UMass fans are invited to Signing Party on February 5th at 4:30 PM at the Amherst Brewing Company.Coach Whipple and the football staff will be there.
There will be a video link for a 3:00 PM media press conference on the same day.
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With the Patriot League now offering scholarships, Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore would like to add UMass and UConn to future Crusader schedules.
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Hustle Belt in its latest revision of the MAC recruiting rankings has UMass 9th in the conference.
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A SB Nation writer looks at the results for the first year head coaching hires in 2013.
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A Bleacher Report writer says its OK to embrace the craziness of LOI Day.
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Sports Illustrated has haircuts, tattoos and other factoids from the 2014 signing class.
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Saturday, February 01, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday--January 31st, 2014
James Ihedigbo predicts a Seattle win in the Super Bowl.
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Dave Sollazo says former Maryland HC Ralph Friedgen is a great hire for Rutgers.
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I blogged yesterday about Alex Ogle. He's feeling the love at Boise State.
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The "Anchor of Gold" awards Vanderbilt's Player-of-the-Year to Jordan Matthews. One of the plays that got him the award was against UMass.
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Ball State hires a defensive coordinator with Massachusetts roots.
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SB Nation has the five hardest positions to recruit in college football.
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The Tampa Bay Times wonders if recruits should get more time to sign on the dotted line.
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Chris Brown of "Smart Football" looks at how Peyton Manning delivered a historic season for the Broncos.
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Dave Sollazo says former Maryland HC Ralph Friedgen is a great hire for Rutgers.
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I blogged yesterday about Alex Ogle. He's feeling the love at Boise State.
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The "Anchor of Gold" awards Vanderbilt's Player-of-the-Year to Jordan Matthews. One of the plays that got him the award was against UMass.
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Ball State hires a defensive coordinator with Massachusetts roots.
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SB Nation has the five hardest positions to recruit in college football.
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The Tampa Bay Times wonders if recruits should get more time to sign on the dotted line.
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Chris Brown of "Smart Football" looks at how Peyton Manning delivered a historic season for the Broncos.
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Thursday, January 30, 2014
Various recruiting notes 01/30/14
Three players with UMass offers go elsewhere.
I've blogged about Alex Ogle before. He verballed to Boise State.
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Freddie Booth-Loyd a 6-3 310 pound DT has flipped his verbal from Tulane to Temple.
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I've blogged about Jeremiah Jackson before. He verballed to Ball State.
More from the Tampa Bay Times about Jackson.
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I've blogged about Alex Ogle before. He verballed to Boise State.
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Freddie Booth-Loyd a 6-3 310 pound DT has flipped his verbal from Tulane to Temple.
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I've blogged about Jeremiah Jackson before. He verballed to Ball State.
More from the Tampa Bay Times about Jackson.
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Thursday--January 30th, 2014
A Redskins mock NFL draft has Washington taking Rob Blanchflower in the 6th round.
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More money than us: Notre Dame announces a $400 million stadium upgrade. I wonder if the Irish will continue with the announced 2015 game with UMass or buy us out now the Molnar has left.
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The New York has some New Jersey Superbowl heroes including Victor Cruz.
Victor Cruz is relishing a home town Super Bowl shuffle.
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MAC football recruiting updates from Hustle Belt.
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With Marijuana legal in Colorado, a pot shop is marketing a Payton Manning blend.
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A cold weather Super Bowl may not be a good thing. 18,000 seats are still unsold.
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More money than us: Notre Dame announces a $400 million stadium upgrade. I wonder if the Irish will continue with the announced 2015 game with UMass or buy us out now the Molnar has left.
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The New York has some New Jersey Superbowl heroes including Victor Cruz.
Victor Cruz is relishing a home town Super Bowl shuffle.
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MAC football recruiting updates from Hustle Belt.
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With Marijuana legal in Colorado, a pot shop is marketing a Payton Manning blend.
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A cold weather Super Bowl may not be a good thing. 18,000 seats are still unsold.
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Recruiting 2014--- Ross Comis II
A couple of more articles on Ross Comis' verbal to UMass.
The Herald Star reports Spencer Whipple had a role in Comis' commit.
The Wheeling News-Register has more.
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The Herald Star reports Spencer Whipple had a role in Comis' commit.
The Wheeling News-Register has more.
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Wednesday--January 29th, 2014
College athletes take the first step towards forming a union. This could be interesting if the five BCS leagues break off and form their own division with paid players, thus becoming semi-pro football in my estimation. As the article says, under the current system, there will be some high hurdles to jump. That may not be the case with the proposed BCS super division. I wonder if the BCS leagues ever heard of the Golden Goose.
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Meanwhile, Alabama still cheats.
