Recruiting 2015---Antonyo Sotolongo

247Sports image

Several recruiting services say UMass has offered to Antonyo Sotolongo, a 6-0 197 pound Safety from Miami, FL

247Sports page here.

From a January 19th Scout.com article: "Last season as a junior Sotolongo recorded 65 tackles and four interceptions. He returned three of those picks for touchdowns.
“I made some big plays for us this past year. I made some good plays,” Sotolongo said. “I excel in coverage and I have good speed and range out there.”

Hudl.com has physical stats and video highlights.

Besides UMass, Sotolongo has offers from Duke, Arkansas, Oregon State, Purdue, Tulane, Cincinati and UCF.

Thursday--March 13th, 2014

Very interesting video from the UMass web site focusing on Coach Liam Coen and the the three QB in camp.

Freshman Andrew Verboys appeared to be wearing #18, which was worn by Matt Quinn last year.

Dan Malone comments on the video and Liam Coen's demeanour as a coach.

Re-read Matty V's article from February about Coen returning to UMass.

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The Baltimore Sun says James Ihedigbo is visiting the Detriot Lions today.

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Bleacher Report looks at the unstable life of a college football assistant coach.

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Boston College held its Pro-Day yesterday.

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The Shreveport Times says an early signing period for college football recruiting is looking more likely.

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Recruiting 2015--Qaadir Sheppard

Nj.com image

NJ.com reports UMass has offered to Qaadir Sheppard, a 6-3 229 pound LB from New Rochelle, NY.

NJ.com article here.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Sheppard holds an offer from Rutgers. Boston College, Maryland and Old Dominion are interested.

Recruiting 2015-- Daniel Clifford II

NJ.com image

I've blogged before about Daniel Clifford, a 6-4 320 pound OL from Hoboken, NJ.

This article updates his recruiting including an offer from Iowa State.

Wednesday--March 12th, 2014

Yesterday Dan Malone talked about the return of Marken Michel to the Minutemen. Michel, a 5-10m 185 pound WR from Plantation, FL should be a big boost for UMass' passing offense. In 2011 Michel appeared in only six games, but ended up as the fourth leading receiver on the team; he went 28-229 8.2 AVE 56 LONG 38.2 AVE/G

Taylor C. Snow image

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Ed Saint-Vil gets some quotes in this Collegian article on Athlete Ally.

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Former UMass HC Kevin Morris has been named OC for Monmouth.

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AJC.com looks how the proposed early signing period for college football would impact recruiting.

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Athlon Sports ranks the FBS HC jobs in order of desirability and concludes UMass is #125 of 128. Boston College ranks 60th and UConn 76th.

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OT, but CBS Sports says the A10 needs a superstar program to get national attention.

Tuesday--March 11th, 2014

Dan Malone reports on the first day of the Minutemen's Spring practice.

Dan also has an excellent, detailed article on news from the first practice.

There is also a video report from the first practice.

Lots of stuff to talk about from Dan's report. Let's start with some of the personnel changes.

Returning to the UMass fold are:

• DL Al Leneus
• DL Leo Krizanovic
• LB Vondell Langston
• WR Marken Michel
• WR Iric Harris
• LB Mike McKenna

Also new are five early enrollees:

• DL Da'Sean Downey
• OL Anthony Fernandez
• TE Jordan Fiske
• QB Andrew Verboys
• WR Jalen Williams

If you don't remember, Whipple's offense is a Pro-set "heavy" meaning it uses a fullback. Dan reports that Daquan Mack (6-1 255) was working at the fullback position in the practice. Fullbacks in Whipple's offense rarely ran with the ball, but frequently caught the ball out of the backfield.

Also it looks like UMass' traditional colors have made a comeback.

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Former UMass offensive line coach Dave Johnson helped the Ohio Bobcats break in their new indoor practice center.

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Football Scoop reports Chris Malone, a former UMass coach under Mark Whipple has been hired at Tennessee- Chattanooga. Malone's bio here.

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Sports Illustrated looks at what it would take for one of the teams from the mid-major programs to make the four-game NCAA playoffs.

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How good an athlete is Victor Cruz? Watch this video.

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James Ihedigbo is listed in this review of  top AFC North free agents.

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Recruiting 2015--Dontae Strickland

New Brunswhick Patch image

Several recruiting services say UMass has offered to Dontae Strickland, a 5-11 180 pound Athlete from South Brunswick, NJ.

