IMHO, this is an excellent hire. Harasymiak is a Northeast guy who went to Springfield College for his football career. Even better is he was a Power Four coordinator and has recruiting experience in the the Northeast and Midwest.
His career and his results are a very good fit for what UMass needs. His hire is actually better than what I had been expecting.
In addition, the increased financial resources should make a significant impact on the program's viability and should make success in the MAC a real possibility.
Harasymiak will face some real challenges next year as he inherits a severely depleted roster. He will have to hit the transfer portal hard to field a team that will be competitive next year.
Anyway, a very good start and I'm actually optimistic that UMass (and its fans) will finally have something to cheer for.
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Lots of press coverage of the hire, but most are repetitious. The following is some of the more original content.
The Hampshire Gazette report UMass hires Joe Harasymiak.
The Greenfield Recorder reports longtime Springfield College coach Mike DeLong says Joe Harasymiak is ready for this.
MassLive.com says UMass has found its coach and he has western Mass ties.
Hustle Belt reports UMass hires Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak.
UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes commends Harasymiak's hire
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UMass signs four players on early signing day. The state of the roster means recruiting and the transfer portal are going to be a huge part of Harasymiak's workload over the next couple months.
Hopefully, he will bring some of Rutgers reserves with him.
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ESPN has UMass as #8 in their final 2024 Bottom Ten ranking.
ESPN has UMass #130 out 134 in 2024's final defensive stop ranking.
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