Thursday--August 27th, 2015

Dan Malone has five questions with Australian recruit Travis Reynolds. There are a lot of good athletes down under. With Rodney Mills graduating this year, the TE position should be totally open in 2016. Reynolds has the size and athleticism to be a contender for a starting position.

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Dan also has a story on Shane Huber looking to get back on the field. Huber and Jovan Santos-Knox should give the Minutemen a strong up-the-middle in a 3-4 defense. Our front seven on defense has probably been our weakest area since the move to FBS. That's starting to change. It's got to change as we transition to an independent schedule. Now if UMass can get some pass rush off the edges...

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Dan also has a picture gallery from Wednesday's practice.

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Rodney Mills

Speaking of the TE position, Matty Vautour has a post about Rodney Mills and Logan Laurent.

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Hustle Belt continues its Top Seventy MAC players countdown with #8 Blake Frohnapfel.

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Collegian writer Anthony Chiusano has an article on the Minutemen linebackers.

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ABC Sports has six teams coming off a bad season that have a chance to go bowling: one of them is UMass. What a difference one year with coach Whipple makes.

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Mile High Sports says the Colorado Buffs should be happy with six wins and they include UMass in that category.

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The Indy Star reports Ball State has reasons for optimism.

MLive says it's time for Western Michigan to win big.

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College football starts this Saturday with North Dakota State vs Montana.

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Recruiting 2011--Rodney Mills

Under Armour image

Matty V. reports UMass has signed Rodney Mills, 6-2 210 pd LB/S from Gainesville, FL.

This article features Mills signing with UMass.

Another article about his signing with the Minutemen here.

Mills' Under Armour combine page here.

Recruiting 2011--Rodney Mills

UMass is interested in Rodney Mills a 6-0 200 pd WR from Eastside HS in Gainesville, FL.

His Scout.com page is here.

A Q&A session with him is here.

Mills has interest from some SEC schools as well a University of Miami, Western Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee State.

Image by Scout.com

Recruiting 2012--Rodney Mills III

Jeff Thomas reports that Rodney Mills has re-verbaled to UMass after taking a year in prep school.

I've blogged about Mills before.

Monday--October 12th, 2015

If you missed the offensive totals from Saturday's game it was 725 (school record for Bowling Green) and 516 for UMass. Total 1,231 yards.

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Rodney Mills stock is up, but that was about it for the Bowling Green game.

Dan Malone says the Minutemen defense hit a new low.

UMass opens as a five point favorite for homecoming. 

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Temple, Bowling Green and Notre Dame open as favorites and Colorado and FIU as underdogs.

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Matty Vautour has a post on the return of Rodney Mills. He also mentions James Oliphant and Dan Jonah scored their first TD of the season. Mrs Blog and I talked with Jonah's parents at rest stop out in Ohio on the way back from Notre Dame. His folks noticed my "UMass Football' sticker on my truck and came over to say "Hi". Nice people.

Jonah also played baseball for UMass.

Khary Bailey-Smith was the last UMass player to return a kickoff for a TD. He ran it back 93 yards against Miami (Ohio) on 10/4/14. Oliphant's return was the 7th longest in Minutemen history.

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Kent State's only points against Toledo was a recovered errant snap in the endzone as the Golden Flashes lost by 31.

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All the scores and stats from Saturday's MAC conference games.

Toledo jumps to #22 in the AP poll.

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James Ihedigbo says the Lions are the worst he's seen.

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Thrusday-- October 9th, 2014

The Next home game will be at Gillette and and it'll be UMass Band Day. Nearly a 100 Northeast HS bands will join the UMMB for a 3:00 PM kickoff. That should be a hoot. Even for Band Day nearly 100 bands should be some kind of record.

The Band Day page from UMMB's site. The UMMB put on their best performance of the season on Homecoming, so I'm looking forward to what they do next.

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UMass has its game notes up for the Kent State game.

