UMass Football Blog News--August 3rd, 2025

 Mrs Blog and I will be traveling this coming week. I will try to post on Monday.

Tuesday through Friday we will be on an island off the coast of Maine and internet service is described as "spotty".

The Blog should be back up to normal by Saturday. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Justin Lewis commits to UMass

Orange County Register image

 Justin Lewis, a 5-10 195 pound RB from Santa Ana, CA has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here. 

YouTube has video highlights.

Rushed for 1,306 yards-15 TD's plus 24 REC 324 yards. 

LA Times one of the top Southern Californian RB's for 2025. 

Lewis had 13 offers including all three Service Academies, FCS power Montana and most of the Ivies. He will get an excellent education and a chance to play FBS football with the Minutemen.  

UMass Football News--August 1st, 2025

 

Ty Harding nominated to the 2025 Paul Hornung Watch list.

The Minuteman Command has an interview with Harding. 

Hustle Belt has a post on the three MAC conference players in the Hornung Watch list. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Brock Taylor has been placed on the 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Throphy Watch list. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeyes Wire previews Iowa's game with UMass.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The Hampshire Gazette has a story on the QB competition between Grant Jordan,  AJ Hairston and Brandon Rose.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 31st 2025

 

Yesterday was the first day of Fall Camp. 

Video of Coach Harasymiak taking questions after the first practice. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hampshire Gazette has a post on the opening of Fall camp. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia have  Episode #15 of the Flagship Podcast.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The UMass at Iowa game on September 6th is sold out. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temple, UMass' opening opponent, also started Fall camp yesterday. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

UMass Football News--July 30th, 2025

 The Minuteman Command has a Fall Camp Preview: Running backs.

With Jalen John, CJ Hester, Brandon Campbell (transferred after the Spring game) and Jackson Paradis (medical retirement) gone, only Cookie Desidero (2 GP 8-20 2.5 AVE) returns from the UMass RB's.

Da'Marion Alberic a redshirt freshman (actually had one carry in 2024) returns. Also returning is Godson Ofonagono, another redshirt freshman.

Elijah Falkner is a true freshman.

Rocko Griffin/National Football Post image

Looking to be the featured RB is Rocko Griffin. Brandon Hood, a transfer from Colorado was a top-100 RB out of HS.

Graduate student Juwuan Price has spent time at North Texas, Syracuse and New Mexico State.

The Minutemen have a number of prospects at RB, but not a lot of actual production. We'll have to see how they do against MAC competition. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

College Football News ranks all 136 teams 2025 strength of schedule.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 29th, 2025

 The Minuteman Command has a Fall Camp preview: Quarterbacks. 

Except for  the Andrew Ford/Blake Fronapfel era during coach Whipple's second stint from 2015 to 2018, the quarterback position has been a weak spot in relation to our FBS peers.

The three QB's in consideration: Brandon Rose,  AJ Hairston and Grant Jordan each seems to be above the baseline of QB talent we have had since we moved to FBS. Hopefully, one of those three will lead us to our best year in a long time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Ryan Mosesso has been named to East-West Shrine game watch list.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hustle Belt has the MAC conference preseason award list tracker. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More on the four MAC players on the Maxwell Award watch list.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 28th, 2025

 The Toledo Blade interviews players on life in the MAC: NIL, rival stadiums and weeknight "MACation" games.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"X" image

One hour of MAC highlights from the 2024-2025 season . I watched the Snoop Dog Bowl. Way too much Snoop Dog..

