Recruiting 2013--- Shane Huber II

Matty V reports that UMass has received its second three star verbal when Shane Huber committed to the Minutemen.

I've blogged about Huber before.

Huber will also be the second 2013 recruit to express interest in my old school, the Isenberg School of Management.

ESPN has already updated their UMass commitments page showing Huber's verbal.

MassLive.com also has a post about Huber.

Huber had offers from Navy, Temple and UCF.

Recruiting 2013-- Shane Huber

NSCA image

Matty V. reported Shane Huber, a 6-3 230-pound TE/LB/DE from Jersey City, NJ will visit UMass this weekend.

Huber's NCSA recruiting profile here.

Scout.com two-star player.

Rivals page here.

A question-and-answer session with Huber here.

Huber holds offers from Buffalo, Navy, Temple and UCF.

Tuesday--July 29th, 2014

Dan Malone continues his "Top-25 UMass players for 2014" series with a post about Shane Huber and Steve Casali.

Huber's UMass bio. Casali's UMass bio.

Lots of dynamics in play for these two UMass linebackers. One thing you couldn't fault about Charlie Molnar was his recruiting. Casali and Huber were highly rated members of Molnar's second recruiting class. They were expected to add speed and athleticism to a Minuteman front seven that badly needed both quantities.

I don' have images of either player because both DNP in the practice I attended or the Spring Game. Casali was injured early in the season and received a medical redshirt. Huber suffered a torn MCL and ACL late in the season. The conventional wisdom is that it takes a year to come back from torn ligaments. Keep in mind that college students usually don't have the five-hours-a-day rehab time that the pros do.

Unless there are some sort of complications, I would expect Casali to be ready to go by August 30th. Huber is another story. If he's not ready to go until late in the season, would UMass redshirt him? It would seem a waste to activate him for four games or so. OTOH, UMass needs wins. The conference affiliation clock is ticking. The Spring depth chart had Trey Seals listed as one the first unit's OLB's. Seals is really more of a stand-up DE kinda guy. If Casali is ready to go, I think he would be playing one OLB slot.

Shane Allen of Hustle Belt predicts Huber to have a breakout season in 2014.

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Dan also reviews the various college football publications and finds UMass is ranked last in MAC East in all of them.

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Hustle Belt previews Miami (Ohio), a team that is being ranked ahead of UMass despite going 0-12 in 2014.

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The Boston College blog "Soaring to Glory" looks at BC being tabbed as a 14.5 point favorite over UMass.

Speaking of BC, a Hampton Roads reporter ranks the ACC OOC schedules.

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A New Orleans sports writer thinks UMass has a shot at the AAC conference.

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The Sports Network previews the 2014 MAC.

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Steelers Depot reports Rob Blanchflower is doing well at blocking (scroll all the way to "final thoughts").

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Recruiting 2013 --- Shane Huber II

I've blogged about UMass verbal Shane Huber before.

Huber was just named HCIAL Red Division Defensive Player of the Year.

Help is on the way for the UMass LB corps. Huber is 6-3 230, which is FBS size.

Saturday--January 12, 2013 --Shane Huber recommits

Shane Huber has recommitted to UMass. Harry Plumer of MassLive has the story.

 Matty V. also has the story, but it's behind the paywall.

Huber is a good get for the program. He's listed as a three-star recruit by ESPN.

You made the correct decision Shane. One thing UMass has to offer is playing time. You'll play early and often with the Minutemen.

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Rant Sports says Northern Illinois will breeze through its 2013 schedule (including UMass).

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The MAC was ranked #2 for revenue distribution among the non-BCS leagues.

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A Bleacher Report writer thinks Vanderbilt's Austyn Carta-Samuels (who will be playing at Gillette in 2013) could be the next Johnny Manziel.

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How's this for a rumor--- Cincinnati and UConn to the Mountain West?

Because both schools are leaning towards the Catholic Seven in hoops?

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Recruiting 2013--- Shane Huber III

A post from XOfan about Shane Huber's verbal to the Minutemen.

Huber enjoyed the campus tour put on by UMass graduate assistant Ryan Gold.

Recruiting 2013--- Shane Huber III

Hudson Report has another mention of Shane Huber verbaling to UMass.

My previous posts on Huber.

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Recruiting 2013--Shane Huber

I've blogged about NJ linebacker Shane Huber a number of times in the past.

According to Scout.com via Matty, Huber decommited from UMass yesterday.

Harry Plumer of MassLive also has a post.

