247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
As a Freshman, Chevalier already has Power Four offers from Michigan, Maryland and Missouri. UMass, UConn, Colorado State and UNLV have offered from the Group-of-Five. In Amherst, he would have the chance to be the featured RB and receive an excellent education.
New OC Max Warner talks about Spring practice. I think he'll have more talent to work with than in 2025. The QB room and the WR's look to be much improved. I think the jury is still out on running backs and offensive line.
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To that end, The new MAC conference blog thinks Pop Warner will be a impact transfer for UMass. They also talk about MAC expansion and the looming 2027 MAC Media package.
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The Daily Collegian has a post on the 15 transfers added to the Minuteman defense in the off season. Five or six of the transfers should start and several more will be in regular rotation and defensive packages.
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UMass has more updates to the Spring Game for fans.
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247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Freshman stats here.
UPDATE: The Minuteman Command has a post on Charles' offer.
Charles is an up-and-coming athlete who is likely to be a talented recruit by the time he's a senior. UMass is his first offer. He could keep the Springfield-to-UMass pipeline going and play in front of friends and family in Amherst.
Gavin Brady, a 6-1 195 pound WR/Safety from Northampton-Williston has an offer from UMass
Hudl.com has video.
Last year went 56-805 14 TD's and 1,400 all-purpose yards.
He has good size for a skills player and could play either side of the ball. Brady has an offer from Georgetown and is receiving interest from most of the Ivies. He could play FBS-level football in Amherst and get an excellent education too.
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Joshua Tripp, a 6-3 195 pound WR/Athlete from Nashua, NH has committed to UMass as a preferred walk-on.
Senior highlights here.
This article covers his offer from New Hampshire.
This article features Tripp.
Tripp has a big frame and could play on either side of the ball. He can develop his craft, earn a scholarship and play FBS football with the Minutemen.
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| Southeastern University Athletic Dept image |
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Southeastern Fire bio here.
The Minuteman run game in 2025 was god-awful. Kimmons would add depth and talent to the running back room. He could be a good fit with UMass.
The new MAC blog "By the Belt" has a report from UMass' Pro Day.
UMass LS Jovani Borbon 5-8 220 , on the NFL bench press standard did 26 reps! That's better than a lot of 300 pound linemen.
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Pop Watson says he thrives on pressure.
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An Executive order limits college football players to five years of eligibility and one transfer.
Don't think the courts are going to go along with this one.
Now that there is NIL, the players are basically employees of the school. Suppose a player in is an educational program at a university and is playing on the team. The player wants to continue to play and the coaching staff wants to keep him on the roster. Can the NCAA (or anyone else) tell him he cannot continue to use his skills? Isn't that restraint of free trade or something? Five years of eligibility is totally arbitrary..
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UMass DC Jared Keyes gives an update on the UMass defense at the start of Spring Ball. I recently re-watched the Missouri and Iowa games from last year. We were actually pretty competitive on defense. The downfall was being run over by the bottom of the MAC. The Minuteman defense was not FBS level in any unit. With a lot of new transfers, I hope we can improve.
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The Greenfield Recorder says Pop Watson seeks to transform the UMass program.
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Myles Donato of the Daily Collegian reflects on the opening week of Spring camp.
The Collegian looks at 10 transfer additions to the UMass offense.
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If you missed it, UConn brought in 56 transfers, 35 of them three stars.
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| Daniel Mears image |
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Hardy has a Power Four offer from Syracuse. Temple, UConn and Kent State have offered from Group-of-Five. Hardy would be a good fit in the new UMass offense and get an excellent East-Coast education to boot.
Central Missouri State bio here.
Video highlights here.
Harris is an agile big man in the middle and could be a valuable addition to the rebuilding UMass defense. He could find a home with the Minutemen in Amherst.
Logan Inagawa, a 5-10 205 pound dual-threat QB transfer from Drake University has committed to UMass.
