Player countdown will resume Monday

I don't have access to the full set of players images, so I'll put the player countdown on hold until I get back.

The image above was taken at Media Day. Anyone who wants the full-resolution version for wallpaper, just e-mail me (address is in the "about me" section)

CSN starts releasing its 2007 Preview Magazine

CSN is releasing its 2007 Preview Magazine this week. The first 69 pages of content is here .

Whoa! The internet has reached Baileyville!

I take it back. Here I sit by the banks of the scenic St. Croix River with New Brunswick 100 yards away. The UMass Football Blog is active.

Blog news

I will be visiting relatives in Baileyville, ME this weekend. The internet has not yet reached Baileyville.

Therefore, the UMass Football Blog will not be updated on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Publication will resume Monday (or maybe Sunday evening).

More one the change in kickoff rules

Matt Vautour has an article on UMass Special Teams and the new 30 yard line kickoff rule here (registration required but worth it).

I've already blogged about this earlier .

Nine Days until football and #9

Only nine days until we open with Holy Cross!

Wearing #9 for UMass this year is Brian Ellis, 6-0 210 pd Safety from Brooklyn, NY. He will be a RS Junior this year.

Ellis played in nine games in 2006, starting one. He had 5 UT 12 AT 17 TT 1-5 sacks 1-5 TFL 1-3 INT and 1 PBU.

Brian, hope 2007 is a wonderful year for you!

More Stuff on Goodwin

Blogger is going through one of its periodic 'crazy" modes. it's not allowing me to edit the previous post about Goodwin and Binkoski. Changing fonts is also gone.

Goodwin was a Rivals three star player. From the BC 2006 signings page: "Ranked as the 12th best player in New England by rivals.com...SuperPrep has him ranked as the 14th best prospect in New England...a three-way star for Natick...earned multiple player of the game awards...Captain...helped Natick to a 13-0 record and Division II Super Bowl Champs and Bay State League Champs...Bay State All-Star Junior and Senior Year...Team MVP for Football...Boston Globe and Herald All-Scholastic...earned Super 26 All-State Team...also a stand-out in track...coached by Tom Lamb"

UPDATE: Matt Vautour has an article about Goodwin and other news here (registration required)

UMass Football adds two players

This just in from Jason Yellin, UMass Assistant AD for Media relations:

"UMass Football Welcomes BC Transfer Goodwin To Secondary

Speedy Roslindale native will start practice on Wednesday.

Aug. 22, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass football team added a pair of new additions on Wednesday. The Minutemen welcome cornerback Reshaude Goodwin, a transfer from Boston College and freshman lineman Michael Binkoski. The speedy Goodwin has four years of eligibility remaining at UMass and will compete for playing time immediately.

"Reshaude was the fastest player on BC's roster," said head coach Don Brown. "He will give us great depth in the secondary as he will vye for playing time in the secondary. He will also play a role on special teams as a returnman."

The Roslindale, Mass. native stands 5-11, 175 pounds and played at Natick High School. He took a redshirt season in 2006 at Boston College. At UMass, he will wear No. 27.

In High School, Goodwin earned Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic honors as a senior at Natick High School; played wide receiver and defensive back ... was a two-time All-Bay State League selection ... led the 2005 Redmen to a perfect 13-0 record and the Eastern Mass. Division 2 Super Bowl title ... made 29 catches for 679 yards and nine touchdowns in 2005 ... totaled 53 tackles, including two sacks; made seven interceptions ... completed his career with 1,273 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns ... played for head coach Tom Lamb ... played in the 28th annual Shriners Classical (June 2006); scored his team's first touchdown on a 100-yard kickoff return ... also starred on the school's track team.

Binkoski is also an in-state product from Worcester, Mass. He played at Worcester North High School where he was a three-sport star and team captain in football, baseball and hockey. He stands 6-2, 295 pounds. Binkoski is the son of Holy Cross hockey assistant coach John Binkoski, who played at UMass, graduating in 1974. Michael was honored with the Big Y Scholarship for Excellence after a sensation career in the classroom. Binkoski will wear No. 64 for the Minutemen."


