Elijah Pedro, a 5-11 165 pound WR from Olney, MD has committed to UMass.
This article covers his offer from Maryland.
MaxPreps has stats. In 2024 Pedro went 29-522 18 AVE 51 LONG 7 YD's.
Pedro chose UMass over 11 other offers including Power Four Duke, West Virginia and Maryland. Temple, UConn and Buffalo offered from the Northeast. He should be a big addition to the Minutemen passing attack and I look forward to seeing him play at McGuirk.
This article from August of 2024 features Faulkner.
Faulkner chose UMass over offers from Eastern and Central Michigan of the MAC as well as Navy. He should be an excellent addition to the Minuteman RB room.
After a OV to Amherst last weekend, Gavin Wilson, a 6-6 280 pound OL from Greenville, SC has committed to UMass.
Wilson chose UMass over offers from Furman and Presbyterian. I am looking forward to following his career with the Maroon & White.
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Minuteman Command has an article on Cooper.
Cooper has an offer from JMU (and will take an OV there) as well as Delaware State. He could be part of a rising Minutemen offense in Amherst.
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MaxPreps has stats. In 2024 he went 182-1235 6.8 AVE 100+ 6 games 17 TD's
Besides UMass, White has offers from MAC teams Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State. He also has an offer from Coastal Carolina. He could be part of the revival of Minutemen football in Amherst.
Hey everyone. I've been cranking out posts seven days a week since August. With the new coaching staff in and the transfer portal not opening again until April 16th, UMass news has slowed down.
So, I'm going to not post on Sunday until things start to pick later in the year. The athletic dept has not announced the date of the Spring game as yet.
Should be better days for UMass fans coming this year! Hope you'll stay with the UMass football Blog in 2025.
New UMass HC Joe Harasymiak talks with reporters on the state of the new era in UMass football.
He talks about assembling the coaching staff and recruiting. Harasymiak said he hadn't seen the UMass players practice, so he couldn't comment on how he thought the talent level is.
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The Hampshire Gazette has Harasymiak reflects on his first weeks as the Minutemen's head coach.
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The Daily Collegian has UMass rounds out its coach staff with Jaret Keyte as defensive coordinator.
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Hustle Belt has an exhaustive look at potential expansion candidates for the Mid American Conference.
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I would be remiss if I didn't mention Liam Coen's being named HC for the Jaguars. He is, I believe, the first UMass player to be an NFL head coach.
I might mention Mrs Blog and I were out in Hamilton, NY when Liam came into game against Colgate in the second half and ignited a furious UMass comeback that just fell short. That was his first game action for UMass.
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George Green has officially been named the head of the Minutemen's strength and conditioning program.
Green's UMass bio here.
Of all the coaches, the strength and conditioning staff probably have the most contact with the players. A lot of the culture of the team gets set there.
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Hanafin has offers from BC plus Ivies Brown and Yale. He could play FBS football and be part of the resurgent UMass football tradition in Amherst.
Robert Ekins, a 6-2 260 pound DE from Don Bosco Prep in NJ has become the first commit of the 2026 class.
Hudl.com has Junior highlights.
Ekins currently also has an offer from Army. He looks to have a big upside and it will be great to follow his career with the Minutemen.
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Hudl.com has video highlights.
Also has an offer from Syracuse.
Panagou could play in front of friends and family in Amherst. He could also be part of the renaissance of Minuteman football.
In 2024, he went 11 GP 6 UT 21 AT 27 TT 2 TFL 3 BU.
UMass only has five DT's on the roster so far in the winter of 2025, so Grant-Randall's return is a big building block for this year.
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2nd team All-Ivy. Started 20 games at left guard.
Iannuzzi has offers from UNLV, Kent State and Central Michigan. He would be an excellent addition to the Minutemen offensive line.
Jake McConnachie, a 6-5 215 pound transfer WR from Pitt has committed to UMass.
This article from August of 2023 features McConnachie.
This article covers his entering the transfer portal.
McConnachie DNP for the Panthers in 2024. He should have a new start in Amherst and he should be a valuable addition to the Minutemen's WR corps.
Nic Sani, a 6-7 275 pound transfer TE from Dartmouth has a PWO offer from UMass.
Sani's Big Green bio here.
Was a three-star player out of HS and had FBS offers from Washington and Nevada.
Sani would be a nice addition to the Minutemen TE room and he could find a home and playing time in Amherst.
Bajakian's UMass bio.
Bajakian has extensive Power Four expedience as well as spending time in the NFL.
This article from October of 2024 covers his taking over as OC for Utah and talks about his background.
He has already worked with transfer QB Brandon Rose, so at least one QB will not have to learn a new system.
In 2024, UMass ended #104 in total offense and #110 in scoring offense, so he has work to do.
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The UMass Daily Collegian recaps the MAC's bowl results here and here.
The MAC ended up tied for second place in 2024-2025 conference bowl rankings.
