Wednesday, April 02, 2025

UMass Football News--April 2nd, 2025

 The Minutemen Command has a couple of video interviews:

UMass OL coach Kurt Anderson. 

Thoughts from HC Joe Harasymiak. 

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Sports Illustrated image

UMass "X" feed has a check in with Malcolm Green. 

Green's UMass bio. With 44 GP and 7 starts in his career, he has a good chance to start for the Minutemen in 2025.

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Toledo schedules a home-and-home with Syracuse.

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Tuesday, April 01, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Max Roche

"X" image

 Max Roche, a 6-4 225 pound TE from Niceville, FL has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 

Roche has offers from all three service academies as well as FIU and James Madison. He could get a high level education without the service commitment with Coach Harasymiak and UMass.

Monday, March 31, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Benny Landi

 

"X" image

Benny Landi, a 6-2 235 pound DL from Sickerville, NJ has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video. 

Rivals page here. 

MaxPreps has stats.

Landi has a Power Four offer from Virginia. Southern Mississippi, Georgia State and Liberty have offered from the Group-of-Five. He also has an offer from FCS Rhode Island. Landi could see lots of playing time in the new Minuteman defense and get an excellent East coast education in Amherst.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

UMass Football News--March 29th, 2025

 The Greenfield Recorder has UMass Football notebook.

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Devin Lippman image

The UMass Daily Collegian has Jakobie Keeney-James shines on Pro Day. 

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UMass special teams coach Joe Castellito speaks about the importance of special teams. 

Special teams have been the stone-in-the-shoe for UMass fans during our tour in FBS. Kicking in particular has lost a number of close games. A number of studies have found special team plays figure in the decision of about one third of all games. Improvement in special team play (in all phases) would really help UMass move to respectability.  

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UMass OC Mike Bajakian thinks a culture shift is happening in the UMass program. 

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A video interview of Minutemen WR Ty Harding. 

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Congrats and good luck to the UMass hockey team who meet MAC foe Western Michigan in tonight's NCAA tournament.  

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Friday, March 28, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Keishjuan Telfar

 

"X" image

Keishjuan Telfar, a 6-0 165 pound DB from Euclid, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

Rivals 3-star recruit. 

Telfar has seventeen offers. Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State and Miami (Ohio) have offered from the MAC. He has multiple offers from Power Four teams including Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan State, Penn State , Pitt and more. He could see early playing time with rebuilding Minutemen.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Jameer Henry

"X" image

 Jameer Henry, a 6-5 300 pound OL/DL has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

First Team All-Detroit. 

Henry has fifteen offers. Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio) Toledo and Western Michigan have offers from the MAC. He has a half a dozen offers from Power Four Teams including Michigan, Michigan State, Kentucky, Tennessee and more. He would have a chance to play early for Coach Harasymiak in Amherst.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

UMass Football News--March 26th, 2025

 

More images from Spring practice here.

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The Minutemen Command has a video of UMass OC Mike Bajakian being interviewed by reporters.  

There is also a video of UMass WR Ty Harding being interviewed. Harding's UMass bio.

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The impact of NIL and other cost structures is increasing.

St. Francis, who was just in the NCAA basketball tournament announced they are dropping to Division III. 

If you missed it, Richmond football, (who won the 2006 FCS National Championship) is moving from the CAA to the Patriot League. 

AIC hockey (who has been the little engine that could lately) is dropping to Division II. 

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I was watching CNBC recently and they were interviewing a "Sports Investor" who was saying schools will be selling their football programs. Investor Marc Lasry said the schools "Will have to sell an interest in the teams" . Have to.  The cost structure of NIL and the fact donations to the athletic departments are no longer tax deductible make it inevitable.

See this article from Debevoise & Plimpton.

From the article:

 "CVC Capital has been rumored to be in discussions with the Big 12 athletic conference (which lost Texas and Oklahoma recently to the SEC), whereby CVC Capital would invest a range of $800 million to $1 billion in exchange for a 15−20% equity stake in the conference. In parallel, the Big 12 pursued a naming rights agreement to rename the conference in exchange for additional revenue that would be shared among its members. These cash infusions were said to be on the table in order to stabilize the conference’s finances before its next media rights deal in 2031.

    Sixth Street Partners was also rumored to have been in discussions with Florida State University (“FSU”) in relation to staking a new company that would acquire FSU’s intellectual property rights. The negotiations came at a time when FSU has filed a lawsuit against its conference, the ACC, to avoid the steep exit fee that it would owe the ACC for leaving the conference
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Lasry said a possible valuation of "12 times earnings" could be the purchase price. 

