Wednesday--August 13th, 2014

The home uniforms poll showed a clear preference for the white helmets, maroon jerseys and white pants (58%). I think the "default" combination will be maroon helmets and maroon jerseys w/white pants, but we'll see on August 30th.

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Matty Vautour looks at veteran UMass DB Randall Jette. He also mentions potential CB starter Jackson Porter. Jette's UMass bio. Porter's bio.

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Dan Malone has a 30+ minute podcast with Daily Collegian writer Mark Chiarelli about UMass' first week of camp. Listening to them talks I was struck by how much last year was a lost year. The increases in depth and competition should have occurred in 2013.

Dan also has UMass working on situational plays.

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The UMass website has video featuring the Minutemen wide receivers.

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The Boston Herald features Todd Stafford's move to TE.

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The Sentinel & Enterprise has a feature on former UMass star Mike Dawson, who's now coaching with the Eagles. Dawson's Eagles bio. Two other Eagles coaches with UMass ties are Jerry Azzinaro and Bill McGovern.

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The Boston College blog "BC Interruption" looks at the Eagles-Maine game. The Black Bears, last year's CAA champs lost a ton of first-string All-CAA players to graduation. They could drop back into the middle of the CAA this year.

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The Worcester Telegram has a feature on Emil Igwenagu. He still keeps in touch with other UMass players including Rob Blanchflower.

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PreGame.com looks at the 2014 Minutemen as says UMass has the worst defensive front seven in the MAC and the secondary is flat out bad.

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OT, but BC Interruption has a post that says UMass, BU, Holy Cross and Northeastern have one thing in common---they all hate BC basketball.

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In MAC news

Ball State looks to regroup.

Buffalo strives for a MAC championship.

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Tuesday--August 12th, 2014

Two articles about the UMass offensive line today.

Matty Vautour has a post about UMass center Matt Sparks. Although not large by FBS standards, Sparks, baring injury, will probably be a four-year starter for the Minutemen. He'd probably be in line for team captain in his senior year. Four letters and a captainship would be a fine career in college football,

Dan Malone has five questions with UMass LT Tyrell Smith (good name). Smith, at 6-5 295 has room to get bigger. Your left tackle is generally your best OL. He's also usually the highest paid player on a pro team. The article has an interesting story about his switch to #77. Says a lot about the previous HC.

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Dan also continues his Top-25 UMass players series with a post on Drew Harris. At 6-1 220, Harris has pro size. The Minutemen should have a strong corps of running backs. This article from 2013 features Alabama's running backs. The Tide is 49-0 when rushing for more that 150 yards. Sabin in another article I could not find, said he liked to split up the carries between his running backs. If you want to play in the pros, you want to arrive at your senior Pro Day with some miles still left on your body.

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Dan also has Blake Fronapfel is feeling more comfortable with Whipple's offense.

Dan says the starting QB decision will be made by the end of this week.

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Athlon Sports has Blake Fronapfel as one of 2014's top transfers to watch.

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Hustle Belt interviews Bob McGovern of Maroon Musket about the state of UMass football.

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Al.com interviews the MAC commissioner about an early signing period.

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A Colorado blog previews the Buffs season and says playing UMass is like playing another FCS team.

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Steelers Depot says Rob Blanchflower seems recovered from his ankle sprain.

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Recruiting 2015--Gladimir Paul II

I've blogged about Gladimir Paul, a 6-3 210 pound weak-side DE from Philly before.

This article from SB nation says he's added an offer from Virginia.

Paul's 247Sports page here.

Besides UMass Paul now has offers from Temple, UConn and Virginia.

Monday--August 11th, 2014

Dan Malone reports Liam Coen says the UMass quarterback situation is still fluid. You know the old saying "If you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any". We've been through that the last two years. Hopefully, either Doyle or Frohapfel will take control soon.

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I watched the Giants-Steelers game on DVD last evening. Julian Talley was only in for a couple of series. He caught the only two balls thrown to him. Miahael Cox had a nice first down on a pass play and he also leveled a blitzing LB. Other than that he didn't get much room to run. Rob Blanchflower was only in one or two series. The Steelers didn't throw to him.