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Dan Malone has his MAC power ratings after last week's results.

He also reports Trey Dudley-Giles and Rodney Mills are expected to return to practice. Mills has been a big beneficiary of Whipple's new offense. This year, Mills has gone 13-244 18.8 AVE (highest on team) 5 TD's (Also highest) 60 LONG and 40.7 ave/game.

Last year Mills played in all 12 games and totaled 5-47 9.4 AVE 25 LONG 3.9 ave/game

Dan has three up and three down from the Miami (Ohio) game.

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The Press-Herald say Andrew Libby is getting playing time for UMass and enjoying every moment of it.

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The MAC Blog Hustle Belt has a podcast featuring Dan Malone and talks UMass football.

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Matty Vautour also has UMass updates and some material on Kent States quarterback injuries. Matty also reports John Griffin has been signed by the Omaha Mammoths, a new semi-pro league.

Griffin also spent some time with the NY Jets.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports the Minutemen will face uncertainty this weekend against the Golden Flashes.

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After a 1-4 start, Ball State makes a change in QB.

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Wednesday--January 14th, 2015

UMass confirms that Jean Sifrin will declare for the NFL draft.

Dan Malone has an article on Sifrin.

MassLive has video highlights of his one-year career with UMass.

Matty V. also has a post on Sifrin leaving.

WWLP-22 has an article on Sifrin.

Sifrin #87/Mills # 33

Sifrin totaled 11-9 GP-GS 42-642 15.3 AVE 6 TD 76 LONG 58.4 AVE/Game. As Matty V. says in his article, his replacement in the receiver hierarchy will probably be Rodney Mills.

Mills does not have the NFL size of Sifrin, but as long as he is as productive, the Minutemen won't suffer. Mills went 12-7 GP-GS 30-489 16.3 AVE 5 TD's 72 LONG 40.8 AVE/Game.

The Blog hopes that Sifrin would return to UMass after (or during) the NFL and finish his degree. A number of former UMass players have done just that.

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UConn's last home game on December 6th against SMU drew 5,300 at Rentschler field.

UConn averaged 27,576 and BC averaged 34,270 home attendance in 2014, another reason that the three New England schools should play each other every year.

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Bleacher Report ranks the MAC conference #11 after the bowl season.

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A mid-December early signing period could be on the horizon.

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AZ.com ranks Notre Dame #22 in pre-season 2015. If the Irish find a QB, they could be top-ten material next year.

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Friday--April 3rd, 2015

UMass has a offensive line drills video up.

Some offensive line changes in the Spring roster.

Femi Oyewole RS SO 6-1 255 is now listed as a DL

Two linemen from the fall are not on the Spring roster:

Sam Zeff RS FR 6-5 288
Rich Queen RS FR 6-3 285

Mike Tice says if the offense is a car, then the offensive line is the engine.

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Mills #33

Matty Vautour features Rodney Mills.

Last year Mills went 12-7 GP-GS 30-489 5 TD's 16.3 AVE 72 LONG 40.8 yrds/game. He was third in receptions for 2014.

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RotoWorld says Jean Sifrin will visit the Dolphins before NFL Draft day.

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The College Football playoff committee will keep weekly rankings in 2015.

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Football Scoop has who wears what in college football. Lists all the MAC teams.

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Monday December 19, 2011

There is a dearth of football news on the wires this morning, so let's look at recruiting.

In February of 2011, UMass announced 24 recruits. Four of the 24 Derek Beck, John McGrath, Jamal Wilson and Ryan Campbell, ultimately did not appear on the 2011 roster.

Five of the surviving rectuits were defensive players: Iric Harris DB, Randell Jette DB, Quayshun Smith DB, Greg Hilliard LB, and Kyle Morgan DL.

There were fourteen offensive players and a kicker.

Right now ESPN reports we have three commits all on offense.