They have Buffalo's 104 yard INT for a touchdown against UMass at the 4:28 mark. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

College Football News predicts 2.5 wins for the Minutemen in 2025. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Athletic's hypothetical selling price for college football teams ranks Boston College's program as next to last in the ACC. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 26th, 2025

 Hustle Belt reports on MAC conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher's "State-of-the-MAC" report.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hustle Belt also reports Western Michigan may play a 2026 game against Michigan at Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Part in Germany.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Victor Cruz is one of the members of this year's HOF class.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The Oakland Press has a post on Michigan MAC teams embracing challenges and changes in the coming 2025 season. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 25th, 2025

 The Minuteman Command has a transcript of coach Harasymiak's remarks at MAC Media Day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMass Athletics/Chris Tucci image

The Hampshire Gazette also has a story on Harasymiak's statements at Media Day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

The Action Network says take the under in the UMass/Temple game.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The MAC coaches picked Toledo to win the MAC; UMass eleventh.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

In a MAC quarterbacks ranking, Athlon Sports has UMass' Brandon Rose/Grant Jordan combo as 11th.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The Star Press interviews  MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher on the status of the MAC in national college football.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 

UMass Football News--July 24th, 2025

 Episode #14 of the UMass Flagship Podcast is up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Great video of UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes visiting the UMass football team. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

College Football News predicts UMass will go 2-10 in the Minutemen's first year in the MAC. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 MAC Media Day is today. It will be available on ESPN+.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 23rd, 2025

 

"X" image

The Minuteman Command has a post on WR Jenoa Alford joining UMass.

I blogged about Alford back on July 2nd. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

MAC Media Day is tomorrow starting at 9:00 am ET. It will be carried live on ESPN+.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Yahoo Sports predicts UConn to go 8-4 in 2025. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Jhalil Anderson

"X" image

 Jhalil Anderson, a 6-3 190 pound WR from Washington, DC has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

Anderson has fourteen offers including Ball State and Toledo from the MAC. Power Four programs, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Northwestern have also offered. He could be part of the new Minuteman offense and be in line for some early playing time in Amherst. 

UMass Football News--July 21st, 2025

 

UMass OL Brock Taylor has been named a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

Eleven MAC athletes were nominated for Allstate AFCA Good Works team. 

More on the American Football Coaches Association's Good Works team here. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeyes Wire previews Iowa's Week # 3 matchup with UMass. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If college football went totally commercial, buying the University of Texas football program would cost you $2.38 billion..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

UMass Football News--July 19th, 2025

 College Football Wire gives ticket information and kickoff times for the 2025 UMass football schedule.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Image credit unknown

Iowa Hawkeyes on Sports Illustrated previews UMass (amazingly, it seems not AI written). 

I have a link to Dave Barry's blog (he cracks me up) here at the UMass football blog. Recently, Google's AI has decided he's dead. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hustle Belt looks at the non-conference chances for each MAC conference football team. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

College Football Wire considers if FCS transfer Mark Gronowski can take 2025 opponent Iowa to the college football playoffs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Deion Sanders wishes college football had a salary cap.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 18th, 2025

Minuteman Command image

 The Minuteman Command has a post on Coach Harasymiak and staff's recruiting style.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

College Football News has surprising depth in the CFN's preseason MAC All-Conference teams. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NIU Huskies hope for a MAC championship in their last year in the league. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2025 opponent Iowa announces two sell-out games for this season. 

The Hawkeyes have a 21-game home sell-out record.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Missouri's HC Eli Drinkwitz thinks a 30-team college football playoff would be about right. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--2025

 Rene Ingogia and Mike Corey do the 13th episode of the Minuteman Command podcast.

Mike and Rene interview Mark Vandermeer who was the "Voice of the Minutemen" during the glory years of UMass basketball and football. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

USA Today ranks 2025 opponent Missouri 10th in SEC power rankings. Tenth in the SEC could lead to a third 10-win season for the Tigers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temple Athletic Dept image

Temple, UMass' opening opponent of the 2025 season reveals two now uniform jerseys for the start of K.C. Keeler era. 

The Owls also had four players make Phil Steele's preseason All-AAC conference team. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The CAA, UMass' old FCS conference, continues to dissolve as  Villanova joins William & Mary and Richmond in the Patriot League.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 16th, 2025

 The Minuteman Command interviews Jack Muldoon, the HC at Bonner & Prendergast HS about UMass DL recruit CJ Amobi.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EA Sports College Football 25 predicts Central Michigan will defeat Miami (Ohio) in the 2025 MAC Conference championship and also predicts a 4-8 season for UMass. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Athletic predicts (and ranks) QB starters for all 136 college football teams. 

