Recruiting 2017--Melvin Hill verbals to UMass

Melvin Hill, a 6-3 195 pound WR from Baker HS in Alabama has Tweeted he's accepted a UMass offer to play in Amherst.

I did a pretty extensive blog post on Hill back on November 25th.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post about Hill and some quotes from him about joining UMass.

Hill's commit brings UMass to four recruits for 2017.

UMass is currently #146 in 247Sports recruiting rankings.

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Recruiting 2017--Melvin Hill II

Mike Kittrell image

Back on December 2nd I blogged about Melvin Hill, a 6-3 195 pound WR from Alabama verbaling to UMass.

AL.com has an article featuring Hill's commitment to UMass.

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Recruiting 2017--Melvin Hill

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Melvin Hill, a 6-3 195 pound WR from Baker HS in Alabama has tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Alabama State high jump champion.

NCSA has some stats including a 41.5 inch vertical.

247Sports page here.

UMass is the first FBS offer for Hill. Drawing interest from Army, Tulane, South Alabama, Iowa State, Memphis and Middle Tennessee State.

UMass Football News--September 3rd, 2019

 UMass has their game notes up for Southern Illinois.

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Saluki HC Nick Hill looks ahead to the UMass game.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Rutgers game.

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The Boston Herald reports Coach Bell finds positives in the Minutemen's opening loss.

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UnderDop Dynasty says UMass and UConn should play twice a year.

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Young Minutemen. UMass had 16 out of 53 players at Rutgers who were playing their first ever game for the Minutemen. That's 30.1%. In addition, there were a number of players like Brian Abosi (two career appearances) and Melvin Hill (one career appearance) who had minimal playing time prior to Saturday.

Starters:

10-O.C. Johnson WR
35- Shannon Junior II BUCK
2-Jarvis Miller WILL
5-Donte Lindsey CB

 12-WALLACE, Josh, 1-BRITT, Jessie, 13-BOWE JR., James, 23-NESMITH, Michael, 4-DINGLE, Brennon,12-BRITO, Andrew, 16-JOHNSON, Josiah, 17-OGBONNA, Chinedu, 18-EDWARDS, Taylor, 19-EMILUS, Samuel,20-CHERRELUS, Claudin, 23-ROBERSON, Cam, 28-LEWIS, Justin, 30-CAGGIANO, Mike, 31-DARBY, Logan, 33-RUANE, Mike,34-BROWN, Kevin, 37-GARCIA, Cooper, 39-NARDI, Dante, 42-WOODEN, Billy, 54-WEIR, Johnathon, 55-FREDERIC, Wilson,60-MOULTON, Timothy, 67-TOMLISON, Dalton, 68-FAGUNDES, Helber, 73-DITOMMASO, Chris, 80-TURNER, Javon,82-HILL, Melvin, 88-GEORGOPOULOS, George, 90-DECKERS, Evan, 92-WASHINGTON, Caeleb

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UMass Football News--September 20th, 2021

 UMass is a 35.5 point underdog in the Vegas odds.

Sports Illustrated looks at the stats behind the odds.

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MassLive says UMass could not slow down the Eastern Michigan offense.

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Uh-Oh.

Did you see this post-game quote from Coach Bell about Kay'Ron Adams? 

"We’re down to one healthy scholarship running back and we don’t know if we’re going to get Kay’Ron Adams back." Does that mean for the season?

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Prior to the season I thought the wide receivers might be the shallowest unit on the team. The first game against Pitt seemed to bear that out.

However, since then I think the WR"s have performed really well. When Olson puts the ball on target, the WR's have made some nice catches.

Saturday, Olson connected with nine different receivers.

Melvin Hill caught 4 with a 45 yard TD. Hill's a good athlete; he had four special teams tackles in 2020.

Rico Arnold caught 6 for 58 yards. A good possession receiver really helps the offense.

Trey Pettway had 5 catches for 57 yards. He caught a couple over the middle in traffic that were Minutemen first downs.

Josiah Johnson had a nifty 29-yard TD contested catch. 

Besides an epic running effort Ellis Merriweather had two catches out of the backfield for 20 yards.

Eric Collins had two catches for 20 yards.

Onuma Dieke had one catch for 15 yards and a first down.

OC Johnson had one catch for 7 yards.

We also have high regarded Freshman WR Michael Fitzgerald who has two catches for the season.

The wide receiver room looks like it has a lot more talent than I thought going into the season. With UMass thin at RB, the Minutemen may have to rely more on the passing game.