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Campus Insiders previews the 2014 Vanderbilt Commodores.

USA Today looks at new Vandy coach Derek Mason.

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The BC blog "Soaring to Glory" looks at transfer QB Tyler Murphy.

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The Colorado Buffs football video team wins an emmy.

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This preview of Friday's Patriots-Eagles game mentions Emil Igwenagu.

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Sunday---August 10th, 2014

The UMass Daily Collegian says Marcel Shipp is overseeing a strong group of UMass running backs.

The Collegian also says the Minutemen are anxious to play a more aggressive defense.

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The BC blog "Soaring to Glory" looks at the Eagles defensive coaches including Don Brown and Ben Albert.

Don Brown's BC bio.

Ben Alberts' BC bio.

The Boston Globe says BC coach Steve Addazio want BC's practices to be more physical.

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The Stony Brook Sea Wolves have a deep backfield including UMass transfer Stacey Bedell

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Bowling Green coach Dino Barbers says he has the best defense he's ever had as a football coach.

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In last night's game Julian Talley had two catches for 19 yards and Michael Cox had 2-8. Cox also rushed for 6-4. No stats for Blanchflower.

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Saturday--August 9th, 2014

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the Giants meet the Steelers tonight at 8:00 pm. Four ex-UMass players may appear. Victor Crux, Michael Cox and Julian Talley for the Giants and Rob Blanchflower for the Steelers. Blanchflower will be an 11th hour play or scratch. If you can't get one of these links, then the NFL network will re-broadcast the game at 12:00 midnight. Set your DVR's.

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Dan Malone has a short article on the UMass video featuring Steve Casali. The return of Casali to full strength would certainly help the UMass linebacking corps. The Minutemen would have at least six B's with game experience .

• Jovan Santos-Knox JR 6-2 240
• Stanley Andre RSSR 6-2 240
• Kassan Messiah JR 6-4 225
• Steve Casali RSFR 6-2 225
• John Robinson-Woodgett JR 6-2 225
• Trey Seals RSJR 6-4 231

In addition early enrollee Da'Sean Downey FR 6-5 240 could be in the mix for significant playing time.

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Defensive Coordinator Tom Messala talks about the 3-4 defense.

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Matty Vautour says Blake Lucas is making good on his second chance.

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Jesse Allen of Hustle Belt interviews Dan Malone on the status of the 2014 Minutemen.

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When UMass plays Boston College on August 30th, the UMass offensive line will be looking across the line of scrimmage at two 6-7 300 pound Eagle defensive linemen.

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The Dekalb Daily Chronicle says the new college football playoff system ushers in a new era. Article has quotes from the MAC commissioner.

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Vanderbilt football finishes up the first week of fall practice.

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The Big Ten Network will preview Penn State today at 6:00 pm.

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Friday--August 8th, 2014

Dan Malone reports D'Metrius Williams has been dismissed from the team. Williams' UMass bio.

The article says RSFR 6-1 190 Jackson Porter will be moved to CB and Trey Dudley-Giles to Safety. Other safeties listed on the Spring two-deep were Ed St-Vil (who decided not to play his fifth year) and Jaurice Jones.

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A year removed from a season-ending knee injury, Jordan Broadnax looks to return to football. Braodnax's UMass bio.

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Dan also has notes from the latest practice. The article says incoming FR Josh Smiley 6-6 235 DL is academically ineligible for 2014.

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Matty Vautour says Marken Michel JR 5-10 185 is happy to be back at UMass and playing football.

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Matty interviews John McCutcheon who says UMass should be able to cope with NCAA changes.

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NESN reports a new-look Boston College squad looks to keep last year's success rolling.

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The Associated Press previews the 2014 MAC.

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Steelers Depot reports Rob Blanchflower is still struggling with a high ankle sprain at the Steelers Camp.

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Julian Talley got a lot of work at the Giants camp yesterday.

