UMass Football News--December 17th, 2025

 Taking a break from recruiting for a day.

If you've not heard the December 11th Planting the Flag podcast, it's well worth your time. The interview with coach Harasymiak is very interesting. He gives some details of recruiting and  roster structure as he goes into his second season. Harasymiak said he want two dual-threat QB's. I totally agree. quarterback has been a long time deficiency in the FBS era. Except for Andrew Ford and Blake Fronapfel in the Whipple era, we have not had FBS-level QB's. We do not have (yet) the offensive infrastructure for a pocket passer, i.e. the O-line and wide receivers. He also says he wants to build from the inside out. Most sports gurus believe the big difference between FBS and FCS is offensive and defensive line talent.

I've said several times before in our first stint with the MAC, in four years, we had one third string All-MAC offensive lineman. That record still stands as we had none in 2025.

One more first down (when we needed it) would have won the Buffalo and Bryant games. Improving the offensive line production should be a major focus in 2026.

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Hustle Belt has one story line for each MAC 2025 bowl game.

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Three MAC defensive players made the AP All-America team.

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UMass Footbal Recruiting 2026--Will McNamara signs with UMass

 

Will McNamara, a 6-5 275 pound OL from Colpoy's Bay, ON signed with UMass on LOI day.

247Sports page here. 

I blogged about McNamara back in June. 

Outside of Fanstake.com thinking UMass is FCS, this is a decent capsule bio of McNamara. 

On3.com has him as a top-11 player in CT. 

McNamara had six offers including an FBS offer from New Mexico. As college football fans know, the difference between FBS and FCS is usually the offensive and defensive line talent. UMass badly needs an upgrade on the O-line and I look forward to seeing McNamara being part of the improvement. 

 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--David Moore signs with UMass

 

David Moore, a 5-11 180 pound Athlete from West Orange, NJ signed with UMass on LOI day.

 247Sports page here.

I blogged about Moore back on June 6th. 

MaxPreps has senior stats. 

Hudl.com has senior highlights. 

This article from December 10th mentions Moore. 

Moore had 15 offers including Duke, Pitt and West Virginia from Power Four. Central Michigan and Toledo offered from the MAC. JMU, Old Dominion and Temple offered from the Group-of-Five. Moore can play both ways, but will probably be tasked with making  the plodding UMass offense more explosive. The Minutemen need playmakers on offense and Moore should see early action. 

 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Justin Lewis signs with UMass

 Justin Lewis, a 5-10 195 pound RB from Santa Ana, CA signed with the Minutemen last week.

247Sports page here. 

I blogged about Lewis back on August 5th and August 2nd. 

Hudl.com has senior highlights. 

Lewis ended up with 13 offers including all three services academies from  FBS. He's pushing 200 pounds and should, along with fellow RB recruit Tauqueer Davis, provide a solid talent injection into the anemic UMass rushing attack. Lewis should have a chance to see some meaningful action in 2026.

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Tauqueer Davis signs with UMass

 Tauqueer Davis, a 5-10 190 pound RB from Washington, DC signed with UMass last week.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video highlights. 

Took visits to Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

Davis had thirteen offers including Power Four Virginia Tech, Pitt and Syracuse. Akron, Buffalo, Kent State and Toledo offered from the MAC. UConn, Memphis and Marshall also offered. 

Davis could be the impact player of this recruiting cycle. UMass was last-in-the-MAC in rushing offense and #131 nationally. True freshman or no, he'd be my pick to start at Rutgers on September 5th, 2026. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--CJ Amobi signs with UMass

CJ Amobi, a 6-2 235 pound Edge from Upper Darby, PA signed with UMass last Wednesday.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has senior highlights. 

Fanstake has a bio of Amobi that mentions UMass. 

This article features Amobi. 

Amobi had 14 offers including Cincinnati from a Power Four conference. Army, Navy and Air Force offered from the Group-of-Five. Amobi' forte is a powerful edge rush, something the UMass defense is in dire need of. He should see the field early. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Terron Johnson signs with UMass

 Terron Johnson, a 5-11 165 pound CB from Oakdale, CT signed with the Minutemen last Wednesday.

247Sports three-star player and ranked #10 in the state of Ct. 

Hudl.com has senior highlights.

I blogged about Johnson back on July 1st. 

On3.com three-star player. 

This article has him in the top-13 players in CT. 

Johnson chose UMass over Power Four offers from Boston College, Duke, Minnesota and Syracuse. UMass really needs an upgrade in the defensive secondary and Johnson should supply immediate help.