• Joseph Jones RB.
• A.J. Doyle QB
• Rodney Mills WR

 ESPN gives Jones and Doyle two stars. Mills is NR. I realize the recruiting services ratings can be bogus, but they can give some insight in a macro sense.

ESPN lists the following totals for the MAC East

Ohio (11-4) commits: 11 players, one three star, 6 two star

Temple (10-4) commits: 30 players, 4 three star, 13 two stars, 2 one stars

Kent State (5-7) commits: 16 players, 4 three star, 7 two stars, 1 one star

Bowling Green (5-7) commits: 15 players, 6 three stars, 3 two stars, 1 one star

Miami of Ohio (4-8) commits: 16 players, 3 three stars, 9 two stars.

Buffalo (3-9) commits: 13 players, 2 three stars, 10 two stars, 1 one star

Akron (1-11 and currently no HC) commits: 6 players, 1 three star, 1 two star.

Coach Molnar has some work to do. Eventually, UMass is going to need some defensive players.

Recruiting 2011--Donald Buie

UMass is recruiting Donald Buie a 6-0 175 pd safety from Gainesville FL.

His Scout.com page here.

2010 highlight film here.

Teammate of Rodney Mills, I've already blogged about Mills.

Buie holds an offer from Wofford. He has interest from a number of FBS schools including Florida, Florida State, Marshall, Georgia and others.

Tuesday--August 26th, 2014

I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get excited---and nervous. I want to see UMass do well.

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Two articles on the Minutemen's first official two deep: Dan Malone and Matty Vautour.

I'd take the two-deep with several grains of salt. I doubt UMass would break true freshman J. T. Blyden's redshirt just to return kicks. Ryan Johnson, Jean Sifrin and Shane Huber could start later in the season.

QB- Blake Frohnaple, A.J. Doyle

Austin Whipple would be the 3rd QB

RB- Jamal Wilson, Lorenzo Woodley
FB-Rodney Mills, Daquan Mack

Mills at 6-1 215 would likely be another receiver out of the backfield

WR- Tajae Sharpe, Shakur Nesmith
WR -Jalen Williams, Alex Kenney

Marken Michel will also see a lot of snaps

TE: Brandon Howard, Jon Denton

LT-Tyrell Smith, Tyshon Henderson
LG-Fabian Hoeller, Michael Boland
C-Matt Sparks, Rich Queen
RG-Josh Bruns, Lucas Kolter
RT-Elijah Wilkinson, Cameron Mock

Hoeller would probably backup Sparks. Henderson will probably back up both tackle spots.

Defense

DE-Peter Angeh, Enock Asante
NT-Robert Kitching, Daniel Maynes
DT -Sha-Ki Holines, Leo Krizanovic


OLB -Kessan Messiah, Lucas Amato
ILB-Stanley Andre, John Robinson Woodgett
ILB-Jovan Santos-Knox, Steve Casali
OLB-Trey Seals, DaSean Downey

Along with WR's, this is a deep unit.

CB-Randall Jette, Iric Harris
S-Joe Colton, Khary Bailey-Smith
S-Trey Dudley-Giles, Zeke Edmonds
CB-Jackson Porter, Jesse Monteiro

Monteiro would probably be the nickle back. Edmonds, a true freshman, has had a good camp.

Special Teams

K-Blake Lucas, Matthew Wylie
P-Brian McDonald, Logan Laurent
LS-Nick Berus, Emmett Odegard
H-Blake Frohnapfel
KR-Trey Dudley-Giles, J.T. Blyden
PR-Trey Dudley-Giles, Bernard Davis

Five freshmen in the two-deep. Seventeen new starters.

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Matty Vautour also has 2014 may be the most important season in UMass history. Just remember opening with four BCS teams does not really measure the progress UMass has made.

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UMass is picked last in the MAC preseason coach's poll.

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BC loses LB Tim Joy for the season. Always hate to see a player get hurt.

The Boston Herald says mystery awaits the Eagles in their opening game.

