Charles Turgeon a 6-7 255 pound TE from Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC, Canada has announced on his Instagram account he's committed to UMass.
I could not find any video or recruiting capsules on the interweb for Turgeon. He has prototype FBS TE size and should be a great addition to the UMass offense.
The Stonehill Skyhawks went 4-8 in the Northeast Conference last year. They won three conference games. Their best victory was 13-10 win over Maine.
The Skyhawks did it with defense in 2025. In their four wins they held the opposing team to 15 points or less. Stone hill finished 43rd in FCS in total defense. They were 89th in rushing defense, but were 14th in FCS in pass defense.
Stonehill's problem was offense. They finished 124th (out of 126) in total offense and averaged just 15.1 points/game.
Lindy's Football Magazine picks the 2026 Skyhawks last in the Northeast conference. Stonehill is likely to continue to be stout defensively in their league. In 2025 they played Yale (who made a run in the FCS playoffs) and Penn. Yale scored 47 points, but the Skyhawks held Penn to 24.
Jordan Irvine is a 6-0 190 pound DB. He's one of this year's captains. He went 9 GP 7 GS 36 TT 2 FF and 2 BKUP.
The Skyhawks lost their leading tackler to graduation, this year's captain Ma'Hkai Wilson had 33 TT 1 INT 1 PD.
On offense, Stonehill did not do well.
Rushing offense was a problem. Stonehill had 1,138 total yards rushing and only 6 rushing TD's (Note: UMass had 989 total yards rushing and also had 6 rushing TD's).
Joshua Robinson, a 5-8 185 pound senior is probably the best returning running back. He rushed for 237 yards 1 TD and a 5.6 yards/carry average.
Quarterback Jack O'Connell 6-2 190 (from North Andover, MA) makes the Skyhawks go. In 2025 he went 12 GP 194-318 61.0% 6 INTS 15 TD's and a 122.36 EFF.
With no offense intended, this is a team that nearly every FBS-level roster should substantially outgun. This game should be an indicator of how much we have improved from 2025. Have we improved from cosmically awful to MAC competitive or just to bad (i.e. something like 2-10)?
I think UMass gets its second win in a row on September 19th, hopefully by a substantial margin.
Go UMass!
Mrs Blog and I would like to wish all UMass fans, players and staff a peaceful (and cool) 4th of July.
Today is a day to celibate America.
I'll be back Monday with a look at Stonehill, who will be UMass' third opponent of the 2026.
UPDATE:
Athlon Sports names nine Minutemen to their preseason All-MAC team
Five UMass defensive players made the team:
Four Minuteman offensive players on the team :
In five seasons with the MAC UMass has had only one third team offensive lineman on the All-MAC team. The Minuteman offensive line was a major issue last year and if Urionabarrenechea and company can make the UMass running game viable, it would be a huge improvement for the offense.
The tandem of Joseph Griffin and T.Y. Harding should make a significant improvement in the Minuteman passing offense, which was essentially nonexistent last year. Two WR's for Akron (Marcel Williams and Kyan Mason) were major reasons why the Zips went from 2-10 in 2023 to 5-7 in 2025.
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The MAC Blog "By the Belt" has three reasons why Western Michigan could make the college football playoffs.
The 2026 schedule is somewhat favorable to UMass as we avoid two of the predicted top four teams in the MAC. UMass does not play Western Michigan or run-heavy Central Michigan.
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This year. the Pioneers join the much-changed CAA (now Coastal Conference). JMU, UMass and Delaware have gone FBS, with notable success by Delaware and JMU. Villanova, Richmond and William & Mary left for now more academic-oriented Patriot League. Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire remain from the northern section of the old CAA.
Lindy's picks Sacred Heart 11th in the thirteen team CAA.
Defensively the Pioneers were 75th in total defense in FCS in 2025. They were 104th in rushing defense.
UMass should be riding a 17 game losing streak when the Minutemen play the Pioneers. This game should be a good indication on the trend of UMass football in 2026. Last year the Minutemen managed only a meager 101 net yards rushing against Bryant. If UMass wins handily, such as 35-7 then the omens should be positive for 2026. If the Minutemen need some late-game heroics to win 24-21, then it could be another long year in the MAC.
The UMass defense needs to corral the speedy Sacred Heart RB Summers. QB Snyder's 71% completion average could be trouble if the rebuilt Minutemen defensive line does not develop some pressure.
I think UMass breaks its loss streak on September 12th. The margin of victory should tell us quite a bit.
Go UMass!
Jacob Reed, a 6-3 300 pound IOL from Wallingford, CT has a UMass offer.
247Sport page here.
Hudl.com has video highlights.
The above video is from the Minuteman Command.
Reed has offers from Duke, Syracuse, Wake Forest, UConn and Rhode Island. He could play close to home and be part of the new UMass offense in Amherst.