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UMass Football News--February 15th, 2019

NJ.com image

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on JUCO recruit Javon Turner bringing track speed to the Minutemen.

The WR position is one unit UMass should be deep and talented for 2019.

UMass returns:

Sadiq Palmer --12-7 GP-GS 28-419 15.0 AVE 2 TD 38 LONG
Brenon Dingle-- 12-9 GP-GS 19-269 14.2 AVE 2 TD 37 LONG
Zak Simon-- 10-2 GP-GS 15-238 15.9 AVE 2 TD's 67 LONG
Samuel Emilus-- 6-1 GP-GS 15-212 14.1 AVE 4 TD's 23 LONG
Jessie Britt --4-0 GP-GS 11 118 10.7 AVE 1 TD 29 LONG.
Melvin Hill--RSFR DNP in 2018
Will Connery--SO DNP in 2018

2019 WR recruits in addition to Turner are:

Dariyan Wiley  FR
Jermain "OC" Johnson FR

I would think Palmer would start at the "X" position. Dingle and Brett would likely start also. Turner has three years to play two for the Minutemen. That should give him some flexibility to get his degree and game time.

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Liberty releases its 2019 schedule. The Flames play four Power Five teams and visit UMass between a home game with BYU and an away game at Arkansas.

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State College.com breaks down the transfer portal by the numbers.

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MassLive.com has fifteen  2019 NFL draft prospects for the Patriots. Isabella would be a good fit for the Pats. Both the coach and the QB know how to use a slot receiver. Many teams don't.

Draftwire.com has a conversation with "stud" WR Andy Isabella.

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UMass Football News--December 5th, 2017

Matty Vautour has an article about UMass football having an interesting off season.

He mentions the possibility that UMass defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham could get an offer from another staff. While UMass could not match a Power Five offer, the Minutemen currently do not have a "assistant head coach". UMass could offer him a raise or extension and the assistant head coach title. I would hope UMass could keep him. The two best wins of 2017, and they were the two best wins of the program in the FBS era, were Appalachian State and BYU. Both games were defensive gems.

Matty mentions the Minutemen will have six QB's on the roster if no one leaves. Andrew Ford has already said he's staying. Ross Comis, Randall West and JUCO Mike Curtis are currently on the roster. UMass adds Jake Pallotta and Josiah Johnson.

Matty says Whipple stated he's received some feelers about grad transfers and is looking at some JUCO's on defense and punter.

He mentions possible breakout players for 2018. Jordan Fredericks joins the running backs.

Chinedu Ogbonna and Jake Byczko will be available for the defensive line. Ogbonna played in eleven games in 2017 and Byczko in twelve. Byczko had 23 TT and three TFL. Ogbonna had 10 TT.

At linebacker, Mike Ruane and Cole McCubrey will complete for playing time. McCubrey had 14 TT and appeared in eleven games. Ruane appeared in ten and had one tackle.

Claudin Cherulis, Xavier Steele and Tyrus Lebeau will be available at Safety. Steele appeared in seven games and five TT. Cherulus and Lebeau redshirted.

Chris Hunt and Brian Roberts will join the cornerbacks.

Brian Abosi joins the offensive line.

Zak Simon, Silky Brown and Melvin Hill will join the receiving corps.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has a post about Whipple's extension.

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Saturday--April 15th, 2017

New banners are up at McGuirk.

Speaking of McGuirk, UMass 2017 schedule posters are supposed to be available at the Spring Game. This is not official, so we'll have to see when we get there.

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Matty Vautour has a post on UMass receivers Sadiq Palmer and Brennon Dingle. The 6-1 Palmer should be a lock at the "X" receiver. Speedy WR Andy Isabella could be the "Y" or the slot receiver.

One or more of the freshmen WR's could see action. Six foot three Patrick Volcy has been in for Spring ball. JUCO WR Jacoby Herring is 6-5 180 should see action right away. Other FR WR's are Athlete Jesse Britt, Jy'Von Brown and Melvin Hill.

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The American Sports Network has merged with two other media companies. This should be good news for the Group-of-Five sports programs who get mostly ignored by ESPN and other big broadcasters.

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The NCAA has approved an early signing period for college football recruiting and will now also allows coaches to recruit at player camps and clinics.

USA Today has a bullet-list of the changes for 2017 here.

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UMass Football Newws--April 3rd, 2018

Caroline O'Conner image

Matty Vautour has a post on UMass wide receivers with Spring Ball having about two weeks to go.

