Athlon Sports names nine Minutemen to their preseason All-MAC team
Five UMass defensive players made the team:
- Tyler Martin (1st Team)
- Joshua Nobles (3rd team)
- Timmy Hinspeter (3rd team)
- Zeraun Daniel (3rd team)
- Kendall Bournes (4th team)
Four Minuteman offensive players on the team :
- Joseph Griffin Jr (3rd team)
- T.Y. Harding (4th team)
- Max Dowling (4th team)
- Aitor Urionabarrenechea (4th 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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