Minutemen played hard, but not much went right, especially offensively, in last night's game. The lone bright spot was UMass finally found it's running game as Marquis Young had 163 yards and over a 7 yards/carry average. The killer was the Monarchs finished drives with a field goal or a TD. UMass did not. The offense went 2-10 on third downs and 0-2 on fourth. Ford tossed two bad INT's, both of which stopped potential scoring drives.

The Minutemen defense was able to dial up pressure on Old Dominion's QB all night, but was vulnerable to the run. UMass'  two best run stoppers, Shane Huber and Tedrick Lowery DNP.  That hurt. UMass was also without Khary Bailey-Smith and Lee Moses in the secondary. Both starting safeties DNP.

QB Ross Comis was hurt. Not sure what his status is.

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UMass write-up.

Old Dominion's write-up.

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Dan Malone reports UMass suffered its third straight loss.

The Hampshire Gazette says UMass falls at Old Old Dominion.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Old Dominion game.

The Virginia Pilot says the Monarchs bowled over the Minutemen.

The Daily Press reports Jeremy Cox's 162 yards and two TD's powered Old Dominion past UMass.

Rotoworld says Cox plowed his way to 162 yards and two TD's.

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Louisiana Tech's QB Ryan Higgins threw for 454 yards and five TD's in the Bull Dogs win over Western Kentucky.

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Clemson crushed Boston College 56-10.

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Sunday--January 8th, 2016

Mike Traini has a post-2016 season review. It's well done and worth a bit of your time.

It's difficult to to give a evaluation of the 2016 season, because as Traini points out, the level of competition was so high. The Minutemen played 9 teams that qualified for bowls and those teams had an 8-1 record in post season. South Carolina, the lone loser, lost in overtime. Troy and Louisiana Tech turned out to be two of the Group-of-Five's top teams. Those two teams went a combined 19-5 against Group-of-Five teams.

Part of the problem was we lost three impact players. In summer camp, Whipple repeatedly said Ross Comis was "our best guy" and the intended starter. Comis played well at Florida. He then got clotheslined against BC and then suffered a season ending injury at Old Dominion. His replacement, Andrew Ford actually played well for not really starting until the fourth game. Ford completed almost 61% of his passes and had a 133.99 efficiency rating. He threw three or four bad interceptions, but he was all UMass fans could ask for after stepping in. It will be interesting to see if Comis, who's game was his legs, will be effective next after a severe knee injury.

Back on December 30th, I took a look at the UMass running game. Specifically, I looked at the Minutemen's effectiveness against the non-power Five section of the season. UMass finished #124 out of 128 FBS teams in rushing yards. The Minutemen did better in the Group-of-Five portion of their schedule averaging 4.16 yards a carry and 123.00 yards a game. Still, if projected over a 12 game schedule, the results would have placed UMass in the bottom 20% in rushing effectiveness. That's one area that needs more production in 2017.

On defense the loss of Shane Huber and Tedrick Lowery hurt a defense that was fairly stout in its front seven. UMass has 70 TFL in 2016 a strong set of opponents had 77 against the Minutemen. DaSean Downey would start on a SEC team. He had 8.5 TFL and 6 SACKS. Downey developed pressure on the opposing QB no matter who were playing.

Still, UMass got beat over the top against the likes of Hawaii, Tulane and Old Dominion. The Minutemen were #106 in passing yards allowed. That's an area that needs improvement.

I believe UMass was a better team in 2016 than 2015. The strength of schedule masked a good deal of the progress. I will take off my Maroon & White colored glasses to say, even against an easier schedule, a bowl game probably was not in the cards in 2016. If we had been in the MAC a four or five win result would have been likely.

I'll talk about 2017 in future posts.

Tuesday--August 23rd, 2016

Hey, it's 48 degrees here in Jaffrey this morning! Feels like Fall. Feels like football! Video is UMass cadence. Turn your computer speakers all the way up.

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Let's do the bad news first, Austin Whipple was arrested for DWI Saturday night. Mike Traini of Fight Massachusetts reacts. Don't drink and drive. It's a tragedy waiting to happen. Not to mention the Globe will love something like this.

