Recruiting 2015--Lee Moses

Moses #23/ Bob Breidenbach image

247Sports reports Lee Moses, a 6-1 200 pound CB from Bishop Hendricken HS in RI has verbaled to UMass.

247 Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Ranked #2 in potential recruits from Maine, Vermont, RI and New Hampshire.

This article from the Warwick Beacon features Moses.

Moses and a teammate raced to help people involved in a fiery crash on I-95.

UMass Football News--April 29th, 2019

Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle says Andy Isabella is eager to prove himself in the NFL.

Last word on the NFL gives Arizona an "A" for their 2019 draft.

Ohio.com reports the Cardinals loaded up on offense.

AZ Central has an in depth look at the Cardinals draft choices.

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A Sea of Red has projected depth chart for Liberty. Note that the Flames added former Maine RB Joshua Mack who led the FCS division in rushing in 2017.

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The Orlando Sentinel previews 2019 opponent Coastal Carolina and ranks them five notches above UMass.

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The Hampshire Gazette reports Lee Moses has been invited to the Cardinals camp and Marquis Young has an invite to the Indianapolis Colts.

Arizona Sports has a post on the Cardinals free agent signings including Lee Moses.

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UMass Football News--July 3rd, 2017

Appalachian State and South Florida get "favorable" schedules in 2017 based difficulty including playing weaker opponents like UMass.

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This article mentions QB Jaret Pallotta verbaling to UMass and also mentions the state of Ohio averages 140 FBS recruits a year.

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The latest version of the UMass roster lists five CB's (stats are from 2016):

Jordin Hamilton 20 CB 5-10 172 RSSO 5-1 GP-GS 5 UT 3 AT 8 TT 2.0 TFL 1 PD
Lee Moses 3 CB 5-11 193 JR 11-9 GP-GS 25 UT 19 AT 44 TT 0.5 TFL
Jackson Porter 28 CB 6-1 197 RSSR 10-9 GP-GS
Isaiah Rodgers 9 CB 5-10 155 SO 11-8 GP-GS 21 UT 17 AT 40 TT 0.5 TFL 9 PD 1 FF 1 FR 1 BLK
Charan Singh 24 CB 6-1 RSJR 197 9-1 GP-GS 10 UT 18 AT 28 TT
Joseph Tavares 48 CB FR

Lee Moses and Isaiah Rogers received most of the starts in 2016. James Allen started the first four games of 2016, but had trouble with larger, more physical receivers. He left the program this winter.

Rogers was a two-star recruit in 2016 and did not redshirt. Bakhari Goodson, another two-star 2016 recruit, is now listed as a safety.

The Minutemen add three-star CB Brian Roberts, three-star CB Chris Hunt and two-star Xavier Steele in the 2017 recruiting class. At least one of those three probably won't redshirt.

UMass was #126 out of 128 teams in INT's last year. The Minutemen were also #106 in passing yards allowed. Part of that was the quality of the 2016 opponents, but we need to do better in 2017.

The defensive roster is slowly filling up with three-star recruits and UMass should be more competitive in the future.

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Friday--August 15th, 2014

Dan Malone has a post about DaSean Downey. As Dan says Downey during the Spring Game looked like an impact player. The linebacking corps is one unit the Minutemen appear to have enough depth to run some situational packages. Downey's UMass bio.

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Dan also has a feature and video about the UMass receivers.

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Both A.J. Doyle and Blake Fronapfel will be able to run with the ball this year. I dunno. Having a healthy QB is a big part of being effective. If I was coach, I'd tell both players if the play breaks down, hit the turf and we'll get 'em next time...

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Dan has five questions with freshman DL Jake Largay. Largay's UMass bio.

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ESPN looks at Penn State's schedule and concludes UMass has the least to offer.

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The Concord Monitor looks at Jim Kelley and his New England roots.

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The Warwick Beacon has a feature on Minutemen verbal Lee Moses.