From the AI "Grok": For fiscal year 2024, Ohio State’s athletic department reported total operating revenue of $254,933,664, with the football program generating $111,646,810 of that amount."

Twelve times football earnings would give Ohio State about $1.2 billion for their athletic dept fund.

Even more interesting would be if instead of "private equity" buying college football, if Tech companies, who are awash in capital, got involved.

Nike already "owns" Oregon. If NVIDA buys Texas and Microsoft buys Alabama and Apple buys Ohio State, we could see those teams in the FBS final four every year...

Life is going to be tough for the non-super teams.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Samuel McGrath

"X" image

 Samuel McGrath, a 6-6 275 pound OT from Roseville, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

McGrath has MAC offers from Miami (Ohio) and Toledo. He would be a good fit in the new Minuteman offense and also get an excellent East coast education in Amherst.

Monday, March 24, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2027--Chad Willis

"X" image

 Chad Willis, a 6-2 185 pound Safety from Orchard Lake, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 

This article covers his offer from Michigan State. 

Willis has MAC offers from: Toledo, Western Michigan, Miami (Ohio) Bowling Green and Central Michigan. He has Power Four offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Vanderbilt and more.

Saturday, March 22, 2025

UMass Football News--March 22nd 2025

 The Minutemen Command looks at the beginnings of the 2025 UMass defense.

The MC also has a post on transfer running back Rocco Griffin. 

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I was flipping through the UMass Record Book a couple of days ago. In today's college football situation it's kinda amazin' to realize  the UMass career records will never be broken. Because no one will ever again play four years for a Group-of-Five team if they are having some good numbers.

Consider the two UMass out-transfers this year. Jalen John went 111-605 5.3 AVE 58.7 yards/game and CJ Hester went 118-539 4.4 AVE 48.1 yards/game. Those are decent statistics, but they are not Marcel Shipp's put-the-game-on-his-back-and-win-it performances. John and Hester will end up fill-in players in the Big Twelve somewhere.

The same situation applies this year. If Rocco Griffin runs for 800 yards in 2025, he'll be playing somewhere else in 2026.  

This is adding to the already huge advantage Power Five schools have. The Oregon Ducks have "an unlimited" NIL from Nike. That means the Ducks can pay significant NIL money for even minor improvements in their roster. It's going to be near impossible for Group-of-Five schools to have a stable team in this environment. Toledo lost two MAC players-of-the-year in 2024 and ended up 6-5 in the regular season. It the Rockets had had the MAC player-of-the-year and the offensive player-of-the-year Toledo may have won the MAC and maybe played in a major bowl.

Can college have two year NIL's? With some sort of penalty to the team if the player leaves before the agreed period is up? The one-and-done NIL is really changing the sport of college football and the fan experience for the teams that lose players ever year.

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UMass gets a $1 million donation the the script U society.  John F. Kennedy has been a long time supporter of UMass athletics.

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Friday, March 21, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Matthew Tybor


 Matthew Tybor, a 6-4 240 pound TE/Athlete from Lawrence Academy has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video. 

Tybor has FBS offers from Army and Liberty. A number of New England FCS schools have also offered. He could play a national FBS schedule and get an excellent education with the Minutemen.

Thursday, March 20, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Troy Harris

 

Hudl.com image

Troy Harris a 5-11 165 pound WR from Williamsburg, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.  125 all-purpose yards/game

Besides UMass, Harris has FBS offers from Marshall and USF. He could be part of the news Minuteman offense and get an excellent education with Coach Harasymiak.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Kareem Pruitt

 

"X" image

Kareem Pruitt, a 6-3 175 pound Athlete from Orchard Lake, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 46 TT 13 BKUP 6 INT..

This article from September 2024 features Pruitt. 

Pruitt has a Power Four offer from Kentucky. Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio) have offered from the MAC. He has room to grow on a big frame. Pruitt could get an excellent East coast education and be part the new Minuteman defense in Amherst.

 

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Pauly Sadler

Jeff Lang image

 Pauly Sadler, a 6-0 175 pound WR from Cleveland, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 18-400 4 TD's 20 yards/catch..


 Video from November 2024.

Sadler has seven total offers. Akron, Kent State, Liberty and Troy have offered from FBS. He could be part of the new Minutemen offense in Amherst.

