Recruiting 2015--James Sosinski

David Jolkovski image

James Sosinski, a 6-7 240 pound QB from Hamilton HS, AZ has verbaled to UMass.

USA Today story about the commit here. (fixed link)

Hudl.com has video here.

MaxPreps has Sosinski's stats.

This article from September features Sosinski.

Sosinski drew interest from Arizona, but had no other offers. Whipple played his HS ball in Arizona and may have had some inside information about Sosinski.

Wednesday--December 2nd, 2015

#78 Matt Sparks

UMass senior center Matt Sparks was named co-UMass Fall scholar-Athlete.

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Matty Vautour looks at next year's replacements for the graduating seniors. The three positions the Minutemen should see big changes are quarterback, TE and WR.

James Sosinski made the traveling squad this year. I'd speculate going into Spring ball the order would be:

1. Ross Comis
2. James Sosinski
3. Austin Whipple

On TE, UMass does not have a blocking TE on the roster. Travis Reynolds seems to be a good athlete, but the Minutemen need recruiting help big time in this position.

For WR, UMass is better stocked, but do they have a feature "X" receiver? Hawaii transfer Darren Josey and FR Lamarriel Taylor have potential. Jalen Williams and Shakur Nesmith are probably the top returning receivers.

UMass signed two players in 2015 who ended up in Prep school: Artayvious Lynn and Sam Franklin. Whipple has said he would still like both to attend UMass.

Matty also looks at next year's defensive team. The defensive front seven needs recruiting priority. Jake Largay 6-6 310 is the only NT on the roster.

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The Register-Star remembers former UMass QB John Kraham.

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The win over Buffalo moved UMass out of CBS Sports Bottom-25.

Keeper's College football rankings has UMass as #107 (.htm down load). Note the Minutemen's relatively high strength-of-schedule. Boston College is ranked #90 despite two of their three wins came against FCS teams.

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Hustle Belt looks at the NIU-Bowling Green MAC championship game.

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UMass Football News--November 20th, 2017

Matty Vautour reports UMass coaches will add recruiting duties to the FIU trip.

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Athlon Sports covers the UMass-FIU game and predicts UMass will beat the spread.

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Wicked Local Swampscott features former UMass and Patriot player Ed Toner. Ed played for the Minutemen in 1965 and 1966. He was one of five Toner brothers (John, Mark, Paul and William) to play for UMass.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass prepares to close out its season against FIU.

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Sports Chat Place picks FIU to cover the spread.

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Former UMass QB James Sosinski, currently a TE with Kansas, may join the Jayhawks hoops practice squad.

Sosinski's Kansas bio.

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247Sports has a post on the new December 20th to 22nd early signing period.

USA Today says the early signing period is creating a lot of uncertainty.

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Saturday--August 29th, 2015

The #2 quarterback poll finished yesterday with 90 votes. The results:

Ross Comis  64 votes 71%
Austin Whipple 15 votes 16.6%
Randall West  7 votes 7.7%
James Sosinski 4 votes 4%

I haven't seen Comis in a game situation, but it seems he is playing well in camp. Things would have to get  really bad to play true freshman Sosinski and break his redshirt.

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2016 college football starts today! I assume college football fans have this link to all the TV games.

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image credit unknown

UMass adds South Carolina (gulp) and Wagner to an already challenging 2016 schedule. We are joining a league----it's the SEC!.

Dan Malone has a post on the changes to the 2016 schedule.

Minutemen A.D. Ryan Bradford discusses the 2016 and future schedules.

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The Minutemen showed off their new uniforms during Thursday's Media Day and Dan Malone says the team really likes the changes.

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Meanwhile, the UMass defense is doing their best to piss off the offense.

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Dan Malone has five questions with UMass assistant coach Spencer Whipple.

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Dan reports on the status of Da'Sean Downey.

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Jackson Porter gets moved to wide receiver.

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Matty Vautour has news and notes from a busy end of the week.

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Emil Igwenagu is in a battle for the fullback slot with the Lions.

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Patriots.com has an article on Australians in the NFL and mentions UMass recruit Travis Reynolds.