Deseret News image

They predict Utah transfer Brandon Rose will start for UMass. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

UMass Football News--July 15th, 2025

 

Homecoming will be October 4th. The opponent will be Western Michigan. The Broncos went 6-7 in 2024, with a loss to Southern Alabama in the Salute to Veterans Bowl. Athlon predicts an 8th place finish in 2025. Lindy's picks Western Michigan 6th in the MAC.

College Football News thinks the Broncos have a "likely" win at UMass. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

The Minuteman Command has an interview with new UMass kicker Seamus McIntyre. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hero Sports has a post on all of the pending conference realignments.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Hustle Belt looks at CFB 26's MAC team ratings and overall player rankings. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 14th, 2025

 

The MAC conference has a post on it's Thursday July 24th Media Day.

Along with Coach Harasymiak, Rocco Griffin and Malcolm Green will attend. Both are transfers and new to UMass this year. Griffin is a RB and spent time at Vanderbilt and UTSA. Green is a DB and had previous stops at Clemson and Virginia.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ohio University issues a statement that a story saying they were exploring leaving the MAC conference "inaccurate" .

Maybe it was all an AI hallucination.. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forbes looks at the Group of Six for 2025 and says Boise State is still the cream of the crop. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 12th, 2025

 UMass places seven players on the Athlon Sports preseason All-MAC team.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The MetroWest Daily News looks at the 2025 Minutemen player ratings in College Football 2025. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode #12 of the Minuteman Podcast is up. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something called Sportskeeda looks at MAC conference NFL prospects including UMass OL Ryan Mosesso. 

Ryan's UMass bio. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

It occurs to me that yesterday's blog post was probably off base. The referenced article mentioned Ohio's travel concerns and weekday "MacAction". That paragraph in the original article was probably AI-written padding. It's the exact type of invented detail that AIs like to provide..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 11th, 2025

 Hustle Belt report that founding MAC member Ohio is in "preliminary" discussions with the Sun Belt conference about affiliation.

Athlon Sports has a post on the report. 

M live also has a story on the report. 

M Live points out and I would like to add that some of the report does not make a lot of sense.

 "Metllen’s reporting suggests Ohio— and perhaps other MAC members— express concerns with the conference’s broadcaster-influenced decision to schedule weeknight games leading to declining attendance at games and that the conference’s most recent full-member additions (Buffalo in 1999 and UMass in 2025) have or will resulted in increased travel costs."

Most of the Sun Belt's locations are much farther away from Athens OH than Buffalo NY or Amherst MA. Depending on route taken, Buffalo is about 390 miles from Athens and UMass is about 380.

James Madison is about 300 miles from Ohio, Georgia Southern is 600-650 miles, South Alabama 800-850 miles and Louisiana is about 900-950 miles. The other Gulf Coast Sun Belt teams are a comparable distance. In general, travel distances to Sun Belt locations would be significantly larger.

The weekday MACation games generally have low attendances, but the schools taking part get a national TV audience that has no other competition on that night. 

If Ohio really is interested in leaving the MAC, it is probably because they think they can get more money elsewhere.  

Northern Illinois is leaving for the Mountain West, which has a media payout of about $6 million per school versus about $1 million for the MAC. The Sun Belt payouts are reportedly slightly more than the MAC.

The MAC's media package is up for renewal in 2027 and should result in a sizable increase. 

 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Seamus McIntyre commits to UMass

 

"X" image

Seamus McIntyre, a 6-2 225 pound kicker from New Hampshire has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on McIntyre's joining the Minutemen. 

I blogged about McIntyre back on May 24th. 

Hudl.com has video. 

Kohl's Kicking.com has an extensive bio here. 

McIntyre chose UMass over offers from Bryant and Holy Cross. Kicking has been a thorn in the side of Minuteman football during the FBS era. McIntyre has a chance to be part of a team that will lead the program out of the wilderness. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Samu Suominen commits to UMass

NFL Academy image

 Samu Suominen, a 6-4 308 pound offensive lineman from Finland has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on Suominen's joining UMass. 

