Game 12: @ Ohio
This is awesome!!
UMass Football @UMassFootball 1h
Seniors last tackle at their last practice! #UMASS https://vine.co/v/hUV56KJXwzV
This is awesome too. Love these guys.
UMass Football @UMassFootball 1h
Seniors exit the field during their last practice. #UMASS https://vine.co/v/hUVnMA2bvKq
- Refuse2Lose83
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Since it's Thanksgiving, I just want to say thank you to everyone associated with UMass Football for all the hard work they do. This fall has been amazingly fun because of them. No matter what the score is at the end of the game, I always have a fun time watching them play.
Let's bring home the W tomorrow! Go UMass! Muck Fax Page!
Let's bring home the W tomorrow! Go UMass! Muck Fax Page!
Since this will be the last game (possibly ever) for a great group of Seniors I wanted to share these thoughts here as well as the 247 sports board about the UMass football class of 2013:
We are getting to a point in time where most of our seniors will have been recruited as FBS athletes. Most of these young men did not come to UMass as such. For many of them UMass was their only scholarship offer. They have been through a transition and a coaching change. They came here intending to play weekly games against the likes of Rhode Island, Albany, Delaware and Central Connecticut. Instead, they have had sttretches where they have played Wisconsin, Kansas St. and Vanderbilt in a 4 week span. They will end their careers losing many more games than they have won.
However, through it all, these seniors have not complained one bit. They have stuck with this program, they have bought into a new system and they have worked their butts off. Regardless of wins and losses, these seniors have made me proud. They may not have started their careers as FBS athletes, but they should all hold their heads up high at the end of today's game and know that they are just that. They have done everything in their power to rise to that level. The school, the athletic department, alums and fans should be very proud of these true Minutemen.
In closing, when I think of this team I am hopeful that 10 years from now I (and we) will think of them a lot like I think of former head coach Mike Hodges. Many fans and alums were disappointed with the program when Coach Hodges was the head coach. However, it was only later on, with the advent of the internet and 24 hour sports media that most of us really knew what he was up against. In the Mid-90's the school was almost broke and the football budget was being drastically slashed. Jim Reid resigned as head coach due to the fact that he was told just days before letter of intent signing day that the school was going to cut scholarship numbers to his incoming Freshman class. Coach Reid resigned rather than telling players he made promises to that he would have to break them. Coach Hodges was thrust into the role as head coach. He did not win any conference titles, he did not lead the team to any playoff appearances and eventually ended his head coaching career with a 35-30 record, which as we all realize was far less than acceptable for the program at the time. But when we look back at Coach Hodges today many realize that he was able to keep this program relevant and afloat during one of the toughest times in school history and as such when the dust had settled he handed to program off where it then enjoyed likely the 10 best years in school history.
I am hopeful that 10 years from now when we are all making predictions on which bowl game we are going to and starting to make travel plans to go to a warm climate between Christmas and New Years that we will look back at these Seniors with the same zeal as I do for Coach Hodges.
Leading us through the dark to that bright light at the end of the tunnel.
GO UMASS!!
We are getting to a point in time where most of our seniors will have been recruited as FBS athletes. Most of these young men did not come to UMass as such. For many of them UMass was their only scholarship offer. They have been through a transition and a coaching change. They came here intending to play weekly games against the likes of Rhode Island, Albany, Delaware and Central Connecticut. Instead, they have had sttretches where they have played Wisconsin, Kansas St. and Vanderbilt in a 4 week span. They will end their careers losing many more games than they have won.
However, through it all, these seniors have not complained one bit. They have stuck with this program, they have bought into a new system and they have worked their butts off. Regardless of wins and losses, these seniors have made me proud. They may not have started their careers as FBS athletes, but they should all hold their heads up high at the end of today's game and know that they are just that. They have done everything in their power to rise to that level. The school, the athletic department, alums and fans should be very proud of these true Minutemen.
In closing, when I think of this team I am hopeful that 10 years from now I (and we) will think of them a lot like I think of former head coach Mike Hodges. Many fans and alums were disappointed with the program when Coach Hodges was the head coach. However, it was only later on, with the advent of the internet and 24 hour sports media that most of us really knew what he was up against. In the Mid-90's the school was almost broke and the football budget was being drastically slashed. Jim Reid resigned as head coach due to the fact that he was told just days before letter of intent signing day that the school was going to cut scholarship numbers to his incoming Freshman class. Coach Reid resigned rather than telling players he made promises to that he would have to break them. Coach Hodges was thrust into the role as head coach. He did not win any conference titles, he did not lead the team to any playoff appearances and eventually ended his head coaching career with a 35-30 record, which as we all realize was far less than acceptable for the program at the time. But when we look back at Coach Hodges today many realize that he was able to keep this program relevant and afloat during one of the toughest times in school history and as such when the dust had settled he handed to program off where it then enjoyed likely the 10 best years in school history.
I am hopeful that 10 years from now when we are all making predictions on which bowl game we are going to and starting to make travel plans to go to a warm climate between Christmas and New Years that we will look back at these Seniors with the same zeal as I do for Coach Hodges.
Leading us through the dark to that bright light at the end of the tunnel.
GO UMASS!!
UMass Football-2022 Potato Bowl Champs!
Oh zinger!! But no, I played football for 11 years. Had to make the decision whether or not I was going to play in college. It came down to Ithaca College and playing football or UMass and watching football (I was a D-End and OG who was 5'11" and 195, not DI size). I chose to watch. Wasn't an easy decision. I was even invited to play in an a postseason "All-Star" game but said no because I didn't want to start second guessing my decision. I had three teammates who ended up playing at Amherst College and when UMass didn't have a home game I would go over and watch them play and it was very hard because it really made me want to get on the field again. But in the end I made the right decision because UMass is an amazing place and I had the best time of my life (plus I met my wife).Swampy wrote:Yeah, leaving Pop Warner can be a mind bender.njumass08 wrote:The last practice and last game is incredibly hard.
I can still remember mine.
Paterson Catholic was our biggest rival so I played against Victor for all 4 years of High School. He was damn good in High School and I was happy that he chose to play at UMass. He ended up graduating a year later at UMass because of academic issues, but I still have a plaque that shows me and Victor on the same First Team All League our senior year of High School. I also have a nice picture of me taking him down 5 yards in the backfield .
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I've spent zero time learning about or watching the MAC, and this tweet that I just stumbled across verified my lack of interest when we are not involved:
Jason Arkley @JasonAmessenger 19m
Ohio (6-5) has lost 3 straight, by a combined 123-16 count. UMass just 1-10. Win, plus NIU entrance into BCS probably gives OU a bowl game
Yikes! This guy is a beat writer for the Athens paper. You lose three in a row by 107 points and he is expecting a bowl.
Jason Arkley @JasonAmessenger 19m
Ohio (6-5) has lost 3 straight, by a combined 123-16 count. UMass just 1-10. Win, plus NIU entrance into BCS probably gives OU a bowl game
Yikes! This guy is a beat writer for the Athens paper. You lose three in a row by 107 points and he is expecting a bowl.
"Jack didn’t have any envy in him," Calipari said. "He was the greatest coach to ever coach here."