A new era of UMass football is about to begin with the start of spring ball next week. Joe Harasymiak officially begins trying to bring the Minutemen back to respectability and relevance when the team hits the field on Monday, but fans can finally start planning tailgates and maybe a road trip or two. In conjunction with the MAC, UMass released its full schedule on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a look……
Image courtesy of BC Athletics Chris Lindstrom. Zion Johnson. Christian Mahogany. Those three names will soon have another added to the list of recent O-linemen to hear their names called in the NFL Draft after wearing the maroon and gold at BC. O-line U is back to producing regular talent that’s just about as plug-and-play as it gets in today’s NFL. At 6’8,” 316lbs., Ozzy Trapilo will soon hear his…
Images courtesy of LSU Athletics and Mike Christy/Arizona Athletics By Andy Backstrom NEFJ Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS – Drake Maye needs help. Up front and on the outside. The second-year Patriots quarterback could get a hand in one of those areas when New England makes its first selection in April’s NFL Draft. As New England Football Journal pointed out earlier this week, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and the…
The Scarlet Knights have their new leader. He’s not really new though. In fact, there’s probably no one else who knows the program better. Matt Cerullo was officially introduced as North Andover’s next head coach in a statement on social media earlier on Sunday morning. Cerullo has been NA’s defensive coordinator since 2021 and a longtime assistant since 2018, so there’s already familiarity there that should help the transition be…
Image courtesy of Penn State Athletics Trade down. Trade the pick for a proven player. Stick and pick a lineman on either side of the ball. Take Travis Hunter if he happens to fall. Everyone has an opinion on what the Patriots should do with the fourth overall pick when the draft opens up in Green Bay late in April. Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf (and Ryan Cowden to an…
Image courtesy of Tony Harman/Colorado Athletics By Andy Backstrom NEFJ Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS – The New England Patriots have too many holes for one draft selection to patch. They need to surround second-year quarterback Drake Maye with more weapons. They also need to bolster a defense that ranked 11th-to-last in the NFL with 24.5 points per game allowed last season. That’s where executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and…
Image courtesy of Joe Sullivan/BC Athletics By Andy Backstrom NEFJ Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS – Cam Horsley and Donovan Ezeiruaku are roommates at the NFL Combine. That’s fitting for a pair of Boston College defensive linemen who have played alongside each other the last four years. “It was a lot of being in tune, building that camaraderie,” Horsley said Wednesday in the Indianapolis Convention Center. “Playing alongside Don, it was a great…
By Andy Backstrom NEFJ Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS – The New England Patriots were 4-13 last season. More plainly, they just weren’t good enough. And as Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf admitted Wednesday at the NFL Combine, the organization “just didn’t get enough done.” He took the blame for a roster that was among the NFL’s worst in 2024. “Certainly the free agency class didn’t live up to…
Image courtesy of Joe Sullivan/BC Athletics By Andy Backstrom NEFJ Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS – Donovan Ezeiruaku recorded a sack in his first game at Boston College. The eloquent defensive end from Williamstown, New Jersey, made his voice known before that, even as a true freshman. “Right off the bat, I felt like he was a very good leader,” BC defensive tackle Cam Horsley said Wednesday at the NFL Combine. “Some guys…
In the movie ‘Remember the Titans’ there’s a scene early where Julius Campbell is speaking to Gerry Bertier, it’s a critical, tone-setting moment for the rest of the film. “Attitude reflects leadership, captain,” Campbell told him. If you’ve seen it, you know the rest is history with the help of a few more bonding moments. Right now, Patriots players have loudly said the same thing to Robert and Jonathan Kraft….