Monday, March 17, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Grant Blasak

 

Blasak #21 with INT/Jeff Lang image

Grant Blasak, a 6-3 205 pound Safety from Stow, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 48.4 TT 5 TFL 7 BKUP 3 INT's..

Blasak has MAC offers from Buffalo, Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo. He has a big frame and would be a good fit in the new-look UMass defense.

 


Saturday, March 15, 2025

UMass Football News--Ides of March 2024

 


More Spring images here. 

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UMass defensive coordinator Jared Keyte responds to the first week of Spring ball.

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UMass adds Sacred Heart to the Minutemen's 2026 schedule. The article says UMass is in a discussion to cancel the scheduled home-and-home with Hawaii.

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The Minutemen Command has thoughts on the UMass offense after the first two Spring practices. 

The MC also has video interviews with transfer RB Rocko Griffin and LB Tim Hinspeter. 

Bios for Griffin and Hinspeter are on the winter transfer tracker. 

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Friday, March 14, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Camari Patterson

 

"X" image

Camari Patterson, a 5-10 180 pound Athlete from Orchard Lake, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 

Patterson has MAC offers from Bowling Green, Kent State and Miami (Ohio). Patterson probably projects as a college DB and he could get a quality East coast education and join the new-look UMass defense playing for Coach Harasymaik.

Thursday, March 13, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Steve Klein

 

NCSA image

Steve Klein, 6-2 205 pound Athlete from Westwood, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

Had over 1,000 yards rushing in 2024.

Klein has eleven offers. Syracuse and BC has offered from the Power Four. Army, Delaware, JMU, Liberty, Old Dominion and Temple have offered from the Group-of-Five. Klein could play several positions in college. He would have a lot of options joining the new coaching staff in Amherst.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

UMass Football News March 12yth, 2025

Garrett Cole image

 Spring practice started Monday.

The UMass Daily Collegian has impressions of the first practice. 

The Hampshire Gazette has UMass opens Spring practice under Coach Harasymiak. 

The Minuteman Command has Harasymiak pleased the the first day of practice. 

They also has Harasymiak pleased with his QB's after the start of practice. 

The second practice will be today. 

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In Mac News, Bowling Green lost their six-year HC Scott Loeffler to the NFL. 

It's unusual to lose a head coach at the beginning of Spring ball. 

They hired former Ohio State legend Eddie George for their leader.

UMass meets Bowling Green for the last game of the season on November 25 in a weekday MACtion game. 

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Saturday, March 08, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Ryan Harrington

 

Hudl.com image

Ryan Harrington, a 6-5 220 pound EDGE from Orchard Lake, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 56 TT 12 SACKS

This article covers Harrington's visit to Michigan State.

Harrington has eleven offers including San Diego State, Power Four Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Kent State and Miami (Ohio). He could join the new era of UMass football and receive a high quality East coast education in Amherst.

Friday, March 07, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Paul Sadler

John Kuntz image

 Pauly Sadler, a 6-0 175 pound WR from Glendale, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

Made a number of critical catches in this game

Sadler has offers from Akron, Eastern Kentucky, Kent State, Liberty and Troy. UMass offers a high quality education and a chance to be part of the new Minutemen offense.

Thursday, March 06, 2025

UMass Football News--March 6th, 2025

 

The 2025 UMass football schedule is out.

 Saturday, August 30                 Temple
Saturday, September 6             Bryant
Saturday, September 13           at Iowa
Saturday, September 27           at Missouri
Saturday, October 4                 Western Michigan*
Saturday, October 11                at Kent State*
Saturday, October 18                Buffalo*
Saturday, October 25                at Central Michigan*
Tuesday, November 4               at Akron*
Wednesday, November 12        Northern Illinois*
Tuesday, November 18             at Ohio*
Tuesday, November 25             Bowling Green*

UMass will have four nationally televised "MACtion" games in November. That should be a boost to the program in name recognition and recruiting---providing we're not 1-8 going into November.

The Minutemen don't play Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Ball State. The Toledo Rockets are usually in contention for the the league championship. Toledo lost the MAC Player-of-the-Year and MAC Offensive-player-of-the-Year to NIL, but still beat Pitt in their bowl game. We do get Akron and Kent State, two the MAC's weakest programs, but have to play both on the road.

Hustle Belt has a post on the schedule plus the non-league games of all the teams. 

The Hampshire Gazette also has a post on the schedule release. 

