A decent amount going on out there, so I’ll just try to break it down as succinctly as possible:
- The Faculty Senate motion to reconsider FBS football failed by one vote. Both MassLive.com‘s Harry Plumer and the Gazette‘s Matt Vautour did an excellent job covering the meeting today both on Twitter and in long form. Again, this isn’t much of a story since even a passing vote wouldn’t force the school to do much of anything. Regardless, the fact that the Faculty Senate has once again failed to get the appropriate number of votes speaks volumes.
- Antonio Harris, a lineman that committed to UMass last weekend, has reportedly decommitted and flipped to Towson. Rivals is the only outlet reporting this news, and I’m not entirely sure if I buy it. Harris was really high on Towson for a long time, but was floored with his trip to UMass. In fact, he recently told the Washington Post that “I really loved Towson, but U-Mass. just felt like it was home for me.” I’ve looked around for more information on this, but there isn’t much right now. If I hear anything else, you’ll know about it first. (Thanks to reader Tom Massetti for bringing this to my attention.)
- Similarly, there is some news floating around that E.J. Burston, a wide receiver from Florida that committed the same day as Harris, is starting to reconsider. According to his high school coach, Burston is starting to think about attending FIU instead: ”I think he likes the opportunity of being with Shaq (Harris) and the facilities and everything UMass has to offer, but I think he also likes the fact of being closer to home at FIU. In terms of the scheme, if UMass was 60 or 180 miles away, it would be a done deal. He likes the close proximity of FIU but he likes everything else that UMass has to offer.”
- Daquan Mack, a running back that is verbally committed to UMass, is taking his official visit to the school this weekend. Mack mentioned the visit on Twitter. Mack has been one of the most vocal supporters of the UMass staff during this recruiting cycle and seems genuinely excited to be a Minuteman. (NOTE: Shane Huber, a linebacker who is also committed to UMass, has been tweeting about how excited he is for National Signing Day).
- Speaking of recruiting, UMass has reportedly extended an offer to Zaire Franklin, a 2014 linebacker out of Philadelphia. Scout’s Brian Dohn broke the news on Twitter. Franklin also has offers from Villanova and Temple, according to Rivals.
- UMass has also offered Andrew Ford, a 2014 quarterback from Pennsylvania. Ford mentioned the offer on his Twitter page. Ford also has an offer from Temple, according to Rivals. According to 247 Sports, Ford is a four-star recruit.
- Justin Nelson, a 2014 linebacker from New Jersey, also picked up a UMass offer. His high school’s football page tweeted about the offer. Nelson also has an offer from Rutgers, according to Rivals.
- Reilly Gibbons, an 2014 offensive tackle with offers from across the country, has picked up an offer from UMass, according to 247 Sports.
Follow Bob on twitter: @BobMcGovernJr
I am not to worried about Harris or Burston. Could it be true, especially for Burston, yeah, sounds legit. For Harris, why FCS Towson over Umass when during your 4 yrs you will be playing against BC, Vandy, Wisconsin, ND, PSU, etc. Plus, it’s from Rivals which stated that Shane was taking an official visit to Temple only to be disproven by Shane’s own dad. Guess we will see in 4 days
Someone needs to verify and confirm Max Page’s trip to China and his expenses. If he is so worried about other departments expenses, he needs to be transparent about his own gig. I think all the other professors who don’t want FBS football should be audited as well. His conference in China could not have been attented via Skype? Who’s dime is that on anyway? First class or coach ticket? It’s a two way street here folks.
No, it may not be a big story, but it’s great news that it didn’t pass. Even talk about withdrawing made it all the way to the New York Times, so if this passed, who knows what damage it would’ve caused.