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Former Toledo QB Dequin Finn lands back in the MAC at Miami (Ohio). Finn was arguably the top QB in the conference during his time at Toledo and he should make the Red Hawks a favorite to win the MAC in 2025.
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Eastern Michigan lands former Michigan State/Coastal Carolina QB Noah Kim.
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College football coaches want increased penalties for faking an injury.
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College football coaches also voted for a single transfer portal period in January. That rule would protect the bowl season as players could not transfer before end of the Fall semester.
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Derek Morris, a 6-2 200 pound transfer Kicker from Cal has committed to UMass
The Daily Californian says Derek Morris breaks the mold.
This article covers his program-tying five field goals in one game.
Kicking has been a thorn in the side of the Minuteman program since the move to FBS. May Morris break that mold too.
Timothy Passmore, a 6-2 295 pound DL transfer from UConn has committed to UMass.
Passmore's Husky bio here.
This short article covers his entering the transfer portal.
Passmore has a new beginning and a chance to earn significant playing time with the Minutemen.
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Gonser's Crimson bio here.
Gonser was First-Team All Ivy in 2024. He went 10 GP 35 UT 30AT 65 TT 6.5 TFL 1 SACk 1 INT 3 BU.
Gonser also has an offer from Bowling Green.
Gonser could join fellow ex-Harvard teammate Michael Entwistle in Amherst and play in front of friends and family with the Minutemen.
Jeremy Larkin has joined the UMass coach staff as running backs coach.
Previously he was RB coach at Youngstown State.
Before that he worked as an assistant coach at Notre Dame working on high school relations, analyst and recruiting.
Welcome to Amherst coach Larkin and may you have much success with the Minutemen.
Brandon Rose, a 6-2 212 pound Power Four transfer from Utah has committed to UMass.
This article from Athlon Sports covers his transfer to the Minutemen.
This article from Deseret Sports discusses his career with Utah.
Rose looked to have a breakout season with Utah prior to his injury. He should have the same chance in Amherst. He's a strong addition to the QB room.
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This article from August 2024 mentions Snyder.
Snyder originally signed with Big Ten Illinois and if healthy, could make an immediate impact with the UMass secondary. I'll be watching him play in Amherst.
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Grant Jordan, a 6-2, 210 pound transfer QB from Yale has committed to UMass.
In 2024, Jordan went 166-250-1938 3 INT 22 TD's 66.40 % 158.16 EFF 215.0 AVE.
Scored seven total TD's against Brown.
Jordan should make an immediate impact in the QB room.
Dean Shaffer, a 6-1 230 pound transfer LB from Yale has committed to UMass.
Shaffer's Bulldog bio here.
His 2024 season was cut short by an injury, but he went 4 GP 15 UT 10 AT 25 TT 8 TFL (in four games!) 1 BU.
This article features Shaffer, who is Yale's 151st Captain.
Shaffer should be an immediate force in the middle of the UMass defense.
Rocco Griffin, a 5-9 200 pound RB transfer from Vanderbilt has committed to UMass.
Griffin's Commodores bio here.
This article covers his leaving Vanderbilt.
The Tennessean has a gallery of images of Griffin in action.
Griffin led Vanderbilt in rushing yards in 2021 and should be an excellent addition to the UMass RB room.
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This article covers his entering the transfer portal.
So far in the transfer portal, Hawthorne has offers from Miami (Ohio), UMass and Stephen F. Austin.
The Flames were without their two stars Kaidon Salter (who entered the transfer portal) and Quinton Cooley (who was prepping for the Senior Bowl).
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Northern Illinois will leave the MAC for football-only membership in the Mountain West.
That move will drop the MAC back to an even numbered 12 members in 2026.
The MAC is currently third in bowl league victories at 5-2.
The MAC's media package will finish in 2027 and the rating success of "MACtion" should result in a much better media income for league members.
The league could stand pat with 12 members or they could add a team like Western Kentucky. Delaware would be a good fit despite their recent joining the CUSA.
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Jared Keyte, the nicklebacks coach at Rutgers is showing his "X" account as defensive coordinator at UMass.
The Hampshire Gazette has the story here.
Keyte's Scarlet Knights bio here.
Keyte was previously DC at Maine and also coached at Springfield College.
This article from Rutgers Wire in 2023 features Keyte.
Coach Harasymiak as a defense coach figures to be heavily involved in the defense. With Keyte with him on the Rutgers staff, they should be able to work together seamlessly.
Coach Harasymiak announces two additions to the UMass coaching staff.
Garrett Gillick will be linebackers coach. His UMass bio.
Gillick was associate head coach and defensive coordinator at New Hampshire.
Wartman-White spent the previous three seasons with Akron. His Zips bio.
Penn Live.com reports former Penn State linebacker takes job at UMass.
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Mitchell is originally from Framington, MA and he could play in front of friends and family for the Minutemen.
I wish all blog readers a healthy and successful 2025. May we all meet at a bowl game in the Fall..
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