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Victor Cruz mentors undrafted wide receivers.

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Thrusday--August 7th, 2014

Dan Malone has more on the 2014 UMass uniform's. Look's like no black this year.

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Dan also has five questions with Alex Kenney. It would be nice to have Alex-go-long as weapon. I think it was in 2003 (if that was the year of the Colgate snow bowl), the Minutemen had more than a dozen scoring drive of a minute or less. Some explosiveness deep would loosen up opposing defense, not to mention making the team more fun to watch.

Speaking of going deep, Dan has an article on UMass' struggles to do just that.

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News 8.com has an article featuring Michael Cox.

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UMass beat writer Matty Vautour will appear on BC Interruption's radio show.

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The Detroit Free Press picks Bowling Green (the first visitor to McGuirk) as #36 in the nation and MAC Conference champion.

The first five games of the 2014 season are certainly a challenge for UMass.

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NewsDay says Victor Cruz wants more reps and passes thrown to him.

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Rob Blanchflower was back as a full participant at Steelers camp.

He also received some personal attention from Mike Tomlin.

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The Montreal Gazette says Michael London is rolling with the punches.

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August 6th, 2014

The UMass website has video and still images from the first day of practice.

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Dan Malone has A.J.Doyle is ready for yet another quarterback competition.

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Smith #77

Dan also continues his UMass Top-25 players for 2014 with Tyrell Smith (good name). In Whipple's first era with the Minutemen, he like big and durable offensive linemen. Not many OL get the chance to start all four years. Smith has that chance. At 6-5 295 he also has the size Whipple (and the NFL) are looking for. In the Spring game, the D-line controlled the line of scrimmage.

The new pro-style offense will only go as far as the offensive line takes it. If you watched Sunday's Hall-of-fame game former UMass RB Michael Cox looked good when he received some blocking, but he was hit in the backfield at least twice and bottled up three or four more times because there were defensive players on top of him as he took the handoff.

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Malone looks at two transfers Jalen Williams and Alex Kenney who hope to make an impact with the Minutemen WR corps.

Williams UMass bio. Kenney's UMass bio.

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Matty V. has Drew Harris is excited to start his college football career. Harris' UMass bio.

Matty also has the young Minutemen defensive hopes to jell quickly. In the last line of the article, Matty reports UMass will play in Maroon & White in 2014.

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The Daily Collegian says UMass is anxious to play aggressive defense.

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Jesse Allen of Hustle Belt previews the 2014 Minutemen.

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All of CBS Sports writer predict UMass last in MAC

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Boston College will start a new QB when they face UMass on August 30th.

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A Bleacher Report writer says Rob Blanchflower has struggled with an injury during the Steelers training camp.

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Tuesday----August 5th, 2014

Stanley Andre #35

Dan Malone continues his UMass Top-25 series with a post on Minuteman LB Stanley Andre.

Andre's UMass bio.

Andre is one of the few UMass seniors, so he'll be the leader of the Minutemen defense as well as one of it's leading tacklers. At 6-2 240 he has FBS size. With a young and fairly light DL, the two MLB's in the the 3-4 are going to have to be the run-stoppers. If the 3-4 is going to work, the defense needs some TFL and more stops around the line of scrimmage. Last year the defense had 46-133 in TFL; opponents went 80-203.

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Dan has observations from the first day of UMass camp.

Dan also has Whipple and the team are pleased to get working.

He also has Todd Stafford moves to TE. At 6-7 250 he has an NFL-sized body, so he has the potential to make an impact as a TE. Anyway, it'll be light years more fun than walking the sidelines with a clipboard.

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Matty Vautour has a story about the first day of Fall camp with lots of quotes from players as well as RB coach Marcel Shipp.

Matty notes the return of Michael Boland. Three potential starters Jean Sifrin, Liam Porter and Ryan Johnson are all sitting out while they finish a summer course.

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The Boston Herald says Mark Whipple hopes to get UMass back on track.

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This article mentions Michael Cox's nice one-handed catch in the Giants win over the Bills.