The MAC website has a press release on the 2025 schedule. 

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Wednesday, March 05, 2025

UMass Football News--March 5th, 2025

 

Devin Lippman image

The August 31st 2024 two-deep chart for Eastern Michigan shows two players at TE

Dominick Mazotti 

Owen Anderson . Anderson appeared in all 12 games and went 2-13 1 TD. 

No other TE on the roster had a catch.

In the transfer portal UMass added:

Reese Adkins. Transfer from UCF. Did not have a catch in 2024.

Max Dowling. Transferred from UT-Martin. Went 23-278 5 TD's for the FCS Sky Hawks.

On the 2024-25 roster are:

Noah Staples . A JUCO transfer. No 2024 stats

Magnus Von Saldern. No 2024 stats

John Condrakes. A true freshman

The TE tends to be a big part of modern offenses. Mazotti had 18-183 and 1 TD in 2024 and was probably underused. 

Right now Dowling and Anderson would seem to be the 1-2 at TE. The Minutemen might be looking for an additional transfer.

Tuesday, March 04, 2025

UMass Football News--March 4th, 2025


 Bear with me on this. Blogger does not do columns or grids.

The starting OL for UMass on August 31st 2024 was:

RT Luke Painton  RG Ethan Mottinger C Josh Atwood LG Wyatt Terlaak LT Brayden Rhome

2nd string:

RT Jaxon King RG Benjamin Roy C Peyton Miller LG Mao Glynn LT Ryan Mosesso

In the transfer portal UMass added two first-team All Ivy OL's.

 Mike Entwistle from Harvard and Kyle Brown from Dartmouth. As Grad transfers and All-Ivy I would think they would be plug-ins at RG and LG. The Minutemen Command reviews Kyle Brown and Mike Entwistle.

The Minutemen also added Sullivan Weidman from West Virginia.  He appeared in all 13 games for the Mountaineers in 2024 in special teams and some at guard.

If all the above are healthy in 2025 UMass seems to fairly well set along the offensive line. They currently have 13 O-linemen on the roster (not counting the transfers). Three of the thirteen are true freshmen.

This seems a solid group to enter the MAC with. In our previous stint in the conference UMass had only one All-Mack offensive lineman (Anthony Dima 2013 Third Team) in four years. The O-line leads the way and hopefully this group will lead us to some victories in 2025.

Monday, March 03, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--David Williams

Detroit Free Press/Junfu Han image

 David Williams, a 6-0 180 pound DB from Warren, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 

Williams has offers from Colorado State, Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio) and Kent State. He could find a home in the new-look Minutemen defense in Amherst.

Saturday, March 01, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Hunter Stepanich

 

Hudl.com image

Hunter Stepanich, a 6-7 230 pound TE/DE from Elmhurst, IL has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

Also plays hoops. 

Stepanich has eleven offers including Western Michigan, Toledo, Northern Illinois and Miami (Ohio) from the MAC. Princeton and Dartmouth have offered from the Ivies. He could get a high quality East Coast education and play FBS football by joining the Minutemen in Amherst.

Friday, February 28, 2025

UMass Football News--February 28th, 2025

 

UMass officially announced its non-conference schedule for 2025. The Minutemen open the season with Temple, who went 3-9 in 2024. They fired their coach and hired old friend KC Keeler (who no longer wears his trademark dark glasses). 

Bryant went 2-10 in 2024 and open their 2025 season with New Mexico State and UMass.

The Minutemen play Power Four Iowa and Missouri. The Tigers are in the preseason 2025  Top-25 and Iowa is in the "others receiving votes". 

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 UMass adds two the the strength and conditioning staff.

Ibn Foster previously worked for Central Michigan. 

Jeff Stern, a Massachusetts native, previous worked for the strength and conditioning staff at Iowa. 

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Thursday, February 27, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Jamal Shakespear

"X" image

 Jamal Shakespear, a 5-10 180 pound athlete from West Bloomfield, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

Shakespear plays QB in HS, but probably projects as a WR/S/CB in college. He has offers from Marshall and Kent State. He could get an excellent education and be part of the new UMass football history in Amherst.