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The Boston College blog "BC Interruption" believes the Eagles will be on the cusp of a bowl bid with sure wins over UMass, Maine, Wakes Forest and Syracuse plus one or two tossups.
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Despite an 8-5 season and a bowl, a student newspaper writer is disappointed in the Buffalo's season.
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Bowling Green completes their staff for the 2014 season.
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Northern Illinois gets a verbal from a three-star WR.
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Meanwhile, Alabama still cheats.
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The Boston College blog "BC Interruption" believes the Eagles will be on the cusp of a bowl bid with sure wins over UMass, Maine, Wakes Forest and Syracuse plus one or two tossups.
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Despite an 8-5 season and a bowl, a student newspaper writer is disappointed in the Buffalo's season.
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Bowling Green completes their staff for the 2014 season.
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Northern Illinois gets a verbal from a three-star WR.
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Recruiting 2015--Torrence Gibson
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| image credit unknown |
Gibson is a Scout four-star QB.
Quote from a January 27th article on Gibson: "In addition to Clemson, Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, Georgia, Pittsburgh and UMass have also been by the school during the current recruiting period. Tennessee is scheduled to stop by on Wednesday. "
ESPN page here.
Recruiting 2014--Ross Comis
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| Ben Queen image |
Matty V. has an article here. Note that the article says Whipple is still exploring the JUCO and fifth-year transfer universe as well.
Hustle Belt has another article here.
The West Virginia News has an article on Comis' verbal here.
Commis' Be Recruited page has his complete stats here.
Was Captain of the Class A First Team All-State team.
Hudl.com has highlight video. Comis had 9,255 career yards and 121 TD's.
Tuesday--January 28th, 2014
Gator Country labels UMass as one of the five toughest coaching jobs in the country.
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Football Scoop has more on the article I linked to yesterday regarding coaching salaries in the MAC.
More along the same lines: 100 FBS assistant coaches make at least $400,000 a year.
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Buffalo add three quarterback verbals.
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Toledo loses a three-star QB commit to Wake Forest.
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The Sun Belt's stock rises after the MAC takes a 0-5 hit in the bowl season.
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Fox Sports looks at the demographics of college football fandom.
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Football Scoop has more on the article I linked to yesterday regarding coaching salaries in the MAC.
More along the same lines: 100 FBS assistant coaches make at least $400,000 a year.
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Buffalo add three quarterback verbals.
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Toledo loses a three-star QB commit to Wake Forest.
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The Sun Belt's stock rises after the MAC takes a 0-5 hit in the bowl season.
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Fox Sports looks at the demographics of college football fandom.
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Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday--January 27th, 2014
Mrs Blog and I went to the UMass-Fordham game yesterday. Good to see Coach Whipple there. From Matty V's article on the game:
WHIPPLE PREGAME — New UMass football coach Mark Whipple was a featured attraction prior to the game. After greeting fans in the concourse, he met with Court Club members in a pregame reception. After the national anthem, he threw the ball up as part of a ceremonial tipoff and then took the microphone to address the crowd to a standing ovation."
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iSportsweb.com does yet another coaching hire evaluation.
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CBS Sports, channelling NFL Draft Scout, has Rob Blancheflower as 6th round draft pick.
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A UMass Lax verbal decommits to enter Prep football.
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The MAC is getting hit with a widening pay gap between what its schools can pay and BCS salaries.
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Early playing time for college players is altering recruiting.
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On the other hand, old guys are doing great at coaching college football.
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WHIPPLE PREGAME — New UMass football coach Mark Whipple was a featured attraction prior to the game. After greeting fans in the concourse, he met with Court Club members in a pregame reception. After the national anthem, he threw the ball up as part of a ceremonial tipoff and then took the microphone to address the crowd to a standing ovation."
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iSportsweb.com does yet another coaching hire evaluation.
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CBS Sports, channelling NFL Draft Scout, has Rob Blancheflower as 6th round draft pick.
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A UMass Lax verbal decommits to enter Prep football.
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The MAC is getting hit with a widening pay gap between what its schools can pay and BCS salaries.
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Early playing time for college players is altering recruiting.
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On the other hand, old guys are doing great at coaching college football.
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Sunday, January 26, 2014
Recruiting 2014--- Matthew Wylie
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| Ricardo Brazziell image |
Stateman's article here.
This article has a question-and-answer session with Wylie.
Had interest from Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Stanford, SMU, Texas Tech, Dartmouth, Harvard, Louisiana Tech and UTEP.
Sunday--January 26th, 2014
According to Coach Whipple's Twitter feed, he'll be at the UMass hoops game to greet fans and address the crowd. Some UMass recruits will attend the game also.
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Vanderbilt will again be on the Minutemen's OOC schedule in 2014. The Commodores are expected to change their defensive scheme to a 3-4.