Quote from the article: “We’re really comfortable with Liam Coen,” said Hendricken head coach Keith Croft, who has helped Moses through the entire recruiting process. “Coach Whipple whose reputation is great – I remember when he was at Brown. If I could pick a school, with a coaching staff that you trust, UMass is a great fit for him.”

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The Tampa Tribune says Trey Dudley-Giles is looking for a turnaround.

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The Boston College Blog BC Interruption says it's time for the Eagles to make Boston their own.

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Rick Neuheisel thinks the Colorado Buffs are on the right track.

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Like UMass, Vanderbilt is switching to a 3-4 defense this year.

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Penn State gets a $1 million donation to the football program.

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Behind the Steel Curtain says Rob Blanchflower is making progress with his high ankle sprain.

They also say Blanchflower helped himself in drills against the Buffalo Bills.

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ESPN reports James Ihedigbo is helping the chemistry of the Lions defense.

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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.

UMass Football News--December 19th, 2018

The Manganaro Family donates $500k for McGuirk improvements. The funds will be applied to a new high-definition video board. I watched Paul Manganaro play back in the day. He lettered in 1982, 83, 85 and was captain in 1986. Manganaro was All-Yankee Conference in 1985. With the new bubble practice facility coming, things are lookin' up at McGuirk.

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Andy Isabella adds his ninth post season award as he is named First Team All-America by Phil Steele.

Nine Minutemen made Steele's All-Independent team for 2018. Andrew Ford, Marquis Young, Jake Largay, Bryton Barr and Isiah Rogers made the first team. Sadiq Palmer, Ray Thomas-Ishman, Joe Previte and Lee Moses made the 2nd team. Marquis Young made the second team as kick returner.

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UMass adds former San Diego (FCS) coach Jim Jackson as OL coach. Jackson's San Diego bio.

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Josh Walfish report Coach Bell has a plan for recruiting.

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The Bangor Daily News reports Maine's  Joe Harasymiak is the CAA's lowest paid coach, but he's in line for more lucrative offers.

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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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UMass Football News--May 11th, 2019

Twitter image

Martin G. Jacobson received an honorary Doctorate in Business at the UMass Commencement. UMass football will be forever in his debt.

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Bryton Barr joins Andy Isabella and Lee Moses at the Arizona mini-camp.

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A pseudonymous author on "Off Tackle Empire" goes on an epic rant  about Rutgers.

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Penn Live looks at the status of Penn State's transfers out including Jarvis Miller

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Andy Isabella and the other Cards rookies have signed their contracts.

AZ Central says fair or not, the careers of Josh Rosen and Andy Isabella will always be linked.

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UMass Football news -- Coach Whipple being let go

Multiple news outlets are saying UMass and Coach Whipple are negotiating his leaving UMass.

Josh Wallfish says sources say UMass and Whipple are parting ways.

MassLive reports Whipple out as UMass coach.

The Boston Herald reports the Whipple era may be over.

Hero Sports has some potential candidates for the head coach for the Minutemen.

MassLive also has some potential choices for UMass' next coach.

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My take on this year's problems comes down to recruiting. After a successful year three years ago, the quality of the recruiting classes has declined. On defense we were small and lacked athleticism.

After Jarell Addo was suspended, Tyris Lebeau started for him. After Lebeau went down with a shoulder injury, the coaches thought the next best option was to move a safety to OLB.

Consider this quote by Ed Pinkham from October 6th:

“One of the things we’ve been trying to deal with is we’re trying to get our best 11 guys on the field,” Pinkham said. “Sometimes when you have injuries or you don’t have the option of playing a guy, you take a guy from one position and put him in another position, feeling like this is the best 11 guys we have. He hasn’t had all the experience, the amount of time we’ve invested for a guy in a particular position, it does take awhile for them to play. In addition to when I do that, I look at the guy I replaced him with and he’s not as good at that position as the guy I moved from one to the other."

I translate that as "we are exactly one guy deep at OLB".