Goodwin's BC page here .

Two articles from Jeff Thomas

Jeff Thomas at the Spring field Republican has an article on Thunder & Lighting at running back.

He also has an article on UMass' revamped defensive line.

He states that the UMass starters will be David Burris and Michael Hansen at DE. Brandon Collier and Kyle Harrington will be the starting defensive tackles. Brown has repeatedly praised Collier and said that Collier will be an impact player in the CAA. Harrington has gone from a scout team player to a starter on the DL, so he must have really improved.

This year's DL will have more depth with Wilner Alexis, Daniel DeLaire, Shaun Allen, Andrew Kervis and Bob McLaughlin available for packages.

Matt Stolte has been moved to UMass' depleted OL.

This Blog believes this will be a strong group for UMass. Brown likes to play attacking defense and this year we will have enough players to keep the intensity up. I look for seven or eight defensive linemen to play a significant number of minutes.

Ten days to go and #10

Only ten days to go until Holy Cross!

Wearing #10 again this year for UMass will be Joe Sanford, a 6-3 208 pd WR from Charlottesville, VA. He will be a RS sophomore this year.

Sanford played in all 15 games in 2006 on special teams.

Joe, hope you have a great season in '07!

Keeper has UMass over the Crusaders

Keeper has UMass over Holy Cross by 22.5.

UMH opener may be delayed

The field turf installation at UNH is not going well...

Colblyn is back, Ihedigbo on IR

Matty Vautour reports that Ben Coblyn has indeed returned to the UMass football team (registration required, but worth it). That's good news for the UMass Offensive Line. With the losses in camp, he's needed. Hope he has a great year.

He also reports that James Ihedigbo has suffered a broken arm in camp and has been put on IR by the jets. However, the Jets site indicates he has been waived...

UPDATE: Matt has more camp information in today's Gazette. Article here .

2008 Recruiting ----- Ike Igbinosun OL

Sources say UMass is recruiting Ike Igbinosun, a 6-2 260 pd OL from Rahway, NJ.

His Scout.com page is here . His Scoutcombines.com page is here .

He is a member of the New Jersey All-Combine team here (scroll down to OL)

Eleven Days until football and #11

Only eleven days until the 2007 season starts!

Wearing #11 again this year is Charles Walker, 6-1 230 pd LB from North Lauderdale, FL. Walker will be a RS Senior this year.

He started all 15 games last year. His totals were 37 UT 94 AT 131 TT 2.5-14 Sacks 2.5-14 TFL and 1 PBU.

Charlie, hope you have an All-American senior year!

New Kickoff Rule for 2007

One major change in the rules for 2007 is that kickoffs will now be from the 30 yard line.

College Football Stats (cfstats.com) has an in depth look at new kickoff rule.

Watched Brandon London play for the Giants last night

I watched Brandon London play for the Giants last night. He was in on almost all offensive snaps in the second half. He also played on the punt coverage team.

They did not throw to him and he got motion penalty with about two minutes to go.

Two Giants receivers ahead of him on the depth chart were injured in the game. One will be out for the season.

UPDATE: MSNBC has an article here about the injury filled game.

Bruce Dowd recaps the National Championship Game

Bruce Dowd has his first column of the 2007 season and recaps the UMass-Applachian State Championship game.

Twelve Days until football and #12

Only twelve days until football!

Wearing #12 again for UMass will be Liam Coen, a 6-2 220 pd QB from Newport, RI. Coen will be a RS Junior this year.

Coen had a tremendous year in 2006 playing in all 15 games and going 217-334-10 3,016 yards 160,52 EFF 65% completion, 26 TD 201.1 Yds/game.

Liam, hope you have another great year in '07!