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OT, but UMass will also be adding the Gamecocks to its hoops schedule. South Carolina went 17-16 in 2014 and were 6-12 in the SEC.

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Thursday--November 19th, 2015

Marquis Young was named the New England Gold Helmet Award winner for his 168 yards against Eastern Michigan.

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Matty Vautour reports that Coach Kellogg is planing on contacting UMass freshman QB James Sosinski about walking on to the hoops squad when football is finished.

Dan Malone also has a post on the hoops walk-on situation and mentions Sosinski. At 6-7 253, Sosiinski should be able to give some defensive/rebounding help---or five solid fouls :)

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The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass football looks to apply "energy" to the Miami (Ohio) game Saturday.

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Bob McGovern says Red Hawk QB Billy Bahl (good name) is the player to watch for Miami (Ohio).

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NIU beat Western Michigan last night to take control in the MAC West division.

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NBC Sports says Victor Cruz could be done as a NY Giant with his current contract.

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Wednesday before FIU--September 14th, 2016

I called the UMass ticket office and they e-mailed me my McGuirk parking passes. No problem. I get a yellow lot parking pass because I have season tickets, but in the case of McGuirk my group is split into two cars, so I needed another pass.

A.D. Bamford says no one will be turned away, so this year will be a good time to get the new parking system in place. To my mind, it hints that there are some plans in the works for McGuirk.

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FIU has their game notes for UMass up.

They also have a first look at FIU vs UMass.

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Dan Malone reports UMass QB Ross Comis was still limited by physical problems. Whipple still expects him to start Saturday. Malone also says backup QB James Sosinski has left the program. Sosinski was in a walking boot during the August practice I attended.

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Matty Vautour also has a post on Comis.

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The Miami Herald reports FIU QB Alex McGough is "probable" for UMass.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen look to get the running game going against FIU.

UMass is dead last in FBS rushing offense. We're also dead last in total offense.

In defense UMass is #63 in total defense (tied with LSU) and #68 in scoring defense. FIU is #107 in scoring defense and #109 in total defense.

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Logan Laurant leads the nation with 835 punting yards; he's #22 in yards/punt with 43.9.

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Vegas Insiders has UMass-FIU as "pick 'em".

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Thursday--February 5th, 2015

Some takeaways from Coach Whipple's press conference:

UMass will have 20+ more players taking part in Spring ball. Close to a hundred players are on campus , which is a lot more than 2014.

Whipple is OK with Sosinski and Lynn being interested in basketball. He said "it's our scholarship, so basketball, will be happy." Sosinski was touted as a DI basketball prospect as a power forward. Sosinski's MaxPreps basketball page here. Matty Vautour has a post on Sosinski and Lynn's basketball interest.

Whipple said repeatedly that one goal of 2015's recruiting was more "length", which is the current coaching buzz word for tall players.

Spencer Whipple said UMass' pro-set offense is a recruiting tool in the fact that many colleges are going to the spread offense. UMass not only plays the pro-set "heavy" (with two backs), the Minutemen use NFL play terminology. Spencer Whipple related Sekai Lindsay came to UMass because he wanted to run from the pro-set.

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Dan Malone has a post on the seven UMass Spring Enrollees.

Dan also looks at the wide-ranging recruiting localities of this year's recruits.

Finally, Dan has five takeaways from this year's recruiting class.

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Matty Vautour looks at the 2015 Minutemen recruits.

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Max Moore of Hustle Belt says UMass signs an impressive class.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has two articles on Letter-of-Intent Day here and here.

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The Boston Herald says UMass prospects improve.

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The Boston Globe says UMass bolsters the offensive line.

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Nj.com has an article on kicker Mike Caggiano joining the Minutemen. The News-Transcript also has an article on Caggiano.

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MassLive has a story about offensive line recruit Michael Yerardi.

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The Boston Herald has a post about Xaverian players Joe Parsons and Kenny Kern joining the Minutemen.

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The Shreveport Times says Artayvious Lynn like snowball fights.

UMass football yesterday

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The TC Palm has some images, including Reche Thomas, during the Varo Beach signing day ceremony.

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St. Thomas Aquinas has 17 players, including James Oliphant, sign letters of intent yesterday.

