2008 CAA FOOTBALL PREVIEW: MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEMEN
-- Mel Kiper Jr. (ESPN.com) - Smalls a "sleeper" on 2008 NFL Draft Big Board (1:35)
Coming off back-to-back conference championships, head coach Don Brown is looking to continue the winning tradition at the University of Massachusetts. The Minutemen have posted a 23-5 record over the last two seasons including a 15-1 mark in league play in rendering themselves one of the premier programs in the Football Championship Subdivision.
UMass has been dominant at home over the last two years posting a 14-0 record at the friendly confines of the McGuirk Alumni Stadium. This year the Minutemen will have six regular-season home games as they welcome new permanent lighting at McGuirk. The Minutemen kick-off the season under the lights at 6 p.m. against Albany on Aug. 30. UMass also has several other games slated for 3:30 p.m. that will allow the lights to take effect in the second half.
The Minutemen have made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances reaching the 2006 Championship Game and advancing to the 2007 NCAA Quarterfinals. In 2008, the Minutemen are seeking their third straight trip to the postseason, which would be a first in school history.
UMass returns 12 starters including senior All-American captains quarterback Liam Coen and cornerback Sean Smalls. Both players are top candidates for the most prestigious awards in all of FCS Football. Coen is up for the Walter Payton Award, as the division’s top offensive player while Smalls is a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the defensive standout.
Coen has been selected as the CAA’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is a preseason All-American by many publications. The Rhode Island native enters his fourth and final season as the starting quarterback holding virtually every career, season and single-game mark for the Maroon & White.
For the second year in a row, UMass will look to a new mainstay in the backfield. Junior Tony Nelson picked up 486 yards on the ground last season, and try to fill the shoes of 1,500-yard rusher in Matt Lawrence.
UMass possesses perhaps the best secondary in all of FCS football with senior captain All-American and NFL prospect Smalls leading the way. The cornerback joins Jeromy Miles and Courtney Robinson as preseason All-CAA selections. Junior Jeremy Horne is the top returner on a receiving corp that graduated a pair of 1,000-yard pass catchers in 2007.
Last season, Smalls was a first-team All-CAA selection and an honorable mention All-American as he racked up 49 tackles and a league-best 12 passes defended. Smalls teams with Robinson on the corners to create a dangerous tandem for opposing offenses. Robinson, was also a first-team All-CAA pick in 2007 and honorable mention All-American. Miles racked up 67 tackles last season (tied for fourth-best on the team) from the free safety position. He also had 10 passes defended and forced four fumbles to rank second in the CAA.
UMass returns three of its four starters from one of the natiion’s top defensive lines. Junior Brandon Collier was a third-team All-CAA pick in 2007 after racking up 62 tackles in cluding 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. Also back are left end Michael Hanson and junior tackle Kyle C. Arrington.
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