CAA Preview live on CN8 at 8:00pm Sunday

The CAA Preview show will be on live streaming video at 8:00 pm Sunday (in about seven minutes as I type this)

CN8 live streaming video here (windows media required).

NFL Draft Scout's 2008 UMass Players

Over on NFL Draft Scout, they're following ten UMass players for 2008.

Matty Vautour on the UMass kicking game

Matty Vautour has an article on the UMass kicking game here (registration required, but worth it).

He talks about UMass punters Brett Arnold and Ryan Logan. Also about long snapper Cesar Rosario and his new back-up Bob McLaughlin.

He also talks about WR transfer from Syracuse Jeremy Horne.

Thirteen Days and #13

Only thirteen days until football!

Wearing #13 for UMass this year will be Scott Wallace a 6-3 185 pd QB from Avondale, PA. He will be a true freshman this year.

Welcome to the Minutemen, Scott! Hope you have a great career with us.

Matt Vautour on Sean Calicchio

Matt Vautour has an article on UMass OL Sean Calicchio who is returning to full time action after suffering a broken arm last year. Registration required, but worth it.

He also has some more training camp tidbits in his blog here . (Same deal on registration)

Under the "I-wonder-what-that-means" dept, Ben Colbyn's name is back on the UMass roster.

Two weeks to go and #14

Only fourteen days until the 2007 season opens.

Wearing #14 for UMass this year will be Octavious Hawkins a 6-2 205 pd QB from South Broward, FL. He'll be a true freshman.

Welcome to UMass Octavious! Hope this is the start of a outstanding career with the Maroon & White!

Article on a once and possibly future foe

When we played Montana last year they were without their power running back Lex Hilliard.

There is a interesting story about him here . There has been a recent study that non-contact ACL injuries may be related to cognitive function . Another article on the study here .

Who's got lights?

Southeastern Louisiana got lights.


(yes, grammar police, I know)

UMass Media Day and Practice image link

I have forty-five images of the UMass Media Day and practice on a Picasa Web Albumn. The albumn is here . You can look at images individually or as a slide show.

I'll add a link in the "UMass Images 2007" section in the sidebar. UMass fans and players are free to copy images as they wish, but citing the UMass Football Blog would be nice.

Fifteen days until football and #15

Only two weeks and a wake-up until football

Wearing # 15 again this year for the Maroon & White is Mike Omar, a 6-0 185 pd WR from Antioch, CA.

Omar will be a Senior this year. He played in 10 games last year. His totals 7-140 REC 20 AVE 1 TD 43 LONG.

I did not get an action shot of Omar at the practice I attended, and thus missed a shot of him making the best catch of the day, a one handed over the shoulder grab.

Mike, hope you have a great Senior Year!

UMass gets three players on the Sports Networks Pre-Season All-American team

The Sports Network has it's preseason All-American team here . Three UMass players are 1st team All-American: Matt Austin, Brad Listorti and Jason Hatchell.

UMass Special teams

I had a chance to talk with all three of the UMass kickers during the Media Day.

Chris Keopplin set himself in the UMass record books in one season. He set the school record for kick-scoring points with 99 and points after touchdowns with 51. He also tied the school record for field goals with sixteen.

I asked him about his game-winning kick against Montana. He said the biggest problem was trying to stay loose in the cold. On the kick he missed at the end of the game he said that it was 46 yards, which is at the end of his range. He said "I tried to kill it, and it ended up going low and got tipped".

Also spoke with Armando Curko . He said he was coming off a medical redshirt year. He has worked hard on his leg strength and he was looking forward to the season.

I also met UMass' new punter Brett Arnold a JUCO from Penn. He keeps the UMass average up for articulate, well spoken players. I asked him how his first training camp was going.

His answer may shed some light on the several players who have left training camp. He said, "The big thing is adjusting to the speed of the game. Coming from Junior College, the speed here is awesome." He later hit a couple of booming punts in practice.

Right Click on the following images and Blogger displays a full-resolution version.

