This season Blanchflower takes over the top leadership post as one of the team’s captains, and is hoping to steer the Minutemen upward as they continue to build their program.
On Tuesday afternoon, UMass hosted its annual football media day at McGuirk Stadium, where both Blanchflower — who transferred and graduated from St. John’s of Shrewsbury after attending Leominster High — and recent Fitchburg High graduate Connor Lemieux were part of the festivities.
“Once we decided (Blanchflower) would be a captain for the 2013 season, he’s taken his leadership to a whole new level,” UMass head coach Charley Molnar said. “He did stuff with the players all season long and talks to guys on a one-on-one basis. … He’s been a great representative of the players to the coaching staff, but he’ll also take some of the coaches’ concerns back to the players.”
The coaching staff named Blanchflower the captain of the team shortly after the conclusion of last season. The Leominster native led the Minutemen during offseason workouts and also spring practices. With the season set to kick off on Aug. 31, those duties have taken on even more importance.
“I’ve always set high goals for myself. I think being captain of the Minutemen was one of them,” Blanchflower said. “I think playing side-by-side with Emil Igwenagu, who was a mentor of mine, prepared me for this. I looked up to him and he taught me a lot. His work ethic rubbed off on me. There’s a lot more responsibility than people think, sometimes being captain can be stressful, but there’s a lot of good things too.”
Blanchflower credits his upbringing for guiding the style he uses to lead his teammates, and also tries to pass those habits on to his fellow players.
“Coming from a blue-collar community like Leominster instilled the values I have,” Blanchflower said. “I try to have that rub off on some of the guys that nothing is going to be given to you and you have to go grab it and can’t take anything for granted. You’ve got to practice and play every game like it’s your last.”
Lemieux joins the team as a walk-on receiver, and says he feels a connection with the captain tight end.
“Blanchflower has been a great leader,” Lemieux said. “On and off the field, he leads everyone in the locker room. He’s an overall great leader, great person and great player. It’s good to have some Central Mass. guys out here.”
UMass struggled on the field in its first year in the FBS last year, finishing with a 1-11 record, with its lone victory coming over Akron. Blanchflower says the extra year of experience, both in the FBS and with the current coaching staff, should bode well for the Minutemen, particularly with their complex, high-tempo offense.
“It’s no longer the new system; it’s our system now,” Blanchflower said. “When you have a full season under your belt in the system, it makes it easier to make split-second decisions. It’s just second nature now, and just pops in your head right away.”
Similar to last season, UMass is facing a brutal non-conference slate, with trips to Wisconsin and Kansas State, and a home contest at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 21 against Vanderbilt. Unlike last season, this year UMass will play a Football Championship Subdivision opponent when Maine visits for the home-opener on Sept. 7. The Minutemen have a marquee conference game at home against Northern Illinois, which competed in last year’s Orange Bowl.
“You just have to go week-by-week and prepare for that next opponent coming up,” Blanchflower said. “You can’t look too far ahead in the future, (just) focus on the game at hand. Week one we have Wisconsin, and from what I hear that stadium is a lot more rowdy than Michigan. We’re excited to play against them and see what they’re all about.”
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Robert J. Blanchflower was born on June 8th, 1990 (time of birth unknown) in Leominster, Massachusetts according to http://www.umassathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/rob_blanchflower_440404.html
June 8th, 1990
6 + 8 +1+9+9+0 = 33 = his life lesson = Captain. Fierce. Not backing down. Putting on a good show.
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June 8th, 1990
June 8th
6 + 8 +2+0+1+3 = 20 = his personal year (from June 8th, 2013 to June 7th, 2014) = Turning point. Need to exercise sound judgement.
20 year + 11 (November) = 31 = his personal month (from November 8th, 2013 to December 7th, 2013) = Competition. Rivalry. Catalyst. Stirring things up. Rising to the challenge.
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using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Robert Blanchflower
962592 231538636559 89
his path of destiny = 89 = Visually inspiring.
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predictions for the year 2013 are at:
http://predictionsyear2013.com/
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discover some of your own numerology for FREE at:
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learn numerology from numerologist to the world, Ed Peterson:
https://www.createspace.com/4317439
football astrology and numerology 