Amari Cannon, a 6-1 185 pound RB from Downington, PA has a UMass offer.
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
1,046 rushing yards and 319 Receiving yards in 2025.
Cannon (good name for a RB) has 10 offers including UMass, Temple and Kent State from FBS. He could be part of the Minutemen resurgence and get an excellent education in Amherst.
The Minuteman Command has New Jersey LB Jack Hinspeter commits to UMass.
Don Bosco Prep coach Dan Sabella comments on Hinspeter's joining the Minutemen.
New Jersey Sports Zone has some highlight film and reports on Hinspeter's commitment.
I blogged about Hinspeter's recruitment back on April 15th.
Hinspeter is an excellent beginning to the 2027 class. I look forward to following his career with the Minutemen.
This warrants careful reading. The upcoming media package is a big deal for UMass. The media money will be a major source of income for the athletic dept.
The MAC's last package was too long in duration. As the article relates, ESPN went through multiple revisions during the lifetime of the contract. Sports viewership is a big part of today's media. The traditional networks have imploded and sports provides, in many cases, the only thing to watch.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposal that the Big 10 and the SEC pool their media rights is controversial.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who would televise the proposed 24-team college football playoff?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ben Tagianetti, a 6-3 305 pound IOL from Williston-Northampton will take an OV to UMass in June.
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Tagianetti has 17 offers including Army and Navy. Buffalo has offered from the MAC. He is scheduled to take OV's to UMass and Temple. The Minutemen offer a opportunity to join the new look UMass offense and stay in New England.
The Minuteman Command has a post-spring quarterback review.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The MAC Blog "By the Belt" predicts the starting QB for all 13 MAC teams.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UConn to the PAC-12?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| "X" image |
Indians bio here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Kidd had 30 TT and 4.5 SACKs in nine games for the Indians. That's good production for a DL.
Kidd has a Power Four offer from Kansas State. UMass, Louisiana Tech, Jax State, Southern Miss and Troy have offered from Group-of-Five. He could get an excellent education and the potential for lots of playing time with the Minutemen.
 |
| "X" image |
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
MaxPreps has stats.
Ingram has 20+ offers including more than 12 Power Four bids including Auburn, Cal, Florida State, Illinois and more. Syracuse and Pitt have offered from the northeast. Sacramento State and Western Michigan have offered from the MAC. He could get an quality education and early playing time with the Minutemen.
Hudl.com has freshman highlights.
Only a freshman, Florence already has Power Four offers from SMU, Miami and North Carolina. UMass, Temple, FIU and Eastern Carolina have offered from Group-of-Five. Florence could play either side of the ball in college. He could get a fine education and play FBS-level football with the Minutemen in Amherst.
Hollis Dirstine, a 6-2 285 pound graduate transfer DL from Bryant University has committed to UMass.
Dirstine's Bulldogs bio here.
This article covers Dirstine's contributions to the Bryant game against UNLV in 2023.
Dirstine has appeared in 33 games for the Bulldogs and should be a solid addition to the Minuteman defensive line.
Athlon Sports ranks the MAC's coaches. A highly subjective topic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Athlon also has a post on the number of returning starters for all 136 FBS teams.
My impression is the Power Four teams (on average) seem to have more returning starters than Group-of-Five squads. Probably because Group-of-Five starters get poached and Power Four starters get swapped between other Power Four teams.
In the MAC, Western Michigan leads the pack with 10 returning starters.
Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and Miami (Ohio) return 9 starters.
UMass, Akron, Ball State, Buffalo and Ohio return 6.
Sacramento State returns 3 starters.
Toledo, dealing with a coaching change, returns just 1.
UConn (also dealing with a coaching change)returns 1 starter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACC leaders support a 24 team college football playoff.
So does Florida State's Mike Norvell.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last year UMass played Missouri and Tigers RB Ahmad Hardy ran for 138 yards and three TD's. He was recently released from a hospital after being shot..
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| Andrew Nelles image |
247Sports page here.
MaxPreps has stats. 5,000 passing yards and 54 TD's.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
This article features Funk (you'll have to swat down several pop-up ads).
Funk has 21 offers including Toledo from the MAC. Liberty and Delaware have offered and a number of other Group-of-Five schools. He could be part of the new Minuteman offense and get an excellent East Coast education in Amherst.
College Football News does a detailed preview of the 2026 Minutemen and predicts a 2-10 season.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The MAC Conference blog "By the Belt" explores the possibility of two MAC teams playing in Toronto.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A 24-game college football playoff gains momentum.