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Old coaching foe K.C. Keeler has been named head coach at Sam Houston State.
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SB Nation has the five most important statistics in winning college football. One of them is explosiveness, something we sorely lacked on offense for the last two years. Hopefully, Coach Whipple still has his old magic on that side of the ball.
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Vanderbilt will again be on the Minutemen's OOC schedule in 2014. The Commodores are expected to change their defensive scheme to a 3-4.
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Old coaching foe K.C. Keeler has been named head coach at Sam Houston State.
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SB Nation has the five most important statistics in winning college football. One of them is explosiveness, something we sorely lacked on offense for the last two years. Hopefully, Coach Whipple still has his old magic on that side of the ball.
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Saturday, January 25, 2014
Saturday--January 25th, 2014
Three Minutemen were named First Team All-Academic by the MAC: Devon Brown, Jeff Strait, Matt Sparks . David Osei and Ricardo Miller were named Honourable Mention.The press release for the whole MAC is here.
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Two MAC players will appear in today's Senior Bowl.
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Bryon Vance looks at the MAC's recruiting visits for the week of January 24th.
Vance also looks at the MAC"s recruiting rankings after this week.
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Bloguin Sports recaps MAC football in 2013.
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NIU's loss to Bowling Green moved the MAC from a potential first to last in non-AQ revenue.
However, the league (and UMass) should see a big jump in revenue from the BCS playoffs.
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A Bleacher Report writer ranks Mark Whipple amoung the worst coaching hires of the college football postseason. (?!)
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- Brown 3.80 Psychology
- Sparks 3.88 Civil Engineering
- Strait 3.93 Biology
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Two MAC players will appear in today's Senior Bowl.
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Bryon Vance looks at the MAC's recruiting visits for the week of January 24th.
Vance also looks at the MAC"s recruiting rankings after this week.
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Bloguin Sports recaps MAC football in 2013.
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NIU's loss to Bowling Green moved the MAC from a potential first to last in non-AQ revenue.
However, the league (and UMass) should see a big jump in revenue from the BCS playoffs.
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A Bleacher Report writer ranks Mark Whipple amoung the worst coaching hires of the college football postseason. (?!)
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Friday, January 24, 2014
Recruiting 2015--Taj-Amir Torres
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| Hampshire Gazette file image |
The Hampshire Gazette has an article (second half) about how the change in UMass coaching may impact Torres' recruiting.
Hudl.com has video.
In June of 2013, Torres was the fastest high schooler in New England.
Also receiving attention from Boston College and UConn.
Friday--January 24th, 2014
UMass Football makes it official: Liam Coen, Tom Mesalla and Mike Cassano have joined the UMass coaching staff.
The UMass website has the announcement here.
Cassano will be passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach.
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2014 Season tickets are now on sale. UMass fans have the option of buying all six games or just for Gillette or McGuirk.
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CBS Sports has yet another article rating the head coaching hires in 2014. This one actually mentions Mark Whipple.
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This is a rather cool article from Bryan Vance at Hustle Belt--where do MAC players come from. Each team has graphic with the geographic location of their recruits shown.
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UMass lax loses a potential recruit to Boston College football.
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Bowling Green gets a quarterback transfer from Texas Tech.
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Ohio turns to British Columbia for a running back recruit.
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National Football post rates Western Michigan's verbals as "one of the top five under-the-radar" class.
The UMass website has the announcement here.
Cassano will be passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach.
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2014 Season tickets are now on sale. UMass fans have the option of buying all six games or just for Gillette or McGuirk.
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CBS Sports has yet another article rating the head coaching hires in 2014. This one actually mentions Mark Whipple.
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This is a rather cool article from Bryan Vance at Hustle Belt--where do MAC players come from. Each team has graphic with the geographic location of their recruits shown.
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UMass lax loses a potential recruit to Boston College football.
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Bowling Green gets a quarterback transfer from Texas Tech.
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Ohio turns to British Columbia for a running back recruit.
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National Football post rates Western Michigan's verbals as "one of the top five under-the-radar" class.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Recruiting 2015-- C.J. Stalker
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| Fox Sports image |
Full article on Stalker (good name for a LB) here.
Scout.com bio page here.
Stalker currently has offers from UMass, Western Michigan, Virginia and Kentucky.
Thursday--January 23rd, 2014
The Boston College Blog "BC Interruption" says BC at UMass in Gillette counts as a home game for the Eagles.
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Mrs Blog and I are thinking about a two game road trip in 2014 to see Vanderbilt and Penn State September 13th and 20th. I've already blogged about Penn State having special ticket prices for the UMass game. Vanderbilt has their single game prices up.