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Buford HS had 15 signees, the most ever, including Brandon Mangram.

Access North Georgia has more on Buford's signees.

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The News-Herald says UMass recruit Andy Isabella set the Ohio state record in the 60-yard dash last week.

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Tomorrow, my thoughts on the 2015 recruiting class.

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UMass Football News--August 8th, 2018

Isaiah Rogers/Sarah Crosby image

Josh Walfish reports the UMass defense is settled in with the second year of Ed Pinkham. (fixed link)

Whatever happens with the Minutemen defense this fall, the secondary should be a strong point. The two starting corners Moses and Rodgers are two of the top players in the group of five. Tyler Hayes started every game in 2017. The Safety position is deep with UConn transfer Brice McAlliser, Tryis Lebeau and Bakhari Goodson. Freshman Safety Joseph Norwood was the top-rated recruit in the 2018 incoming class.

The UMass Twitter feed has some video featuring the defensive backs.

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UMass dinning is rated #1 in the nation for the third year in a row.

Why would linemen even think about signing somewhere else 😀

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Former UMass QB James Sosinski has transitioned from the Kansas basketball team to a TE in Jayhawks football.

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Former UMass strength coach Joe Connolly is making an impact at Arizona.

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James Madison is ranked #2 and New Hampshire is ranked #7 in the first FCS preseason poll.

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Wednesday--February 4th, 2015 Letter-of-Intent Day

Lots more recruiting stuff tomorrow, pant, pant :)

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UPDATES:

Spring Enrollees:

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Marquis Young, 6-0 200 RB from Milford Academy. I've blogged about Young before.

Randall West, 6-4 220 pound QB from Lawrenceville, NJ. I've blogged about West before.

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Lamarriel Taylor, 6-3 WR from Chula Vista, CA. I've blogged about him before.

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Thomas Rodrick, 6-3 230 LB from Liecester, MA. I've blogged about him before.

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Morel #6/ Boston Herald image

Micah Morel, 6-0 190 pound Safety from Milford Academy.

ESPN describes him as one of the best safeties in MA in this 2012 article.

Hudl.com has video.

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Image credit as above

Darrian Josey, 6-2 165 pound WR from Boyton Beach, FL. Transfer from Hawaii.

Whipple said UMass recruited Josey last year. Whipple also said Josey ran the 2nd fastest 100 in the state of Florida in 2014.

Hudl.com highlights. This article from January 2014 features Josey. So does this article.

Rivals two-star player.

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247Sports image

Dejion Evans, 6-3 200 pound WR from Boston, MA.

Hudl.com video.

ESPN player page.

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OK, I've got to do a couple of things and then I'm going to drive down to Amherst to go the 3:00 PM press conference. More updates to the blog in the evening.

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Travis Reynolds joins the Minutemen. Apparently they play football in Australia (Reynolds video highlights)

Bayside Ravens Football Club.

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James Sosinski joins the UMass QB corps.

This article from MaxPreps features Sosinki.

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Boston Globe image

ESPN reports that Kenny Kern, a 6-0 227 pound fullback from Xaverian Brothers will join UMass as a preferred walk-on.

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Jack Driscoll joins the UMass offensive line

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Reche Thomas signs with UMass

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Artayvious Lynn joins the Minutemen

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247 Sports image

Sam Franklin, a 6-4 185 pound WR from Crystal River, FL signs with UMass

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com video.

Rivals two-star player with offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Kentucky and South Alabama.

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Aaron Kinsey signs with the Minutemen.

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Mario Patton joins UMass.

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James Bowe signs with the Minutemen. I received an e-mail from a UMass fan in Georgia saying Buford is a powerhouse program that has supplied a lot of talent to FBS teams in the past.

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Mike Caggiano joins UMass.

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D'Shan Harley signs with the Minutemen.

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Sekai Lindsay joins UMass Football/

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Brandon Mangram signs with the Minutemen.

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Lee Moses joins UMass

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Hudl.com image

Marshall Robinson a 6-4 330 pound DL from Mars Hill, PA signs with UMass.

Robinson's Hudl highlights.

Also had offers from Temple and Bowling Green.