Bulldogs bio here.
In 2025 Inagawa went 11 GP 129-190- 1393 4 INT 9 TD 68% passing. Rushing 11 GP 127-398 9 TD 37 LONG. 1796 total yards.
He should be a solid addition to the QB room and I hope he has a great career at UMass.
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Kingston Rust, a 6-2 205 pound QB from Hialeah, FL has a UMass offer.
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
This article from April 2025 features Rust.
Besides UMass, Rust has offers from Appalachian State, Florida Atlantic and Georgia State. He could get an excellent East Coast education and join a resurgent Minuteman team in Amherst.
The Minuteman Command has a post on senior LB Tyler Martin.
The center of the UMass defense was almost decent last year before Timmy Hinspeter went down. He was leading the MAC in tackles at that time.
I'm optimistic about the LB room for 2026. Besides the returning veterans Martin and Hinspeter UMass added Khari Bendolph, Joshua Iseah and Kendric Council. The last two were productive players at their previous schools.
STAR Michael Robinson II is a senior transfer from Rutgers and will probably function as a Safety/OLB.
Redshirt Freshman Dinos Drossos is one of the highest rated recruits UMass has signed. He should see some playing time is 2026. All-in-all, I think the 2026 LB room is maybe the deepest unit on the team.
Defensive coordinator Jared Keyte should have enough talent to play some defensive packages and have a more aggressive defense this year. The middle of the defense could be a strength in 2026.
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Former UMass players Ta'Rei Powell, Ellis Merryweather and Macklin Ayers will suit up for the UFL.
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The Minuteman Command has a post on WR T.Y. Harding feeling a new era in UMass football.
Harding's UMass bio here.
Harding's injury last year caused the wheels to come off the Minutemen's passing game.
The stats from the WR room were brutal.
Opponents had 29 passing TD's. UMass had 8.
Five of the eights TD's were by UMass TE's (as was the season's longest reception)
Our leading receivers last year:
This year Harding, plus Wisconsin transfer Joe Griffin and Devin Matthews should give us far more offensive firepower. I also like true freshman Kai Owens. He's one of the highest rated recruits ever to sign with UMass. He may be too good to redshirt.
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Western Mass News has a post on the opening of Spring practice.
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Alright, catching up.
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The Greenfield Reorder says UMass kicks off Spring practice with high hopes.
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By the Belt looks at the league's schedule.
Updog Sports analyses the MAC's collective schedule.
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The Minuteman Command reports Coach Harasymiak thinks the 2026 roster is improved.
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The Minuteman Command also has a post on transfer QB Pop Watson drawing interest from UMass fans and media.
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If you are looking for something to watch, some sports networks replay the NCAA tournament basketball games. I think the game of the playoffs so far is the St. John's-Kansas game.
The first half was ragged, but the second half was magic. It's worth watching. Far better than Celebrity Survivor Chef or the other crap the networks are turning out..
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I'm feeling under the weather. I will try to resume posting to the Blog later in the week.
Go UMass.
Well Saturday was the Vernal Equinox. Each Spring is a new beginning. UMass football starts the 2026 season tomorrow. The Minutemen return 50 players from last year and 29 new players join the roster. This should give the coaches a good knowledge of the talent level at the end of Spring practice.
A UMass roster tracker is here.
The Spring Game will be April 25th.
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WMUA Sports will apparently start a UMass Football 2026 show today at 3:00pm.
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And finally,
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The Minuteman Command has a post on his visit.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Wagner is drawing interest from a number of New England schools. The offensive line leads the way and Wagner could be a valuable addition to the UMass roster.
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The Minuteman Command has a post on UMass recruiting Muldoon.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has stats.
UMass is the first offer for Muldoon. He should be drawing quite a bit of recruiting interest over the next three years. He could play in front of friends and family in Amherst and play FBS football to boot.
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| Hudl.com image |
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has some impressive stats. In 15 games Sweeney threw for over 4,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 more.
