UMassHoops.com

[Ron Burgundy]

Good to know, any word on Nunez? Hopefully he's on track to contribute this year. Was pretty highly regarded coming out of high school, we could really use a guy like that at DE. To me, our greatest asset going into this year is both th OL and DL. It will be pretty tough this year to get any wins, however the fact that we have size and ability up front going into a transition year hopefully translates into not get pushed around. We're thin on both lines so staying healthy would go a long way.

[SJGMoney]

Didn't mention him, and I wouldn't expect him to as he hadn't seen him on the field yet. I think we have much better depth on the O-line, Molnar said on the Sirius interview we had 7 MAC caliber o-linemen. Dee line is the complete opposite, and he expressed concern about depth at all the defensive positions.
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UMass '87

[SJGMoney]

I referred above to Coach's comments regarding Ryan Delaire as a player to watch on defense. Anybody want to venture a guess on who he described as THE player to watch on offense? Exact quote was "I've been keeping him under wraps but I'm going to unleash him against UConn"
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UMass '87

[DEM]

My guess is Jerome Lewis.

[SJGMoney]

Nope. Only one guess so far, which is not good, so here's a hint. If you check out the latest video on the UMass Athletics web site it's about a photo shoot for the Alumni magazine or something. This player was featured, which I would have found surprising if Coach hadn't mentioned him.
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UMass '87

[ShotPutNC]

That leaves:

Tom Brandt
Jordan Broadnax
Rob Blanchflower
Kellen Pagel
Darren Thellen
Alan Williams
Quinton Sales
Brandon Potvin
Antoine Tharpe

Process of Elimination:

-Broadnax is known to be our top RB potentially, so he wouldnt be a surprise.
-Same with Pagel, Blanchflower
-Sales is an OL, and I have no idea how you unleash an OL on a team.
-Similar to that, I would take away Brandt, Thellen, and Tharpe because at LB and DB I think it is harder for you to make an impact beyond shutting part of the others teams playbook down. A QB can take a LB or DB out of the game by gameplanning around them.
-Leaves Potvin (DE) and Alan Williams (RB). Potvin could be a terror at DE and maybe Charley thinks he stacks up well against opposing OTs or OGs. But, SJG mentions it is a surprise that he would be included. Between Williams and Potvin, Williams is definitely the bigger surprise because he only played in 5 games last year totaling 35 carries...

Mystery Weapon: Alan Williams, RB

[SJGMoney]

Broadnax is the answer. And I think you might be in the minority in assuming he is thought to be our top RB. I've heard much more speculation that it was going to be more of a RB by committee or that the senior Williams was going to be more of the bell-cow. Certainly Coach has mentioned Broadnax in the reports we saw during the spring but no more or less than he did 3-4 other RBs (Williams, Burns, Smith etc). And while Broadnax got a lot of carries in the spring game that wasn't too surprising as Williams got hurt in the first series.
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UMass '87

[ShotPutNC]

I would consider him the top guy out of the ones that participated in the spring camps and stuff. Inserting the frosh and Michael Cox into the mix may change that certainly. But, perhaps you are right. I was surprised to see that he also had only 35 carries last year.

[SJGMoney]

The stats from last year ar pretty remarkable, Hernandez was just a beast. I bet a tough between the tackles runner like him would have loved to be the RB in a spead offense like Molnar is installling.
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UMass '87

[DEM]

Count me as another who was faked out by the "under wraps" comment.

Not to toot my own horn, but I actually made a comment last season on here to the effect of predicting him to take over after Hernandez - he looked impressive in the carries he had as a true freshman.

Any guesses as to the other candidates at the skill positions on offense? Obviously Blanchflower at TE is a possible one...then at WR, I'm thinking our ND transfer, along with Marken Michel...any other likely ones for a third WR (or maybe another TE or RB/FB if we don't go with a 3 WR formation)?

[Jackman]

Late to the party, but I was thinking Marken Michel. Broadnax was already a solid contributor, last I saw him. With a bit more experience reading the blocking and pursuit of the defense, I have no trouble believing he could make the leap to J-Hern's level if he stays healthy. Maybe he's secretly a great receiving weapon too? From what I heard, our running game is now mostly quick hitters out of single back sets. Grab 'n' go. Maybe that suits Broadnax.

[ShotPutNC]

I figured this was the best place to put this. I was looking for UMass updates on twitter this morning and came across one tweet I found peculiar.

@TrevellisO tweeted

[SJGMoney]

[quote="DEM"]Count me as another who was faked out by the "under wraps" comment. quote]

Just repeating what coach said when asked by someone who they should keep an eye on. It surprised me because in interviews with the press or the spring practice recap videos on the web he certainly mentions him but doesn't single him out by any means. He mentions the other RBs as much if not more and gave me at least the RB by committee impression. His comments however gave me the much different impression that this guy was just a little more special than the rest.
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UMass '87

[DEM]

No worries, I know what you mean. Thanks for sharing the info.

[69MG]

I already posted this in the BB thread for Tyler. From UMass74's UMass Football Blog, Trey Dudley-Giles named the best all around athlete.
http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/2011-12-notables-north-suncoast/14059/