Nick Canelas of the Daily Collegian has a story on which players will play leadership roles on the defensive side of the ball after losing Darren Thellen and Perry McIntyre from last season.
Harry Plumer of the Springfield Republican has a feature on Joe Colton being awarded a scholarship on Wednesday. Colton says that a major reason for his determined play this year was being doubted as a FBS player coming out of high school.
Stephen Hewitt of the Daily Collegian takes a look at the impact several freshmen have made this season on the UMass football team.
Freshmen making impact, providing optimism for UMass football - The Daily Collegian
Stephen Hewitt of the Daily Collegian takes a look at the impact several freshmen have made this season on the UMass football team.
Freshmen making impact, providing optimism for UMass football - The Daily Collegian
Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette has a preview of the Miami (Ohio) game focusing on the challenge the UMass secondary will have with Red Hawks quarterback Zac Dysert who is one of the top passers in the league.
In UMass' first ever game at the FBS level, Darren Thellen's tipped pass for an interception by Tom Brandt was named the Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter. Thellen dove out of bounds to tip a pass by UConn QB Chandler Whitmer back into the field of play where Brandt secured the pick in the first quarter of play. It was Brandt's first career interception.
Harry Plumer of the Springfield Republican has a story on how UMass football practice changed on Saturday from preseason camp mode to game-week mode with the Minutemen preparing to face UConn this Thursday night.
Harry Plumer of the Springfield Republican and Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette each have stories on the visit of Lt. Governor Tim Murray to Thursday's football practice as the Minutemen closed preseason camp.
John Johnson of the Boston Globe takes a look at the impact of Brockton natives Darren Thellen and Greg Hilliard on the UMass football team this season.
Darren Thellen was named one of four "College Football Heros" by the Boston Herald staff after his impressive defensive performance last weekend in the win at No. 9 Delaware. Thellen had a pair of interceptions for the second straight game.
Jim Fenton of the Brockton Enterprise looks at the connection between former Brockton High School players in this Saturday's UMass-Boston College game. UMass starting safety Darren Thellen is a former Brockton standout and will be matched up against some of his former teammates.
Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette looks at
the leadership role of Darren Thellen among the defensive backs. He also has a feature on transfer running back Chris Burns.
A year ago, as he prepared to begin his first full season as a starter, Darren Thellen talked about wanting to live up to the high standard set by the University of Massachusetts safeties who'd preceded him.
A year later, he's the one setting the standard.
At practice Monday, Thellen marvelled at the speed of his role transition.
Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican
looks at the UMass secondary, the experience returning at the positions and what the young group must do to improve in 2011.
The University of Massachusetts defensive secondary was young and pretty good last year.
This year it is still young, but looking to make the leap to exceptional.
"We're young but very talented in the defensive backfield," redshirt junior Darren Thellen said. "Even though we're young we've got a lot of game experience in us and that's going to help us out this year."
UMass All-Access catches up with UMass Football Blueshirt MVP's Darren Thellen and Rob Blanchflower from Monday's practice and Julian Talley from Wednesday's practice session.
Rachel Roberts of MassLive.com has a story up
on the make-up and team chemistry of this year's UMass football team.
With only two weeks separating preseason camp from their opener at Holy Cross, the University of Massachusetts football team is geared up and ready to showcase their talent; both young and old.
Head coach Kevin Morris leads a team with 40 percent of its players and staff brand new, but he's ready to display what his squad will bring to their last season in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Check out this week's football MVPs including Tyler Holmes, Chaz Thompson, Darren Thellen. The players talk about spring football and about the UMass football move to FBS and the MAC.
The bar they're being measured against greets the University of Massachusetts safeties every time they walk into the stadium. Among the 20 UMass legends displayed on huge maroon banners on the University Drive side of McGuirk Stadium are three standout safeties - James Ihedigbo, Shannon James and Jeromy Miles.
Since the championship season of 1998, the Minutemen have always had either an All-American or a player who'd become an All-American at safety. Miles, who graduated in May, is the most recent addition to the UMass fieldhouse's wall of All-Americans where he joined recent safeties Ihedigbo, James, Anton McKenzie and Jeremy Robinson.
Read Matt Vautour's feature on UMass' current safeties in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.