Sweeney has offers from North Texas, UTSA, Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV and UTEP. He could get a high-quality education and play for the resurgent UMass offense in Amherst.
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| "X" image |
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Frederick has 11 total offers including Buffalo and Toledo from the MAC. Most of the Ivies have offered from FCS. He could play FBS football and get Ivy equivalent education with Massachusetts Flagship university.
Noah Collins-Howard, a 5-10 160 pound WR from Henretta, NY has a UMass offer and recently visited UMass for Junior Day.
The Minuteman Command has a post on his visit.
Hudl.com has video.
MaxPreps has stats.
Won the NY 100 meters and 4 X 100 meters.
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I blogged about Delessandro back on March 3rd.
This is an excellent addition for UMass. Dalessandro has played in 31 games and started 17. He should compete for one of the starting guard positions right away. If not, he would probably be the #1 backup for all three interior line positions.
Blake Rohrer, a 6-3 211 pound WR from University of Wisconsin River Falls has committed to UMass
UW-River Falls Falcons bio here.
Caught a 79-yard TD pass in the final seconds to send UW-River Falls into the DIII Championship game.
Rohrer went 59-1161 yards 12 TD's and a 19.68 AVE in 2025.
UMass needs offensive firepower and Rohrer should be in the mix for time on the field immediately. Welcome to Amherst.
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247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
This article features his offer from Cincinnati.
Santibanez has 16 offers fairly evenly split between Power Four and Group-of-Five. Boston College, Cincinnati, Maryland and North Carolina have offered. Coastal Carolina, Charlotte, Delaware and Liberty have offered from the Group-of-Five. He could get and excellent East Coast education and play in the MAC with the Minutemen.
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Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has stats. 31-571 18.4 AVE 11 TD's.
Anderson has offers from Syracuse, Toledo, Temple, UTSA and Colorado State. He could play close to home and be part of the new UMass offense in Amherst, MA
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Hudl.com has video highlights.
Check out this one-handed TD catch.
UMass is the first D1 offer for Gomez. He could play FBS-level football close to home and refine his craft with the Minutemen in Amherst.
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Hudl.com has video highlights.
UMass is the first D1 offer for Johnstone. He put up some serious stats as a sophomore. Johnstone has a high potential and he could reach it with the Minutemen in Amherst.
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| Hudl.com image |
Hudl.com has season highlights.
UMass is the first D1 offer for Wise. He has drawn interest from Syracuse and Temple. He could join the resurgent Minuteman program and get an excellent education in Amherst.
UMass and Hawaii have agreed to cancel their 2026 and 2027 series.
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The latest edition of the Spring UMass football roster is up.
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The Big Ten conference plots a 24-team college football playoff.
The Power Four conferences want more of their teams in the playoffs, but a 24 team playoff should have ALL THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS, including the Group-of-Five. That would still give the Power Four fifteen additional slots.
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And finally, the Boston drivers' version of the Waymo self-driving car is out.
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Hudl.com has video highlights.
UMass needs offensive linemen and Amherst would be a great place for Forsythe to develop his career.
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| Hudl.com image |
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has stats.
Preston also has offers from Cornell and Harvard. He could play FBS-level football and get an excellent education in Amherst.
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247Sports page here.
This site has video highlights.
MaxPreps has stats.
This article covers his offer from UCLA.
LaRosa has 22 offers pretty evenly split between Power Four schools and Group-of-Five. UCLA, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Kansas are some of his Power Four offers. Appalachian State, Liberty, Western Kentucky and JMU are representative of Group-of-Five. UMass is his only offer from the MAC. He could get an excellent education and a chance to start early in Amherst.
Nick Dalessandro, a 6-4 290 pound OG/OT portal transfer from Colgate has a UMass offer.
Dalessamndro's Red Raiders bio here.
