Recruiting 2010-- Igor Garcia

Special thanks to a sharp-eyed reader who pointed me to this notice that 6-1 187 pd kicker Igor Garcia will join UMass football this fall.

Garcia is a Rivals two-star player.

YouTube highlights here.

Garcia was recruited by Michigan.

Spring Game Day News --- April 30th, 2010

Hope to see a lot of Blog people at the UMass Spring Game tonight. Looks like the weather is going to good.

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Holy Crap! Ron Chimelis has an actual article from UMass' Top Secret spring football.

Matty Vautour reports Kyle Havens says he has a lot to prove.

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The Boston Herald has another article on Vladimir Ducasse.

The New York Post says all eyes will be on Ducasse at the Jets mini-camp.

More from the Stamford Times.

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The Albany Times-Union mentions Jeremy Horne's signing with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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More on UNH's Scott Sicko's changing his mind.

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Recruiting 2010 ---- Stanley Aguh

Stanley Aguh a 5-10 172 pd DB/WR from Windson, CT will join UMass football as a walk-on this fall.

Aguh was All-Conference and Hartford Courant All-State in 2009.

His MaxPreps page is here.

Thursday News --- April 29th, 2010

The Springfield Sun-News says the free agent that sticks out among Cincinnati's signings is Jeromy Miles.

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Ryan Izzo talks about his choosing lacrosse over football.

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ESPNU has an article about a couple of Massachusetts High School players who will be seniors this fall.

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Jack Siedlecki will be the new HC at Wesleyan. He's friends with Kevin Morris and Siedlecki sat in at a UMass quarterback meeting.

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Craig Haley of The Sports network" wasted no time in publishing another FCS article about "Possible sleeping FCS giants in 2010"

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Wednesday News ---April 28th, 2010

Good Morning from snowy Jaffrey. The weather service is calling for two to five inches upstate.

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Tony Nelson has tryouts with both Washington and Cleveland (last paragraph).

Chris Shores of MassLive.com says Vladimir Ducasse may be in line for a starter's role with the Jets.

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Scott Sicko's holdout didn't last long. He signed a free agent contract with Dallas.

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Craig Haley has apparently taken over the FCS post at "The Sports Network" from David Coulson.

His first FCS article about FCS players taken in the draft is here.

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Over on the "Smart Football Blog", former UMass coach Jerry Gordon has an article on defending the I-formation (includes some UMass references).

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The CAA blogger has his latest post on CAA Spring football here.

He also has a list of undrafted CAA free agents (up to the 27th) at the end of this article.

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I am sad to report that a couple of MIT scientists have discovered a fatal flaw in invisibility cloaks. Don't buy an invisibility cloak without reading this first!

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Tuesday News ---- April 27th, 2010

UMass QB recruit Brandon Hill will be playing in the NJ Vs Northeast Football Classic on 06/06/10. The Classic's website has a video interview with Hill here.

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Victor Cruz is mentioned in this post by Northjersey.com about NY Giants free agents.

BigBlue.com, a Giants fan blog has a post on the eleven free agents (including Cruz) and the 23 tryouts invited to the Giants mini-camp. Besides Cruz, Dominic Randolph of Holy Cross and Seth Williams of Richmond received free agent contracts from the Giants.

The Brownsville Herald has another mention of Cruz (scroll way down) including his career stats here.

Chris Zardas is mentioned in this article by Eaglesmix.com.

New York Sports has a story on the NY Jets that mentions Vladimir Ducasse.

SportsNYTV.com discusses the Jets rookies including Vlad.

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Nepatriotsdraft.com has an updated list of all NFL free agent signings.

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More on UNH's Scott Sicko refusal of a free agent contract.

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The usually UMass-friendly Boston Herald is doing a lot better than the usually UMass-hostile Boston Globe.

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Required summer fiction: Owls' depth chart

Just a hunch, but this guy will be Villanova's biggest nightmare on Sept. 3.

Not quite up there with the Harry Potter Series, but the best work of fiction this spring has been penned by Al Golden.
Or at least part fiction.
It's called the 2010 Temple Football Depth Chart.
For something to while the time away in the "reading room" I like it.
There's some humor in it and I like comedy.
There's a strong purpose to it, mostly to light a fire under some of the more talented Owls.
That's all OK because this is a rough draft and not the finished version.
It's not this depth chart that needs to be taken seriously, it's the one released in the pre-game notes on the day of the Villanova game that matters.
I have a feeling, except for positions like quarterback, running back and kicker, there will be a lot of tweaking to it before the Mayor's Cup game.

