Recruiting 2015--Mario Patton

247Sports image

Dan Malone credits Bob McGovern in reporting Mario Patton, a 6-3 290 pound defensive lineman from Cleveland heights has verbaled to UMass.

Rival.com two-star player.

This video co-features Patton before the 2014 season.

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

Patton also held offers from Minnesota and Bowling Green.

Recruiting 2015-- Mario Patton II

Chuck Crow image

Yesterday I blogged about Mario Patton a 6-3 290 pound DT verbaling to UMass.

Charles Doss of Hustle Belt interviews Patton about his commitment to the Minutemen. (fixed link)

Monday--April 3rd, 2017

Jeff Lajoie of the Hampshire Gazette profiles new UMass DL coach Dave Wissman.

Wissman will have more defensive line depth this year. That may have been part of the reason to switch to a four-down front.

Ali Ali-Musa 6-2 274 SR
Domenico Cipriani 6-3 290 RS FR
Basit Dennis 6-1 268 RS JR
Leon Flanagan, Jr 6-1 212 SO (listed as a LB last year. DE this year?)
DaVone Hall 6-3 315 JUCO RS JR
D'Shan Harley 6-5 215 RS SO
Sha-Ki Holines 6-3 257 RS SR
Roderick Jones 6-2 260 RS SR
Mario Patton 6-0 297 RS SO
Alex Piechocki 6-6 260 FR
Joe Previte 6-2 269 RS JR
Sharif Saleem 6-5 251 RS FR
Charlie Timite 6-3 307 RS FR

I would speculate Ali Ali-Musa, Sha-Ki Holines and Mario Patton would be three of the starting four DL. That would leave one position open. Joe Previte played well before suffering an elbow injury late in the season.

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Underdog Dynasty previews the 2017 Sun Belt conference. UMass will be an honorary member this year as we play Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.

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Georgia Southern returns to their signature option offense this year and ran for 371 yards and five TD's in their Spring Game Saturday.

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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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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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Thursday--April 14th, 2016

The latest edition of "Made in Massachusetts" features coach Dawson.

He'll have the following DL to work with in 2016.

Peter Angeh SR 6-1 268 12-12 GP-GS 10 UT 23 AT 33 TT 3.5-10 TFL 1.5-8 Sacks
Enoch Asante SR 6-2 262 10-3 GP-GS 2 UT 14 At 16 TT 0.5-2 TFL
Basit Dennis RSSO 6-1 268
Sha-Ki Holines RSJR 6-3 264 10-5 GP-GS 13 UT 20 AT 33 TT 9.0-TFL 1.5-13 SACKS
P.Ekpen Iduoze RSSR 6-1 318
Joe Previte RSSO 6-2 290 5-0 GP-GS 2 UT 5 AT 7 TT 1.0-3 TFL 1.0-3 SACKS
Mario Patton RSFR 6-1 310

Joining the Minutemen this Spring is

Ali Ali-Musa JU 6-3 270 JUCO 247Sports three-star recruit.

Joining UMass in August will be:

Leyshaun Askew 6-6 285 ESPN three-star recruit
Sharif Saleem 6-6 255 247Sports two-star recruit
Charlie Timite 6-3 250 247Sports three-star recruit
T.J. Rayam 6-1 308 Unrated

Ali Ali-Musa should join the starting rotation right away. One or two of the talented freshman class will play in 2016.

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ESPN's Football Power Index gives FCS Southern Utah a better chance of upsetting BYU than UMass.

The Cougars work to find the best 11 in Spring camp.

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NFL.com profiles the 2016 fantasy draft. Mentions Tajae Sharpe.

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NCAA.com says the 2016 college football season starts August 26th or the 27th (depending on which side of the International Dateline you're on as Cal meets Hawaii at ANZ Stadium in Australia.

When Mrs Blog and I were in Australia last year, we drove past ANZ Stadium.

