UMass Football News--May 19th, 2026

 

The Minuteman Command has a post-spring quarterback review.

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The MAC Blog "By the Belt" predicts the starting QB for all 13 MAC teams. 

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 The UMass athletic dept has a video interview with Coach Harasymiak after Spring ball.

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UConn to the PAC-12?

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UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Seth Kidd

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 Seth Kidd, a 6-2 285 pound DL from Itawamba Community College has a UMass offer.

Indians bio here. 

Hudl.com has video highlights. 

Kidd had 30 TT and 4.5 SACKs in nine games for the Indians. That's good production for a DL.

Kidd has a Power Four offer from Kansas State. UMass, Louisiana Tech, Jax State, Southern Miss and Troy have offered from Group-of-Five. He could get an excellent education and the potential for lots of playing time with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2028--Demetrius Ingram

 

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Demetrius Ingram, a 6-1 185 pound Safety from Miami, FL has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video highlights. 

 24 minute interview with Ingram.

MaxPreps has stats. 

Ingram has 20+ offers including more than 12 Power Four bids including Auburn, Cal, Florida State, Illinois and more. Syracuse and Pitt have offered from the northeast. Sacramento State and Western Michigan have offered from the MAC.  He could get an quality  education and early playing time with the Minutemen.

UMass Football Recruiting 2029--Cortland Florence

 

Cortland Florence, a 6-0 165 pound Athlete from, Hallandale, FL has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has freshman highlights. 

Only a freshman, Florence already has Power Four offers from SMU, Miami and North Carolina. UMass, Temple, FIU and Eastern Carolina have offered from Group-of-Five. Florence could play either side of the ball in college. He could get a fine education and play FBS-level football with the Minutemen in Amherst. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Hollis Dirstine commits to UMass

 

Hollis Dirstine, a 6-2 285 pound graduate transfer DL from Bryant University has committed to UMass.

Dirstine's Bulldogs bio here. 

This article covers Dirstine's contributions to the Bryant game against UNLV in 2023. 

Dirstine has appeared in 33 games for the Bulldogs and should be a solid addition to the Minuteman defensive line. 

UMass Football News--May 13th, 2026

 Athlon Sports ranks the MAC's coaches. A highly subjective topic.

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Athlon also has a post on the number of returning starters for all 136 FBS teams. 

My impression is the Power Four teams (on average) seem to have more returning starters than Group-of-Five squads. Probably because Group-of-Five starters get poached and Power Four starters get swapped between other Power Four teams.

 In the MAC, Western Michigan leads the pack with 10 returning starters.

Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and Miami (Ohio) return 9 starters.

UMass, Akron, Ball State, Buffalo and Ohio return 6.

Sacramento State returns 3 starters.

Toledo, dealing with a coaching change, returns just 1. 

UConn (also dealing with a coaching change)returns 1 starter. 

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ACC leaders support a 24 team college football playoff. 

So does Florida State's Mike Norvell.

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Last year UMass played Missouri and Tigers RB Ahmad Hardy ran for 138 yards and three TD's. He was recently released from a hospital after being shot..

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UMass Football Recruiting 2027--LJ Funk

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 LJ Funk, a 6-3 190 pound QB from Nashville, TN has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

MaxPreps has stats. 5,000 passing yards and 54 TD's.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

This article features Funk (you'll have to swat down several pop-up ads). 

Funk has 21 offers including Toledo from the MAC. Liberty and Delaware have offered and a number of other Group-of-Five schools. He could be part of the new Minuteman offense and get an excellent East Coast education in Amherst.