A writer on BC Interruption predicts Boston College's season.

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Another game Saturday with interest by UMass fans:

Idaho plays at Florida.

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Wednesday--October 7th, 2015

Bowling Green has their game notes for UMass up.

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On the way back from the Falcons win at Buffalo, Coach Dino Barbers and an athletic trainer helped rescue a woman from a burning car.

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UMass rises in Dan Malone's MAC power rankings.

Dan has Mark Whipple's scouting report on Bowling Green.

Dan reports Robert Kitching and Rodney Mills may be able to play against Bowling Green and Tajae Sharpe was ECAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week.

#1 Tajae Sharpe

UMass' post on Sharpe being honored.

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Bowling Green's defense says they have room to improve.

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The FIU student newspaper reports on the Panthers loss to UMass.

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Matty Vautour says red-zone production will be critical against the Falcons.

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Marken Michel is turning into a reliable connection for the Minutemen says the UMass Daily Collegian.

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Tom Gilson, a former UMass player has signed a two-year contract with the Los Angles arena football team.

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Julian Talley worked out for the Chicago Bears.

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Iowa coach Kirk Frenentz talks about Hawkeye LB coach Jim Reid and UMass.

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Victor Cruz wonders when the setbacks will end.

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Friday--June 12th, 2015

I've linked to Phil Steele's % of tackles returning, % of offensive yards returning and % of lettermen returning.

Today I thought I'd take a look at MAC returning starters. Figures from the Athlon Sports 2015 College Football magazine

Offense:

3 Miami (Ohio)
4 Akron, Toledo
5 Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan
6 Buffalo, Northern Illinois
7 Kent State
9 UMass, Ohio, Western Michigan
10 Bowling Green, Ball State

Note on UMass: the Minutemen return 10 starters from the end of season two-deep, if you consider Shadrach Abrokah as the starter. I would consider the TB position as the top up-for-grabs position in Summer camp. Whipple could keep Rodney Mills as H-Back or move him to TE. I think he'll do the former unless he thinks there is really no production available from other candidates for TE. Back while I was away, Dan Malone's report on the Spring Game said Lorenzo Woodley's stock was up and TE's were down.

Defense:

3 Buffalo
5 Bowling Green, Central Michigan
6 Akron (five Power Five transfers coming in)
7 Kent State, Western Michigan, Ohio, Ball State, Eastern Michigan
8 Miami (Ohio) Northern Illinois, Toledo
9 UMass

Bonus:

Colorado 6 Offense-9 defense
Florida International 6 offense-8 defense
Temple 7 offense-10 defense
Notre Dame 7 offense 10 defense

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The Mississippi State Blog "For whom the cowbell Tolls" says the Bulldog's series with UMass makes sense.

BTW, I haven't mentioned that Mississippi State fans are the only fans with a dispensation making ringing cowbells legal.

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The CT Post says Syracuse or BC should be UConn's big rivals.

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This article about Chip Kelly mentions former UMass assistant coach Bill McGovern (1987-90, 1992-93) and UMass.

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Football Schedules has a downloadable .pdf MAC helmet schedule here.

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Saturday-- April 4th, 2015

UMass has a new Spring practice video: competition in the backfield. It's not posted on YouTube, so I can't embed it in the blog.

As we've talked about a number of times, most pundits talk about Whipple's vertical passing game, but his offense usually allows big rushing numbers too. Last year, UMass never really got on track. The Minutemen averaged 109.3 yards/game rushing. Opponents averaged 191.8.

Part of the problem was only Shadrach Abrokwah was able to stay healthy. Jamal Wilson averaged 4.4 yards a carry and that was during the Power Five section of our schedule. Lorenzo Woodley and J. T. Blyden showed flashes, but were not consistent. Probably the statistic that shows the lack of flash in the UMass running game was longest carry:

• Abrokwah 24 yards
• Woodley 43 yards
• Blyden 18 yards
• Wilson 11 yards

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Dan Malone has a feature on Rodney Mills, the Swiss army knife of the Minutemen offense.