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UMass Football News--July 15th, 2017

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UMass currently has 14 defensive lineman on the roster:

Ali Ali-Musa  #90 DL 6-2 274 SR 12-11 GP-GS 16 UT 21 AT 37 TT 4.5 TFL 1 PD 2 FF
Domenico Cipriani #63 DL 6-3 290 RSFR Redshirted in 2016
Basit Dennis #69 DL 6-1 268 RSJR 3-0 GP_GS 1 TT
Da'Sean Downey #4 DL 6-4 225 SR 10-6 GP-GS 25 UT 23 At 44 UT 8.5 TFL 4 FF 6 SACKS
Leon Flanagan, #54 DL 6-1 212 SO 2-0 GP-GS
DaVone Hall, #75 DL 6-3 315 RSJR JUCO transfer
D'Shan Harley #88 DL 6-5 215 RSSO 7-1 GP-GS 3 UT 3 AT 6 TT
Sha-Ki Holines #95 DL 6-3 257 RSSR 12-9 GP-GS 18 UT 26 AT 44 TT 7.0 TFL 1 FF
Roderick Jones, #11 DL 6-2 260 RSSR 10-1 GP-GS 13 TT 1 TFL
Mario Patton #96 DL 6-0 297 RSSO 12-0 GP-GS 5 UT 7 AT 12 TT 1.0 TFL 1 PD
Alex Piechocki #91 DL 6-6 260 FR in for Spring semister
Joe Previte #61 DL 6-2 269 RSJR 8-4 GP-GS 4 UT 18 AT 22 TT 4.5 TFL 1 FR
Sharif Saleem #93 DL 6-5 251 RSFR Redshirted in 2016
Charly Timite #94 DL 6-3 307 RSFR Redshirted in 2016

Although it has not been announced, most UMass fans expect the Minutemen to change to a 4-3 base defense. As football junkies know, defensive linemen are the scarcest recruits.

The college football magazines predict UMass will start Joe Previte and Ali Ali-Musa as the two DT's with Da'Sean Downey and Sha-Ki Holines as the two DE's.

Downey led the Minutemen with 6 sacks in 2016 and he could prosper in a 4-3 as there would be less unassigned offensive linemen facing the defense.

Joe Previte was having a good season before suffering a elbow injury against South Carolina.

UMass does get four new defensive linemen for 2017. Domenico Cipriani, Sharif Saleem and Charly Timite come off redshirt seasons. JUCO transfer DaVone Hall weighs 305 and could provide immediate help inside.

Charlie Timite was a 247Sports three-star recruit. Sharif Saleem was two stars. Cipriani was unrated by recruiting services.

The Minutemen brought in five defensive linemen for 2017 and Alex Piechocki and DaVone Hall were in for the Spring semester. Two-star 2017 recruits Hunter Brown, Jake Byczko and  Caeleb Washington are probably looking at a redshirt year.

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UMass Football News--August 14th, 2018

Josh Walfish has lessons learned during the first two week of UMass' Fall camp.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a defensive front seven position review.

Mike points out several UMass DL, three in fact, are over 300 pounds. DaVonn Hall, Chris DiTommasso and Mario Patton are all over 300.

The latest version of the roster also lists Almost Titi 6-3 275 and Burnis Brown 6-1 295. The Minutemen should have at least seven DL who could play.

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The UMass Twitter feed has video on new players in the special team units.

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Underdog Dynasty thinks UMass is optimistic about playing in a bowl.

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Every UMass home game will be live streamed by Flo Football.

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Excel Sports Academy looks to develop football talent in Western Mass.

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Duquesne Football has a video report from the Dukes first two weeks of camp.

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HERO Sports says Ohio's Nathan Rouke is the best player wearing #12 in the country. Includes a video snip of him playing against UMass.

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UMass Football News--March 28th, 2018

Matty Vautour reports the young UMass defensive line is coming together this Spring.