More news stories

Howard Herman from the Berkshire Eagle has a UMass story here .

The Worcester Telegram has a story about UMass' opener Holy Cross here .

Brad Anderson's younger brother signs with the UMass Lax team.

Sixteen days until football and #16

Only sixteen days until UMass football opens.

Wearing #16 again for UMass this year is Sean Smalls, a 6-1 205 CB from Richmond, VA. Smalls will be a Junior this year.

In 2006, Smalls had 30 UT 29 AT 59 TT 1-2.0 TFL 3 BrUp 1 Fumble RCVR 1 FF.

Sean, hope you have an All-American year!

CAA preview show on CN8

The CAA will televise a 2007 Preview Show Sunday August 19th.

Live streaming video over the internet from CN8.

Saint0917 lists FCS on Satellite Radio

Our own Saint0917 lists the FCS games on Sirius Satellite Radio. I have Sirius and it you travel a lot it's great!

Holy Crap they're doing some work on the UMass Field House!

For the first time in many years the UMass Football Field House is getting a freshing up. It even looks like the roof might not leak this year.

Right click on the images below and Blogger displays a larger image.

Now if they only get the Physical Plant to stop storing crap under the stadium stands. Looks BAD!

2007 Media Day

I attended the UMass Media day yesterday. That's yours truly in the far right hand corner with the blue baseball cap and maroon shirt (right next to real journalist Matt Vautour in the green shirt). Thanks to the UMass athletic dept and Jason Yellin for allowing me to attend. Also thanks to all the friendly and articulate UMass football players who talked to me.

Coach Brown's media comments are here. Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican has an article here .

Carl Settenlund of the Worcester Telegram has an article centered on David Burris. He also mentions central Mass natives Ryan Logan, Eric Dickson, Jonathan Hernandez and Emil Igenagu.

Don't think the Minutemen have a target on their backs this year? This run of eight articles about UNH all mention UMass.

UPDATE: Matt Vautour has updates on Ben Coblyn, Brad Listorti and other training camp news here . Hmmm, the Gazette link seems to be slow/not working. Was doing great this morning. Try again later.

Seventeen Days and #17

Only seventeen days until the season opens!

Wearing #17 for the Minutemen again this year is Tony Nelson a 5-10 210 pd RB from Germantown, MD. Nelson will be a RS Sophomore this year.

Nelson played in 9 games in 2006 and was second on the team with 47-235 5.0 ave 25 long 3 TDs. He also caught 2 passes for 3 yards.

Tony, we hope you have a breakout year this season!

UMass starts two-a-day practice

UMass has started two-a-day practices. Story here .

Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican has story on training camp here .

More roster changes. Jeff reports that Justin Halas quit the team after two days of practice.

Video to get you cranked up

The Griz have a outstanding 2007 video here .

As a man of the male gender it may annoy you to watch a 1.6 second flash of cheerleaders on TV before they cut to three minutes of "My Bob's" commercials.

Watch then, 6.5 straight minutes of USC's Song Girls working it out in the 2007 Rose Bowl celebration. Better if you have good speakers. Crank it up!

WARNING, probably not work safe in today's politically constipated world.

Under the "News-of-the-weird" category: football players should not visit Sweden. They arrest you there for having muscles.

Speaking of Holy Cross

Holy Cross has a detailed 2007 season outlook up on their website.

Eighteen Days and #18

Only eighteen days until Holy Cross!

Wearing #18 again for UMass is Ryan Logan, a 6-2 217 pd WR/P from Leominster, MA.

Logan is a RS Junior this year. He appeared in five games last year on special teams and as a WR. He also is a member of the UMass Track team.

Ryan, hope 2007 is a great year for you!

Delaware gets a multi-year contract with Navy

Delaware has signed a contract with Navy for three years. They play Navy this year and then again in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Wish UMass could have signed with a Service Academy like that. Sigh.