From the UMass feed:

Fun fact about Marshall Robinson - he can dunk a basketball from a standing position according to coach Sollazzo

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From John Sinnett's office:

Fans are invited to join UMass football Head Coach Mark Whipple and his staff for a College Football Signing Day Party tomorrow, February 4th at the Amherst Brewing Company starting at 5:30 PM. The event is free to attend and light hors d'oeuvres will be provided. The Amherst Brewing Company is located just off the UMass campus at 10 University Drive in Amherst.
Coach Whipple will highlight his incoming class of newcomers for the 2015 season and will be joined by his coaching staff to speak with fans about the newest additions to the UMass football family. The evening celebration will cap off what is sure to be a day of great excitement with players signing their National Letters of Intent beginning that morning.

SECOND RECRUITING EVENT CELEBRATION IN BOSTON

This event will be held at the UMass Club in Boston on February 26th, 2015. This is another opportunity to get to know the newest additions to the maroon and white family, and hear what Head Coach Mark Whipple and the UMass Football coaching staff have in store for the upcoming season.

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Jason Germain in the Minutemen Club Office at jag@admin.umass.edu<mailto:jag@admin.umass.edu> or 413-577-0267.

SIGNING DAY COVERAGE
For full coverage of the day along with an interactive blog check out www.UMassAthletics.com<http://www.umassathletics.com/>. Fans are also encouraged to follow twitter.com/CoachWhipUMass<http://www.twitter.com/CoachWhipUMass>, twitter.com/UMassFootball<http://www.twitter.com/UMassFootball> and twitter.com/UMassAthletics<http://wwww.twitter.com/UMassAthletics> to get the news of each signing as soon as it happens.

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The UMass website has a Signing Day Central Page up.

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Dan Malone says this year's recruits will lead the Minutemen into a unknown future.

MassLive.com will also have live updates.

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Looks like UMass Lax may be playing at McGuirk this season after Garber Field suffered unspecified "damage' from the latest storm.

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BC signs seven Massachusetts players.

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Campus Insiders thinks Sekai Lindsey will be star of the Minutemen's 2015 recruiting class.

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Future UMass opponent BYU got a big boost after it was named a honorary Power Five team.

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Saturday-- January 31st, 2015

UMass Athletic Dept image

Slow day on the Intertubes for UMass football stories, so let's look at where UMass stands on recruiting as we go into the final stretch before Wednesday's Letter-of-Intent Day.

UMass has some visits planned this weekend.

The Minutemen currently have 16 verbals.

My take on UMass' needs going into this year's recruiting cycle were:\

1. a kicker
2. running back
3. defensive help everywhere especially in the front seven.

On the kicking front, UMass has a verbal from Michael Caggiano. Most teams make kickers walk-on (even highly rated ones), but the Minutemen apparently offered a scholarship to fix the most glaring need from last year. 

UMass has verbals from two running backs: Sekai Lindsey and Marquis Young (both rated three stars by 247Sports). Lindsey could have an immediate impact in 2015.

The Minutemen have commits from five offensive linemen: Joe Parsons, Michael Yerardi, Jack Driscoll , Derek Dumais and Reche Thomas. UMass will now have 20+ offensive linemen on the roster. All the recruits are true freshman and will help down the road. Thomas is probably the highest rated recruit in this class (so far).

The conventional wisdom in FBS is to recruit a QB every year. This year James Sosinski a 6-7 230 pound QB from Chandler, AZ joins the team. 

The Minutemen have only one receiver, TE Artayvious Lynn a 6-6 200 pound player from Bossier City, LA.

On defense UMass has two defensive linemen: Mario Patton (three stars from 247Sports) and Aaron Kinsey. The de-commitment of Desjon Robinson hurt this group.

For linebackers the Minutemen have: Tom Rodrick (may not play in 2015) and D'Shan Harley from Wichita Falls,TX

UMass has commits from two defensive backs: Lee Moses from Warwick, RI and James Oliphant from  Fort Lauderdale.

Ten of the 16 verbals are offensive recruits. It seems we have addressed some critical needs on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, thus far, it does not look like this recruiting class will have an immediate impact. We could use some JUCO or FBS transfers on the defensive side.