On the defensive line we had five total sacks in the 2018 season by defensive linemen. Jake Byczko had 4.5-26 and Joe Previte had 0.5-4. That's amazin' stat. In addition UMass had one (1) QB hurry for the entire season. For the last two seasons, if we played a team that had a dual-threat QB we gave up a huge amount of yardage. It's no shame we couldn't compete with Georgia's #1 QB recruit in the nation, but teams like Coastal Carolina had the same results.

Now consider that Bryton Barr, Jarell Addo, both starting safeties and Lee Moses are all graduating. We don't have a pass rushing DE on the roster. We do not have a big run-stopping MLB.

Defensive recruiting has been a train wreck.

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My choice for a new head coach would be someone who is a good fit for the school and I'd probably pick a defensive guy. Most of our wins have been defensive grinds rather than offensive shoot-outs. Offense sells tickets, but losing is worse. We need someone who can recruit enough talent to be competitive. I'm not asking for Power Five recruiting classes. I'm asking for classes that will enable us to compete in the Group-of-Five.

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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UMass Football News--September 28th, 2017

UMass has their game notes for Ohio up.

So does Ohio.

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Keepers College football rankings has Ohio by 11.36 over the Minutemen.

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BTW, if the Minutemen are going to win Saturday, they need another strong defensive effort to control A.J. Ouellette. He's just been named the MAC offensive player-of-the-week two weeks in a row.

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Matty Vautour reports Adam Breneman, Andrew Ford, Jack Driscoll and Lee Moses all practiced yesterday and should be ready to play Saturday.

The Daily Collegian says UMass faces Ohio before an extended bye week.

The Athens Post looks at the Minutemen's front seven.

The Post also has UMass winless despite playing teams close.

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Appalachian State is 29-7 over their last 36 games.

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UMass Football News--October 27th, 2017

A quick look at Appalachian State:

The Mountaineers return six starters on offense and six on defense from a team that went 10-3 including a 31-28 victory over Toledo in the Camellia Bowl.

RB Jalen Moore is a three-time Sun Belt offensive player-of-the-week he runs behind an OL that had three members first-team All-Sun Belt. QB Taylor Lamb has been setting program records in 2017. Most pundits had Appalachian State as the preseason Sun Belt Champion. They are currently tied for the conference lead with Arkansas State. As several blog commenters have pointed out App State's wins have come against less than stellar opposition. They lost to Georgia 10-31 and lost to Wake Forest by one point 19-20.

Still, Appalachian State is night and day compared to Georgia Southern. This will probably be a shoot out. We need to keep our DB's in the game and not get injured. UMass needs Lee Moses, Isaiah Rogers and Jesse Monteiro in the game, not on the sidelines. I think the Minutemen will score in the thirties. Can we keep the Mountaineers to a lesser score? So far in the second Whipple Era we have been in a number of high scoring games, but have yet to win one.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews Saturday's game against Appalachian State.

Kevin Dillon of MassLive reports UMass looks for its second consecutive win.

Matty Vautour says the Minutemen look to build off their first win.

High County Press says the Mountaineers could win "in a rout" and predicts App State 47 UMass 20.

Metro USA reports UMass TE Adam Breneman takes a leap up in NFL draft position.

Rivals.com says take the Mountaineers to cover the spread against UMass.

SB Nation says take UMass to beat the spread against Appalachian State.

Athlon Sports predicts Mountaineers 30 UMass 17.

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This article features Mississippi State's OL coach John Hevesy, who originally was a three-year starter at Maine.

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BYU plans to be more aggressive against San Jose State.

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FIU features 15 seniors who are starters this year.

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UMass Football News--October 13th, 2017

Some actual UMass Football News: Matty Vautour reports UMass will be back to full strength for Georgia Southern.

Adam Breneman, Lee Moses, Isaiah Rodgers and Bakhari Goodson all return. Matty Vautour says UMass is working on defending Georgia Southern's triple option offense.

Georgia Tech, Army and Navy run the triple option. They're 10-3 in 2017.