One writer's top 100 FCS and DII draft picks

Josh Buchanan, who owns the DII website D2football.com has published a "top 100 list" of FCS/I-AA and DII players in Draft Daddy com . Buchanan writes for several new organizations that cover FCS/I-AA football.

He picks Brad Listorti as #23 and a projected 7th round NFL draft pick.

Nineteen Days until football and #19

Only nineteen days until football!

Wearing #19 for the Maroon & White this year will be Spencer Ridenhour , a 6-0 193 pd RS Junior from White Plains, NY.

Riddenhour played in 11 games and had seven TT and 2 BKUP for Penn State last year.

Spencer, welcome to UMass. Hope you have a great final two years here!

Matty Vautour on Nick Diana

Matty Vautour of the Hampshire Gazette has an article on Nick Diana in Friday's edition. Registration required, but worth it.

It will interesting to see who is Diana's backup. The 2007 press guide lists true freshman Josh Samuda as the second string Center.

Twenty Days until football and #20

Less than three weeks until we open with Holy Cross!

Wearing # 20 for UMass this year is Chris Pollard, a 6-2 200 pd DB from Camden, NJ. He will be a Junior this year.

Pollard is a JUCO transfer who join UMass in the Spring. Hopefully this image is him as there was no roster for the Spring Game.

Chris, hope you have a great career with the Minutemen!

Dave Coulson on FCS media days

Dave Coulson of the College Sporting News has a long article on attending the various Media Days sponsored by FCS conferences.

Mentions Coach Brown and UMass. Also mentions former UMass Coach Jimmy Reid down at VMI. Reid has his hands full at VMI. They went 1-10 last year. One problem with VMI is that they do not retain players. Reid only has seven seniors on the roster. Lots of recruits leave VMI because of the rigors of football and the stuff they put the cadets through. Some VMI news and Jimmie Reid interviews here .

Matty Vautour on the start of camp.

Matty Vautour of the Hampshire Gazette has an article on the start of UMass camp here . (registration required but worth it).

Yet more roster changes

There have been more additions and deletions to the 2007 roster.

Added:

• Spencer Riddenhour (whew! We were getting worried)
• Chauncey Incarnato (double transfer from Indiana and Notre Dame)

Deleted:

• Sloan Russett
  

Hopefully there will be no more deletions this year.

Twenty-one days and #21

Only three weeks until we open with Holy Cross!

Wearing #21 again this year is Michael Meggett, a 6-1 215 pd DB from Brooklyn, NY. He will be a RS Junior this year.

After a five game sit-out last year, Meggitt played in the last ten games in a row. He had 15 UT 8 AT 18 TT and 1 fumble RCVR.

Mike, hope you have a happy and productive Junior season!

Chuck Burton covers overlooked players

Chuck Burton of CSN has an article on the All-Anonymous team. Mentions UMass Center Nick Diana.

We're not going anywhere soon.

The NCAA has adopted a four-year freeze in movement to DI or between subdivisions.

Relevant quote: The Division I Board of Directors has enacted a four-year moratorium on permitting institutions to begin the process of joining the division – an action that among other things will prevent a school from moving from another division into Division I or moving between its subdivisions until August 2011.

Keeper's rating site starts up for 2007

Keeper's college rating site is starting up for again for 2007. Unlike most college stat sites, he covers FCS/I-AA extensively.

UMass is #1 FCS in FCS in his preseason ratings.

Conference ratings, including the CAA is here .

Article on Brandon London

The UMass website has an article by the Berkshire Eagle on Brandon London's fight to stick with the NY Giants.

The Giants drafted Steve Smith in the second round this year and he will undoubtably take up one receiver slot.

The Giants depth chart is here .

Article on Steve Baylark

There is a nice article on Steve Baylark in AZCentral.com. Registration is required.

Try Bugmenot.com for passwords if you don't want to register.

Image is by Rob Schumacker of the Arizona Republic.

Twenty-Two days until football and #22

Only twenty-two days until we open with Holy Cross!

