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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