Wednesday, February 26, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Hawken Anderson

 

"X" image

Hawken Anderson, a 6-4 315 pound IOL from Glenview, IL has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

Anderson has MAC offers from Akron and Toledo. Marshall and Old Dominion have offered from the Group-of-five. He could get a top education at UMass and be part of the Minutemen's new start in the MAC

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

UMass Football News--February 25th, 2025

AJ Hairston/Chris Tucci image

 The UMass QB room will look very different in 2025. Last year Taisun Phommachanh started and played eight games. It did not appear he had totally recovered from his injury suffered the previous year. His game was his dual-threat running and passing. In 2024 he appeared slower and less willing to run. He just did not pressure defenses as he did in 2023. 

Coach Brown's loyalty to his QB may have cost him his job. After Phommachanh's second injury, the UMass offense became more productive under AJ Hairston and Ahmad Haston.

AJ Hairston went 4 GP 136.6 EFF 40-73-480  0 INT's  5TD's 75 LONG 120 yards/game.

Ahmad Haston went into the transfer portal.

Will Perry, after Hairston and Haston were hurt in the UConn game, came into the game cold with no previous appearances and engineered a nifty 73 yard scoring drive to make it close.

Will Perry 1 GP 148.6 EFF 7-11-72 1 TD .

Also in the QB room this year are:

Brandon Rose 6-2 212 from Power Four Utah. Rose appeared in three games during three years with the Utes.

Grant Jordan 6-2 210. Jordan was Honorable Mention All-Ivy in his last season with Yale and had a 66.4% completion ratio. 

Ryan Jankowski 6-3 210. Transferred to UMass in 2024 from Akron. He did not appear in any games last year

Luke LoPresti 6-0 205. Transferred to UMass in 2024 from Duquesne.  Did not see any game action last year.

Zach Lawrence, 6-1 195. A true freshman and a top-50 recruit in the state of North Carolina. Will probably redshirt.

Going into 2025. AJ Hairston, if healthy,  would likely be the leader to start at QB. After him, Grant Jordan has the most game experience. Will Perry and Brandon Rose would be the other contenders.

 

 

 

Monday, February 24, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Khalil Ferguson

 

"X" image

Khalil Ferguson, a 6-3 193 pound WR from Antioch, TN has a UMass offer.

Hudl.com has video

MaxPreps has stats.

Ferguson has FBS offers from UAB and Georgia State plus some FCS. He has a pro-sized frame and he could play in the new-look UMass offense as well as get a East-Coast education.

 

Saturday, February 22, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Darnell Stokes, Jr

"X" image

 Darnell Stokes, a 6-2 185 pound WR from Frankfort, DE has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. Career 42-1132 receiving yards and 18 TD's. Also averaged 12.9 yards/carry rushing..

Stokes has nine offers including Liberty, Delaware, Temple and Syracuse from the East. A versatile athlete , he could see early playing time with the Minutemen.

Friday, February 21, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Travis Robertson

Hudl.com image

 Travis Robinson, a 6-7 270 pound OL from West Bloomfield, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

2nd Team All-State.

Robinson has MAC offers from Bowling Green, Kent State and Toledo. Power Four Colorado and Kentucky have offered. He could get and East Coast education and a chance to play early in Amherst.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Isaac Chukwurah

 

"X" image
 

Isaac Chukwurah, a 6-4 250 DE from Bear, DE has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

 First Team All-Class 2A.

Chuckwurah has offers from Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan. UConn has also offered. He could make an impact and play early in the new UMass defense.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

UMass Football News--February 19th, 2024

 

 

UMass continues to add football staff.

Joining UMass is Josh Heinrich as Chief of Staff. 

Kevin Juszynski joins as Director of Football Operations. 

Joe Maurer joins the staff as a defensive graduate assistant.

No bio yet for Jared Osumah.

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Yard Barker reports Toledo is becoming an unexpected NFL draft hotbed. 

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Hustle Belt reports four MAC players (two from Toledo) have been invited to the NFL Combine. 

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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Brogan McNab

 

"X" image

Brogan McNab, a 6-0 185 pound QB/Athlete has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

 MaxPreps has stats.

QB Hit List has an entry on McNab. 

McNab has MAC offers from Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan. UCF, Marshall, UAB and Charlotte have offered from Group-of-Five. BC and Syracuse have offered from the ACC. UMass offered early. The Power Four schools will try to convert him to a DB or WR. The Minutemen would likely allow him to continue to be a dual-threat QB if that's what he wants to play.

Monday, February 17, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Zach Hackleman

Hudl.com image

 Zach Hackleman, a 6-0 WR from Lakewood, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats. 