Wearing #22 again this yea is Ke'Mon Bailey a 5-10 183 pd WR from Richmond, VA. Bailey will be a Sophomore this year.

In 2006, Bailey had 1 catch for 43 yards.

Ke'mon, hope 2007 is a great year for you!

Practice starts!

The first UMass athletic dept article of the season is here. Note that six Minutemen lifted 400 pds or better.

The main athletic page has an excellent video of the lifting comptetion and the first practice under the lights. Very well done. Hope the athletic dept does more videos. Got me fired up!

The image above is from the athletic dept

Twenty Four days and #24

Only twenty-four days until football!

Wearing #24 for the Minutemen this year will be Justin Halas a 6-2 240 pd LB from Phelan, CA. He will be a Junior this year. Halas is a JUCO transfer.

Justin, welcome to the UMass family and hope you have a great career with UMass!

Practice begins today!

Well, it's finally here. The 2007 UMass football saga begins today.

It's 68 degrees and rainy up here in New Hampshire. The new 2007 UMass Game Day site has the local weather for Amherst.

Hope everybody stays healthy and has a great camp!

Twenty-Four days and #24

Only twenty-four days until the 2007 season starts!

Wearing # 24 this year for the Maroon & White is Breyone Evans a 6-0 239 pd FB from Bristol, CT. He's a graduate transfer from Syracuse.

Breyone, hope you have a great last year with UMass football!

Recruiting 2008---QB Matt Coyne

Sources say UMass is interested in Matt Coyne a 5-11 184 pd QB from Bristol, CT.

His Scout.com page is here.

He has MaxPreps pages here and here.

Has offers from NEC teams. Interest from UMass, Delaware, UNH, Iona and Brown.

The CAA schools are probably recruiting him as a DB.

CAA Media Guide up

The CAA website has the Inaugural Issue of the 2007 CAA Football Media Guide.

Edited by Scott Meyer, it's packed with information about the league and the Leagues predecessors, the A10 and the Yankee conferences.

It's here. Worth down loading if you have a fat pipe.

Tales from training Camps

I know some UMass players read this blog. As training camp is about to open, this blog is aware that camp is generally not a lot of fun.

The heat, the humidity and getting chewed out by the coaches is not a joy.

However, no matter how bad it gets, you're better off than 2009 I-A opponent Kansas State's QB Josh Freeman. He reported in at 260 pds---and failed his fitness test.

No matter when you read this, somewhere in Manhattan Kansas, Freeman is jogging around a track being followed by an assistant coach in a go-cart with a bull horn :)

Twenty-Five days and #25

Only twenty-five days until we open with Holy Cross!

Wearing #25 for UMass again this year is Alphonus Augh, a 5-9 195 pd RB from Amherst MA. Augh will be a RS Freshman this year.

Alphonus, hope this is the start of a great career with the Minutemen!

Hofstra gets Field Turf

Hofstra football is getting Field Turf. See the end of this article about Hofstra's All-American LB Gian Vallante.

Maybe a familar surface will improve UMass' chances at James M. Shuart Stadium. I think we are about 1-5 on the island. Our loss there in 2005 knocked us out of the playoffs.

Hofstra may be the CAA's most improved team this year. They return nine starters on defense -----the most in the League.

Helmet Map and CAA Stadiums

Over on the Championship Subdivision Sports site a fan named "MrTitleist" has made up a Helmet Map of FCS/I-AA schools. It's pretty cool.

The CSS site also has a stadium database for the various conferences. it's here.

Twenty-Six Days and #26

Only twenty-six day until the 2007 season opens.

Wearing #26 this year will be Keiron Brown, a 5-11 176 pd DB from Margate, FL. Brown will be a Junior this year. He transferred from Toledo.

Keiron, welcome to UMass! Hope you have a great career with the Minutemen!

More Roster Changes

There is a revised roster posted on the Official UMass football site.