How to defend the triple option with a 4-2-5 defense.

The Georgia Southern-New Mexico State game will be on ESPN3.

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So far in 2017 Breneman has gone 5-5 GP-GS 36-500 13.9 AVE 2 TD's 41 LONG 100.00 AVE/game

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Underdog Dynasty previews this week's Appalachian State-Idaho game.

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Wednesday--February 11th, 2015

UMass fixed the Spring roster, but the Spring enrollees are not listed yet.

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Matt Metcalf image

UMass recruit Lee Moses is the co-feature of this article about Bishop Hendrickson HS signees.

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NFL Draft Scout has Jean Sifrin as one of the top-250 players for the 2015 draft.

Speaking of NFL Darft Scout, they have Sifrin ranked as a 6 to seventh roundpick. He's be a steal in the late rounds.

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Toledo's Jeremiah Detmer, the MAC's best kicker, may get a chance in NFL Draft.

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Detroit Lions.com says the Lions signing of James Ihedigbo was one of their top-ten decisions of 2014.

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The Steelers Depot reviews Pittsburgh's 2014 draft and has this article on Rob Blanchflower.

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UMass Football News--September 21st, 2018

Josh Walfish has his weekly "Inside the Pressbox" feature.

He also has this week's football notebook. Josh reports senior QB's Ross Comis and Andrew Ford are gametime decisions for Saturday. Whipple said Minutemen DB's Bryce McAlister and Bakhari Goodson will be back. TE Kyle Horn is "possible" against Charlotte and possibly fully back by the Ohio game.

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FloFootball has the Minutemen looking to get back on track against Charlotte.

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The Amherst Wire has a story on the changes to the UMass tailgating policy for 2018.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports UMass returns home after a three-game road stint.

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YUR NE has a nice post featuring UMass CB Lee Moses.

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The Boston Herald picks UMass to cover the spread against Charlotte. Note however, he went 0-7 last week.

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Athlon Sports predicts Miami over FIU 52-20. You remember in 2006 Miami and FIU had an epic brawl during the game.

YouTube video of the brawl here.

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UMass Football News--August 15th, 2018

Josh Walfish has two experienced quarterbacks leading the UMass offense.

It would be nice if they can integrate Comis into the offense. If he came in on third-and-seven, the opposing defense could not be sure UMass would pass.

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Mike Traini continues his position review with the defensive secondary.

If the Minutemen stay health, the defensive secondary should be one of the strongest units in 2018. The safety position is deep and I really like the UMass corners Lee Moses and Isaiah Rogers.

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Yesterday's live Facebook presentation by UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford is here.

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The UMass Football Twitter feed has video on the Minutemen linebackers.

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The UMass-BYU game will kick off at 12:00 Noon on November 10th.

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Eleven Sports and NESN will televise UMass Football in 2018.

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The Lynchburg News & Advance previews Liberty's opponent UMass.

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A Saturday Down South writer previews Georgia's 2018 schedule and says the UMass game won't be close.

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UMass Football News--September 26th, 2017

Matty Vautour reports on UMass players take on the NFL protests and other football news. Whipple didn't rule out any of the four Minutemen starters Andrew Ford, Adam Breneman, Jack Driscoll and Lee Moses out of the Ohio game.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the UMass-Tennessee game.

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Tennessee coach Butch Jones criticizes the negative media coverage of his team.

The Vols defensive line takes confidence in seven sacks against the Minutemen.

Rocky Top Insiders has some film study of Tennessee struggling against UMass.

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Deadspin says Temple's two-year run is starting to look like a flash in the pan.

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WOUB previews Ohio's 2017 season and says "with a couple of defensive stops, victory is in the cards" for the UMass game.

On September 15th, the Bobcats beat Big-12 opponent Kansas for the second year in a row.

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Georgia Southern is 0-for-the-2017 season. They get 2-2 New Mexico State and 0-5 UMass for their next two games. Somebody has the win the October 21st meeting between the Minutemen and the Eagles.

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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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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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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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