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| 247Sports image |
This article from 2020 reports he had nine Power Five offers coming out of HS.
Was third on the team with total tackles and had 9 TFL in 2023 (good numbers for a DL) .
Gillespie has ten total offers with UMass as the only offer from FBS. He could be on the field against a bunch of Power Five teams if he signs with the Minutemen.
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| Dartmouth athletic dept image |
Gaurdin took a visit to UMass on December 8th. He was fourth in TT's for Dartmouth in 2023. Overall he went 10 GP 48 TT 35 UT 18 AT 8 PBU"s 2 FF.
Gaudrin has FBS size and he could be on the field against Missouri next year, if he signs with UMass.
The UMass Midnight Ride Collective has the latest edition of their podcast up.
They discuss recruiting and also OL transfer Brayden Rohme checks in for the show.
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UMass OL Wyatt Terlaak made the Academic All-District team.
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On a cold, rainy, dreary day in Fenway, Boston College beat SMU to improve their record to 7-6.
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UConn signs 16 players in the early signing period.
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Army cancels it's 2024 game against Syracuse. No word yet on UMass' 2024 game with the Black Knights.
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Hudl.com has senior highlights.
Sarkodieh is a big DB. He could grow into the Viper position or even a OLB. He had seven offers with UMass as the only FBS team. He can play in front of friends and family in Amherst and he should have a lot of room for growth.
Frank Ladson, a 6-4 205 pound transfer WR from Clemson has committed to UMass
Ladson was a four-star recruit out of HS.
Ladson's Clemson bio here.
Ladson was Clemson's highest ranked recruit in their 2019 class. He had 32 offers coming out of HS. For the Tigers, he went GP-GS 30-8 21-428 6 TD's. Ladson has reportedly battled injuries for a significant portion of his career. If healthy, he could make an impact for UMass. With one year left to play, he could also improve his chances in the NFL draft.
Amherst Wire has a nice article on the gains and losses of UMass football in this season's transfer portal.
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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has "What we learned from the early signing period".
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SI.com has a short post on Cal offensive lineman Brayden Rhome transferring to UMass.
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2023 opponent Arkansas State lost to Northern Illinois in the Amelia Bowl.
The Red Wolves high-powered offense, which scored 52 against UMass and 77 against Texas State was held to 19 points.
Arkansas State HC Butch Jones had an serious meltdown after a controversial call at the end of the game.
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2023 opponent Eastern Michigan had a total flame-out in the Ventures Bowl totaling only 150 yards of offense and lost 59-10.
An Eagles' player sucker-punched a South Alabama player well after the game was over and started an epic brawl.
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If you're looking for a game to watch, try finding the D-III championship game between Cortland State and North Central.
I watched a replay of that game last evening. It was 7-3 at halftime. Then nine touchdowns in the second half..
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Mrs Blog and I wish all blog readers, UMass football fans, players and staff a wonderful Christmas.
May your holidays be merry and bright! And may Santa bring us victories and a bowl game in 2024..
Brayden Rohme, a 6-6 290 pound OT transfer from Cal has committed to UMass.
Started 15 games for the Golden Bears.
Rohme should be in contention for a starting slot in Amherst. He's an excellent addition for Minutemen football.
In 2023, Mazotti was San Jose State's third leading receiver totaling 11 GP 23-322 2 TD's.
Mazotti has one season of eligibility. He's an athletic TE who could make an immediate impact on the UMass offense.
Keeney-James' Eastern Washington bio.
Keeney-James went 61-825 and 4 TD's for the Eagles. He's fast and has a pro-sized body. He should supply senior leadership and should be in the mix for a starting job right away in Amherst.
The UMass website has a post on the ten early signings from yesterday.
The Hampshire Gazette has a story on the ten recruits with some quotes from Coach Brown.
WBNG.com has a short post on OL Tanner Burlingame signing with the Minutemen.
YouTube has Coach Brown video on the ten signings.
Recruiting sure has changed a lot in a short time. Yesterday's signees are probably only about a third of the players who will join UMass this year.
I like QB AJ Hairston. He should team with Ahmad Haston to give UMass a serious dual-threat QB room for the foreseeable future.
Also like WR's Kezion Dia-Johnson and Kenyon Massey. Dia-Johnson is one of the highest ranked players to sign with UMass and Massey was a top-50 player out of the powerhouse NJ Paramus Catholic program. Both should give UMass some "long-ball" receiving threats.
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The Milford Daily News has a story on former UMass QB Brady Olsen joining Central Connecticut State. Olsen's a classy guy. Hope he finds success with CCSU.