OFFENSE
QB - Chester Stewart, Chris Coyer or Mike Gerardi
WR1 - Michael Campbell OR Hammond OR Deon Miller
WR 2 - Joey Jones OR Rod Streater followed by Haldeman
TE - Charlton OR Brown, then Alex Jackson, Cody Booth
RB - Bernard Pierce, Ahkeem Smith, Matt Brown
K - Brandon McManus
DEFENSE


DE - Adrian Robinson, Blueford
DE - Kadeem Custis, Johnson
DT - Big Mo Wilkinson, Paulhill
NT - Joseph, Jeff Whittingham OR Levi Brown
OLB - Tavir Whitehead, Quenten White OR Blaze Caponegro
MLB - Peanut Johnson, Marcus Green OR Johnson
OLB - Amara Kamara OR Jordan
CB - Marquise Liverpool OR Johnson, Nixon
CB - Jones, Griffin
FS - Jaquain Jarrett, Parker, Parker, Gildea
SS - Kevin Kroboth, Vaughn Carraway
P - Jeff Wathne or Cerrette

I think Evan Rodriguez, someone not even listed on the four-deep version, wins the TE job by Villanova. Gosh, I hope so because the ceiling of this guy's talent is about as high as the Volcanic Ash cloud from Iceland. He looked pretty good to me in the Cherry and White game.
I think the staff is intrigued enough by the 6-6 size on one side that Miller gives and he grabs that WR1 job.
If Charlton starts and plays significant minutes at tight end against Villanova (say, half the game), I will be stunned out of my mind.
Who knows what happens at quarterback, but I think Golden got it right. Chester Stewart has been here for awhile and it was his job to win in the spring and he might have just done enough to win it.
He certainly did enough to get Charlton moved to tight end.
I like Amara Kamara at linebacker and I like the size and athleticsm that Custis brings to the other end spot. That should help Adrian Robinson a lot.
Imagine being Chris Whitney on opening day, if you will:
A nasty 6-foot-4, 265-pound Custis coming at you from one end and a speedy equally nasty Adrian Robinson coming at you from the other end and people like Big Mo, Jeff Whittingham and Levi Brown helping to collapse the pocket from the middle.
Call that novel War and (Whitney) Piece.
And that would come under the category of non-fiction.

Monday News---April 26th, 2010

The Salem News features Kyle Harrington's tryout with the Chicago Bears. Good luck Kyle!

The Same newspaper feaures Chris Zardas' free agent signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

NorthJersey has a story about Victor Cruz's signing with the Giants.

Jeremy Horne is one of 11 free agents signed by the Chiefs. The Albany Times mentions Horne and Ducasse.

Jeromy Miles is mentioned in stories here, here and here.

The Epoch Times says Vladimir Ducasse will likely see playing time in week #1 of the Jets regular season.

CBS3 has video and a story on Ducasse.

The New York Post also has a story about Vlad.

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The Wall Street Journal says the NFL draft drives economists crazy.

UNH's Scott Sicko says the heck with it.

Five UMass players get a chance with the NFL

Victor Cruz signs with the Giants. Jeremy Horne with Kansas City. Jeromy Miles with Cincinnati Bengals. Kyle Harrington has a tryout with the Miami Dolphins.

Chris Zardas signs as a free agent with Philadelphia.

ABC 40 has story on all five here.

The Boston Globe mentions all five plus other New England players who will be in NFL camps here.

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Four CAA seniors were taken on the last day of the NFL Draft.

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Nineteen FCS players were chosen in the 2010 NFL Draft, including Tim Toone 255th (last player chosen).

More News on Vladimir Ducasse

OK after two days of no problems with the WiFi at the motel, I had no connectivity yesterday or today. I'm now back at the controls of Blog Central and will try to catch up.

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First, Vladimir Ducasse:

Matty Vautour on Ducasse's signing here.

ESPN on Vlad.

New York Daily News: Jets could cash in with Ducasse.

The New York Times says Ducasse will probably play guard for the Jets, if he plays at all. The Gray Lady is out of it as usual.

Read the Stamford Advocate instead. Ducasse meets with Jets, Ryan.

The Jets release pro bowl guard Faneca; stories here and here.

Jets take Ducasse #61 in 2010 NFL Draft

UMass athletic site says Ducasse is the second highest UMass draft pick since 1968.

NFL Draft tracker has the Jets taking Vladimir #61.

Boston Globe has story here.

RotoWorld says Jets steal Ducasse at #61.

MassLive.com here.

The NJ Star-Ledger here.

Probably a lot more coming tomorrow.

Friday News---- April 23rd,2010

Home Town Annopolis talks about Jeromy Miles' chances in the NFL draft.

Matty Vautour has an article about Miles and the NFL draft here.

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Another Bleacher Report article on FCS teams ready for the FCS-----and UMass is one of them.

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Pro Football Weekly talks about Vladimir Ducasse as being one of 10 seniors who helped themselves.

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The Bleacher report looks at FCS conferences that could expand.

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Former Rhode Island and Georgia Southern HC TimStowers is offensive coordinator at CCSU.