This would be wonderful for UMass. A 24 team playoff would include all conference champions. That would mean the MAC conference (and UMass) would directly receive some of the huge amount of revenue the playoffs generate.
In addition, win the MAC conference and go to the college football playoffs! That's a goal that would make any team (and their fans) scalps tingle.
The MAC champion would probably be rated one of the lower ranked teams in the playoff, which in turn mean a game against the top of the rankings like Alabama or Ohio State. That would be an awesome trip. In following UMass, I've been to Penn State, Kansas State, Michigan and Texas Tech. Visiting another big time program would be great.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The MAC conferece blog "By the Belt" has a couple of interesting articles.
They interview new Kent state coach Mark Carney. Mrs Blog and I went to the Kent State game in 2025 and believe me their facilities are in no way superior to UMass'. If they can win games, so can we.
The MAC conference will participate in the new Puerto Rico Bowl.
Note: the Bahamas Bowl is defunct. The last edition was played on January 4, 2025 (Buffalo vs. Liberty).
For 2026 the MAC will have the following opportunities.
Primary/direct:Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (vs. Mountain West)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (vs. Mountain West)
Secondary/shared (MAC gets spots based on availability, geography, and rankings):68 Ventures Bowl (vs. Sun Belt)
Boca Raton Bowl (Group of 6 pool)
Cure Bowl (Group of 6)
Frisco Bowl (Group of 6)
Salute to Veterans Bowl (vs. Sun Belt or others)
Myrtle Beach Bowl (shared)
Others like New Mexico Bowl or Puerto Rico Bowl as needed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBS Sports looks at the 2026 CFP and all of 2026 bowls.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| Hudl.com image |
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
This article from December 2025 features Selvais.
Selvais has a Power Four offer from Purdue. UMass and Georgia State have offered from Group-of-Five. He could get an excellent education and play in front of friends and family with the new look Minuteman offense in Amherst.
 |
| "X" image |
247Sports three-star player.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Averaged 9.7 yards/carry in 2025.
Lewis has 14+ offers. Arkansas, Arizona, Northwestern and West Virginia have offered from Power Four. UConn, Tulsa, Tulane and many more have offered from Group-of-Five. Lewis could get a quality East Coast education and see early playing time in Amherst with the Minutemen.
 |
| 247Sports image |
247Sports three-star player.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
Bsides UMass, Fisher has an offer from Toledo in the MAC. North Carolina has offered from Power Four. Local FBS teams East Carolina, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina and Liberty have offered from the Group-of-Five. Fischer could get a quality Northeast education and play FBS football with the resurgent Minuteman offense.
 |
| "X"image |
247Sports page here.
Hudl.com has video.
Clark is a three-star recruit. He has offers from Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois and Ohio from the MAC. Liberty, Delaware and Missouri State have also offered. He's an athletic big man and could find a home and lots of playing time in Amherst.
 |
| Hudl.com image |
Hudl.com has video.
MaxPreps has stats.
Oberting has 15 total offers. Syracuse has offered from the ACC. Coastal Carolina, Temple and Bowling Green have offered from the Group-of-Five. In addition, most of the Ivies have offered from FCS.
Oberting could get a high quality education and play FBS football as well with the new Minuteman offense.
The Minuteman Command has a Spring recap by Christian McCollum and Rene Ingoglia.
It's well worth listening to. It has some interesting details. I think the Minutemen have significantly increased their talent level from last year. However, I have been worried about the OL and the running backs. Christian and Rene think UMass is good in those two rooms.
Generally, if you can run the ball, you've got a good looking offense and a good looking quarterback. Expecting Pop Watson the jump start the passing game and then also do a dual-threat thing is asking a lot. Being able to run the ball will make it easier on him and help the passing game too.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN has a good, detailed preview of the MAC conference for 2026. They pick us last, of course, but we deserve that until we play better.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New conference foe Sacramento State wraps up Spring Ball.
The Hornets' write-up on their Spring practice.
UMass is one of the four MAC teams that have to make the trek to Sacramento, the others are Ohio, Kent State and Toledo.
It will be interesting to see how the new-look UMass team does against ex-FCS Sacramento. It could give us an early indication on how 2026 is going to go for the 2026 season.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The MAC blog "By the Belt" has a post on three MAC players drafted by the CFL, which includes Keegan Andrews.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| "X" image |
Hudl.com has video highlights.
UMass is the first FBS offer for Vallarelli. He's drawing interest from Wake Forest and North Carolina. The Minutemen's TE room is going to shine this year and he could join the crew and play in front of friends and family in Amherst.