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In MAC conference news, Buffalo looks to build on success.

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Two players leave Boston College's football program.

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New Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason moves the Commodores to closed practices.

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Penn Live.com has a story from Penn States Media Day and tons of links to Nittany Lion football articles.

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Recruiting 2015--Derek Dumais

Hudl.com image

Dan Malone, crediting Bob McGovern, reports Derek Dumais, a 6-5 320 pound OL from Marblehead, MA has verbaled to UMass.

I've blogged about Dumais before.

The Salem News has a story about Dumais' verbal to UMass.

Monday--August 4th, 2014 First day of Fall Camp

Matty V. has a story about Coach Whipple being ready to go.  A couple of points about the article. Matty reports the team will use the Gladchuck practice fields more often than Molnar did. I would speculate that's an attempt to preserve the currently awesome looking new surface at McGuirk. UMass could use a turf practice field. Delaware, for example, has two.

The other thing is two 2014 recruits Randall West and Lamarriel Taylor will grayshirt. I believe the addition of Drew Harris put UMass over the NCAA mandated limit of 24 recruits in one year, so somebody had to be grayshirted.

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Dan Malone also has a story about Coach Whipple being anxious to get going on the start of the 2014 season.

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Dan also has a special teams primer for 2014 training camp. One addition I would make would be to add Jordan Broadnax to the kick return team. In 2012, Broadnax had 44-932 21.2 AVE 61 LONG. Between Broadnax and Trey Dudley-Giles UMass could have one the top return squads in the MAC.

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The Giants beat the Bills in the Hall-of-fame game. Victor Cruz only played a couple of series. Julian Talley just missed a leaping catch as pass was just beyond his fingertips. Talley was wearing #19.

Michael Cox had a number of carries late in the game. When he had some room, he ran well. He also had some pretty crappy blocking from the reserve offensive line.

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The Boston Globe says Boston College is out to prove people wrong.

Metro West reports questions abound for the Eagles.

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Steelers Depot says Rob Blanchflower is still out of Pittsburgh's camp with an injury.

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Sunday--August 3rd, 2014

With Fall camp opening tomorrow, I guess it's time to do the the blog on Sundays too.

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Dan Malone previews the 2014 UMass defense.

The Minutemen have won two games in FBS and the UMass defense won them both. That's despite getting much less recruits and transfers than the offense. That trend continued this year with the offense receiving two graduate transfers and six JUCO's. The 2013 defense gave up almost 7 points less per game than in 2012 going from 40.16 points/game to the 33.0. Most of the improvement came against the BCS portion of the schedule with UMass allowing 35.3 points per game to Wisconsin, Vanderbilt and Kansas State. UMass threw five INT's for a TD, so actually the defense only gave up 30.0 points per game.

The UMass defense played some stout games against Vanderbilt, Miami and Akron. We also had some games where we were not competitive. For the second year in a row, NIU scored at will. The Minutemen were outscored 88-23 in our last two games of the 2013 season. Perhaps the most depressing game was Maine. The Black Bears rang up 514 total yards of offense and averaged 5.5 yards per rush.

The new 3-4 should give UMass some room to make plays. In 2013 the Minutemen were 12th in the MAC in INT's and 12th in sacks. We were 10th in turnover margin, but most of that was the fault of the offense, who threw 18 INT's.

I think the defensive secondary could be one of the best units in the MAC. The UMass linebacker corps should be deeper and more athletic. Our d-line is both young and light. Expect opponents to run right at the Minutemen.

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Matty Vautour says James Ihedigbo is providing leadership for the Lions secondary.

Detroit Jock City says Ihedigbo embraces a mentor role.

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NY Daily News image

Michael Cox and Julian Talley should get some reps in tonight's NFL Hall-of-Fame game.

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The Buffalo News says the Bulls are aiming high despite losing six all-conference players.

