Written By
Written By
Written By
Written By
The quarterback position seems to belong to Virginia Tech transfer William “Pop” Watson III. The former local high school star comes back home and provides this team with a talented, confident dual threat. The additions of RJ Johnson III (Florida A&M), Logan Inagawa (Drake), and true freshman Aedan McCarthy also possess a lot of talent.
The running back room returns Elijah Faulkner but will be transfer heavy. The additions of Jordan Washington (Murray State), Justin Williams-Thomas (Marshall), Curtis Kimmons IV (NAIA Southeastern), and true freshman Justin Lewis significantly raise the talent level of this room.
The wide receiver room returns experience in T.Y. Harding, Dallas Elliott, Kezion Dia-Johnson, and tight ends Max Dowling and Reece Adkins. The additions of Joseph Griffin Jr. (Wisconsin) and Devin Matthews (East Texas A&M) provide solid depth. Griffin was a high school teammate with quarterback Pop Watson.
The offensive line returns experience in Peyton Miller, Brock Taylor, Jaxon King, and Zachary Franks. The additions of Greg Knox (McNeese), Aitor Urionabarrenechea (Colorado State), and Greg Klingensmith (William & Mary) provide plug and play starters from Day One.
The defensive line room returns some experience in Joshua Nobles and Tim Passmore Jr. The additions of Aubrey Melvin (UConn), William DePaepe (Indiana), Andrew DePaepe (Indiana), Kamarion Thomas (North Carolina), Justin Krueger (William & Mary), Zakar Morris (UAlbany), Zachary Betts (St Francis), Hollis Dirstine (Bryant), Colin Reynolds (Holy Cross), and Romano Johnson (West Virginia) give this room much needed depth.
The linebacker room returns production in Tyler Martin (All-MAC) and Timmy Hinspeter. The additions of Khari Bendolph (Jacksonville State), Joshua Iseah (North Carolina A&T), and Kendric Council (St Francis) bring quality depth to a unit that already returns two solid starters.
The secondary returns experience in Kendall Bournes, Zeraun Daniel, TJ MaGee, and Raheim Sexil. The additions of Isaiah Reed (UCF), Michael Robinson II (Rutgers), Jahmad Harmon (Ball State), DD Snyder (Ball State), and Chris Stanley (JUCO) provide quality options for this program.
The kicking duties belong to Derek Morris, who was steady and reliable last season. The punting role sees two Aussie’s dueling. Michael Streeter or Ed Phillipson will get the nod.
UMass is riding a 16-game losing streak, but that should come to an end in September. Year 1 under Joe Harasymiak saw injuries to key players derail the season. UMass did a solid job in the transfer portal and should only improve in 2026.