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Delaware's Pat Devlin does not regret transferring from Penn State.

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Transfers from Northeastern are thriving at Delaware.

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The latest version of the CAA's Spring Football Blog is up.

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Thursday News---April 21,2010

Whoa! I do have a connection!

Vladimir Ducasse has four articles this morning: Stanford Advocate, WEEI ,MassLive.com and Stamford Times.

Matty Vautour says Ducasse is awaiting the NFL Call. He also has UMass players in the NFL Draft.

UPDATE: Thanks to the kind reader who pointed me to this article in the Salem News about Kyle Harrington and the NFL draft.
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Another Bleacher Report UMass-to-the-Big-East article.

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The Sports network has an article on FCS players hoping for the NFL call.

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I might update this post later this evening. Gotta go now.

Blog News--04/21/10

Mrs. Blog and I will be taking a long weekend up in Maine starting tomorrow. Previously, the place we are staying did not have WiFi. This year, their website says "WiFi in selected areas". If I have some downtime and a signal, I'll try to update the Blog once or twice. If not, I'll be back on Sunday evening and will resume regular publishing at that time.

Everyone behave themselves until that time :)

Wednesday News ----April 21st, 2010

The Boston Globe says Vladimir Ducasse is ready for the next level.

Rich Gosselin has Vlad as a "top 100" pick in the NFL draft and includes a capsule on him.

Pro Football Weekly has Ducasse as the #5 rated OT.

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TampaBay Online has Jeremy Horne as a potential free agent or late draft pick.

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The UMass Football coaching staff will host two clinics for high school players on June 13th and July 30th. Call UMass football at 1-413-545-2026 and ask for the Clinic Director to gain more information.

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A Bleacher Report story says Pro Football Weakly has Armanti Edwards as the #5 QB available for the draft. I can't see pro football teams being interested in the 5-11 Edwards as a QB. I can see him drafted as an "athlete" and then trying to see if there is a way to get him on the field as a receiver or special teams player.

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Tuesday News -----April 20th, 2010

A Syracuse blog says the Big East should let UMass join if we upgrade football.

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A Bleacher Report article names Vladimir Ducasse as one of the "Top 10 non-BCS" players in the NFL Draft.

More Vlad NFL mentions here and here.

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The Sun-Chronicle mentions Jeromy Horne and Victor Cruz as possible NFL free agents.

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CantonRep.com mentions Jeromy Miles as one of the top free agent safeties in the draft.

Miles gets another NFL draft mention here.

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Future CAA league member Georgia State drew over 3,000 to their first ever spring game.

The Panthers better practice hard because the last game of their inaugural season is @Alabama, who drew 91,312 Tide fans to their own spring game.

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Highlights from Michigan's Spring game here.

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Monday News--April 19th, 2010

The Sun-Chronicle mentions UMass' Jeromy Miles in this article about potential NFL DBs.

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A couple more Vladimir Ducasse articles: Bills here, Browns here.

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William & Mary's defense dominated in the Tribe's spring game.

Another recap of William & Mary's spring game by the CAA.

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Boston College's LT Anthony Castanzo has been nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship.

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Thoughts from Cherry and White Day 2010

Some questions answered, some answers questioned and otherwise random thoughts from Cherry and White Day 2010:

I think this Mike Gerardi kid bears watching. If he doesn't have the "it factor", he's damn close to having it.

1) It's hard to make a decision about quarterback _ I liked all three quarterbacks, but no one really stood out on this day. Chester Stewart aired it out on the last play of the first half, but it didn't come close to a receiver. I like the fact that CS competed. I also like the fact that Chester Stewart had no interceptions all last season. I liked Mike Gerardi's poise. I thought that Chris Coyer had too many passes dropped. Slightest, if any, edge to Stewart on this one day. Great to see Vaughn Charlton out there competing at tight end and showing the a positive attitude and leadership he always displays. Gerardi looks like he's been there before. He looks like he expects to start. Everybody tells me he has no shot at playing, but it's always those guys you have to keep an eye on. The same people who poo-poo Mike Gerardi said Matt Brown wasn't going to do didly and he got 155 on Ohio on the MAC East title game. I think this Mike Gerardi kid bears watching. If he doesn't have the "it factor", he's damn close to having it. That's all I'm going to say on the subject. None of the three QBs did enough, but I'd have to rate Stewart's deep ball the best and Gerardi's poise the best based on this one day. Coyer probably blows them away in the elusiveness category, but everytime someone touched him, that was ruled a sack and that's just not fair to a guy who can duck out of danger and make positive yardage.
2) Event really is too big for the Edberg-Olsen Complex _ It's saying something when the best seats in the house are in the high-rise apartment complex across the street. It's got to be moved to Ambler next year. Bring the field up to standards. They have a nice horticulture program up there anyway. Put those students to work. I didn't go up on the deck because some day that thing is going to collapse below the weight of too many people and I don't want to be there when it does. Another reason to move it to Ambler.
3) Thank God Bernard Pierce didn't get hurt _ It says something that all three quarterbacks were wearing the orange ("don't hit me") jersey, yet it was open season on next year's Heisman Trophy winner (hopefully). I say take the orange jerseys off the quarterbacks next year, too.
4) Vaughn Carraway can catch after all _ The most heralded pass receiving recruit in a number of years finally found the field and the ball with a real nice interception. Hopefully, that's a portent of things to come.
5) Liked the contributions of big DT Levi Brown,   DE Adrian Robinson, WR Rod Streater, WR Delano Green, Pierce (of course) and the pride of Wall Township (N.J.) High, Blaze Caponegro (two interceptions on tipped balls), among so many. Brandon McManus, the best kicker in the MAC, nailed about a 51-yarder, which was a good sign particularly in a 24mph crosswind. Didn't like that there were so many tipped balls, but that can be worked on in the coming days.
Overriding thought was that I can't wait until Sept. 3.