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Andrew Chuma, the son of former UMass player Mike Chuma (1979, 1980, 1981) signed a letter of intent to Lafayette.

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The Detroit Free Press says Western Michigan is tearing up recruiting.

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The new College Football Hall-of-Fame opens in Atlanta.

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Thursday--October 16th, 2014

Dan Malone reports on Whipple's comments regarding saving A.J.Doyle's redshirt year. Doyle played as a true freshman. Austin Whipple already burned his redshirt year at Penn State.

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The UMass Daily Collegian looks at the coverage Minuteman WR Tajae Sharpe drew at Kent State. Unlike last year when the Minutemen's offense was Sharpe and Blanchflower and not much else, this year Frohnapfel has a flock of receivers. By my count 16 different players have caught passes this year. Sharpe, Jean Sifrin, Marken Michel, Rodney Mills, and Jalen Williams all have double digit catches. Alex Kenney has 9, but is averaging 19.2 yards/catch.For the first time since we moved to FBS, we have players that other teams have to game plan to contain.

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The Collegian also looks at UMass' plans to try to contain dual-threat EMU QB Reggie Belle, Jr.

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The Eastern Echo says the Eagles are eager to continue the second half their season the same way the first half ended.

Reggie Bell was named to the Manning Award Star-of-the-Week list for his performance against Buffalo.

EMU's helmet design through the ages.

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Max Moore of Hustle Belt looks at the Minutemen's first win.

Jesse Allen and Alex Alvarado talk smack about the Eagles-Minutemen game.

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Brandon London pulls in a TD as the Larks crushed the Roughriders.

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Check out this story from Football Scoop on Kentucky's new football training facility. Man, the outside looks different, but the inside is a clone of UMass' performance center. I mean exactly, like the performance center.

Quote from the article:"It’s scary to think the type of recruits Mark Stoops and his staff will be able to pull in once this is finished."

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The Buffalo Bulls try to keep focus on the remainder of the 2014 season after the firing of HC Jeff Quinn.

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The NY Daily News says Victor Cruz can become a source of inspiration for the G-Men.

Tom Coughlin "absolutely" believes Cruz will return as a top receiver.

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Sunday--October 18th, 2015

Well, we knew the predictions for a 6-6 season were razor thin. Basically, UMass needed to fix the flaws in the 2014 team. The kicking and punting game. The running game. The Minutemen needed to fill the hole left when Jean Sifrin declared for the NFL Draft. And we needed to stay healthy, because we have little depth, especially on defense.

The punting game is better and Rodney Mills is a good second receiver when healthy. The other goals are not happening so far. Marquis Young needs to be the starting TB. He just has more pop than anyone else. I know he's fumbled, but we need his rushing production.

There was a great crowd for the game and walking around before the contest felt like some of the big time schools Mrs Blog and I have visited. The fans want to support the team. We just need to win to make it happen.

I left early. I've had season tickets continuously since 1976. Probably missed less than ten home games in that period. Most of the ten or so were due to various relatives who selfishly scheduled their funerals on a Saturday. My protests that Aunt Martha would have wanted me to go to the game usually didn't cut any ice with Mrs. Blog.

I left early because it was my class reunion was being held that evening. The highlight of the reunion was a video address to the gathering by one of my classmates. He has ALS. This was a man who ran in the New York and London Marathons. He is now totally paralyzed except for his eyelids. Using his computer, he game a rousing speech to the class. He finds meaning in life and he's not going to quit. It was inspiring.

Nuthin' is easy. It was still a good week for UMass football with A.D. Ryan Bamford scheduling those future games against UConn and BC. See you at Gillette next Saturday.

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UMass' writeup on the game.

Matty Vautour says the offense sputtered.