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The NY Giants blog "Big Blue" takes a look at the more than 500 prop bets available for the Super Bowl.

BTW, Mrs Blog and I met at a Super Bowl party. If you're planning one for tomorrow, be sure to invited your single friends.

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Wednesday--July 1st, 2015

The ink was barely dry from my highlighter when the UMass website puts up another iteration of the 2015 roster. This time all the freshmen are included and most have bios.

Latest roster

Marquis Young--RB 5-11 200 wearing #8 same as Shane Huber
Randell West--QB 6-5 22 wearing #13 worn by Jordan Broadnax last year
James Sosinski--QB 6-6 240 wearing #17 same as Jovan Santos-Knox
Micah Morel--DB 6-0 200 wearing #22 same as Shadrach Abrokwah
Andy Isabella--RB 5-10 185 wearing #23 and J.T Blyden is still missing
Mehki Williams--RB 5-9 180 wearing #25 same as Joe Colton
Mike Caggiano--K 5-11 170 wearing #31 worn by Iric Harris last year
Sekai Lindsey--RB 5-9 210 wearing #35 worn by Stanley Andre last year
Lee Moses--DB 6-1 190 wearing #40 worn by Jon Lucier last year
Brandon Mangram-- DB 5-11 180 wearing #43 worn by Matthew Wylie last year (transferred)
Kenny Kearn--RB 6-0 227 wearing #46 same as Lucas Amato
James Oliphant--DB 5-8 165 wearing #48 number not assigned last year
Mike Yerardi--OL 6-4 295 wearing #50 worn by Mike Wynne last year
Joe Parsons--OL 6-4 305 wearing #56 worn by Sam Zeff last year (transferred)
Reche Thomas--OL 6-4 315 wearing #57 worn by Leo Krizanovic last year
Peter Comaroto--LS 5-11 215 wearing #59 number not assigned last year
Derek Dumais--OL 6-5 325 wearing #72 worn by Rich Queen last year (transferred)
Lamarriel Taylor--WR 6-2 185 wearing #86 worn by Shaquille Harris last year (now wearing #14)
Jon Derolus--WR 6-0 175 wearing #81 same as Kevin Lovaincy
Travis Reynolds--TE 6-5 245 wearing #87 same as T.J. Kelley (G'Day mate!)
Jack Coventry--K 6-1 180 wearing #91 worn by Chris Carter last year
Jesse Noel--WR wearing #93 worn by Seamus Murray last year
Kyle Horn--TE 6-4 250 wearing #95  same as Sha-Ki Holines
Mario Patton--DL 6-4 315 wearing #96 worn by Brian McDonald last year
Aaron Kinsey--LB 6-4 210 wearing #97 worn by Daniel Maynes last year
D'Shan Harley--LB 6-5 210 wearing #98 worn by Ryan Heath last year
Dejion Evans--WR 6-3 no number assigned
Tom Rodrick--LB 6-3 230 no number assigned

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The Notre Dame blog "One foot down" discusses the Irish's 2015 including UMass as a "layup" game.

Scout.com has a story about the strengths and weaknesses of Notre Dame's opponents.

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Marshall fans complain about the Herd scheduling Appalachian State.

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Bloguin.com has five MAC conference story lines for 2015.

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Some UMass fan compiled this Minutemen pump-up video. It's well done.

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UMass Football News--March 24th, 2018

The UMass Football Twitter feed has sights and sounds from the Minutemen's Pro Day.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has story on Minutemen legacy Hannah Palau, the daughter of Mark Palau. Mark won letters with UMass football in 1971 and 1972.

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image by Mark Krug

This article features former UMass QB James Sosinski.

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Thursday--June 9th, 2016

Eighteen red-shirt freshman will be available for the Minutemen in August. I would predict D'Shawn Harley, Brandon Mangram and Randall West will make the travel squad to the Swamp on September 3rd.

