UMass Football News--December 30th, 2025

 The transfer portal officially opens at Midnight on Friday.

UMass definitely needs some portal help for 2026. I think coach Harasymiak and staff have recruited well so far, but we need some (a lot) of transfer talent to bridge the next year.

UMass needs:

#1 A dual-threat QB. Right now my roster top guy is true freshman Adean McCarthy. 

#2. A FBS-level RB. See above: right now top RB on roster is true freshman TK Davis. 

#3 At least one MAC-level WR. Last year the injury to T.Y. Harding brought the UMass passing game to a screeching halt. UMass had zero deep threats. TE Max Dowling had the longest reception of the year at 77 yards. Right now on the roster, true freshmen David Moore and Kai Owens would be my top guys.

#4 Offensive line. In five years in the MAC the Minutemen have had one third-string All-MAC lineman. Last year, we did not dominate the line of scrimmage against 3-8 FCS Bryant, let alone anyone else.

#5 Defensive line. Nearly every MAC team, including the very bottom of the MAC, ran right up the middle against the UMass defense. The current roster best player is true freshman Samuel Mulbah. 

 #6 Cornerbacks. Last year some teams didn't bother throwing the ball (Missouri, Central Michigan, Ohio and Northern Illinois). But those who did, could pass at will. In 2025 UMass had 8 passing TD's. Opponents had 29. As of today, my top-two corners would be true freshmen Kareem Pruitt and Corey Warner.

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Speaking of the transfer portal:

Iowa State loses 16 starters to the transfer portal. 

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Boston College DE Jayden Fry announces for the transfer portal. 

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Boston College RB Turbo Richard (good name) is entering the transfer portal. 

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 Virginia Tech QB (and Springfield, MA native) Pop Watson is entering the transfer portal.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2026 --Seamus McIntyre signs with UMass

 

Seamus McIntyre, a 6-2 225 pound Kicker from New Hampton, NH signed with UMass on LOI day.

247Sports page here. 

15th ranked kicker in the country. 

Kohl's Kicking has  a bio on McIntyre. 

The Minuteman Command had a story on McIntyre's commitment to UMass back in July.

My local TV station here in Milford, NH ran a story on McIntyre just two days ago. 

Kicking has been a thorn in the side of UMass fans for a long time. Last year, Derek Morris broke the bad streak by making some outstanding kicks.  Hopefully McIntyre will keep the improvement going and be a fixture on UMass special teams for a number of years.

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Kareem Pruit signs with UMass

 

Kareem Pruit, a 6-3 175 pound Athlete from Orchard Lake, MI signed with UMass on LOI day.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

The Minuteman Command had an interview with Pruitt back in June. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

Pruitt had seven offers out of HS including Power Four Kentucky. Temple, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Miami offered from the Group-of-Five. Pruitt projects as a Safety in college. He can also return punts. At 6-3, he has a pro-sized frame and should gain weight and strength on a college weight program. He has a big upside and should contribute early for the Minutemen. 

UMass Football News--December 26th, 2025

 I watched Ohio's win over UNLV on the treadmill Christmas morning. The Bobcats won their seventh bowl win in a row with a strong running game. Over the season, Ohio ran for 3178 yards and 32 (!) rushing TD's.

Another factoid was Ohio was one of nine college football teams to have every offensive lineman play every snap in 2025. 

In 2025 UMass rushed for 989 yards and 6 rushing TD's (2 of the 6 were by QB Grant Jordan). I have no idea how many offensive line combinations we used.

In UMass' 1998 national championship the Minutemen rushed for 3024 yards and 32 rushing TD's.

In 1998 the UMass OL was:

LT Bolden, LG Wynne, C Hagood, RG Lauback, RT Hill.

Over 15 games that's 75 potential starts. How many UMass OL starts were missed?

One. Cliff Bolden missed the first UConn game.

UMass needs a bell-cow RB and offensive line talent and continuity in 2026. Fixing the run game needs to be a top priority for 2026.

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The MAC is in another bowl game today at 1:00 when run-heavy Central Michigan meets Northwestern. 

If you can run the rock, you've got a good lookin' offense.. 

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Christmas 2025

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all blog readers and UMass fans.

May Santa bring us a better year than 2025! Like Linus' rant at the end of the "Great Pumpkin" I still believe.. 

UMass Football News--December 24th, 2025

 

UMass signs with UpNext, which is a transfer portal advisory service. I was actually wondering if such a service existed. If it does, then I was thinking it would make sense for the Minutemen to get some help in evaluating transfer talent. Harasymiak and staff hit home runs with Timmy Hinspeter, Jovoni Borbon, Keegan Andrews and Derek Morris, but the result at quarterback and running backs was not as good.

I think the high school recruiting is going well, but UMass definitely needs some transfer portal help in 2026. 

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Toledo and Louisville hooked up in a highly entertaining Boca Raton Bowl yesterday. 

The Rockets were playing without their HC and starting QB.

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Ohio won it's seventh straight bowl game against Nevada Las Vegas in the Frisco Bowl. 

The MAC is currently 2-1 in bowl games. 

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UMass Football Recruiting 2026--David Chiavegato signs with UMass

 David Chiavegato, a 5-11 190 pound Athlete from Xaverlan Brothers HS and Westwood, MA signed with the Minutemen on LOI day.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has senior highlights. 

The Minuteman Command did a post on Chiavegato back in May. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

Chiavegato had offers from Army, Navy, Air Force and Coastal Carolina. He can play both ways, but projects as a DB in college. The Minutemen desperately need more  talent in the defensive backfield and Chiavegato should make a difference early.