There have been a number of changes since the last revision. This roster is presumably the 2007 roster.

Gone are:

• Elijah Bynum
• David Chervansky
• Kevin Macon (ouch! I thought he might start this year)
• Demarcus Robinson (ouch! played in 12 games as true freshman)
• Kyle Lightner
  

Also touted transfer Spencer Ridenhour is not listed...

Added are:

• Keiron Brown DB transfer from Toledo
• Jonathan Emond DL
• Johnny Evans LB

Message boards for 2007

Here are some Message Boards for 2007, if you like to talk.

• Championship Division.com (general FCS/I-AA talk)
• CAAZone (traditionally not friendly to UMass fans)
• Holy Cross Voy Forum (difficult to register)
• Colgate Voy Forum
• Richmond Rivals forum
• Villanova Rivals forum
• Eagle Action.com (Boston College)
• Eagle Insider.com (Boston College)
• Die Hard Dogs.com (Northeastern)
  

Any one else know of any 2007 opponent boards?

Twenty-Eight days until football and #28

Only twenty-eight days until Holy Cross!

Wearing #28 this year for UMass will be Emil Igwenagu a 6-1 215 pd RB from Boylston, MA. He will be a true freshman this year.

According to the 2007 Media Guide his name is pronounced ig-wuh-na-GOO. After listening to the PA announcer at the National Championship game in Chattanooga mangle James Ihedigbo's name, I can't wait to hear what what will happen with Emil.

Emil, hope you have an All-American career with UMass!

Eric Gemunder's FCS/I-AA Newsletter

The longest running newsletter covering the FCS/I-AA division is produced by Eric Gemunder. He'll be starting his 2007 season coverage soon.

Subscribe to it here.

CSN Newsletter

CSN is offering a e-mail newsletter for FCS/I-AA junkies here .

UMass third in Sports Media Pre-Season Poll

UMass has been voted 3rd in the Sports Media Network's Pre-Season Poll. The voting team includes UMass' own Bob Behler .

The Sports Media Network will be producing a new FSC/I-AA weekly national internet radio show now that I-AA Waves is off the air. The first show will be August 29th.

Twenty-Nine days and #29

Less than a month to the start of the 2007 season!

Wearing #29 for UMass this year will be Brett Arnold a 6-0 180 pd P/K from Langhorne, PA. He will be a Junior this year.

Brett, hope you are an instant All-Conference player this year!

James Ihedigbo at Jets Training Camp

Courtesy of Chris Koepplin's family, we have some images of James Ihedigbo's first day at the Jets Training camp. James is wearing #44.

Head Coach Eric Mangini is the guy all in black in the background on the second image. Special teams coach Mike Westhoff is the guy in the white shirt behind James in the third image.

Right Click and Blogger displays a large version of the image.

Thirty Days until football and #30

Holy Crap! Only thirty days and we're all sitting in McGuirk watching UMass football!

Wearing #30 again this year for the Minutemen is Chris Cefalo a 5-11 215 pd FB from Ridge, NJ. Cefalo will be a RS Junior this year.

He appeared in four games last year and had 1-4 rushing yards.

Chris, hope you have a great season in 2007!

James Bryant ends up in Louisville

A while ago, I blogged about the possibility of James Bryant a LB/FB from Miami transferring to UMass.

He ended up at the University of Louisville.

Maybe that's not a bad thing.

Another Ridenhour article

I've blogged earlier about Spencer Ridenhour joining UMass this year. Note that the Penn State page listed in that post is already gone.

Here's another article about him selecting UMass when he decided to leave Penn State. A cached Penn State bio page is here (scroll down)

31 days and #31

Only 31 days until 2007 football!

Wearing #31 again this year for the Maroon & White is Armando Cuko a 5-11 180 pd K/P from Beverly, MA. Cuko will be RS Sophomore this year.

Cuko is coming off a medical redshirt year in 2006.

Armando, hope you have a great year in 2007!