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Cory McCortney of Fox Sports South gives UMass a "C" for Whipple's hiring.
In the link above, the sportswriter gives Louisville a "D" for hiring Bobby Petrino. This writer gives the Petrino hiring an "A+".
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Miami of Ohio adds a three-star WR verbal.
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The cheapest seat for the 2015 college football championship game will be $1,899 per.
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Mrs Blog and I are thinking about a two game road trip in 2014 to see Vanderbilt and Penn State September 13th and 20th. I've already blogged about Penn State having special ticket prices for the UMass game. Vanderbilt has their single game prices up.
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Cory McCortney of Fox Sports South gives UMass a "C" for Whipple's hiring.
In the link above, the sportswriter gives Louisville a "D" for hiring Bobby Petrino. This writer gives the Petrino hiring an "A+".
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Miami of Ohio adds a three-star WR verbal.
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The cheapest seat for the 2015 college football championship game will be $1,899 per.
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Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Recruiting 2014-- Trevon Mathis
Trevon Mathis, a 5-11 170 pound DB from Pittsburg, PA has verbaled to Toledo.
This article says he chose the Rockets over Temple and UMass.
Mathis was a Rivals two-star player with offers from Georgia Tech, Kent State, Old Dominion and JMU.
This article says he chose the Rockets over Temple and UMass.
Mathis was a Rivals two-star player with offers from Georgia Tech, Kent State, Old Dominion and JMU.
Wednesday--January 22nd, 2013
Received my 2014 season ticket application yesterday. There were a couple of items of interest.
Special Event Announcement. There will be a National Signing Day event on February 5th at the Amherst Brewing Company prior to the Hoops game at Mullins center. The time wasn't listed, but there probably be more info before then. Say "Hi" to Whip and hear about the 2014 recruits.
Second, renew your season tickets before February 5th and receive the same seats you had at McGuirk in 2011! Since Mrs Blog and I (and various friends) had been in Section 6, Row I seats 17, 18, and 19 since 1976, it'll be like old times. Hopefully, all the people who have been whining, pissing, bitching, moaning and complaining about the drive to Gillette will make good on their promise to get season tickets. In addition, we're holding on to our great seats in the Putnam Club at Gillette. If you haven’t been there, your really missing a great place to see a game.
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Chad Hunte on Hustle Belt says Mark Whipple is a perfect fit for UMass.
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Well, the UMass Flag Football team is on their way to compete in the Nationals. Go UMass!
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The Tampa Bay Times mentions Trey Dudley-Giles in this article about a five-star recruit's transferring high schools.
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Sports Illustrated grades the new coaching hires in college football and never mentions Mark Whipple.
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OT, but an Alabama fan, still grinding his teeth over the Iron Bowl, thinks Tony Barbee should be fired at Auburn.
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Special Event Announcement. There will be a National Signing Day event on February 5th at the Amherst Brewing Company prior to the Hoops game at Mullins center. The time wasn't listed, but there probably be more info before then. Say "Hi" to Whip and hear about the 2014 recruits.
Second, renew your season tickets before February 5th and receive the same seats you had at McGuirk in 2011! Since Mrs Blog and I (and various friends) had been in Section 6, Row I seats 17, 18, and 19 since 1976, it'll be like old times. Hopefully, all the people who have been whining, pissing, bitching, moaning and complaining about the drive to Gillette will make good on their promise to get season tickets. In addition, we're holding on to our great seats in the Putnam Club at Gillette. If you haven’t been there, your really missing a great place to see a game.
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Chad Hunte on Hustle Belt says Mark Whipple is a perfect fit for UMass.
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Well, the UMass Flag Football team is on their way to compete in the Nationals. Go UMass!
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The Tampa Bay Times mentions Trey Dudley-Giles in this article about a five-star recruit's transferring high schools.
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Sports Illustrated grades the new coaching hires in college football and never mentions Mark Whipple.
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OT, but an Alabama fan, still grinding his teeth over the Iron Bowl, thinks Tony Barbee should be fired at Auburn.
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Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Tuesday--January 21st, 2014
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| MassLive image |
As the article states, Michel should make an impact in the Minutemen receiver corps.
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UMass has announced the most recent Minutemen Hall-of-Fame class. Among the members is Ned Dean, who won a ton of honours as an offensive lineman for UMass during 1973-75. Dean was All New England and All East. Like many of the 1970's players he has been a stout supporter of UMass football in the following decades.
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Kent State releases its MAC and non-conference opponents for 2014. UMass will make its first trip to Dix Stadium.
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Speaking of the MAC, Hustle Belt has several recruiting articles about MAC schools.
EMU picks up a three-star verbal.
Kent State gets a pair of verbals.
Toledo adds two verbals.
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