Scout.com three star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Strickland also holds offers from Wake Forrest, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Virginia, Temple and West Virginia.

Monday--March 10th, 2014

Coach Whipple doesn't want UMass players feeling comfortable.

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Coach Whip's Twitter feed has an interview with Coach after the first practice, but I'm not getting any audio.

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The Boston Globe says the "Blarney Blowout" didn't help any aspect of UMass, including the effort to upgrade our football program.

Indeed, last year the training video and Professor Page really put a crimp in to UMass' in-state recruiting. UMass doesn't need any more bad publicity.

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Former UMass star Jeromy Miles marries his college sweetheart.

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A Cal blog comments on the Golden Bears coaching staff including ex-UMass secondary coach Greg Burns.

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Phil Steele bases his  recruiting rankings base on the number of VHT's (very highly touted)  and HT's (highly touted) and then ranks them by percentage of recruiting class. The system basically ignores the HT's, so UMass with 1 VHT and 1 HT recruit is ranked higher than say Wake Forest who had 0 VHT's, but 17 HT players.

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This year 102 underclassmen will leave college for the NFL Draft ; the Milwaukee Journal says that's not a good thing.

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Saturday--March 8th, 2014

Matty V. says UMass is set to open its first practice under Coach Whipple.

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Rob Blanchflower gets a mention in this NFL draft article.

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This Philly.com article says Emil Igwenagu will have to play his way on to the Eagles for the third consecutive season.

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Hustle Belt's Bryan Vance wonder what kind of program would the three directional Michigan schools in the MAC would have if they combined their resources.

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Jordan Lynch took part in DB drills at NIU's Pro Day.

Lynch and NIU's Jimmie Ward drew a crowd at the Pro Day.

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This article mentions UMass recruit Jarell Addo.

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And now---- QB helmet cams.

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OT

Someday I'll watch a UMass hockey game on TV and the Minutemen will win.

Recruiting 2015-- Gerald Nvule

Nvule #84/ Hudl image

ESPN Boston reports UMass has offered to Gerry Nvule, a 6-3 225 pound DE/TE from Cambridge, MA.

ESPN story here.

Hudl.com has video.

Nvule also has an offer from Holy Cross.

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Friday--March 7th, 2014

The above image is from Coach Whipple's Twitter feed. Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view. Hopefully, there's a lot more than 11.7 points per game in that playbook.

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Two former UMass stars are on this years College Football Hall-of-Fame ballot.

Rene Ingoglia, Massachusetts-Running Back-Finished career ranked second all-time in FCS history in TDs (54) and as school’s all-time leader in rushing (4,624) and carries (905) among others ... First UMass player to average more than 100 ypg rushing in career.

Steve Schubert, Massachusetts-Wide Receiver-Named First Team All-America in 1972 ... Averaged 81.9 yards receiving per game in 1972, which ranks fourth on the school record list ... Holds school record for average yards per catch in a season in with 20.1 in 1972. 

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Bryan Vance of Hustle Belt updates the MAC's Spring Practice schedule.

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SB Nation reports the NCAA has modified the targeting rule.

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Herd Haven looks back at Marshall's 2011 recruiting class including UMass transfer Blake Frohnapfel.

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Colorado Coach Mike MacIntyre sees a more productive spring for the Buffs.

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"In the FCS Huddle" previews the CAA's spring outlook.

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Recruiting 2015--Lukas Denis

ESPN Boston reports UMass has offered to Lukas Denis, a 5-11 170 pound DB from Everett, MA.

ESPN story here.

Hudl.com has some performance stats.

Junior highlights above.

Thursday--March 6th, 2014

Former UMass coach and player Bill Durkin has been hired at Costal Carolina.

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The Orlando Sentinel looks at five MAC games to watch in 2014. UMass at Miami is one of them.

A MAC helmet schedule is available here.

NIU football will hold their Pro Day tomorrow. Husky QB Jordan Lynch struggled in Northern Illinois' bowl game and again in East-West Shrine game. He needs a good showing to be drafted.

Ball State looks to replace star QB Keith Wenning.
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Colorado, one of four BCS opponents UMass faces this year has been struggling with inconsistent QB play.

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Lancaster Online says Penn State's brand is one of the most valuable in college football.

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The BC Blog "BC Interruption" reports five Eagles' players have left the team.

