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John Connolly put together a story for the Boston Herald covering UMass football redshirt-freshman Todd Stafford's switch from quarterback to tight end. Stafford took snaps under center while redshirting the 2013 season before the 6-foot-7, 250-pound native of Riverside, Connecticut, switched roles ahead of fall camp.
Read more below:
Todd Stafford trades QB role for TE | Boston Herald
Saba Aziz of the Boston Herald sports staff wrote up a piece on UMass field hockey alumna Hannah Prince earning a spot on the United States National Team following the conclusion of the 2014 Women's National Championship. Check out what Prince and UMass head coach Carla Tagliente had to say below:
"As so often is the case in sports, when you dream big, good things happen. Former UMass-Amherst field hockey captain Hannah Prince is a prime example.
Prince, 22, realized her life-long dream of making the U.S National senior team last week, following the 2014 Women's National Championship contested at the Spooky Nook Sports complex in Lancaster, Pa. Prince joins 11 Olympians and seven newcomers on the 30-athlete roster, announced by U.S. Head Coach Craig Parnham..."
The conclusion of the story is available through the Boston Herald website here. More on UMass field hockey is available on UMassAthletics.com.
The Boston Herald has a story on local college product that are hopeful of hearing their names called as the NFL Draft starts on Thursday night. Read about it in : Local prospects hoping to catch on.
Offensive lineman Greg Niland of East Bridgewater, who began his career at Northeastern University before it dropped its football program, and went on to play his final season of eligibility at the University of Massachusetts, has piqued the interest of several NFL teams and could be a late-round pick.
Other UMass players to watch are wide receiver Anthony Nelson, who caught 61 passes last season, running back John Griffin of Westminster, another NU transfer, and quarterback Kyle Havens.
"Nelson did real well at the BC pro day and turned some heads," UMass coach Kevin Morris said. "Griffin, as well, with his physical skills. Nelson has some people wanting to take a second and third look at how good he is with the ball and how fast he is. Havens, too, has a couple of teams interested. We just need to get this (NFL) lockout to get unlocked, to get these guys into camps to show what they can do."
Tonight and next Monday, college hockey will take center stage on the Boston sports scene. Alumni and fans of Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard will pack into the Garden as the schools battle for city bragging rights in the Beanpot.
It's a great tradition that leads to a simple question: Why doesn't basketball have a similar event?
"I think in the state of Massachusetts you have to do some untraditional stuff just to keep the fans interested and give them kind of a special day," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "Massachusetts is such a strong professional sports state that you have to keep people's interest by doing some different things on the college level."
Earlier this week, I caught up with an old friend, James Ihedigbo. You may know James as the hard hitting safety and special teams ace from the Jets; I know him best from our battles on the intramural courts at UMass. He didn't seem overly interested in reliving the time my squad beat him and his football teammates. Apparently he has more important things on his mind...whatever.
After a 7-0 start, UMass has dropped four straight games. There could be a "here we go again" feeling in Amherst, but the Minutemen are staying optimistic.
"There's obviously disappointment that we're not coming away with victories, but at the same token, there's no sense of quit in the guys," coach Derek Kellogg said. "I think they still feel like we can make something happen this season."
One obvious cause of the slide is stiffer competition. The losses have come against BC, Maine, Seton Hall and No. 24 Central Florida.
UMass is a mostly young team, which has led to some inconsistency. But Kellogg is confident the underclassmen will continue to develop.
"All in all, I like where we are as a team and a program," Kellogg said. "My job is to get a consistent effort every single time out from all the guys."
The first time Anthony Gurley laid eyes on Derek Kellogg, he was convinced good days were ahead for the UMass basketball program.
"You could tell he wasn't just here for the job," said Gurley, a senior guard for the Minutemen who made his way to Amherst via Newton North High School with a brief stop in Winston-Salem, N.C., along the way. "Coach Kellogg has done a great job of putting together a blueprint of a top-25 program and putting us on the rise. I'm very confident in the direction this program is headed."
urley has a scorer's mentality, a focus that frequently resulted in individual play in his first two seasons at UMass. Now a senior, Gurley is scoring more than ever. But he's also become an all-around player, with career-highs in rebounds, steals, field-goal percentage and 3-point shooting. Most importantly, UMass is 7-0 entering tomorrow night's Boston Tip-Off Classic game against Boston College at the Garden.
"I think I've matured a lot," said Gurley, a Roxbury native and former Newton North star. "My game has expanded. I'm trying to play a more complete game, get my teammates involved more and just play to my strengths."
"Delaware is leading the league in wins, so if we play well then we'll be rewarded," said UMass coach Kevin Morris. "Their run-and-pass combination is real strong and their quarterback (Pat Devlin) will probably be the player of the year based on his play so far. Defensively, they've played consistently well."
