UMass Transfer Portal News--How we did--Running backs

 Last year's rushing results for the Minutemen were horrifying. We finished #131 out of 134 in rushing offense.

Against Temple, (who finished 5-7 in 2025) we had 103 net yards rushing and 41 of those 103 came on one rush by Rocco Griffin (who had a good opening quarter against the Owls and then disappeared for the rest of the year). 

Against a 3-8 FCS team Bryant, we rushed for 101 yards and 19 (one fifth) came on one play by Grant Jordan. One rushing first down at the end of the game would have won it for UMass.

Against Buffalo, the game we came the closest to winning, we rushed for 187 yards, but 90 of those yards came on one play by Brandon Hood. For the rest of the game we rushed 43 times for 97 yards.

In the last game of the season in the "Bottom Bowl" against Bowling Green, on our own field, UMass rushed 29 times for 69 net yards,  2.4 yards/rush.

Being unable to run the ball makes the QB look bad. If the defense can disregard the running game, they can pin their ears back and rush the passer, which they did with abandon in 2025.

Fixing the run game will make a major impact on UMass' chances in 2026.

UMass added Jordan Washington. He has good size and had a decent season for the Racers in 2025.

The Minutemen also added Justin Williams-Thomas a transfer from Cal/Marshall.  Williams-Thomas was a highly rated RB out of HS, but so far has been unable to generate much playing time in college. 

I really like true freshman recruit TK Davis. I'm also high on true freshman Justin Lewis.

A freshman can play in four games without burning their redshirt. If I  were the UMass coach, I'd get Davis and Lewis reps in eight games this year. We need production.

I'd give the potential upgrade here as a B minus. We did not sign an instant All-MAC running back , but the expectation is UMass will move up from awful. I think Davis and Lewis have talent to move the meter even further in future years.

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Chad Willis

On3.com image

 UMass has offered to Chad Willis, a 6-2 185 pound WR/Athlete from Orchard Lake, MI.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

This article covers his recruiting by Michigan. 

This article writes about his offer from Michigan State. 

Willis has over 20 offers including Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati and more. Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio), Toledo, Western Michigan and  Kent State have offered from the MAC. Willis would have the opportunity to start early in Amherst and also get an East Coast education.

UMass Football Blog News--February 1st, 2026

 I got sucked in by the excitement of the transfer portal and resumed Sunday blogging. Now that it seems the bulk of the transfers have arrived, I'm going  back to taking Sundays off until Fall camp starts.

Everybody stay warm and I'll see you tomorrow! 

UMass Transfer Portal News--How we did -Quarterbacks

 Except for the the Andrew Ford and Blake Frohapfel era during Coach Whipple's second stint at UMass, the Minutemen have not had effective quarterbacks during our FBS era.

Last year AJ Hairston had a 89.2 EFF. Grant Jordan had a 108.1 EFF. Brandon Rose had a EFF of 96.5.

UMass' collective 2025 quarterback opponents had a EFF of 169.0.

Some of the quarterbacks problems were due to a total lack of a running game and very poor pass blocking, but still..

Jordan was clearly the best QB. He scored 33% of UMass' rushing TD's and did make some plays (usually running for his life from the opponents pass rush).

All three left in the transfer portal. Jordan signed with Power Four Oklahoma State.  AJ Hairston signed with FCS Merrimack. So far, I could not find any news for Rose.

UMass added Pop Watson. On paper, he seems a big improvement. However, Watson was unable to break into the starting position at Virginia Tech. He appeared in 11 games and started two in three years with the Hokies. He needs to get out of the gate fast in 2026. UMass needs offensive production and Watson needs to provide it. He'll have the keys to the car starting the season, but if the UMass offense sputters (again), he could be pushed by RJ Johnson III. Last year Johnson had a QB EFF of 146.4 and threw for almost 2,600 yards.

 The UMass QB room also adds true freshman Aedan McCarthy. I like his background and he should be a solid future starter. UMass also has Will Perry who, you will remember, engineered a nifty scoring drive against UConn two years ago.

So how'd we do? 

I would rate the signings as a B+. Both Watson and RJ Johnson III have the potential to jump start the UMass offense. On paper, the quarterback room seems to have substantially more talent than last year. However, Watson's career as a backup at Virginia Tech and Johnson's lack of FBS time will mean we'll have to wait to September to see the results..

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Jaylen Mercer

 UMass has offered to Jaylen Mercer, a 6-5 230 pound Edge from Cincinnati, OH.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

This article covers his recruitment by Arizona. 

This article talks about his offer by Minnesota. 

Mercer has 23 offers including a laundry list of Power Four teams such as Michigan, Wisconsin, BC, Texas A&M and more. UMass, Toledo and Western Michigan have offered from the MAC. Mercer would have the opportunity to play early and often in Amherst. 

UMass Transfer Portal News--January 29th, 2026

 

The Minuteman Command has the complete snapshots of the 2026 transfer portal class.

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I subscribe to 247Sports, but I don't know if this link will be available to non-subscribers.

247Sports ranks UMass' transfer portal class as #2 in the MAC. 

If you can't see it, the MAC transfer portal rankings are

1. Toledo
2. UMass
3. Miami (Ohio)
4. Ohio
5. Ball State
6. Buffalo
7. Akron
8. Bowling Green
9. Central Michigan
10. Eastern Michigan
11. Western Michigan (corrected. I was thinking of Northern Illinois

Toledo had 14 three-star transfers. UMass had 12. Nobody else had more than nine.

247Sports has UMass #103 in FBS transfer portal ranking. The Power Four conference teams occupy (roughly) transfer portal slots 1-65. The Group-of-five teams, again roughly, compete for the slots 66-136, as they do for freshmen recruiting.

At #103 UMass in just into the top half of Group-of-Five teams.

Boston College is ranked #62, which sorta reflects their current status as the bottom of the ACC and near the bottom of the Power Four.

UConn is ranked #71, which is indicative of their  9-4 record  and status as one of the top Group-of-Five teams..

We'll see how it all plays out in 2026! 

 

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Alijah Shaw

 UMass has offered to Alijah Shaw, a 6-8 275 pound OT from Leawood, KS.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

This article covers his visit to Iowa State. 

Florida Atlantic and UMass (his first FBS offer) have offered from Group-of-Five. Power four Arkansas, Minnesota, Iowa State, Northwestern and Wisconsin have also offered.

Shaw could get an East Coast education and be in line for some early playing time in Amherst.