He mentions:

Andy Isabella SR 12-12 GP-GS 65-1020 (7th in single season receptions) 12 TD's 69 LONG 15.7 yards/catch

Jesse Britt SO 4-12 GP-GS 29-422 3 TD's 40 LONG 14.6 yards/catch

Brennon Dingle RSSO 4-12 GP-GS 21-330 4 TD's 43 LONG 15.7 yards/catch

Sadiq Palmer JR 11-12 GP-GS 35-518 1 TD 38 LONG 14.0 yards/catch

Silky Brown SO 5-0 GP-GS 1-7

Zack Simon RSFR Redshirted in 2017

Also on the roster:

Jacoby Herring SR 10-0 GP-GS 7-81 18 LONG 11.2 yards/catch

Jonathan Derolus RSJR DNP in 2017

Jovahn Tucker SO DNP in 2017

Patrick Volcy SO Redshirted in 2017

Melvin Hill SO Redshirted in 2017

Elijah Robinson RSSO DNP in 2017

Patrick O'Reilly, RSSO 5-0 GP-GS played special teams in 2017.

2018 WR recruits:

Samuel Emilus 6-1 200

Wide receivers seem to be the deepest and most talented skill unit on the 2018 Minutemen. I would speculate Isabella would be the "X" receiver, Britt as the "Y" and Palmer or Dingle as the slot receiver. All of them would be the four-wide.

The UMass single season team receiving record was in 1998 306-4050. In 2017 the Minutemen went 272-3570, so the all-time record could within reach in 2018.

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A Collegian writer mulls over the philosophy of cheerleading.

UMass Cheerleading's  Facebook page.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2017--Zac Simon

Press-Enterprise image

While I was away UMass added a significant recruit to the Minutemen's 2017 recruiting class.

Zac Simon, a 5-10 172 pound WR from Temecula Valley, CA verbaled to UMass.

His 247Sports page.

Mike Traini has a post on his signing with the Minutemen.

Max Preps has stats.

This article from January 2017 features Simon.

Hudl.com has video.

Simon chose UMass over Idaho, San Diego State and Wyoming.

Simon's verbal moved UMass out of the cellar in 247Sport Independent recruiting rankings. With Simon, UMass's 115.83 aggregate recruiting score would have placed UMass 9th in the MAC and 8th in average recruit ranking, 247Sports now have UMass as #106 nationally, but since they include number of recruits, the Minutemen's 78.89 average recruit power ranking would be higher. UMass is now solidly in the middle of Sun Belt and C-USA recruiting rankings.

Adding Simon gives UMass two three-star WR recruits along with JUCO Jacoby Herring.

UMass' 2017 WR recruits also include two-star Jesse Britt and Melvin Hill.

EDIT: Tuesday

I forgot the Minutemen will also add Patrick Volcy, a 2016 verbal to 2017's class. That will bring the total of new WR's this year to five.

Whipple's pro-set offense emphasizes quick strike down-the-field WR's. Simon could see some playing time this year as the Minutemen need to reload at the receiver position.

UMass Football News--July 20th, 2018

Andy Isabella has been named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts also has a post on Isabella being named to the Biletnikoff Watch list.

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The Minutemen wide receiver corps should be talented and deep. UMass out gained the opposition in receiving by 90 yards a game in 2017.

UMass 272-3570 13.1 AVE 26 TD's 297.5 yards/game

Opponents 194-2484 12.8 AVE 17 TD's 207.0 yards/game

Andy Isabella 12-2 GP-GS 65-1020 15.7 AVE 10 TD's 69 LONG 85.6 yards/game

Shadiq Palmer 12-10 GP-GS 35-518 14.8 AVE 1 TD 41 LONG 69.5 yards/game

Jesse Britt 12-4 29-422 14.6 AVE3 TD's 40 LONG 35.2 yards/game

Brennon Dingle 12-2 GP-GS 21-330 15.7 AVE 4 TD's 43 LONG 27.5 yyards/game

Jacoby Herring 10-0 GP-GS 7-81 11.6 AVE 0 TD 18 LONG 8.1 yards/game

"Silky" Brown 5-0 1-7 7 AVE 0 TD 1.4 yards/game

UMass also has:

Zac Simon RSFR Redshirted 2017

Jovahn Tucker SO DNP in 2017

Patrick Volcy SO Redshirted in 2017

Melvin Hill SO Redshirted in 2017

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The Boston Herald says BC's offense will be ready to roll in 2018.