"They kept throwing the ball to the flat, so I wanted to get in good position. I read off the quarterback's intention and made a good break on the ball. I was surprised, especially on the first one," said Holmes, who joined Jerard White (1996-99) and Anton McKenzie (2000-03) as the only UMass players to have two interception returns for TDs in a career. "The second one, I was kind of the free player in the zone, reading off the quarterback's eyes and got a good jump on the ball. It provided great momentum and tremendous energy for my team.
Here are preview of the game:
Some players are men for all seasons. UMass co-captain Emil Igwenagu can best be described as a man for all positions. In three-plus seasons (including his redshirt year) with the Minutemen, the 21-year-old junior has played fullback and linebacker, served on scout teams, been a special teams performer, and finally found a home at tight end.
"I don't really have a favorite. I like what I'm doing now," said Igwenagu, who will be in action today (3:30 p.m.) when No. 8 UMass (4-1) hosts No. 20 Richmond (2-3) on Homecoming. "(My versatility) helps me out. It's true. As a tight end, I feel I can do a little bit of everything. I'm not strictly a blocking tight end and I'm not strictly a receiving tight end. I do a little bit of both.
The 2010 Boston Tip-Off Classic was announced yesterday at TD Garden, which will host the Dec. 4 doubleheader featuring three local teams. Northeastern will face Drexel, followed by UMass going up against BC. A portion of the event's proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital Boston.
Here are the stories from the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
On Dec. 4, UMass will rekindle its Commonwealth Classic rivalry with Boston College (6:30 p.m.), and Northeastern will host Philadelphia-based Drexel (4 p.m.) in the doubleheader scheduled for the Garden.
The four Division 1 programs representing the Atlantic Coast Conference (BC), the Atlantic 10 (UMass) and the Colonial Athletic Association (NU, Drexel) will gather for a press conference this morning at the Garden. Proceeds from the Tip-Off Classic will benefit Children's Hospital and Al's Angels, a program that serves the homeless in the Greater Boston area.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette has this notebook on the game from Monday's paper.
The Daily Collegian has this recap of the win.
The Boston Herald has another mention of the game.
Read Sunday's stories here in JTAM: Sunday's Recaps.
Nelson, a junior receiver for The Pride, began sending out game tapes to other schools. In the meantime, Hofstra offensive line coach Bill Durkin, a former UMass star, was telling Nelson about the unique opportunity UMass could offer. Following a visit with his parents to the Amherst campus a few days later, Nelson had found a new home.
Check out the story in the Boston Herald.
No. 11 UMass (3-1, 1-0 CAA) rallied to win at Stony Brook (1-3), 26-21. John Griffin, a senior transfer from the defunct Northeastern football program, had 132 yards and a touchdown. Junior co-captain Tyler Holmes had an interception to ice matters.
Resiliency has become the UMass calling card.
"It was a battle, a real toe-to-toe fight throughout . . . the guys just stuck with it and made some plays," said coach Kevin Morris. "The kids aren't afraid to keep coming after it to get the win. Now, the negative was we got some penalties (seven for 60 yards) to put oursleves in trouble and Stony Brook is a really strong team and ran the ball well against us with play-action. It was a real physical game and we came out good on that end of it. But, at the end, the team came back to win."
The Minutemen play at Towson on Saturday night.
Assuming the Celtics keep the maximum 15 players and depending on how other positions shake out, Gaffney could be in a battle with summer acquisition Von Wafer for one of the final roster spots. Despite that uncertain future, Gaffney has a good feeling about the Celtics this season.
"The environment in the locker room right now is something special," Gaffney said this morning before the C's charity golf tournament at the Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy. "There's obviously a lot of talk about the Miami Heat right now, but we're a team that's determined and looks ready to get this thing going."
Celtics Town has a snipet on Gaffney and his enthusiasm for the season.
No coach likes to claim a moral victory after a tough loss, but there is little doubt that UMass coach Kevin Morris feels proud of his club after it proved it could play with the big boys, losing a heartbreaking 42-37 affair at Michigan, ranked No. 20 in the FBS entering the game.
Read John Connolly's full notebook in the Boston Herald.
Try neither.
The No. 18 Minutemen (2-0) carry the FCS banner into The Big House in Ann Arbor this weekend (Saturday, noon) to face a potent Wolverines squad (2-0) riding high after victories over UConn and Notre Dame.
Read the full story in the BostonHerald.
A telltale sign of that grit came during a fourth-and-2 play from the Tribe 7-yard line late in the third quarter of the season opener at McGuirk Stadium. UMass elected to go for it instead of kicking a field goal while trailing 16-14. The Minutemen botched the play on an illegal forward pass. The Tribe responded by driving for a score to go up 23-14 and position UMass coach Kevin Morris for some second-guessing.
Here's the full story from the Boston Herald.