That drops UMass down to two three-star verbals.

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Recruiting 2016--Kolton Huber II

Braulio Perez image

I've blogged about Kolton Huber, a 6-1 200 pound WR from St. Peter's Prep in New Jersey before. He's the younger brother of Shane Huber.

He a 247Sports three-star player.

This article from NJ.com updates his recruiting. Note former UMass star E. J. Barthel is recruiting Huber for Rutgers.

Huber was the focus of this article from November of last year.

Huber holds offers from Syracuse, UConn, Kansas, Buffalo and UMass.

Wednesday before Louisiana Tech--October 12th, 2016

Image credit unknown

Matty Vautour has a report on the UMass injury situation. He reports Shane Huber is done for the season with an ACL injury. That's a shame both for Huber and for us. Huber was perhaps our best run-stopper. Steve Casali will take over making the defensive calls.

Whiple said Colburt Calhoun and Vondell Langston will see an increased work load. Whipple also mentioned Lucas Amato and Leon Flanagan may get some reps. Amato played in 20 games in 2015 and 2014. Flanagan is a true freshman.

Matty also reports Tedrick Lowery may return for the Louisiana Tech game. As I have mentioned before, I think Lowery was having an outstanding year before he was injured.

Matty has Whipple as non-committal on Ross Comis' status. At least he's not saying Comis is done for the year.

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Andrew Cyr of the UMass Daily Collegian has more on Huber's injury.

Mike Traini has a post on Huber.

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Louisiana Tech picks up a local QB recruit.

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The Virginia Pilot says ODU is defying preseason predictions.

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Former UMass foe Mississippi State and future 2016 opponent BYU play each other this weekend.

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Vladimir Ducasse has been signed by the Baltimore Ravens.

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The Tennessee Titans hope Tajae Sharpe has a breakout game against the Dolphins.

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UMass Football News--August 23rd, 2017

UMass will wear a helmet sticker to honor Michael Boland who passed away during the off season.

Matty Vautour reports on the revamped UMass offensive line and the rest of the offensive starters.

One goal for the offense is to run the ball better. UMass was #124 out of 128 teams in rushing offense in 2016. A good part of that came from playing five Power Five teams (not many Group-of-Five teams rack up big rushing totals against SEC teams), but UMass did not do much better against lesser competition. Whipple's FCS offense featured a strong running game to go with his down-the field passing. I think Marquis Young is a good RB, but he needs more room to operate. Did you see the latest two-deep chart? This year Ray Thomas-Ishman weighs 350, Lucas Kotler 315, Derek Dumais 330, Jake Largay 325 and Jack Driscoll 300. Looks like the OL beefed up. Of the ten OL in the two-deep only one weighs less than 300. Let's hope that translates into more holes for Young to run into.

Nearly all the Minutemen wins so far in FBS have been defensive grinds. The lone game where the UMass offense dominated was the 2015 game against Buffalo where Marquis Young ran for 240 yards. It would be beneficial if we could do more of that in 2017.

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Matty also reports Shane Huber is at peace with walking away from football.

Shane Huber's Twitter statement here.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass is getting ready for Hawaii.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald says the opening game will tell a lot about UMass and Hawaii.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the 2017 Minutemen schedule.

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Hawaii flies east for the UMass game and lands in ----- New York?

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Coastal Carolina transitions from Fall Camp to in-season play.

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The Dispatch previews the Mississippi State-UMass game.

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This article reports UMass will play FCS Southern Illinois in 2020. The currently listed UMass 2020 schedule is here.

Stephen Hewitt of the Boston Herald reports UMass is comfortable as an Independent.

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ESPN ranks UMass fans #117 in fan happiness. We're ahead of UConn and only 8 slots behind BC.

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BTW, this was the best image I took of the eclipse. The air was not very steady here. Note the sunspot group near the sun's equator. Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view.

Thursday--December 11th, 2014

Dan Malone and Andrew Cyr of the UMass Daily Collegian have a podcast recapping the 2014 UMass football season and look ahead to 2015.

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Dan continues his position review of the 2014 team, this time with linebackers.