Davis Clark S
Peter Comaroto LS 5-11 222
Jack Coveney K 6-1 185
Jon Derolus WR 5-11 174
Jack Driscoll OL 6-5 263
Derek Dumais OL 6-5 321
Dejion Evans WR 6-3 203
D'shawn Harley OLB 6-3 218
Kyle Horn TE 6-5 230
Kenny Kern FB 6-0 226
Aaron Kinsey OLB 6-4 205
Brandon Mangram CB 5-11 174
Joe Parsons OL 6-4 306
Mario Patton DL 6-1 310
James Sosinski QB 6-7 253
Randall West QB 6-4 226
Mehki Williams RB 5-9 180
Mike Yeradi OL 6-4 301

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Former UMass TE Emil Igwenagu gets a try-out with the Colts.

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Florida runs a satellite camp in Jacksonville. Wonder if UMass was there.

Speaking of the Gators, Florida may get their leading WR back by August.

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Troy QB Ramsey Rigby transfers to Gardner-Webb.

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The Sun Belt conference will add a championship game in 2018.

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Sunday--September 27th, 2015

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Hey UMass fans, we hung with the Irish for the first half. Don't feel bad, that's a really talented Notre Dame offense. Too big and too much team speed for the UMass "D".

We missed a couple of plays that would have made it closer. At the end of the first half we dropped a pass over the middle that would have given UMass a first down at least and prevented Notre Dame's last score of the first half. We also missed a chance to score on Frohnapfel's last series.

And if I was Kelly, I would have gotten out of the hurry-up and passing a couple of series before he did. He didn't have to keep the pedal to the metal that long.

UMass had 450 yards of offense and Ross Comis was 8 for 8 leading the UMass reserves. That pretty much settled who's our 2nd string QB. Another thing we did accomplish was the kicking game was finally decided. Freshman Marquis Young looked good. Andy Isabella did well running back kicks. FR QB James Sosinski made the traveling squad to Notre Dame.

Rodney Mills and Khary Bailey Smith DNP due to injuries. Those two would have helped.

Whipple needs a couple more years recruiting before we can stand up to a team as good as Notre Dame. No shame in that. Nobody quit. I'm not either.

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The UMass website has the game writeup, stats and notes.

Besides Mrs. Blog and I, there were a number of UMass at South Bend.

Dan Malone says UMass started strong, but couldn't keep it close.

Dan reports the Minutemen were never in a position to win.

Dan runs the numbers from South Bend.

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Matty Vautour says UMass was overmatched.

Matty has notes from the game.

Matty experiences Notre Dame.

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From the Notre Dame website:

The Irish break out offensively.

Notre Dame has game notes for both sides.

In the game quotes, Kelley said:" You know, hats off to UMass and the way they competed."

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All the MAC results here.

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Colorado won easily over Nichols.

Temple had a bye.

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UConn lost to Navy.

Boston College beat NIU.

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UMass Football News--December 1st, 2017

A quick look at the Florida International Panthers:

FIIU is having a breakout year. The Panthers went 4-8 in 2016 and a win over UMass will reverse that score and set a program record eight wins. FIU returned six starters on offense and nine on defense. The Panther are coming off perhaps their best win of the season a 41-17 destruction of WKU. The Panthers lost to common opponent Old Dominion 37-30. They are 96th in scoring offense with 24.3 points per game. The Panthers are 69th in scoring defense.

FIU QB Alex McGough is #50 in passing efficiency, but has been hot lately. He completed passes to ten different receivers in the win over WKU. FIU's other impressive win was a 41-30 win over Marshall in Huntington. The Panthers rushed for 224 yards against the C-USA's best rushing defense.

Both UMass and FIU have improved over the teams that met the last two times. I think UMass has improved more and has a good chance for its second road victory of 2017. Coming off a bye week the Minutemen should be healthy, and should score points against the Panthers. The UMass defense is coming off maybe its best performance ever against BYU. I think they can again get some turnovers.

Go UMass.

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FIU Sports has five questions for UMass beat writer Matty Vautour.

Speaking of Matty, he has a post on UMass' Camp Hill Trio.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the Minutemen-Panthers game.

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KU Sports has a story on former UMass QB James Sosinski's journey to Kansas.

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A Bleacher Report writer predicts FIU 31 UMass 24.

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Get More Sports believes UMass will cover the spread.