The NFL Academy has an interview (in Finnish) with some video footage of his play there.

Hudl.com has some video of him on the Finnish national team. 

Suominen also has video (in English) of him at the London NFL Academy. 

Motivation and hard work will take a player far and Suominen could be a factor in future Minuteman offensive lines. 

 

UMass Football News--July 8th, 2025

 

The Minuteman Command has an interview with 2026 QB recruit Tyler Bell.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Hampshire Gazette remembers UMass' glory days in the Atlantic 10. Unfortunately, most of them were a long time ago.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The MetroWest News has a report on local players in College Football 25, including Sullivan Weidman and Tyler Martin from UMass. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Athlon Sports has a four-deep MAC preseason All-conference team.  The Minutemen have a number of players on the third and fourth string teams.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The UMass Football Blog has a strict policy of not making fun of football player's names.

Therefore, under no conceivable circumstance should you click on this link.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football News--July 7th, 2024

 

Hustle Belt has welcome back to the Mid-America Conference, UMass.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HERO Sports predicts UMass will have four wins in  2025 and go 2-6 in the MAC. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A possibly AI-written post by Sports Illustrated looks at how UMass will do in our return to the MAC. 

Why I think the story is AI-written is because all the hard information in the story comes from one 247Sports page. You and I know if UMass loaded up on transfers, then there won't be much NIL or scholarship money for freshmen recruits. But an AI does not make the connection between the low ranking on freshman recruiting and the thirty-five transfers.

Also the article concludes UMass COULD get better, or the Minutemen COULD get worse.. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SI also has UMass dead last in the post-spring power rankings, behind 0-12 Kent State. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new-look Pac-12 (now eight)  adds Texas State.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delaware joins Conference USA. I think the Hens and Western Kentucky would be excellent additions to the MAC. Delaware would be the third flagship university (joining UMass and Buffalo) in the MAC and the Hill Toppers have a strong athletic program.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Kareem Pruitt

Hudl.com image

 Kareem Pruitt, a 6-3 173 pound Safety from Orchard Lake, MI has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on Pruitt's commitment. 

I blogged about Pruitt back in March. 

Pruitt had seven offers including a Power Four offer from Kentucky. Also received interest  from Michigan State. Temple and Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio) also offered. A 6-3, he has room to grow into a down-hill safety and could be a force in the Minuteman secondary in the future.

Fourth of July 2025

Peace, prosperity and personal liberty have been rare in history and they are by no means the norm in the 21st century. I'm very thankful for my life here in New Hampshire.

Happy Birthday America!
 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Donovan Murphy commits to UMass

Rivals.com image

 Donovan Murphy, a 6-4 230 pound Edge from District Heights, MD has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

The Minuteman Command has a post on Murphy's joining the Minutemen. 

Gets a mention as a top performer in this Rival camp. 

UMass was the first offer for Murphy. DL's are the scarcest recruits. Murphy has the size to be a force as a DE. He should be a factor in future Minuteman defensive lines.  

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Jenoa Alford commits to UMass

 

Jenoa Alford, a 5-10 165 pound WR from Jacksonville, FL has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here.

MaxPreps has stats. 3,369 total all-purpose yards of offense..

Watch this kick return. 

Alford had five offers including Power Four offers from Illinois and Pitt. He could play WR and be the primary kickoff return guy. It should be fun watching him supply a spark to UMass' special teams. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Terron Johnson commits to UMass

 

Mark Vegari image

Terron Johnson, a 5-11 175 pound CB from New Rochelle, NY has committed to UMass.

247 Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

The Minuteman Command has a post on Johnson's commitment. 

Johnson is a two-time All-American in track. He chose UMass over Power Four offers from BC, Duke, Minnesota and Syracuse. He should see plenty of playing time and be a force in the Minuteman secondary in coming years. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--CJ Amobi commits to UMass

Minuteman Command image

 CJ Amobi, a 6-2 210 pound Edge from Drexil Hill, PA has committed to UMass.