The starters were:

Kessan Messiah JU GP-GS 11-9 24 UT 45 At 69 TT 5.5 TFL 3 SACK
Stanley Andre SR GP-GS 12-12 39 UT 89 AT 128 TT 3.5 TFL 1.0 SACK
Jovan Santos-Knox SO GP-GS  12-12 53 AT 90 AT 143 TT 8.5 TFL 2.0 INT (First team All-MAC)
Trey Seals RSJR GP-GS 9-9 13 UT 29 AT 42 TT 4.5 TFL 2.5 SACKS

In the rotation:

Da'Sean Downey FR GP-GS 12-5 16 UT 19 AT 35 TT
Steve Casali FSFR GP-GS 12-0 10 UT 12 AT 23 TT 0.5 TFL
Vondell Langston RSSO GP-GS 12-0 10 UT 10 AT 20 TT 1.5 TFL 0.5 SACK
John Robinson-Woodgett SO GP-GS 11-0 9 UT 14 AT 23 TT 1.5 TFL
Peter Ngobidi SO GP-GS 10-0 2 UT 6 AT 8 TT 1.0 TFL

Reserves:

Shane Huber SO Medical Redshirt
Andrew Ellis RSFR
Adam Richard SO
Michael McKenna JR
Jeremy Rodriguez

2015 Recruits

Teddy Adkins

In 2014 UMass finished 9th in rushing defense, 11th in total defense and 11th in sacks. The Minutemen were more competitive in more games this year, but lacked big plays by the defense. The Minutemen linebackers made a lot of tackles, however many were eight yards down the field. Jovan Santos-Knox is a leader and he doesn't like to loose. The linebacker corps just didn't make many impact plays. Opponents lost only five fumbles in 2014.

However, we lose only Andre to graduation. The return of Shane Huber should help. The rest of the linebacking squad should be bigger and stronger.

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Marshall fans are not happy to be playing NIU in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Herd's website defends...

CMU will receive $450,000 to play in the Bahamas Bowl.

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Sunday--September 11th, 2016

Well if it was a fight between the UMass offense and BC's defense, they would have stopped it. The Eagles were much more physical and overwhelmed the Minutemen offense all day. Ross Comis took an early borderline legal clothesline hit and was never the same. Comis went 11-28 for 145 yards, had 1 INT and fumbled twice.

UMass could not protect Comis and could not run the ball. When we did get a break, such as the interception by Shane Huber we went nowhere. Shakur Nesmith could not catch a nice pass late in the second half that would have flipped the field.

The defense made another strong effort. The Minutemen force nine punts by the Eagles, intercepted Towles once and held BC's running back Jon Hilliman to 54 yards (a 2.5 AVE). The UMass defense had 8 TFL. The majority of BC's rushing came when Towles was flushed out of the pocket.

Logan Laurant had another outstanding day as he helped the defense with a UMass record 547 punting yards and averaged 45.6 yards/punt. He also dropped four punts inside the BC twenty.

UMass needs to find some offense or it's going to be a long year. Some of the problem is the caliber of the opposition, but we need to improve bigtime.

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

The UMass website says the Minutemen were stymied.

Dan Malone says the offense struggled.

Mark Whipple breaks down Ross Comis' struggles.

Shane Huber said two defensive breakdowns contributed to BC's total.

Matty Vautour reports turnovers and the BC defense were too much for the Minutemen.

The Boston Herald reports BC bounced back and UMass faded.

The UMass Daily Collegian said the Minutemen fell flat.

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Florida pounded Kentucky 45-7. The Gators had 546 yards of offense.

Mississippi State stopped a seven game South Carolina win streak against the Bulldogs.

Tulane routed FCS Southern 66-21.

Appalachian State cruised to an easy win 31-7 over Old Dominion.

Louisiana Tech blew out FCS South Carolina State 53-24.

Wagner rolled over NAIA Concordia 38-0.

Troy played Clemson tough and lost 30-24.

BYU lost to Utah 20-19 in a game where two Cougar defenders were ejected for targeting.

After traveling 19,000 miles in their first two game, Hawaii beat UT Martin 41-36.

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UMass Football News--July 6th, 2017

Washington Valor image

Former UMass player Tracey Belton won the Arena Football league defensive player-of-the-week award.

Washington Valor press release.

This article features Belton.