Saturday News --- April 17th, 2010

In the seemingly zillions of articles about Vlad, this one by Ray Didinger of CSNPhilly.com stands out.

The Sun-Chronicle mentions Vladimir Ducasse in an article about the Patriots.

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Alex Blane of North Andover chose UNH over the Minutemen. His Wildcat bio is here.

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The Denver Post has an NFL draft article on Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards.

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Former North Carolina QB Mike Paulus talks about his move to William & Mary.

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Spinning Charlton's move to tight end

"Everybody was blown away by his vertical stretch, by how soft his hands were, and how well he ran with the ball after the catch."
_ Al Golden

Today's operative word is spin.
It's a form of propoganda making a move or position more sellable.
There have been a few famous "spin doctors" in the arts and media over the years.
My favorite was a guy named Mike Flaherty, played by Michael J. Fox, in the sitcom Spin City. Flaherty, the deputy Mayor, specialized in getting the mayor out of trouble by spinning an issue that otherwise wasn't flattering.
I could only think of one word when I heard the quotes coming from Al Golden's lips about Vaughn Chartlon's move to tight end on Wednesday.
Spin.
"Everybody was blown away," Golden told Owlscoop.com. "Everybody was blown away by his vertical stretch, by how soft his hands were, and how well he ran with the ball after the catch. So of all the things that you guys ask me every day, it's probably the biggest news, probably since I've been here."
Yeah, right.
Hmm.
Charlton has played no other position than quarterback since Pee-Wee ball, yet Golden gives a glowing report on the potential of Charlton as a pass-catching and route-running Division IA tight end.
Basically, Golden is telling us _ exaggerating just a little for effect, here _ that we might have had a John Mackey or a Pete Retzlaff right here under our noses for four years without realizing it.
If that's not spin, I don't know what is.
I'm not buying it.
Listen, I'm on board with the decision, whether it was Golden's or Charlton's. Vaughn is a great kid and a terrific team leader.
A lot of people I've talked to say it doesn't make sense because they've been grooming him to be quarterback for five years and he deserves a chance.
I've seen enough to know that they could groom him for five more years and he'll never be half the quarterback Adam DiMichele was or Henry Burris was or Brian Broomell was.
Temple needs a playmaking quarterback who can make good throws (often) under pressure. I don't think Charlton ever responded to pressure quite the way, say, DiMichele did. I don't think Charlton ever put enough points on the scoreboard.

I'm betting that the immensely talented Evan Rodriguez is better equipped to put up those kind of numbers, if properly used

Temple's program has reached the point where it needs to go from one Adam DiMichele to another Adam DiMIchele. There should never have been a disastrous drop in talent at that position, particularly when you have a recruiter as accomplished as Golden.
What happened, I think, is that both Chester Stewart and Chris Coyer (and possibly even Mike Gerardi) have passed Charlton on the depth chart.
The move to tight end was pure spin, a way to lessen the impact of the fall to the bottom of the depth chart.
If Chartlon catches 60 passes for 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns next season and blocks like Mike Ditka, I will admit I'm wrong.
I'm betting that the immensely talented Evan Rodriguez is better equipped to put up those kind of numbers, if properly used. Rodriguez's backups are more likely to be named Matt Balasavage, Cody Booth and Alex Jackson than Vaughn Charlton.
And that's no spin.

Friday News--April 16th, 2010

It's a cold and rainy morning here is the great Granite State. It snowed enough to cover the grass last night.

This article from the Sun Chronicle mentions Chris Zardas as a potential free agent pickup for the Patriots.

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Packernews.com rates Vladimir Ducasse as the third best guard prospect in the NFL Draft.

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More football rules changes from the NCAA for 2010. This one is a doozy:

'PROP also approved a proposal that penalizes unsportsmanlike conduct as a live-ball foul beginning with the 2011 season.