247 Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

The Minuteman Command has a post on Amobi's commitment.  

Amobi had fourteen total offers including Army, Navy, Air Force and Cincinnati from FBS. His academics are excellent and he had offers from Columbia, Dartmouth and Yale. He probably projects as an OLB in college. It should be fun watching his career with UMass.

UMass Football Blog News--June 26th, 2025

 There will be no updates to the blog on Friday or Saturday. I'll be back on Monday June 30th..

UMass Football Recruiting 2025--Romando Johnson commits to UMass

 

Romando Johnson, a 6-3 245 strong-side DE transfer from West Virginia has committed to UMass.

247Sports page here. 

Mountaineers bio here. 

Johnson could be the top transfer signing of this period. He was a high three-star player and was ranked a top-100 recruit in Florida.  He received 30 offers (!), including Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.

Defensive end has been a long-time weakness in UMass' FBS era. Johnson could be an impact player for the Minutemen and in the MAC. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Christian Alvarez commits to UMass

 

"X" image

Christian Alvarez, a 6-4 285 pound OL from Montval, NJ has committed to UMass.

 The Minuteman Command has a post on Alvarez's commitment. 

I blogged about Alvarez back on June 4th. 

Alvarez is the first OL signing of this cycle. He had fifteen offers including FBS offers from Army, Air Force, Coastal Carolina and  Delaware (the Hens are joining CUSA this year). 

He should have a bright future with the Minuteman and I look forward to watching him play. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--David Moore Jr commits to UMass

"X" image

 David Moore Jr, a 5-11 180 pound Athlete from West Orange,NJ has committed to UMass

The Minuteman Command has a post on his commitment.  

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

Rivals three-star recruit. 

Moore had fifteen offers. He had Power Four offers from Duke, Pitt and West Virginia. Central Michigan and Toledo offered from the MAC. Moore can play both ways, but probably projects as a WR in College. Hopefully, he will have a great career and make an impact on UMass' status in the MAC. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Kai Owens commits to UMass

 

"X" image

Kai Owens, a 6-3 175 pound WR from Mundelein, IL has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on his joining UMass. 

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats.  62 total catches for 803 yards and 7 TD's..

Owens had eight offers including Ball St, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and Miami (Ohio) from the MAC. Marshall offered from the Sun Belt.  The new UMass offense wants to throw the ball and Owens should prosper in the years to come. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Yendor Mack commits to UMass

"X" image

 Yendor Mack, a 6-3 260 pound DL from Harrisburg, PA has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on his joining UMass. 

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

PennLive has a story covering his commitment to UMass 

Mack had thirteen offers including Buffalo, Akron and Old Dominion from FBS. He should prosper in the new Minuteman defense. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Corey Warner commits to UMass

 

Minuteman Command image

Corey Warner, a 5-11 180 pound DB from Louisville, KY has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on Warner's signing. 

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats. 

Warner had eight total offers including Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo from the MAC. He has all the potential to be a fixture in the future UMass defensive secondary. Hope he has a great career with the Minutemen. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Tyler Bell commits to UMass

Minuteman Command image

 Tyler Bell, a 6-0 185 pound QB from Jersey City, NJ has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has two posts on Bell's commitment:  his announcement and Tommy Guy breaks down Bell's HS skills.

I blogged about Bell before. 

247Sports has a post on Bell's commitment to the Minutemen. 

In FBS football, it's the general procedure to recruit one QB per year and Bell looks like an excellent signing. UMass fans will be able to follow his career with Coach Harasymiak. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Matthew Tybor commits to UMass

Minuteman Command image

 Matthew Tybor, a 6-4 240 pound TE from Lawrence Academy has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on Tybor's commitment. 

I blogged about UMass recruiting Tybor back in March. 

Tight ends have become a big component of modern college football offenses. Hope Tybor has a productive career with the Minutemen. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Samuel Mulbah commits to UMass

 

Minuteman Command image

The Minuteman Command reports Samuel Mulbah, a 6-3 260 pound DL from Camp Hill, PA has committed to UMass.