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The Boston Herald goes out on a limb and predicts a close game.

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FIU won't play in the Bahamas Bowl, but there are six other bowls in play.

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Former UMass assistant coach Jerry Azzinaro will be named defensive coordinator at UCLA.

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Wednesday--March 29th, 2017

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There's a new version of the 2017 Spring roster up. It has the early enrollees from January. The revised roster shows the numbers they were assigned.

Michael Curtis QB 6-2 210 # 17  (ex James Sosinski)

Jake Froehlich LB 6-1 245 #47 (ex Michael Dowe)

Spencer Goldberg OL 6-4 295 # 70 (ex Ryan Johnson)

DaVone Hall DL 6-3 315 #75 (not assigned in 2016)

Jaylen Larry OL 6-3 287 # 76 (ex Tyshon Henderson)

Alex Piechocki DL 6-6 260 # 91 (ex Chris Carter)

Mike Ruane LB 6-0 227 # 33 (ex Rodney Mills)

Patrick Volcy WR 6-3 190 # 80 (ex Jalen Williams)

David Weinstock OL 6-1 287 # 78 (ex Matt Sparks)

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Speaking of Jalen Williams, he worked out for the 49rs.

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Kyle Daluz of the UMass Daily Collegian has a post on new UMass DL coach Dave Wissman.

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Buffalo Low Down.com has a profile of Vladimir Ducasse. Vlad's been an OG most of his pro career. Up State NY.com asks if he can play right tackle.

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USF DB Hassan Childs was shot multiple times in a possible road rage incident.  The Minutemen play at USF on October 14th.

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UMass Football News--December 19th, 2017

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on tomorrow's Early Signing Day.

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Mike also has a post on Ryan Bamford's question-and-answer session from yesterday.

Several point are relevant to UMass Football: He's working on more package football and basketball series. This is a smart move. Scheduling games as an Independent can be difficult. Bundling makes us more attractive and gives us options with scheduling. 2016 is a year when we had no options and we don't want that situation to reoccur.

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My wish list for recruiting starting with tomorrow's early signing (and/or February's LOI ) Day:

1. Recruits for the front seven on defense. I liked the work of Joe Previte and Jake Byczko this year.  Cole McCubrey and Jarell Addo also showed promise. We've had two HC's since we moved to FBS. Both coaches were offensive guys. In six years of FBS football, I can only remember one game (Georgia Southern) where we offensively blew out the other team. All the rest of our wins were defensive grinds. We scored 95 points against Ohio and FIU and lost both games.

2. A kicker. Consider Temple; we've played twice and twice played well enough to win. Temple had a kicker and we didn't. I'm not asking for an All-American, but we can surely ask for a guy as good as the Owls have.

3.  A tight end. Whipple's offense works best with a pass-catching TE. Travis Reynolds looks like a good athlete, but did not get targeted a lot, which is understandable with Breneman on the roster. If we don't have a pass-catching TE on the roster, then we need a transfer or JUCO.

4. A JUCO or transfer offensive lineman, preferably a RG to pair with Jack Driscoll so we can get our running game going.

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Former UMass QB James Sosinski is doing well as a forward on Kansas' hoops team.

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OT, but Georgia HC Mark Fox said it wasn't UMass, it was the schedule. Somehow we never play good, the opposing team is always off their game.

BTW, I like what's happening with UMass Hoops and Hockey. I was expecting a 8-22 season with basketball, but if UMass keeps playing like they did Saturday, the Minutemen could get an NIT bid.

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Monday--June 29th, 2015

There's a new version of the 2015 roster up.

It looks as if some of the 2015 recruits are in for the Summer Session. NCAA regulations limit roster to 105 for summer practice; once the season starts there is no limit on the number of players.