The change means, for example, that if a player makes a taunting gesture to an opponent on the way to scoring a touchdown, the flag would nullify the score and penalize the offending team from the spot of the foul."

The loss of a TD is a really severe penalty. Players will have to keep their heads if they are in the clear and on their way to the endzone.

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Budget troubles in Iowa led to a proposal to drop UNI football. The findings indicated no significant long term financial savings if the program was dropped. Note that in newspaper articles FCS programs are usually quoted to "cost" about $3 million. We have debated before about what are the real, as opposed to accounting, costs for FCS football. One yardstick would be the actual amount of money that would be available to apply to other school needs if football did not exist. The linked article says that amount would be saved is almost exactly what was quoted for the amount of money Hofstra could reassign after they dropped their program:$850,000. IMHO, that's a much better statement of FCS football costs.

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Draft Daddy has a pdf down load with their "Top 250" NFL draft prospects. Vlad and Jeromy Miles make the list.

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Josh Maurer and the UMass Network team have won two awards by the Associated Press for broadcasts in 2009.

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The latest edition of the CAA's Spring football blog is here. Note that the league officials will be meeting with Comcast Sports to work on the league's TV schedule.

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Our in-state OOC foe Holy Cross has announced their 2010 recruiting class. They only signed two players from Massachusetts, one each from South Hadley and Peabody.

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A look at the 2010 CAA composit schedule

The CAA has published its 2010 composite schedule. A pdf download version is here.

A look at the CAA's OOC schedule follows. The CAA had this to say: Nine of the league�s 30 non-conference tilts will feature opponents from the Bowl Subdivision classification, including four teams which participated in bowl games last season -- Villanova/Temple (Sept. 3), James Madison/Virginia Tech (Sept. 11), New Hampshire/Pittsburgh (Sept. 11), and William and Mary/North Carolina (Oct. 30). Massachusetts will also venture into The Big House to face tradition-rich Michigan (Sept. 18) in one of two CAA Football non-conference games against the Big Ten Conference. CAA Football enjoyed unprecedented success against schools from the Bowl Subdivision in 2009 when it recorded four victories over the higher level foes, making it the only FCS conference to log wins over the FBS out of the 90 contests played between the two divisions."

Delaware: West Chester, South Dakota State and Duquesne. SDSU finished 11th in the final poll and ended 8-4 in 2009. I believe this is the last year for the Hens long-running series with West Chester. Still, Delaware should be a solid favorite in all these games. Prediction: Hens go 3-0 OOC

James Madison: Morehead State, @Virginia Tech and Liberty. JMU beat Liberty 24-10 in Lynchburg last year. Prediction: 2-1

Maine: Albany, @Monmouth, @ Syracuse. The Black Bears were upset in Albany in 2009 16-20. The Blog thinks that won't happen in Orono. Prediction 2-1

UMass: Holy Cross, @ Michigan and @Stony Brook. Dominic Rudolph will be tough to replace for the Crusaders. Stony Brook is still a notch below CAA teams. Prediction: 2-1

New Hampshire: Central Conn. State, @Pittsburg and Lehigh. The Wildcats are 5-0 all-time aginst CCSU and 9-2 all-time against Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks have not been a factor in the Patriot League the last couple of years. Prediction: 2-1

Rhode Island: @Buffalo, @ Fordham and Brown. The Buffs were 5-7 in the MAC last year. Rhody lost to Brown last year despite having a big statistical advantage. Prediction: 1-2.

Richmond: @Virginia, Elon and Coastal Carolina. The Cavs lost to William & Mary last year 14-26. Another upset is possible. Elon is on the rise and went 9-3 and had their first ever playoff appearance in 2009. The Spiders also had one of the biggest graduation losses in the CAA losing 15 starters and 39 letter winners. They did add one of the top transfers in USC transfer Arron Corp. Prediction 1-2.

Towson: @Indiana, Coastal Carolina @ Columbia. The tigers beat CC last year 21-17 and should have more talent than Columbia. Prediction: 2-1.

Villanova: @ Temple, @Lehigh, and Penn. The defending National Champs should be the favorites in all three of these games. Prediction:3-0.

William & Mary: VMI, @ Old Dominion and @ North Carolina. VMI has struggled in FCS football for years. Old Dominion is in its second year of football. Prediction: 2-1.

Wednesday News-- April 14th, 2010

The Patriots Daily has an in-depth interview with former UMass safety Jeromy Miles.

They also have another question-and-answer session with former UMass FB Chris Zardas.

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Four Vladimir articles available: two by MassLive.com here and here, and one each by Bleacher Report and Niners Nation.

In addition, DallasCowboys.com has a mention of Ducasse here.

If you haven't seen the YouTube video of ESPN's interview with Ducasse, it's here.