He had 15 career starts and 32 games played for Colgate. Gave up zero sacks on 457 passing plays in 2025. The UMass offensive line is one unit that could use some additional players from the transfer portal. Dalessandro could be an instant starter and potentially play in 11 FBS games (counting the extra game against Hawaii).
Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has Stats. 14 SACKs and 18 TFL in eleven games..
Grinage has offers from Oregon State and Marshal. He could be part of the Minutemen's defensive renaissance in Amherst.
The Minuteman Command has a post on 2027 Safety/Athlete Rowan Martin.
Hudl.com has video Highlights.
This article from December of 2024 features Martin.
Martin has offers from most of the Ivies. He has FBS offers from Army, Navy and UMass. He could play FBS-level football and get an Ivy-equivalent education in Amherst.
The UMass Spring game will be on April 25th. Last year's game started at Noon.
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Some staff additions:
Click on image and Blogger displays a larger view
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And a couple of articles have further adventures in AI-written sports journalism.
College Football News has MAC Conference Spring Football rankings. If you don't recognized the listed UMass transfer-in and transfer-outs scroll down to Toledo.
Hustle Belt has getting acquainted with Sacramento State Football.
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Hudl.com has video highlights
Rawls has a pro-sized frame and UMass appears to be his first FBS offer. He could hone his talent and get an excellent education with the Minutemen in Amherst.
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UMass has offered to Jordan Davis, a 5-11 195 pound RB from Cincinnati, OH.
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has stats. In 2025 Davis went 145-674 4.6 AVE 41 LONG 21 TD's.
Besides UMass, Davis has offers from Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo. He could find a home in Amherst and get a great East Coast education as well.
Except for 2025, kicking has been a thorn in the side of UMass football fans since the move to FBS. We wish Bemant a highly productive career--and a scholarship with the Minutemen!
Hustle Belt has what's good and bad about Sacramento State joining the MAC
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The President of Sacramento State has a "X" post on what FBS brings to the University.
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The Toledo Blade has a story on what teams should be considered for future MAC expansion.
There are some interesting names in the article: UConn and Liberty are powerhouse athletic programs. South Dakota State has a flood of Permian Basin oil money. Western Kentucky has a basketball program all UMass fans could envy.
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Speaking of UConn, they just released their 2026 football schedule.
Something called the the UConn round table has what reads like a AI-written post on UConn's schedule and calls UMass an FCS team..
The Huskies 2026 schedule is significantly stronger than 2025. I think UConn's win total will drop sharply this year.
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| Hudl.com image |
Hudl.com has video highlights.
This article covers his signing with UMass. in 2025 Morgan went 34-588 5 TD's, on defense he had 27 TT and 2 INT's
UMass needs productive WR's. Morgan should have a chance to develop his craft, earn a scholarship and make an impact with the Minutemen.
UMass social media reports Maurice Barnes, Jr, a 6-2 200 pound LB from Harrisburg, PA will join the Minutemen as a preferred walk-on.
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Raw Sports has a capsule post on Barnes.
Barnes had multiple offers back in 2024 including MAC teams Kent State and Akron. The Minutemen need defensive improvement and Barnes should have a wide open chance to earn a scholarship and make an impact in Amherst.
Isaiah Simmonds, a 5-9 175 pound WR from West Roxbury, MA has committed to UMass as a preferred walk-on.
Hudl.com has video.
MaxPreps has stats. In his senior season Simmonds went 27-427 17.1 AVE 5 TD's receiving. Also rushed for 24-388 16.2 AVE and 2 TD's.
UMass needs offensive talent and Simmonds should be in a place where he can develop and earn a scholarship. It will be interesting to follow his career with the Minutemen.
Jake McGrath, a 6-7 295 pound OL from Cambridge, MA has committed to UMass as a preferred walk-on.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
UMass needs offensive linemen and has an excellent weight-training and performance facility. McGrath has a pro-sized frame and should have a great opportunity to develop a and earn a scholarship.