Matty reports the starting DL looks like:

Joe Previte RSSR 6-2 265. Started all 12 games in 2017. Totaled 10 UT 15 AT 25 TT 3 TFL 1 FR

Leon Flanagan, Jr  JR 6-2 220. 9 GP 0 GS 9 UT 7 AT 16 TT 3 TFL 1 BKUP 1 INT

Jake Byczo SO 6-3 250 12 GP 0 GS 6 UT 17 AT 23 TT 2.0 TFL

Chris DiTommaso SO 6-4 275 Redshirt in 2017

For reserves:

Mario Patton RSJR 6-1 315 11 GP 0 GS 2 UT 6 AT 8 TT 2 BKUP

Also on the Spring roster are:

Zack Loane SO 5-11 240 Redshirted in 2017

Basit Dennis RSSR 6-1 270 1 GP 0 GS in 2017

Davone Hall, SR RSSR  6-3 325 DNP in 2017

Alex Piechocki SO 6-5 255 Redshirted in 2017

Caleb Washington, 6-1 250 Redshirted in 2017

Charlie Timite RSSO 6-3 275 12 GP 0 GS 5 UT 5 AT 10 TT 1 TFL.

In the 2018 recruiting class are:

Uchenna Ezewike 6-2 220

Shannon Junior 6-3 210

Arnold Mbembe 6-6 240

Timothy Moulton 6-3 240

For 2018, the Minutemen defensive line looks light by FBS standards. Leon Flanagan will probably be the rush DE. Let's hope they're all fast and highly motivated...

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Old Dominion gets their best WR back from a season-ending injury during the UMass game last year.

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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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UMass Football News--August 22nd 2017

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UMass has their game notes for Hawaii up.

So does Hawaii.

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Matty Vautour reports the UMass defense looks to create more turnovers. He also has a projected two-deep for the defense.

Matty also reports that Sha-Ki Holines DT 6-4 265 will be be a game-time decision. Mario Patton 6-1 315 will back him up.

He wrote:" If the Minutemen start the lineup revealed on the depth chart, they’ll have four players making their first UMass starts — Sadiq Palmer (wide receiver), Malik Lee (fullback), Bryton Barr (linebacker) and Tyler Hayes (safety)."

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GMS Sprots previews the UMass-Hawaii game and predicts the Warriors over the Minutemen 34-30.

Sports Chat Place previews the Hawaii game and predicts a UMass victory.

A Crestview News-Bulletin writer picks the UMass-Hawaill "to be over in minutes" and the Warriors by 18.

Hawaii flies to Massachusetts today.

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A Fan Sided Tennessee writer looks at the Vols opponents and concludes UMass is "basically a FCS team"

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Mississippi State has a story with GIF's for each Bulldogs opponent.

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T.J. Sharpe is back healthy and practicing with Titians.

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Former UMass coach Dave Sollazo isn't wasting any time as new head coach at Naugatuck High School. (fixed link)

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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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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.

Game Day Duquesne--2018

All right, here we go for 2018. We've all been waiting a long time to see players in Maroon & White running around McGuirk.

I still think UMass will play a reduced package today. We'll save the line stunts and five wide receivers for Boston College.

I do want to see Kyle Horn, Travis Reynolds and Taylor Edwards catch some passes. The TE has always been a significant part of Whipple's offense. We'll see what happens today.

I want to see George Georgopoulos punt. Kicking has been such a thorn in our side a four-year flip-the-field punter would be wonderful. I want to see Cooper Garcia or Mike Caggiano kick in a game situation. Last year we started 0-4 and didn't make a field goal until the Ohio game half way through the season.

I want to see the new defensive line be active. Jake Byczko, Joe Previte, Mario Patton and Leon Flanagan should be able to control the line of scrimmage against a FCS team.

2018 will be my 42nd consecutive year with UMass football season tickets. Hope it's one to remember.

Go UMass!

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The game is available on NESN+, which is available from Xfinity. NESN channel finder for New England.

The Berkshire Eagle says UMass opens its home slate with a game against Duquesne.

Josh Walfish reports UMass hopes to shine in national spotlight.

The Boston Herald has three things to watch for in today's game against the Dukes.

Duquesne is set for the first of two FBS showdowns.

Fan Sided previews the Minutemen-Dukes game and predicts UMass by eleven.

Sports Illustrated previews Week 0's games.

Fan Buzz predicts UMass by four.

Fan Sided predicts the Minutemen by 19.

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