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Former UMass HC Bob Pickett, who passed away in February will be honored by the Maine Hall-of-Fame during its annual banquet on June 13th.

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Two defensive linemen from Hofstra will be helping Old Dominion improve its defense this year.

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Mike Huguenin of Rival.com looks at the 12 worst FBS Vs FCS matchups in 2010. No CAA team was picked.

He also has an article breaking down the 57 games the FBS world will play against FCS teams this year.

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This year's OOC FBS team Michigan is still feeling the effects of Rich Rodriguez' tenure as HC.

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Tuesday News---April 13th, 2010

The Chicago Tribune rates Vladimir Ducasse the 8th ranked OT in the NFL Draft.

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A Terps Blog talks about the influence of Don Brown on Maryland's recruiting.

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Speaking of recruiting, this article talks about the number of New Jersey players who have excelled in the NFL. UMass has eight players from the Garden State on the spring roster and two recruits QB Brandon Hill and OL Ryan Young will be joining the Minutemen this fall.

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The NCAA will shortly approve two more bowl games for BCS teams, which will bring the total to an all-time high of 35. In long ago 1996 there were only 16 post season bowl games. To fill the slots the NCAA may have to allow teams with losing records to be bowl eligible.

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James Madison's football team's motto for 2010 is "Flip the switch".

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Has Cherry and White Day outgrown the E-O?

That's me behind the railing trying to get a peak last year.

Watched a little bit of the North Carolina football spring day on ESPN last weekend.
I was interested in a quarterback that they kept bringing up as being a future star, Bryn Renner.
Virginia High school football fans will remember Renner being involved in quite a few battles with rival Oakton High and its star quarterback, Chris Coyer.
Experts put both quarterbacks pretty much on the same level and Coyer earned player of the year honors.
I'm sure any questions that North Carolina fans had about Renner's arm or leadership skills were answered in the spring game. He had a productive day.
I'm wondering what questions will be answered about the Owls on Saturday in the 2 p.m. scrimmage at Chodoff Field.
Some I'm interested in, no particular order:
1) When will Coyer get to show his running skills?
I hope they allow the quarterbacks to get hit (I doubt it) because Coyer's ability to make plays in the open field with his legs will separate him from the other three quarterbacks, in my humble opinion. All four quarterbacks can throw the ball. Owls need to be multi-dimensional at that position. The Catch-22 here is that you end up starting the same guy who started last year if all the Cherry and White game becomes is a glorified passing drill.

2) Has the Cherry and White Game gotten too big for the E-O?

My vote is yes because I arrived some two hours before last year's game and could not find a spot in Lot 10. I had to park four blocks away at the Baptist Temple. If the game can't be moved to Lincoln Financial Field, I vote for Ambler.
Or Northeast High.

3) Will we see an improved pass rush?

Not unless they take the orange jerseys off the quarterbacks (see No. 1).

4) How much action will Heisman Trophy candidate Bernard Pierce get?

My hunch is plenty, but not 40 carries. I'd say between 10-20 for C&W, shooting for 20-25 quality ones per game during the season.

5) Where is the best place to buy Temple gear?

Err, Cherry and White. You can't buy good Temple stuff in any store not on campus, yet I get hundreds of comments from people throughout the year about "where'd you get that cool Temple (sweatshirt, T-Shirt, hat, etc.)?" I'd always say, truthfully, Cherry and White day. No other day compares when it comes to that stuff. Bring cash.

Recruiting 2011-- Abou Toure

UMass is interested in Abou Toure a 6-2 223 pd RB from Framingham, MA. Toure had nearly a nine yard/carry average in his senior year and totaled 1,204 yds and 11 TDs. See this article.

YouTube highlight film here. This article states he could grow to be a TE or DE.

Toure will be attending Valley Forge Military College this fall to work on his academics. Former UMass CB Corey Davis played there.

Also interested are Villanova, Boston College, Penn State and Oregon.

Image is by Marshall Wolf/Daily News staff.

Saturday News --- April 10th, 2010

Vladimir Ducasse visits four NFL teams according to this post.

CBS Sports picks Vlad as "Best Draft Value' as a OT.

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Another mention of ex-UMass RB Korey Davis at Liberty.

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Former UMass legend Marcel Shipp had a successful season with the Las Vegas Locos.

"Among the players posing for photographs with fans, signing autographs and recalling the Locos' triumphant 5-2 campaign will be running back Marcel Shipp, who had 81 carries for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns and ended the UFL Premiere Season as the league's fourth-leading rusher. He spent seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, rushing for 2,197 yards and 11 touchdowns."

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Yesterday I pointed out an error in professionally written piece about BC linebacker Mike McLaughlin. I mentioned most people find it easy to pick up an error in someone else's work. Sometimes a lot of people miss something.