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The NCAA rules committee tabled the proposed slowdown rule.

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Recruiting 2015-- Joe Gaziano

Brendon Hall image

Yesterday I posted a link to an ESPN article stating UMass has offered to Joe Gaziano, a 6-4 240 pound DE/TE from Xaverian Brothers in Westwood, MA.

Hudl.com has stats and video.

Gaziano was ESPN's Boston Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

In this article from October 2013, the Boston Herald says Gaziano can do it all.

He also holds an offer from Boston College.

Wednesday--March5th, 2014

This article mentions Norvel Stewart, a 6-2 220 pound WR UMass recruit. I've blogged about Stewart before.

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Hustle Belt's Bryan Vance has the MAC's Pro-Day schedule.

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Buffalo started the league's Pro-Days Monday (warning- headache inducing graphics).

All 32 NFL teams showed up to see Khalil Mack work out.

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Comcast Sports Net Baltimore says the Ravens are unlikely to re-sign James Ihedigbo.

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Victor Cruz thinks he could run the ball.

CBS Local says fuhgeddaboudit!

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Football Scoop has the hottest college football program in the nation. Hint-- They'll be playing at McGuirk on November 12th.

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Recruiting 2015--Derek Dumais

Dumais #79/ Luann Gaber image

ESPN Boston reports UMass has offered to Derek Dumais, a 6-5 320 pound OL/DL  from Marblehead, MA

ESPN article here.

Hudl.com has video.

The Minutemen are the first to offer to Dumais.

Tuesday--March 4th, 2014

Dan Malone has his UMass Athletics notebook with the standard info on the 2014 schedule.

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The MAC Blog "Hustle Belt" has a fan post predicting UMass will jump to 4th in the MAC East.

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Rutgers has new recruiting tool, a custom Rutgers football app.

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When Bowling Green visits McGuirk 09/27/14, the Falcons will be the first FBS team to visit Amherst since Ball State on Sept 1, 1984 (UMass won 26-10). The Bowling Green News previews the 2014 football team.

The MAC Report online says the Falcons are upbeat about uptempo.

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Colorado, our second BCS OOC opponent in 2014, is aiming higher.

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Athlon Sports ranks the BCS teams 2014 rosters: Penn State 27th, Vanderbilt 45th, Boston College 59th and Colorado 65th.

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Recruiting 2015--Chris Garrison

Thomas Roy image

Several recruiting services say UMass has offered to Chris Garrison, a 6-3 215 pound WR/OLB/SS from Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA.

Scout.com three-star player.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Visited Boston College on 2/16 for Junior Day.

Garrison has offers from UMass, UConn, Boston College and UNH.

Monday--March 3rd, 2014

Matty V. has an article on the 2014 UMass schedule; he adds some details such as Band Day will be October 18th at Gillette.

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The Indy Star breaks down the Ball State Cardinals 2014 season and sees a win over UMass. Note that Ball State plays two FCS teams and Army. Then compare with the Minutemen's Boston College, Vanderbilt and Penn State...

The Star-Press explains how the Cardinals ended up with two FCS games.

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Buffalo is another MAC team who will pad their schedule with Duquesne, Army and Norfolk State.

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The LA Times says the proposed slow down rule won't see the light of day.

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Lost Lettermen has some over-the-top uniform designs.

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Saturday--March 1st, 2014

The 2014 UMass schedule is up!

Excellent home games for both Gillette and McGuirk.

The Amherst season ticket holders will see:

1. 09/27 Bowling Green 10-4 MAC Champions, went to Little Caesar's Bowl
2. 11/12 Ball State 10-2 went to Go Daddy Bowl
3. 11/28 Buffalo 8-5 went to Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Gillette:

1. 08/30 Boston College  7-6 - went to AdVoCare Bowl
2. 09/06 Colorado 4-8 - went 0-5 away in 2013
3. 10/18 Eastern Michigan 2-10 -went 0-7 away in 2013

The MAC website has the complete MAC schedule.

Two of the UMass home games will be televised on ESPNU/ESPN2: Ball State and Buffalo.The away game at Akron will also be on ESPNU/ESPN2.

Matty V. has a story about the schedule here.

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Matt Daley analyses the 2014 MAC schedule.

NBC Sports looks for the most MACtion games of 2014

The MAC Report Online looks at the MAC's OOC schedule.

FanIQ predicts which MAC teams will go bowling in 2014.

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