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Matty Vautour says JUCO transfer could make an impact with the UMass defense this fall. This is a smart move on the part of Whipple and staff. The UMass "D" got the short end of the recruiting numbers for the first couple of years in FBS. Not to mention of the six FBS games we've won, five were due to outstanding defensive efforts. The Minutemen need to fill deficiencies in the roster with JUCO's and transfers. That's just a fact of life for our program at this stage.

Ali Ali-Musa and Tedrick Lowery are sure starters. Linebackers Rod Jones and Colbert Calhoun should be in the rotation. Davone Hall at 6-2 330 gives UMass some much needed size on the DL. Jordan Hamilton was good enough to get an offer from Air Force.

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Dan Malone has a post on the rebuilt Minutemen offensive line. I thought the OL underperformed last year. With five Power Five teams on this year's schedule, a better running game would sure help.

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Tajae Sharpe has graded out as the top NFL rookie so far in camp.

Marcus Mariota says Sharpe makes it easy on the quarterback.

iSportsweb.com reports the Titans had a Sharpe take on their game with the Panthers.

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The Florida Gators open at #25 in the preseason AP poll.

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Austin Burton, a QB from Newton South, who had a UMass offer has flipped his commitment from Boston College to UCLA.

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Hawaii and Cal prepare for kickoff in Australia this Friday.

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Recruiting 2017--Zachary Loane

Loane #90/Jason Fouchman image

Zachary Loane, a 6-0 235 DE from the Woodlands, TX has Tweeted he'll joining UMass as a preferred walk-on.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Loane will join Michael Curtis, D'Shan Harley and Tedrick Lowery as Texas natives playing for UMass.

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Saturday--December 31st 2016

Mike Traini reports that UMass CB James Allen has left the program. In 2016, Allen went 12-7 GP-GS 23 UT 10 AT 33 TT 1.0-2 TFL 5 BRUP.

Allen was also the Minutemen's primary punt returner. He went 12-102 8.% AVE 41 LONG. In kick returns he was second on the team with 22-426 19.4 AVE 39 LONG.

The Minutemen were #106 in the nation in passing yards allowed. The results were somewhat influenced by the fact UMass played three top-50 offenses (Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and Old Dominion). However, I remember the Minutemen "D" getting beat over the top by the likes of Tulane and Hawaii. UMass finished #108 in total defense giving up an average of 35.5 points/game.

The return of Shane Huber and Tedrick Lowery should help the defense in 2017.

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Florida State scored 33 points on Don Brown's defense to win a wild Orange Bowl.

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Details of Randy Edsall's contract with UConn.

Edsall apologizes for how he left.

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Sunday before Louisiana Tech--October 9th, 2016

I feel a little better about the Old Dominion loss after learning at least five UMass starters missed the game. It was hard to see UMass player numbers in the blurry video feed on my laptop. Hopefully, the extra day this week will allow some of most of them to return.

I've been meaning to mention Tedrick Lowery. He led the Minutemen in tackles against Florida and was 2nd in TT for FIU and Mississippi State. Over the first four games, I felt he was having a First Team All-Conference year (if we were in a conference). He was an impact player for the Minutemen. Hope he returns soon.

Another player we've already talked about is Joe Previte. He had another good game against Old Dominion. Previte had 3.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks and 6 TT. That's a lot of production for a defensive lineman.  The Minutemen had 7 TFL in that game.

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The UMass Daily Collegian report the Minutemen lost their third straight at Old Dominion.

The Virginia Pilot says Ray Lawry and Jeremy Cox emerged as a potent one-two punch for the Monarchs.

The Daily Press reports Old Dominion pasted UMass.

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Florida-LSU was canceled due the hurricane.

Clemson cranked out nearly 500 yards of offense against Boston College's vaunted defense.

FIU won its second straight over UTEP.

Tulane-Central Florida was rescheduled.

Auburn handled Mississippi State 38-14.

South Carolina plays Georgia today at 2:30.

Columbia beat Wagner with a program-record five field goals.

Troy had a bye.

BYU had an impressive win at Michigan State.

Hawaii handled San Jose State.

Tuesday--July 5th, 2016

College football News previews the 2016 UMass Minutemen. As usual, it appears the author didn't put much research into his effort. He does not mention JUCO's or transfers. QB Andrew Ford will likely start as will Ali Ali-Musa at DE. Safety Tedrick Lowery and several of our outstanding 2016 freshmen will also be in the mix.