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Fifth year senior Tennessee QB Nick Stephens is looking to transfer to a FCS team.

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Friday News--April 9th, 2010

Another draft article about Vladimir Ducasse, this time he's not from a "small school", he's from a "tiny school".

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Mlive.com has an article on potential seventh-round NFL picks. It mentions BC's Mike McLaughlin and talks about his uncle UMass' Joe McLaughlin. Like most people, I'm really good a noticing other people's errors. My own not so much. Can you find the "finger failure" in the post about McLaughlin? The article also mentions JMU's Arthur Moats.

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Former Notre Dame QB Demetrius Jones is available to join a FCS/I-AA team.

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FCS team Missouri State will lose almost three scholarships because of academic progress problems.

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More on the promotions for the Spring Football game.

Among the promotions are:

Hits 94.3 street team providing music and giveaways

Field goal kick to win Red Sox tickets

Coca Cola giveaways

Tailgate games such as ladder ball and bean bag toss

100 free T-shirts to for the Maroon and White teams

Intramural football game

Spring Game Friday April 30th

UMass is doing something new for the Spring Game. Coach Morris and the Athletic Dept are trying to add some excitement to end of Spring Football. The Blog thinks this is good work and this should add some buzz to Spring Football.

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Football Spring Fling Set For Friday, April 30

Tailgating starts at 4 p.m., UMass Spring Game at 7 p.m.

UMass Football will hold its first "Spring Fling" on Friday, April 30 at McGuirk Stadium. The team's spring football game will take place at 7 p.m. Tailgating gets underway at 4 p.m. There will be tons of giveaways, prizes and contests for the fans and students in attendance. Admission to the event is free so come on out and see coach Kevin Morris and his Minutemen.
--
Jason Yellin
Associate Athletic Director/Media Relations
UMass Athletics
250 Boyden Gym
Amherst, Mass 01003
Office: 413-577-3061
Cell: 413-687-1756
Fax: 413-545-1556
www.UMassAthletics.com

Follow us on TWITTER: Twitter.com/UMassAthletics
Follow us on YOUTUBE: YouTube.com/UMassAthletics

Thursday News-- April 8th, 2010

MassLive.com has an article about Vladimir Ducasse, which includes a number of links.

The Sacremento Bee says the 49ers might take Vlad in the second round.

Ducasse has just been named a Strength & Conditioning All-American.

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The CAA Spring Football blog has a bunch of new posts by players from Richmond, William & Mary, Maine and Rhode Island as well as the CAA staff writer.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch notes the Spiders lost seven starters from the Richmond offensive and defensive lines.

The SeasCoast ONline says New Hampshire is looking to solve offensive puzzles.

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The hazards of driving here in the great Granite State: check out this article. Key quote "It was difficult to assess the extent of his injuries at first, because his face was covered in deer guts, he said."

Wednesday News--April 7th, 2010

A most excellent commenter pointed me to a column by Boston Herald sports blogger Danny Ventura entitled "Football Team of the Decade". Seven of the players have played for UMass or are currently on the roster. The total rises to nine if you count Ryan Izzo and Cory Eason.

First team offense:

• Ryan Izzo (UMass lacrosse)
• Matt Austin

Second team offense:

• Brandon Flanagan

Third team offense:

• Chris Zardas
• Julian Colarusso

Third team defense:

• Cory Eason
  
• Kevin Byrne
• Sam Besong
• Darren Thellen
  

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Some people say Delaware is guilty of Gridiron gouging.

I spotted this over on the "Wizard of Odds" blog. Fans of the Kansas Jayhawks will need to cough up $105,000 over ten years to be assigned good seats at Memorial stadium.

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William & Mary, our first opponent for 2010, has a new mascot. The team nickname will remain "The Tribe".

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The State of UMass 2010 ---Defensive backfield

We have reached the second-to-last unit review for 2010. This time we consider the defensive backfield.

Losses for 2010:

• Jeromy Miles-Walter Camp All-American, All-New England, First Team All-CAA, 47 career starts including all 36 games at UMass, third on the team in 2009 with 62 TT.
  
• Cory Davis- Started all 11 games in 2009, led team with 6 BrUps, 24 TT.

Returning defensive backs:

• Ke'Mon Bailey-RS SR, played in 11 games-10 starts, 38 TT, 5 BrUp, 4.5-15 TFL
• Woody Carter IV JR Played in last seven games-0 starts, 4 TT
• James Carven RS SR-Played in 8 games-0 starts, 8 TT
• David Cozzo RS SR- Played in all 11 games-0 starts, 8 TT, 1 TFL
• Kumar Davis RS SOPH-Played in 9 games-1 start, 26 TT, 2 TFL, 1 INT
  
• Tory Esalomi RS SR-Played in all 11 games-0 starts, 3 TT, also returned kick-offs.
• Darren Thellen RS SOPH-Played in 11 games- 7 starts, 8th on team in TT (38), 1 INT
• Shane Viveiros RS JR-Played in 7 games-4 starts, 2 TFL, 1 INT
• Warren Wilson RS JR-Played in all 11 games-0 starts, 8 TT
  

New players available in 2010:

• Christian Birt RS FR
• Ryan Carter RS FR
• Mike Lee RS FR
• Thad McCummings RS FR

Discussion:

I would think Viveiros and Thellen will be the SS and FS respectively. KeMon Bailey should return to his starting postion at one corner. Esalomi, Cozzo, Wilson and Carven are candidates for the remaining CB position. We do return four players who had starts in 2009.