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Dan Rubin of BC Interruption wants to "decimate" UMass. It's another sign that a UMass-BC annual series would be good for both teams. Because basically, except for perhaps a few Syracuse fans, nobody in the ACC cares a fig about Boston College. No Florida State or Clemson blogger wants to decimate the Eagles. Over the last five years BC has gone 28-35. That's only one more win than Duke. The center of gravity in the ACC is in the big southern state schools. Lindy's picks BC 6th in the ACC East. Sporting News has them 4th. Most pundits think anything more than six wins would be a great season for the Eagles. Boston College averaged 33,712 in home attendance in 2013. The ACC average was 49,987.

The fact is Boston College is a private school with high academic standards. That's a mismatch with the big southern state schools of the ACC. It appears the Eagles are remorselessly heading for a rivalry with Wake Forest and Duke for the annual ACC basement.

A loss to UMass would fire up their fan base and that could in turn could light a fire under their athletic administrators.

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Saturday--August 2nd, 2014

Lorenzo Woodley

Dan Malone continues his "Top 25" UMass players with Lorenzo Woodley.

Woodley's UMass bio.

Woodley battled leg troubles in 2014. He ended up 8 GP 84-314 3.7 AVE 25 LONG 2 TD's 39.3 YGS/G. Note that in 2012, Minutemen backs averaged a dismal 2.6 yards a carry. So even nicked up, Woodley did pretty good. The running back position, is one part of the UMass team that has depth and talent. In football, you're always one play away from starting against Penn State. Last year the Minutemen went six deep on the RB roster. I think Whipple's offense will provide more yards for everybody.

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Dan also looks the UMass offense going into Fall camp. I pretty much concur with his conclusions, but I would not be surprised to see Marken Michel or Shakur Nesmith start at one of the WR positions.

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Matty Vautour says there are plenty of questions going into training camp.

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According to a SB Nation writer, former UMass OT Anthony Dima left the Dallas Texans camp and was subsequently cut.

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Hustle Belt has a post on UMass verbal Michale Yerardi.

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The Colorado Buffs see their early schedule, which includes UMass as winnable.

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Boston College is having problems with scheduling in 2015.

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Theo Agnew, who started his college career at UMass, has been signed by the Atlanta Falcons.

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Victor Cruz says buckle up and watch the new Giants attack.

Michael Cox gets a lot of quotes in this article from the Giants camp.

The NY Daily news says David Wilson's injury opens the door for Michale Cox.

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Michael Yerardi and Jack Driscoll verbal to UMass

UMass picked up two verbals from last weekend's Clam Bake.

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NCSA image

Michael Yerardi, a 6-6 305 pound OL from Suffield Academy chose the Minutemen according to Dan Malone who credits Bob McGovern with the news.

NCSA recruiting profile here.

Hudl.com highlight video here.

Partial quote from an July 7th Scout.com report on Yerardi:

"Suffield Academy (Suffield, Conn.) 2015 lineman Michael Yerardi liked camp and school after arriving with his father for the one-day event at Maryland. 

"It was great, had a lot of fun, and learned a lot of new stuff," Yerardi said. "Had a great time at the camp and the coaches coached me up on everything I need to learn." 

So far, the 6-foot-4, 307-pounder has offers from UMass, ODY and New Hampshire, and is looking for more. 

Terps inside linebackers coach Keith Dudzinski is his area recruiter. "

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Also committing to UMass was Jack Driscoll a 6-4 250 pound OG/DE from Madison, CT.

Dan has the story.

247Sports page here. (Fixed link)

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Thursday--August 1st, 2014.

August, guys! The 2014 season is getting close.

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Kessan Messiah

Dan Malone continues his "Top-25" UMass players with a story on Kessan Messiah.

Kessan's UMass bio.

In 2012, Messiah made an impact with the generally over-matched UMass defense. We were better when he was playing. In the 4-3 defense, the "Mike" linebacker is the hero as the defense is designed to channel tackles his way. The "Sam" linebacker does not a lot of tackles because the TE, the pulling guards and the fullback (if there is one) are all tasked with blocking him. Only the "Wil" linebacker is free to roam around. In the 3-4, Messiah should have some room to make some football plays. So far in FBS, we've been striving to play competitively even against the lower regions of the MAC. This year, hopefully we'll be able to play some attacking defense. At 6-4 237, he has an NFL frame. At least in the MAC, he has the tools to dominate. Lets hope he has a monster come-back year in 2014.