He also comments on how the big tailgate boosted Amherst businesses. Again, when Mrs Blog and I went to Notre Dame, we payed $209/night to stay 15 miles away from South Bend. Indiana makes tons of $$ of the sales tax, room tax, taxes the various businesses pay. If we had 30% of that, Massachusetts would be solidly in the black concerning the expenditures on UMass football.

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Dan Malone reports on UMass dropping to 1-5.

Mark Whipple says the UMass offensive plan wasn't good. Kent State leads the MAC in just about every defensive category. What Ball State is to offense, the Golden Flashes are on defense.

Blake Frohnapfel and Jovan Santos-Knox talk about staying positive.

Dan asks if anything positive came out of the defeat.

Frohnapfel explains his safety.

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Lots of blowouts in MAC conference games yesterday. Note the margin of victory of Bowling Green over Akron.

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Saturday--April 13, 2013

Matty V. has a story about UMass tight ends. Featured is Rob Blanchflower.

Dave Roback/MassLive image

Blanchflower will one of the UMass captains this year. He went 43-464 10.8 AVE 2 TD 27 Long in 2012.

Good news is the return of Brandon Howard, RSSO 6-5 250.

Also in the mix will be Derek Beck, SO 6-4 205. Beck had 3-20 6.7 AVE 20 LONG.

Rodney Mills, 6-1 205 will get some reps as well as playing WR and FB.

True Freshman Sharif Custis, 6-3 215 is listed as a TE/H-back. From the UMass signing page: "As a senior, was an All-Catholic League Class AA First Team Selection ... Named to the Philadelphia Inquirer All-Southeastern PA Second Team ... Earned "Top Tight End" honors at the 2012 Nike SPARQS Football Combine ... In 2012, had 11 receptions for 289 yards and 7 touchdowns ... Also held offers from Stony Brook and Temple ... Older brother Kadeem played defensive end for Temple from 2009-12."

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UMass Football Clinic for Kids today at Gillette Stadium!!

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The UMass Radio Team (again) won the Associated Press award for MA & RI college football broadcast for the UMass-Ohio game on 09/29/12.

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A Nevada Blog has a story about former UMass OL coach Ron Hudson.

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Around the MAC:

Paul Haynes has Kent State in position to succeed.

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Breaking down a college QB's pre-snap reads.

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Monday--February 1st, 2016

Catching up on non-recruiting news.

UMass adds former UMass players Matt Dawson and Scott Woodward to the staff.

UMass post on Dawson's appointment here. Matty Vautour has a story about the new coaches and coaching position changes here.

Dan Malone has a longer report on the additions.

NBC Sports has a story about coaching additions at UMass and Hawaii.

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The latest iteration of the Spring football roster has the new coaches plus the early enrolled players.

Numbers available:

1--ex Tajae Sharpe & Kelton Brackett
3--ex Kassan Messiah
4--ex Randall Jette
6--ex Jamal Wilson
7--ex Blake Frohnapfel
9-ex Trey Dudley-Giles
10--ex Marken Michel
15--ex A.J. Doyle
16--ex Elgin Long
17--ex Jovan Santos-Knox
20--ex Lorenzo Woodley
22-ex Shadrach Abrokwah
23--ex Blake Lucas
25--ex Joe Colton
33--ex Rodney Mills
54--ex Trey Seals
55-ex Josh Bruns
62--ex Zach Belcher
64--ex Al Leneus
70--ex Ryan Johnson
77--ex Tyrell Smith
78--ex Matt Sparks
88--ex Bernard Davis
91--ex Chris Carter
92--ex Robert Kitching III

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Former UMass player and coach Clarence Brooks has been battling esophageal cancer.

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The Detroit Free Press has a story on why colleges and recruits play musical chairs.

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For the nth time, there is going to be a new start-up spring  pro football league.

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Friday, January 2nd, 2015

Matty Vautour says sources from the UMass program believe Jean Sifrin will declare for the NFL Draft.