Belton was the 2016 Arena Football Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

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The current UMass roster lists eleven LB's:

Jarell Addo #26 LB 6-0 190 RSJR DNP 2016
Bryton Barr #44 LB 6-0 225 RSJR Transfer from Towson
James Bowe, #13 LB 6-0 192 SO 11-0 GP-GS 12 UT 14 AT 26 TT
Colbert Calhoun #35 LB 5-11 219  SR 12-8 GP-GS 28 UT 30 AT 58 TT 4.0 TFL 1 PD 1 FF
Steve Casali #34 LB 6-1 236 RSSR12-12 GP-GS 47 UT 58 AT 105 TT 9.5 TFL 6 PD 1 FF 3 FR
Jake Froehlich #47 LB 6-1 245 RSSO Transfer from Oregon
Shane Huber #8 LB 6-3 237 RSSR 4-3 GP-GS 7 UT 13 AT 20 TT 2.5 TFL 2 PD
Tedrick Lowery #6 LB 6-0 221 SR 8-8 GP-GS 14 UT 23 AT 37 TT 2.0 TFL 2 PD 1 FR
Jeremy Rodriguez #49 LB 6-1 227 RSJR 12-0 GP-GS 3 UT 7 AT 10 TT
Mike Ruane #33 LB 6-0 227 FR Spring enrollee
Adam Tucker #58 LB 6-1 192 RSFR DNP 2016

Last year, new UMass defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham played a 4-3 defense at Western Michigan. I don't know if he'll do the same with the Minutemen.

In a 3-4 defense Steve Casali totaled 105 total tackles. He'll be a fixture in the 2017 defense.

Shane Huber is coming off a second knee injury. He was injured in the fourth game of the 2016 season. It usually takes about a year to recover from an ACL, so he may or may not be ready for the start of 2017. If healthy, he'll start as a senior.

Colbert Calhoun and Tedrick Lowery, both seniors had 16 starts between them. Both should see plenty of playing time.

Jake Froelich and Bryton Barr are both unknowns at this time. I would think Froelich would play inside and Barr outside.

With four senior linebackers, I would think the UMass coaching staff would like to reshirt 2017 recruit Mike Ruane.

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Wednesday--April 8th, 2015

Remember, today is the Football team's bone marrow registry drive.

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The UMass website has some sights and sounds from Spring practice (video).

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Matty Vautour features returning UMass LB Shane Huber. Huber's UMass bio. Good to hear Huber is ready to go after his knee injury. He's listed as 6-3 250 in the Spring roster. That's FBS size in a MLB.

Last year final depth chart had Jovan Santos-Knox (6-2 240) as one starter. Vondell Langston (6-2 220) and Steve Casali (6-2 232) as the reserves. John Robinson-Woodgett is another option.

It's hard to imagine anyone replacing Jovan Santos-Knox as a starter. He went 12-12 GS GP 53 ST 90 AT 143 TT (led the team) 8.4-17 TFL 2.0 SACKS 3 FF. Steve Casali had 23 TT and Vondell Langston had 20 TT.

Huber's return and the two new DB's should give the Minutemen defense more options and talent in 2015.

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Bowling Green, our first MAC opponent of 2015 has a new starting QB. Johnson's Bowling Green bio.

The Star Press has more on Falcons' QB battle.

The UMass defense had three INT's against Johnson in our loss to Bowling Green last year.

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The Buffalo Bulls are looking for stability at their QB position.

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Former UMass player Steve Dembowski (1991, 1992 and 1993) has big plans for Milton High.

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Today's Pigskin has a feature on Victor Cruz's road to recovery. Mentions UMass and has an image of him in his Minutemen uniform.

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OT, but could Derrick Gordon end up at Syracuse?

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Sunday---December 30th, 2012

I've blogged about 2013 recruit Shane Huber a number of times before. He played in the "Chesapeake Bowl" Saturday.

A direct link to the bowl site does not work. This article has some background on the game.

An intrepid Blog reader sent us this quote from the Rivals write-up on the game. Special thanks to him!

"Huber played with a nonstop motor throughout the day. If he didn't make the tackle, he was around the ball or involved in the play. Huber was the most physical player on the North team, consistently taking on offensive linemen and blowing up running plays. He excelled at reading and making the stop on inside running plays."

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The Massachusetts HS Football Coaches Association released their "Super 26 Team" yesterday.

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VanDelay Sports reviews the All-MAC teams for 2012.

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Sports Illustrated breaks down Northern Illinois's bid to beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

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 Victor Cruz is still waiting for his new contract with the Giants.

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My revenge fantasy of UMass crushing Northern Illinois in hoops did not work out as the Minutemen let a double digit lead slip to five by the end of yesterday's game.

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Saturday--December 6th, 2014

Dan Malone reports UMass AD John McCutcheon is a finalist for the AD job at UC Santa Barbara.

If McCutcheon leaves UMass would need to bring in someone able to cope with getting into a conference for UMass football.