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The latest version of the UMass Roster is up.

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The Times Free Press says Vanderbilt receivers should feast on the Commodores OOC schedule.

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Karl Ferron image

Baltimore Ravens.com report Jeromy Miles is pushing for a starting role. Miles Ravens bio.

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Notes from the Lions camp say James Ihedigbo was popping players left and right.

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Boston College loses an FCS opponent.

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Recruiting 2015--Jared Southers II

247Sports image

I've blogged about Jared Southers, a 6-4 290 pound OL from NJ once before.

This article from NJ.com updates his recruiting.

Current leaders are Temple and Rutgers.

Recruiting 2015-- Danile Clifford IV

Clifford family image

I've blogged about Daniel Clifford a 6-5 325 pound OL from NJ three times before.

This article from NJ.com updates his recruiting.

His current top four are Iowa State, UConn, ECU and Buffalo.

Thursday--July 31st 2014

In his latest installment of his "Top-25" UMass players, Dan Malone discusses JUCO transfers Liam Porter and Ryan Johnson.

Johnson's UMass bio.

Porter's UMass bio.

I've blogged about the potential 2014 offensive line several times before. In an earlier interview, Whipple said he hoped the O-line would be able to go "7 or 8 deep". As Dan says, I would expect either or both Porter and Johnson to start. For one thing, they're older and UMass will start a very young team on August 30th. Boston College is likely to start five seniors on their offensive line that day.

My take on the top eight would be:

• Tyrell Smith RSSO 6-5 295
• Elijah Wilkinson SO 6-4 330
• Matt Sparks JR 6-4 290
• Josh Bruns RSJR 6-5 285
• Tyshon Henderson SO 6-7 339
• Liam Porter RSJR 6-6 293
• Ryan Johnson JR 6-5 320
• Fabien Hoeller SO 6-3 290

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UMass football breaks out on snapchat.

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Mike Wegzyn's Tennessee bio is up.

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Rob Blanchflower suffered a high ankle sprain in Steelers training camp.

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Matt Kier, a 6-2 215 pound QB playing for California (PA) had a offer from UMass.

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The BC blog "Soaring to Glory" looks at the Eagles path to a bowl game. They count UMass as a given win.

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The Toledo Rocket's football building gets a $5.5 million facelift.

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Wednesday--July 30th, 2014

I had an appointment at VAMC Northampton yesterday. I stopped in to see how the Performance Center was progressing. The work site was busy. The center and the press box are not finished. It looks as if they will be working right up to September.

The new field turf looks great! I spoke with some of the field workers and they thought the "UMass" logo came out especially good. They liked the Maroon & white colors with the gray and black shading.  The press box, the performance center and the field turf are outstanding, but there's only so much lipstick you can put on the stadium itself. It's still an old 50's structure.

There were no UMass coaches or players around. The door to the new weight room was propped open and I asked one of the workers if I could look inside and they said "Sure, why not?". I didn't want to push it so I just took a few images from the doorway. The weight room is going awesome.

Click on the images for a larger view. I set up a Picasa web album with ten or so images here.

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The UMass website has video from the "We built it" weekend.

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Dan Malone has MAC West season preview. He also teams up with Collegian sports editor Mark Chiarelli for a podcast about the changes to the UMass football team.

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Dan also continues the "Top-25" UMass players for 2014 with a post on Blake Lucas. Lucas' UMass bio here.

We will hope that Lucas got his "sophomore slump" season out of the way last year. In 2013, the Minutemen lost two games by one point. Sometimes the margin of victory (or loss) is razor thin. UMass finished 9th in the MAC going 12-19 .632 AVE.

Other kickers on the Spring roster are RSFR Marcus Colin and true freshman Matthew Wylie.

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A Bleacher Report writer includes Victor Cruz as an athlete everyone should root for.

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