The Minuteman Command has a post on David Sanger, a 6-4 285 pound OL from Williston-Northampton.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
I saw his father David Sanger punt for the Minutemen back in the day. The elder Sanger's punting rank in the UMass record book is:
His father was 2nd team All-American in 2001 and 1st team All-Atlantic 10 the same year.
Sanger the younger could keep the family streak going in Amherst.
They wouldn't let UMass do that, but I don't mind. One big negative of being an independent was no league media revenue. In 2027 the MAC's current media contract expires. There is hope the MAC will sign a much more lucrative contract at that time. College sports is one of the few popular TV offerings these days. MACtion has been a ratings success.
Sacramento is a much bigger media market than Akron or Athens. This would be good for the league and UMass. And the Minutemen's share of the $15 million entry fee would not hurt either..
Hustle Belt reports here.
Yahoo Sports reports here.
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UMass adds Rich Worsell as offensive analyst. Worsell has extensive coaching experience including time in the MAC at Toledo.
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And from the invaluable Babylon Bee:
BTW, the first 2026 UMass football roster is up.
The Minutemen had a dismal defensive result in 2025. A big part of the 0-12 result was from the UMass pass defense.
Temple (a 5-7 team) went 22-29 246 yards and 6 passing TD's against the UMass defense. Bryant (a 3-8 FCS team) threw for 318 yards and 3 TD's, which included a seemingly effortless game winning drive in the fourth quarter.
The Minutemen were #56 in pass yards given up, but were #116 in yards per completion.
UMass was #135 (next to last) in pass defense efficiency.
UMass added Jahmad Harmon from Ball State/Kent State, Isaiah Reed from Brown and Chris Stanley from Garden City C.C.
They also added Michael Robinson (corrected name) from Rutgers in the STAR position.
Reed should be an instant starter at one corner. Both Harmon and Stanley should compete to start on the other side.
Nick Sabin probably made the STAR position famous at Alabama. The STAR is usually a hybred linebacker/strong safety. Teams usually pull the MLB and use the STAR (as a fifth defensive secondary guy) in pass coverage, but also are responsible for run defense and can also blitz. The STAR position is sorta like a weak side linebacker with more coverage radius.
Robinson should know Harasymiak's defense coming from Rutgers. He should give Minutemen DC Jared Keyte some package options.
I would give the transfer additions as a potential sold "B". I think UMass added a starter at one corner and maybe the other side too.
UMass gained their first commitment of the 2027 recruiting cycle as GaVin English, a 6-4 285 pound OL from Springfield, MA has committed to the Minutemen.
I've blogged about English before.
Great that UMass has added some Western Mass talent to the roster. I look forward to following English's career with the Minutemen.
The MAC-centric website "Hustle Belt" is closing. The site was a high quality source for information and news of MAC teams.
With the dead tree media effectively--- dead, sites like Hustle Belt provided a lot of interesting news and commentary for a Group-of-Five league.
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Yahoo Sports reports Sacramento State is looking to join a FBS conference with the MAC as one of the top interests.
The MAC's media package is up for bids in 2027. With the popularity of college football in an all-time high, the MAC should be able to negotiate a considerable increase in media money. Sacramento State is in a good media market and that would help.
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The Mountain West eyes streaming media for additional revenue.
Hey, I'm paying ESPN+ $12.99/month to watch UMass men's and women's basketball and hockey. I could be paying that to the UMass athletic dept..
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And finally,
Aidan Canty-Whitt, a 6-3 285 pound IOL from Concord, MA has joined the Minutemen as a PWO.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
UMass needs offensive linemen. Canty-Whitt has good skills and has a chance to earn a scholarship and beyond in Amherst.
The Minuteman Command has an interview with English during his Junior Day visit to UMass.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
UMass needs offensive linemen. English could play in front of friends and family in Amherst and join the Pop Warner and Joe Griffin talent pipeline with the Minutemen.