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This article features Kolton Huber, the younger brother of UMass LB Shane Huber.

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I watched NIU overwhelm Bowling Green in the MAC championship game last night. I think UMass has a better QB and better receivers. The Minutemen do not have a wrecking ball RB like the Husky's Cameron Stingily.

The NIU defense is also several notches better than UMass. Whipple still has some recruiting work to do in order for the Minutemen to play in a game like that.

USA Today says NIU routs Bowling Green in MAC Conference Championship. The Huskies had 334 yards rushing.

Hustle Belt says Huskies maul Falcons in Championship win.

NIU's convincing win puts them in contention for the "Group-of-five's" best team. Boise State needs to lose today's game against Fresno State.

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Columbia Football lose its head coach after concussion allegations.

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Monday before Troy--October 31st, 2016

Adam Breneman hightlights. Breneman has gone 52-622 6 TD's. He's #1 in total receptions for a TE, tied for #1 in TD's and second to yards by a TE.

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Ross Comis and Shane Huber both had successful ACL repairs. Huber was having an excellent season before he was injured. However, with two ACL tears, maybe he should consider life after football. He's got a lot of life to live after he graduates.

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UMass is a 21 point underdog to Troy according to Las Vagas odds.

Keepers College football ratings has Troy by 28+ (.pdf download). Keepers has UMass at #117 nationally (another .pdf download).

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The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen put it all together in the game against Wagner.

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The State says South Carolina's defense turned it around after "letting up" on UMass. Yeah, right.

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The Salt Lake Triburne says the rested Cougars are ready for the last third of their season.

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The Montgomery Advertizer says Neal Brown is a bright young coach and has a bright future.

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Sunday--January 13, 2013

Image by Huber family

Harry Plumer has more on the Shane Huber recommit. UMass AD John McCutcheon got involved as well as the UMass administration.

Special thanks to Chancellor Subbaswamy for being willing to make a clarification of his earlier statements. I've known (and worked for) a number of higher-ups who wouldn't have done that.

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This year's MAC standard bearer NIU plays Iowa and Purdue on the road ----- and UMass on the road in 2013.

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AwfulAnnouncing.com says the Big East initially wanted $300 million for their TV deal.

The Big East did pretty good during bowl season.

UConn and Temple finished #6 and #7 in the Big East's final power rankings. It will be interesting to see if the loss of Don Brown hurts the Huskies in 2013.

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Tuesday--August 27, 2013

MassLive reports that Rob Blanchflower is out for the opener against Wisconsin.

Hustle Belt also has a post on Blancheflower.

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Malone's article also has a list of true freshmen who will be making the trip. Ten true freshmen apparently made the two-deep. That's quite a bit given the Minutemen will probably take about 50 players to Camp Randall.

On offense:

• Shaq Harris WR 6-2 206
• Lorenzo Woodley RB 6-0 212
• Tyshon Henderson OL 7-7 339
• Fabien Hoeller OL 6-3 290
• Shakur Nesmith WR 6-4 200

Not many surprises on offense. OL and WR were the two shallowest positions positions on the UMass Spring roster. At one time last year the Minutemen were down to eight or so offensive linemen. Harris, Woodley and Nesmith were among the cream of this year's offensive recruits.

On Defense:

• Peter Angeh DL DL 6-2 245
• Steve Casali LB 6-2 225
• Arthur Williams DB 6-3 200
• Jackson Porter DB 6-1 195
• Shane Huber LB 6-3 230

Again, no surprise that Huber and Casali made the two-deep. With only 14 DL on the roster and probably ten or so scholarship players, Angeh is no surprise. I haven't heard much from training camp on Williams and Porter, but both are big and fast (check Porter's bio). The five should give Coach Elmassian more packages and bodies to rotate in. 

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Dan Malone also reports Joel Stave RSSO 6-5 225 will start for the Badgers against the Minutemen.

Madison.com says there are a few surprises in the Badgers depth chart.

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Matty Vautour ranks the Minutemen's 2013 opponents.

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The Boston Globe says with transfers, UMass is hoping to go places.

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A Bleacher Report writer predicts Wisconsin's stats against the Minutemen.

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The MAC Blog Hustle Belt picks the conference winners and losers in Week #1

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The Wisconsin Blog "Bucky's Fifth Quarter" predicts the Badgers will run wild against the Minutemen defense.

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The Giants Blog "Big Blue" reports on the G-Men's position battles including Michael Cox.

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