 Hackleman has offers from MAC schools Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State and Toledo. Charlotte has offered from CUSA. He could earn early playing time in the new look UMass offense.

 

Saturday, February 15, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Jeremiah Benson

"X" image

 Jeremiah Benson, a 6-3 255 pound DL from West Bloomfield, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

Benson has eleven offers including Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois and Toledo from the MAC. Marshall and Temple have also offered. Benson could find some early playing time in the new Minutemen defense.

Friday, February 14, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Martece Smith

"X" image

 Martece Smith (good name), a 6-1 165 pound DB from Hammond, IN has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

Smith has offers from Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.  He could find a home and playing time with the new UMass defense in Amherst.

Thursday, February 13, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Anthony Bitonti

 

"X" image

Anthony Bitonti, a 6-3 210 pound LB from Warren, MI has a UMass offer.

h247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

This article features Bitonti and his visit to Pitt. 

Quote from the article:"As a junior at De La Salle, Anthony Bitonti impressed on both sides of the ball. At running back, he totaled 693 yards and 13 touchdowns, along with a passing score. On defense at linebacker, he recorded 67 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks and a fumble recovery."

Bitonti has MAC offers from Central Michigan, Kent State and Eastern Michigan. He would be a good fit in the rebuilding UMass defense.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

UMass Football News--Drew Belcher joins the UMass staff

 



Drew Belcher has joined the UMass staff as an offensive analyst. Belcher is very familiar with New England football as he was a four-year player and team captain at Maine. He spent four years with the New Hampshire staff as QB coach and passing game coordinator. Welcome to Amherst, Drew!

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

UMass Football News--February 11th, 2025

 

Congrats to two former Minutemen who won the Super Bowl Sunday.

Jack Driscoll's Eagle bio. 

Isaiah Robert's Ealge bio. 

UMass athletics has Rogers and Driscoll win Super Bowl LIX with the Philadelphia Eagles.

This is great.

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 UMass adds a DB coach with extensive MAC experience with Donald Celiscar.

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Monday, February 10, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Bryant Holland-Snowden

"X" image

 Bryant Holland-Snowden, a 6-1 180 pound safety from Roseville, MI has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video.

 Detroit Free Press All-East 2nd team. 

Holland-Snowden also has an offer from Akron. He could play in a revived Minutemen defense with Coach Harasymiak in Amherst.

Saturday, February 08, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Mekhi Armour

 

Mekhi Armour, a 6-1 175 pound DB from Newark, NJ has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

First team All-Super Conference in NJ. 

Gets a mention from Minuteman Command. 

Armour has offers from UMass plus two FCS teams. He has a big frame and would prosper playing for Coach Harasymiak in Amherst.

Friday, February 07, 2025

UMass Football News--Febuary 7th, 2025

 UMass adds five freshmen on Signing Day.

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A truncated article by the Hampshire Gazette here. 

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The Minutemen Command has a post on the signings here. 

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The Minutemen Command has a video Signing Day recap, which includes a discussion of the transfers. 

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The 247Sports  UMass 2025commits page with rankings is here. 

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I'll be having some comments on the new additions here on the UMass Football Blog in coming days.

Thursday, February 06, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Dinos Drossos commits to UMass

 

 

Dinos Drossos, a 6-2 210 pound LB from Tucson, AZ has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here. 

This article from April ,of 2024 features Drossos and his offer from Nebraska. 

MaxPreps has stats. 140 career solo tackles! 

Drossos was a three-star LB and a top-20 player in  the the state of Arizona. He's slated to play the "WILL" linebacker in Amherst and hopefully we will see him be a feature in the new UMass defense.

Tuesday, February 04, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Jase Catullo

 

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Jase Catullo, a 6-3 280 pound IOL from Chatnam, NJ took a visit to UMass last weekend.

Hudl.com has video. 

Also had 2.5 TFL and 29 TT as a nose guard. 

Catullo probably projects as a OG or C in college. He could join a New Jersey-knowledgeable coaching staff with the Minutemen in Amherst.

Monday, February 03, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Garrett Cooper commits to UMass

 

Garrett Cooper, a 6-6 280 pound OL from Delmar, DE has committed to UMass

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video highlights.

Cooper chose UMass over an offer from JMU. He should be a nice addition to the Minutemen offensive line. 

Saturday, February 01, 2025

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Elijah Pedro commits to UMass

 

Elijah Pedro, a 5-11 165 pound WR from Olney, MD has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

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.