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UMass Football News--August 6th, 2018

The Minutemen ran their first scrimmage of the Fall camp yesterday. The UMass website has an image gallery from the scrimmage.

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Not a lot of football news on the intertubes this morning. Mass Live has not done a UMass story in more than a month.

Lets look at the redshirt freshmen for 2018. If I counted right, UMass will have 18 RSFR available this year.

In the already crowded WR corps we have:

Zac Simon 5-10 180.

Jovohn Tucker 5-8 165

Patrick Volcy 6-2 210

Melvin Hill 6-2 195

One new TE becomes available.

Solomon Siskind 6-4 220

One RB.

Victor Santiago 5-9 165

Three offensive linemen.

Spencer Goldberg 6-2 280

Jaylen Larry 6-3 275

Brian Abosi 6-8 310

One LS

Harry Blair 6-3 205

One kicker

Evan Padilla 5-7 160

Seven defensive players become available:

One Safety

Claudin Cherrelus 6-1 210

Two CB's

Chris Hunt 6-0 185

Brian Roberts Jr 6-0 195

Four DL's

Chris DiTommaso 6-4 275

Zack Loan 5-11 240

Alex Piechocki 6-5 255

Caeleb Washington 6-1 250

Of the  offensive linemen Brian Abosi could make the two-deep. Maybe all of the defensive linemen might be in the rotation. Chris DiTommaso could start. The Safety position is pretty deep, but Claudin Cherrelus will get some reps.

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Thursday--February 2nd, 2017 The day after LOI Day

Dan Malone has a post on UMass' recruiting results from yesterday.

Dan also has a post on the recruiting rule change that allows a school to bring in a recruit's parents.

Matty Vautour has a story on the 2017 recruits.

Mike Traini has "What we learned on the 2017 National Signing Day".

Kyle Deluz of the UMass Daily Collegian has a post on the 2017 recruits.

The Boston Herald covers UMass' Signing Day.

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UMass OL recruit Brian Abosi is featured by Worcester Telegram.

No Group-of-Five team signed any of New Jersey's Top-50, but UMass grabbed two of the next group.

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Don Brown poached several top Connecticut recruits.

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MY TAKE ON THE 2017 RECRUITS

247Sports has the Minutemen's class at #108 out of 128. That would have put us 9th in the MAC and in the middle of most of the Group-of-Fives recruiting hauls.

Boston College signed 16 three-star recruits in their annual bottom-of-the-ACC ranking. So don't expect UMass to do much wining against Power Five squads.

The UMass defense finally receive a recruiting focus. Fourteen of the 22 recruits are on the defensive side of the ball. Six of the eight three-star players play defense. The Minutemen certainly strengthened their defensive backfield that was consistently beaten by Group-of-Five offenses. Three three-star linebackers should also help. The defensive line should also be deeper.

The Minutemen also filled a need at WR. Beyond Andy Isabella, UMass did not get a lot of production from their wide receivers. UMass added size with Jacoby Herring and Melvin Hill. Jesse Britt could help at slot receiver.

One thing that did not get fixed is UMass' #124 ranked rushing offense. The Minutemen only have two scholarship RB's and did not sign one yesterday. I would expect Whipple to add a RB in the Spring or before Fall camp. Both scholarship offensive linemen look to be projects.

All-in-all a solid FBS class. Eight three-star players is good for where we are now as an Independent. Adding a late three-star RB and maybe a OL fifth year transfer would push the class into the "very good' region.

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Sunday--November 23rd, 2014

UMass Athletic Dept image

Randall Jette in 2014 has gone 30 UT 22 AT 58 TT (fifth on the team) 0.5-0 TFL 4-49 INT (leads team) 14 BKUP 18 PD 1 FF. That's 3rd in the nation in passes defended per game.

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In the only MAC game yesterday, Ball State beat EMU 45-30.

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Monmouth QB Brandon Hill, a UMass transfer went 13-29 161 in his final collegiate game , a victory over Gardner Webb

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The Detroit Free Press reports James Ihedigbo learned his work ethic from his immigrant parent's time in Amherst.

Bill Belichick says James Ihedigbo is important to the Lions defense.

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UNH turned the ball over six times, but squeaked out a 20-12 win over Maine to win the CAA title yesterday.

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Ladainian Tomlinson's collegiate rushing single game record of 406 yards stood for 15 years---and now it's been broken two weeks in a row.

Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon could break Barry Sanders' single season NCAA rushing record.

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