I need to see the RS FR play in the Spring Game to form any opinions on them. Despite the loss of Miles, I think the 2010 edition of the UMass defensive backfield should be pretty good. The unit needs to play every game and avoid meltdowns like Delaware and Hofstra.

Monday News --- April 5th, 2010

Pro Football Weekly has Vladimir Ducasse as a second round pick.

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Former UMass TB Korrey Davis is getting a lot of work for Liberty in Spring Ball.

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The Virginia Daily Press has some thoughts on UMass' first opponent of the 2010 season, William & Mary.

The Tribe had a terrific defensive year in 2009. "Ends Adrian Tracy and Sean Lissemore were the bookends on a unit that led the nation in rushing defense (61.1 ypg) and was second in scoring defense (12.1 ppg) and total defense (229.8 ypg). The Tribe led the CAA in scoring defense, rushing defense, total defense, pass efficiency defense, sacks and tackles-for-loss."

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Back on Friday, I published a link about Montana moving to FBS football. Part II from the Daily Interlake is here. Part III is here.

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Michigan's Spring game will the televised live on April 17th, 1:00 pm on the Big Ten Network.

Dish Network's channel 429 may have the game.

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The amazin' Butler Bulldogs are going to the National Championship in Basketball. The Bulldogs had a great season in FCS football too. The Bulldogs went 11-1 and won their first ever post-season game.

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Saturday News ---April 3rd, 2010

Doc's Sports Service, a sports handicapping site, has Vladimir Ducasse as one of the top "Small School" draft picks.

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Liam Coen is on the roster of the Alabama Vipers arena football team.

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Two former Hofstra players are expected to make an impact at Idaho State. You remember former UMass assistant coach John Zamberlin is HC there.

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UCLA is the latest college team to try the "Pistol" offense. I'll save you the trouble of Googling it: the Pistol offense.

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More on the desecration of Michigan stadium.

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Hope everyone has happy and peaceful Easter with their family.

Friday News---April 2nd, 2010

The Spring edition of the UMass football roster is up. A quick look at changes include:

Deletions:

• Michael Binkoski OL
• Nick Haag LB

Additions:

• Galen Clemons RS FR DL 6-2 225 from Central Michigan
• Anthony Dima RS FR 6-7 271 from Hofstra
  
• John Griffin SR TB 6-0 208 from Northeastern
• Chad Hunte SO LB 6-0 205 from Northeastern
  
• Anthony Nelson SR WR 5-10 180 from Hofstra
• Greg Niland RS SR OL 6-5 305 from Northeastern

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2010 UMass recruit Matt Campbell will sit out spring sports at Attleboro to rehab from a high ankle sprain.

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Montana is looking at jumping to FBS football in the near future.

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UNH's Sean Ware and Scott Sicko have NFL dreams.

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One of the most-linked-to college football blogs, "The Blue Gray Sky" (Notre Dame) is going silent.
That blog is only about six months older than this one.

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We'll never top last year's April Fool's joke

So here it is, an instant classic, based on the convergence of a report in New York Newsday concurrent with April Fool's Day.
We picked it up and ran with it and, surprisingly, a number of people fell for it despite seeing the day of the post.
That's the best kind of April Fool's Joke anyway.

Thursday News---April 1st, 2010

Well, the Blog is glad to be out of March. It seems like it's been raining since February. I'm looking forward to sunshine, flowers and Spring Football. Go UMass!

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The Dallas Morning News says the Cowboys are looking at Vladimir Ducasse.

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Chris Zardas is looking forward to a chance at the NFL or the Marines.

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The New Hampshire Football Report says a top football combine for high school players is coming to New England in May.

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More posts up at the CAA's Spring football blog. Posts from the CAA blogger (march 30th and 231st) as well as Delaware QB Pat Devlin and Martin Parker (DL Richmond).

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Vandals hacked out the "M" at the 50 yard line at Michigan Stadium.

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Anyone have a Amazon Kindle? I've been thinking of getting one. It is now possible to publish a blog to Kindle, but the blog author has no choice on pricing---including providing the blog content for free

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Add Boof Bonser, RH pitcher for the Red Sox, to my list of favorite sports names.

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