Changes (the bios are empty for the 2015 recruits so far):

Kelton Brackett-- DB 5-11 200 wearing # 1 (same as Tajae Sharpe)
Dan Jonah-- WR 5-11 198 wearing #5 (same as Peter Angeh)
Marquis Young--RB 5-11 200 wearing #8 (same as Shane Huber)
Randall West--QB 6-5 220 wearing #13 (worn by Jordan Broadnax last year)
Shaquille Harris-- WR now wearing #14 (ex #86)
James Sosinski-- QB 6-6 240 wearing #17 (same as Jovan Santos-Knox)
Jordan Hamilton-- DB 5-9 200 wearing #20 (same as Lorenzo Woodley)
J.T. Blyden --RB (not on roster)
Andy Isabella-- RB 5-10 185 wearing #23 (same as Blake Lucas)
Mike Caggiano--K 5-11 170 wearing #31 (worn by Iric Harris last year)
Sekai Lindsey--RB 5-9 210 wearing #35 (worn by Stanley Andre last year)
Lee Moses--DB 6-1 190 wearing #40 (same as Jon Lucier)
Kenny Keam--RB 6-0 227 wearing #46 (same as Lucas Amato)
Lamarriel Taylor--WR 6-2 185 wearing #86 (worn by Shaquille Harris last year)
Darrian Josey--WR 6-0 165 wearing #89 (worn by Jon Denton last year)
Elijah Barrows--WR 6-1 180 no number assigned
Dejion Evans--WR 6-3 203 no number assigned
Tom Rodrick--LB 6-3 230 no number assigned
Theo Yongue--K 5-8 165 no number assigned

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Phil Steele looks at first downs per game in 2014: green means 20 best and red means 20 worst. UMass show green in two offensive categories, all red in defense.

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Someone you need to know: Ryan Gallant. see the middle of the article for his work with UMass football.

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Akron football's attendance is the lowest in the nation. Students say they'll go to the games "if they give us free stuff".

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Blowguin.com previews the 2015 NIU Huskies.

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The News & Observer previews the 2015 Boston College Eagles. With two FCS game (only one counts towards bowl eligibility) the Eagles will need to pick up another FBS win to go to a bowl this year.

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Colorado HC Jim Leavitt is encouraged by his defensive line prospects.

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Friday--December 11th, 2015

UMass has finalized the series with UConn and BC.

Dan Malone also has a post on the future series.

Sept. 10, 2016: Home vs. BC (Gillette Stadium)
Sept. 1, 2018: Away at BC
Oct. 27, 2018: Away at UConn
Oct. 26, 2019: Home vs. UConn (Gillette Stadium)
Sept. 3, 2020: Away at UConn
Sept. 11, 2021: Home vs. BC (Gillette Stadium)
Oct. 2, 2021: Home vs. UConn (Gillette Stadium)
Sept. 17, 2022: Away at BC

This is great for UMass and New England football. 

The Hartford Courant has a post.

So does the Boston Globe.

The UConn Blog has a comment.

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Tajae Sharpe has been named a Walter Camp 2nd team All-American.

Dan Malone reports Sharpe was one of only five Group-of-Five players included in the All-American group.

Matty Vautour also has a post about Sharpe and the future schedules with BC and UConn.

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No news about UMass QB James Sosinski walking on the basketball team.

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ESPN ranks Boston College as the toughest recruiting sell in all of Power Five football.

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Victor Cruz collects toys for a holiday toy drive.

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UMass Football News--September 6th, 2019

UMass will play at Texas A&M on November 19th, 2022. The Minutemen will receive $1.7 million for the trip. Visiting the Aggies would be a nice trip for UMass fans. Remember the Texas A&M student section stands the entire game in case one of them is called to join the team.

UMass will also move the previously scheduled 2022 game against Boston College to a future year and add Stony Brook from the CAA in order to add another home game to the '22 season. The Minutemen are 4-0 against the Sea Wolves all-time.

Josh Walfish has a post on the scheduling moves.

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The Boston Herald reports Isaiah Rogers and UMass are eager for their home opener against Southern Illinois.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the UMass-Southern Illinois game.

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Former UMass QB James Sosinski has had a well-traveled career.

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CBS Sports has UMass #19  in their bottom 25.

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Besides the improvements to McGuirk this season, the Amherst campus has a number of renovation projects going on.

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The Bleacher Report predicts a 37-24 Minutemen victory over the Salukis.

The College Sports Journal predicts a 38-17 UMass victory.

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The Miami Herald predicts a FIU 52-17 victory over UMass when they meet  in Miami.

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