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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on the expected early signers for the 2024 class.
The UMass football Twitter feed has real-time updates as the fax machine spits out the players paperwork.
Twelve recruits are expected to sign today, which could be only about 1/3 of the total new arrivals. The NCAA allows a one-for-one replacement for players who enter the transfer portal plus the normal 20+ recruits .
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New Mexico State suffered a offensive letdown against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. The Bulldogs held the prolific Aggies offense to just 200 total yards and ten points, their lowest total of the year.
The game was played on rival New Mexico's field and Aggie coach Jerry Kill described New Mexico's hospitality as "chicken shit".
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MAC champion Miami-of-Ohio lost to Appalachian State in the Cure Bowl.
The Redhawks punted five times and lost three fumbles to hold their point total to nine.
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| NEO athletic dept image |
247Sports also has video highlights.
Had 40 TT's and two INT's for 2023.
This article from 2022 has a capsule on Gibbs.
Gibb had 14 offers including an FBS offer from Louisiana Tech. He should have a great time playing the viper position in Don Brown's attacking defense.
Ellis was second team All-Conference in 2023. He was a three-year starter for Bryant and has impressive career totals in defensive statistics. He should bring experience and leadership to the Minutemen secondary. He'll get to try his game against three Power Five teams in 2024.
Painton is an athletic big man. He played as a TE at Columbia and as DL in high school. The Minutemen need to rebuild their OL and Painton should find a lot of opportunity for playing time in Amherst.
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| Coastal Carolina image |
Coastal Carolina bio here.
Proche was a three-star recruit coming out of JUCO. He played in thirteen games in 2022 and had 31 TT's. In 2023 he played in three games and had three TT's. Proche had a Power Five offer from Kansas State coming out of junior college.
Coach Brown loves CB's and has put a lot of them into the NFL. Proche should be in contention for significant playing time in Amherst.
In 2022, Pinkney had 50 TT's and 2 INT's. In 2023 he appeared in seven games and had seven TT's. He would have one year of eligibility left.
Pinkney would be a good fit in Don Brown's attacking defense.
Tipton has five offers including UMass, Louisiana Tech and soon-to-be-FBS Delaware. There is a lot of playing time available at TE in Amherst and Tipton could find a home with the Minutemen.
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| Cathedral Prep image |
Rushed for 332 yards and four TD's in this game.
Totaled 2565 yards, 9.3 yards/carry and 38 TD's in his prep career.
UMass was the first FBS offer for Hollingsworth. He's the younger brother of Jyree Roberts and Jerry Roberts.
UMass wants to run the rock. Good luck to Hollingsworth in his career in Amherst.
There is lots of playing time available on the Minutemen offensive line. Edwards could find a home in Amherst.
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Update:
Had 38 TT's and a pick-six for the Dragons in 2023.
Took an OV to Amherst this weekend.
Scruggs has nine offers including FBS offers from Akron, Buffalo, Old Dominion and Utah State. Caoch Brown coaches the DB's himself and Scruggs could have a great time in the Minutemen's attacking defense.
Everything you need to know about official visits.
On offense, the Minutemen need offensive linemen with three positions open after graduation/transfer portal.
At TE, Gino Campiotti graduated. Matt Smith just had his second knee operation.
Other TE's on the roster include Eni Falayi, Jackson Manning and Jason Weir. Magnus von Saldren was moved from DE to TE this year. He was on the sidelines, but did not dress for any games AFAIK.
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Liberty's coach Chadwell and New Mexico State's Jerry Kill named conference USA's co-coaches-of-the-year.
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In a bowl-season first, the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando will feature an edible mascot.
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Members of the Gridiron Club received a 30-minute video relating to the status of UMass football and other topics like conference realignment.
I've mentioned this before, but I think Chancellor Reyes' involvement in UMass Sports is a very positive sign for the program and UMass sports in general. If the campus management is indifferent or hostile, it would be very difficult to get improvement.
The ongoing rapidly changing environment of college sports means standing pat is a bad management decision.
I'm a powerlifter and one of the guru's of powerlifting has a meme "If you don't have a plan, then your plan is to fail".
Other takes from the video
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OT, BUT AN EXCELLENT READ
How UMass grad and former Minutewoman athlete Erin Calipari is studying how addiction hijacks the human brain.
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| Northwestern State athletic dept image |
Also had a home visit by Coach Casula
Lots of playing time up for grabs in Amherst. McMillan could find a home with UMass.
UMass has 21 players on the College Sporting News All-Independent teams.