I blogged about Mulbah back on May 23rd, 2025. 

Mulbah chose UMass over an offer from Buffalo and several FCS schools. He should have a bright future in the new Minuteman defense. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Cooper Long commits to UMass

A Minuteman Command image

 UMass had a number of commits from this weekend's OV session.

Cooper Long, 6-5 270 pound DL from Sallsbury, CT has committed to UMass.

The Minuteman Command has a post on Long's deciding to join the Minutemen. 

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

Long had nine offers including Army from FBS and eight Northeast FCS schools. I'll be looking forward to following his career with UMass. 

UMass Football News--June 14th, 2025

 The Minuteman Command has a post on a number of potential recruits taking an official visit to UMass this weekend.

I've blogged on some of them here. I'll cover any commits as they occur.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Daily Collegian has a really nice story about Coach Jim Reid. If anyone reflects the values of Minuteman foot ball, it's coach Reid.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sports Illustrated ranks MAC teams after Spring ball and has UMass dead last, after winless Kent State. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a copy of the 2025 edition of Lindy's College Football Magazine. Of the 28 new coaching hires they rank Coach Harasymiak 7th out of 28 hires (with a rating of 8.5 out of 10).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Athletic reports college football's effort to reel in the transfer portal is gaining momentum.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Parker Maiers

 

"X" image

Parker Maiers, a 6-1 220 pound LB from Indianapolis, IN has a UMass offer.

247Sport page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

MaxPreps has stats. 296 TT in 22 games played in the last two years.

This article from 2024 has him as one of the top-20 LB's in Indiana. 

Maiers has eleven offers including Air Force and Navy. Buffalo, Central Michigan, Kent State and Eastern Michigan have offered from the MAC. He could get an excellent education and be part of the resurgent UMass football tradition in Amherst. 

UMass Football News--June 12th, 2025

 Episode # 8 of the Flagship Podcast is up. Christian McCollum fills in for Rene Ingoglia this week.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

College Football,News previews the 2025 UMass team and predicts 2.5 wins.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hustle Belt has the House vs NCAA settlement from a MAC point of view. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Athlon Sports previews the 2025 MAC conference and predicts UMass 12th in the 13-team league. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeyes Wire looks at 2025 Power Four opponent Iowa. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Finebaum thinks the new NIL structure leaves mid-major teams "with no chance of success". 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

North Carolina basketball will pay its NIL roster a "staggering" amount of money in 2025. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Collin Walls

 

"X" image

Collin Walls a 6-5 235 pound TE from Fishers, IN has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

Gets a mention is this 2024 article on top recruiting prospects in Indiana. 

Walls has a Power Four offer from Maryland. Marshall has offered as well as Bowling Green and Kent State from the MAC. He could be part of the resurgent UMass offense and be in line for some early playing time in Amherst.

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Will McNamara

Hudl.com image

 Will McNamara, a 6-5 270 pound OL from Kent, CT has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

McNamara has an FBS offer from New Mexico as well as a number of FCS schools. He could be part of the new Minuteman offense with Coach Harasymiak in amherst. 

UMass Football Recruiting 2026--Calix Lemp

 

Joshiua Gunter image

Calix Lemp, a 6-0 185 pound Athlete from Wadsworth, OH has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

Third in the state of Ohio in 60 meters track. 

Lemp has twenty offers including Army and Air Force from the Service academies as well as Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Central Michigan and Buffalo from the MAC. Lemp could play WR or DB in college. He could get an excellent East Coast education and be part of the new UMass football program with coach Harasymiak.  

UMASS Football Recruiting 2026--Lance Dawson

 

Hudl.com image

Lance Dawson, a 6-5 250 pound OL/DE from Avon, Ohio, has a UMass offer.

247Sports page here. 

Hudl.com has video. 

 Will take an OV to Cincinnati.

Dawson has ten offers including Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State and Miami from the MAC. He has a Power Four offer from Cincinnati. He could be part of the coming Renaissance  of UMass football with coach Harasymiak in Amherst.