Fall football camp is in full-swing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as the Minutemen prepare for their 2025 campaign. They are back in the MAC this year, with a new head coach and the roster he and his staff have been building.
It won’t be until October that they face a Mid-American Conference opponent via Western Michigan, but the Minutemen have four matches before that, including the season and home-opener on Aug. 30, against non-conference Temple University.
It will also be the debut of new head coach, Joe Harasymiak, who was brought on last December after serving as defensive coordinator at Rutgers. Building up his staff and roster ever since, he spoke with reporters after the first day of fall camp got underway Wednesday, July 30.
“[The] guys were prepared - we've been working all summer for this, but there's a little bit of a difference between being in weight room-shape and football-shape,” he said. “We’ve got to transition better from drill-to-drill - our urgency there was poor, but those kinds of things we’ll work on. But … I'm really proud of the way they practice now.”
There’s plenty for players to prove ahead of scrimmages and gameday – the team has three quarterbacks seeking a starting role – Brandon Rose who transferred from Utah, Yale transfer Grant Jordan and returning UMass quarterback, AJ Hairston.
Harasymiak was mum on who might be taking the reins, saying the team will be handling the decision “the right way” as fall camp continues.
In the meantime, getting players fit and bulking up has been a top priority, with recently-added strength coach George Greene reportedly making inroads.
“You know, day one - you probably won't notice a lot, but since Feb. 1, whatever that date that we started [on was], there's a lot of change, but the speeds are probably the thing that I'm impressed with the most, just from the data that we get,” Harasymiak continued. “Ultimately, what Coach Greene has done over summer has been really impressive.”
The head coach and his crew have the task of turning around a Division 1 side that went 2-10 overall while playing as an independent, Football Bowl Division program last year – struggles that have been ongoing for over a decade since making the leap to FBS, including the last time they played in the MAC in 2015.
Breaking even this year would be a feat on its own, but as Wide Receiver T.Y. Harding told reporters – the players want much more than that.
“That’s our mindset right now- we want to win the MAC championship. Obviously, we want a bowl game, but… we want a MAC championship with that,” he told reporters. “I think that is our main goal right now, is to win the MAC championship. We're not looking for just six wins - we want to win the MAC.”
The Cambridge, Mass. native is something of a veteran on this year’s team. He logged 334 yards and five touchdowns last year. He says he’s excited for the new season, and has been getting used to catching throws from the team’s quarterbacks, including the new additions.
“I love all three of them – if either of them play, I’m going to be happy…” he said. “All have their own identity. B. Rose … his arm is amazing … beautiful touch on the ball - same with AJ and Grant – they all have their own things they got going on but being with B. Rose is amazing. I like B. Rose a lot.”
Rose himself is back in action after injuries hindered spring training, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette – just as they hindered his last year in Utah, where he only appeared in three games.
Also aiming for the starting spot is Hairston, who appeared in four games for UMass, scoring five touchdowns while passing for 480 yards last year. Then there’s Grant Jordan, the graduate student transfer who spent four seasons at Yale, logging 11 appearances, including nine last year, throwing for 1,939 yards with 22 touchdown passes in the Ivy League.
Whether it’s the QB spot or other roles in the lineup, the roster molding will continue in the weeks ahead.
After Temple, UMass will host Bryant University on Sept. 6 before heading to Iowa City to play Iowa on Sept. 13.
After playing Missouri on the 27th - it’s MAC time, as the Minutemen play conference member Western Michigan on Oct. 4 at McGuirk.