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| Chris Tucci image |
Reading between the lines of the article plus social media posts, it appears there will be no announcement on conference affiliation until late spring or so.
One positive that is not mentioned is UMass chancellor Javier Reyes seems actually interested in Minuteman sports. If the chancellor is indifferent or hostile, it would be a serious brake on improvement efforts. Reyes would be remembered by UMass fans, if he could shepherd the athletic dept to a stable situation.
Another positive is the new "Midnight Ride Collective". With the transfer portal and NIL, college football recruiting has been totally changed in just a couple of years.
If you want UMass to be successful, this year join the Collective or the Gridiron Club and help make it happen.
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The Liberty vs Oregon Fiesta Bowl should be on the bowl season's most interesting games.
AZ Central thinks the Ducks will win.
The Richmond Times reports Liberty and JMU's bowl bids cap the rising status of those two programs.
Hail Florida thinks the Gators could poach Liberty's offensive coordinator.
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The Chicago Times says good riddance to the four-team college football playoff.
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| 247Sports image |
Entered the transfer portal from Air Force.
Futubotten has five offers with UMass as the only offer from FBS. The Minutemen need reinforcements on the OL and Furubotten could find playing time early in Amherst.
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Dequan Finn, Toledo QB and MAC Player-of-the-year will enter the transfer portal.
Finn is probably looking for a Power Five landing spot. UMass will play the Rockets again in 2024 on September 7th in Toledo.
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2023 opponent Auburn will play Maryland in the Nashville Music City bowl.
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Penn State, UMass' other 2023 Power Five opponent, will play #11 Ole Miss in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Nittany Lions ended up #1 in the country in total defense, first downs allowed, sacks and sacks per game.
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Reactions to Alabama getting in the playoffs over Florida State.
The coming 12-team playoff is not enough. FBS needs a FCS-style (and like DII and DIII) 16-team playoff. The five FBS league champs, plus the six Group-of-Five champs, plus five of the highest rated remaining teams. That would be a fan and media monster..
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There are four remaining undefeated college football teams.
Liberty gets #8 Oregon and Bo Nix in the Fiesta Bowl. That should be a pretty good game.
Odds for the bowl game are not out as of the time I'm writing this.
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2023 opponent Army plays Navy Saturday in Gillette. The Black Knights are a 2-point favorite over Navy.
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Twelve Sun Belt teams will play in bowl games this year.
Six MAC teams including 2023 opponents Eastern Michigan, Toledo and Miami of Ohio will play in bowl games.
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New Mexico State will play Fresno Sate in the New Mexico Bowl.
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Tristan Armstrong enters the transfer portal.
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Miami of Ohio stifled Toledo's prolific offense and won the MAC championship yesterday.
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SMU beat Tulane 26-14 in the AAC Championship.
At 13-0, Liberty should be a lock for a New Year's Day bowl.
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Fox Sports predicts six of UMass' 2023 opponents will go to bowls.
They predict Liberty vs Missouri in the Peach Bowl.
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Dashawn Jenkins declares for the NFL draft.
Jordan Mahoney enters the transfer portal.
Zamar Wise enters the transfer portal.
Kay'Ron Adams declares for the NFL draft and reflects on his UMass career.
If you have NFL dreams, you want your chance while you still have some miles left on your body. Good luck to the seniors who declare for the draft. All UMass fans will be following your career.
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Howard Herman has some random thoughts about the Patriots, UMass and other sports topics.
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The CUSA championship game last evening was a doozy with Liberty outlasting New Mexico State.
Liberty had 712 total yards of offense. Flames QB Kaidon Salter had a monster game accounting for 484 total yards (319 passing and 165 rushing).
New Mexico State write-up here.
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Toledo and Miami of Ohio meet today at noon for the MAC conference championship.
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The Midnight Ride Collective has the latest version of their podcast "Outside Amherst". They discuss the UConn game and conference realignment.
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The Hampshire Gazette reports on the more than ten UMass players who have entered the transfer portal.
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In addition:
Josh Brunelle enters the portal.
The Blog wishes him the best of luck and a starting position at his new school.
The Milford Daily News has a post on Olsen's move to the transfer portal.
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Juan Lua enters the NFL draft.
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USA Today previews tonight's Liberty-New Mexico State CUSA championship game.
A Sea of Red says the Flames are looking for the next step for the program.
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James Madison loses their HC to Indiana.
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I watched a replay of Oklahoma State-BYU game on the treadmill yesterday afternoon. Josiah Johnson had two catches. For 2023 he went 21-163 and 1 TD.
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