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Titans Online has a July 2nd, question-and-answer session one of which features Tajae Sharpe (scroll down).

Titans Sport Blog has five Tennessee rookies to be excited about. Tajae is one of them.

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Newsday previews the NY Giants WR corps, including Victor Cruz.

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A football writer predicts UConn first in the AAC East.

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As a 2016 associate member of the SEC, UMass fans will get to see some SEC traditions from Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida.

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Wednesday--July 7th, 2016

With the verbal of Devone Hall, UMass now has 5 JUCO's in it's 2016 class. That's the way to build a winner in New England. The addition of Hall fills a need for sized on the DL.

Some of the reasons we are ranked so low in preseason previews is that we return so few of our statistical leaders from 2016. UMass needed a QB and Whipple got Andrew Ford. We needed defensive help and the Minutemen should have instant starters in Ali Ali-Musa and Tedrick Lowery.

One void still remains to be filled: tight end. UMass has an excellent recruiting class of TE's with Taylor Edwards, Cody Banks and Alvin Peah. I'd be willing to bet at least one of which will not redshirt. However, I would be a big help to have a experienced TE on the roster. Whipple's pro-set offense runs a lot better with big TE that can catch the ball.

I don't know if Scottsdale CC TE Sal Canella and UMass are still interested in each other, but a transfer TE that can play FBS ball would have an outstanding chance of being on the field against the Gators on September 3rd. Canella's most recent Hudl.com tape.

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Speaking of the Gators, Florida has three defensive players on the Bednarik Watch List.

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BTW, the whole UMass-Notre Dame game is available online.

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The Las Cruces Sun-Times reports on New Mexico State's quest to build an independent schedule. It contrasts their situation with UMass and has extensive quotes by UMass AD Ryan Bamford.

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SEC Country has "should win" games for the SEC West. Mississippi State over UMass is one of them.

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The Orlando Sentinel looks at the college football preview magazines.

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Campus Insiders ranks the college football conferences for 2016. The MAC in #9 and theAAC is #7.

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CBS Sports ranks all 128 FBS teams by total athletic department success.

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247Sports thinks South Carolina will get six wins and a bowl invite in 2016.

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Game Day Mississippi State--September 24th, 2016

Another Saturday, another SEC team. Another real challenge to a still building UMass squad. Unlike Michigan or Wisconsin in our first couple of years, I think the Minutemen will be competitive again today. It'll be a good day to work on our run game and get Ford more reps.

I was really impressed with the UMass defensive secondary last week with their nine pass BkUp's. The Bulldog's offense has not been very productive so far this year. Mississippi State is #109 in total offense. If the UMass defense can keep the game reasonable into the fourth quarter. We could have a chance. Or we could get run over by a big, physical SEC team. After today, six of the eight remaining games are against Group-of-five opponents.

In addition, the 2016 Minutemen recruiting class continues to shine. In the weekly Gridiron Club e-mail Coach Whipple said:" What is really exciting is that we had 13 freshmen play a combined 330 plays which is really promising for the direction of our program. "

That does not include JUCO's Andrew Ford, Ali Ali-Musa, Tedrick Lowery, Colbert Calhoun and more.

I'll be at Gillette. Hope to see everyone there. Go UMass!!!

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Matty Vautour says UMass seeks a Power Five victory.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews today's game.

NESN says UMass-Mississippi State highlights their Saturday schedule. BTW, here in Southern NH, the game will be on Dish Network's channel 440 ALT.

The Boston Herald reports the Minutemen look to shock Mississippi State.

Fox Sports reports Mississippi State looks to put together a total game at UMass.

Team Speed Kills predicts Bulldogs 34 Minutemen 13.

dJournal.com says Power Five opponents are nothing new for UMass.

Maroon & White Nation says the keys to victory for the the Bulldogs is to manhandle UMass.

The Hattiesburg American says it's no time like the present for Mississippi State to start winning.

The Columbus Dispatch has five things to watch for in the Mississippi State-UMass game.

First year Mississippi State DL coach Brian Baker considers the state of the Bulldogs defensive line.

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