Sifrin, at 27 years old, is probably wise to declare. I think he'd get more money after a bowl game, but there's always the chance of injury. If he's drafted, then it's a good trade off. A free agent contract would be less (a lot less) financially rewarding.

Rodney Mills would be Sifrin's probable replacement at TE.

Other TE's on the roster (class is for 2015):

Sharif Custis RSSO 6-3 210 DNP in 2014
Jon Denton SR 6-6 260 12 games played in 2014. No catches
Jordan Fiske RSFR 6-3 225 DNP in 2014
Brandon Howard RSSO 6-5 250 12 games played,4 catches for 57 yards and two kickoff returns
Jon Lucier RSFR 6-6 215 DNP in 2014
Todd Stafford RSSO 6-7 261 1 game played in 2014

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Matty also reports grayshirts Randall West and Lamarriel Taylor will join the Minutemen for the Spring Semester.

Randall West 6-4 220 spent the fall rehabbing a torn ACL suffered late in Senior season. By no being on campus this fall, he saved a redshirt season. West played against top competition in North Jersey, so he could be a force at QB. He's another reason to go to the Spring game.

Lamarriel Taylor 6-3 185 had 72 catches for 1,516 yards and 23 TD's for Mission Bay HS in CA. He should also prosper in Whipple's vertical passing game. Taylor was a two-star recruit on 247Spots.

YouTube interview of Taylor from 2013. Hudl.com has senior season highlights.

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The Blog's sister lives in Eugene, OR. She relates that Eugene passed an ordinance banning fireworks except for the Fourth of July and New Years. I'll bet it was noisy in Eugene last night.

NBC also reports the playoffs are a financial bonanza for the Power Five conferences.

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OT, but NBC Sports predicts the NIT for UMass hoops.

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Wednesday--August 20th, 2014

The results for the "Away" uniforms poll were interesting. The top vote getter was maroon helmets, white jerseys and maroon pants. In the locker room they had a manikin with white helmet, white jersey and maroon pants. I voted for all white myself. The least favorite combination was a maroon helmet and white jerseys and pants, which in my opinion, would make us look like Temple clones.

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UMass QB coach Liam Coen explains how Blake Frohnapfel won the QB contest.

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Video interview with Eric Frohnapfel, Blake's twin brother.

The Huntington Herald-Dispatch has a story about the Frohnapfel brothers.

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Dan Malone has five questions with three-star running back recruit J. T. Blyden. Blyden's UMass bio.

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Brandon Howard

Matty Vautour looks at the TE situation with two weeks to go before Boston College. Right now the depth chart looks like:

1. Brandon Howard RSJR 6-5 250 GP 12 4-55 13.8 AVE 20 LONG
2. Rodney Mills Jr 6-1 215 GP/GS 12/4 5-47 9.4 AVE 25 LONG also had 6 TT on special teams.

Also in the mix are Jon Denton, JR 6-6 260, who probably will see a lot of action. Sharif Custis RSFR 6-3 210 and QB-turned-TE Tod Stafford 6-7 261.

Still waiting for academic clearance is Jean Sirfin, JR 6-7 250.

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The Orlando Sentinel previews the 2014 Minutemen.

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Cleveland.com says the Bowling Green Falcons are looking for a MAC champion repeat.

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The Penn State band, which will be performing with the UMass Band on September 20th, has a tradition canceled.

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Vavel.com looks at the 2014 Buffalo Bulls and predicts a win over UMass.

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BC Interruption discusses trap games for the Eagles and mentions UMass and its 42-man fan base.

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Hustle Belt says there's a lot to be concerned about with the MAC's new deal with ESPN.

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The NFL expands practice squads from 8 to 10 players.

Speaking of the NFL, I'm glad I'm a college football fan. The new penalty rules have made NFL games unwatchable. The Giants-Colts game had nearly 30 penalties. Other preseason game have had similar totals. 

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Julian Talley continues to make plays in the Giants training camp.

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