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 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.
If you missed it, all the original starting offensive linemen from 2025 left/graduated. LT Luke Painton, LG Sullivan Weidman, C Benjamin Roy, RG Mao Glynn and RT Ryan Mosesso all are gone.
The offensive line was not a strong point last year. I went to most of the games and watched 'em all on DVR. I can't think of a game where we dominated the line of scrimmage. I've blogged about our nearly last in FBS rushing totals.
For the season, UMass went 54-172 31% on third downs. The Minutemen went 6-26 on fourth downs 23%. Those are really bad numbers. A stop on fourth down is a turnover. Stops on 3rd downs are effectively turnovers. A first down at the end of the game would have won the Bryant and Buffalo contests. A lot of that was due to offensive line play.
Brock Taylor started some games later in the season. Jaxon King, Payton Miller and Zachary Franks are probably the top returning offensive linemen.
UMass added Aitor Unionabarrenechea from Colorado State. Greg Knox from McNeese State, and Greg Klingensmith from William & Mary. All three will probably start.
Still, I think this leaves the O-line room pretty thin. I would grade the potential improvement here as a "C" (primarily because of numbers).
If I was coach and I had enough NIL money for two additional players, I'd spend it on two offensive linemen. If I had NIL for three, I'd spend it on three offensive linemen.
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247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video.
This article covers his offer from Northwestern.
Wallace has Power Four offers from Cincinnati, Kansas State, Northwestern and Purdue. Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan have offered from the MAC. UMass needs offensive linemen and Wallace could be in the mix early in Amherst.
UMass formerly announces hiring Max Warner as offensive coordinator.
Hopefully, Warner will have a lot more offensive talent to work with this year. Former Minuteman OC Mike Bajakian directed the worst offense in college football, but was hired away by Power Four Michigan State, which leads to the conclusion the problem was talent, not coaching.
The Daily Collegian has a post on Warner's hiring.
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Western Michigan's DC is hired as defensive coordinator for the Los Angles Chargers.
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Miami (of Florida) signs an OT with a $1.9 million NIL tag.
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