Coach | UMass Got A Good One In 2026 DE Commit CJ Amobi

Jack Muldoon talks about 2026 UMass edge defender commit CJ Amobi.

Jack Muldoon has sent several players Division-I, so he knows what big-time players look like.

And the Bonner & Prendergast High School head coach says that’s exactly what UMass defensive end commit CJ Amobi looks like.

“They hit a pretty good one,” Muldoon says of his 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge defender. “He had about 13, 14 offers, and he had all the military academies.

“This kid comes from a great family, very strict academically. He is just as competitive in the classroom as he is on the field. He really kind of came into his own last year.”

Amobi helped Bonner-Prendie to the school’s first-ever PIAA Class 4A state title this past season.

“I think it helped that on the defensive end on one side, we had Jalil Hall, who's now at Purdue, and so our defense was pretty good,” Muldoon says. “And part of the reason was he was relentless.”

Amobi announced his commitment to UMass on June 23rd following an official visit to Amherst.

“I'll tell you what, man, I have to give their coaches credit,” Muldoon says. “They went after him hard. Academically, he liked it. He had four or five Ivys as well as the three service academies. So the academic part of it was important to him, but also the opportunity to play in a program that was rising, which UMass is. They've done a great job of really getting some really good coaches there.”

As Muldoon said, Amobi’s offer sheet included Army, Navy and Air Force along with Cincinnati, Columbia and Yale among others. Minuteman defensive line coach Nyeem Wartman is from Philadelphia, so he was plenty familiar with the area.

“I don't think anybody recruited him as hard as UMass did,” Muldoon says. “They did their homework and I think he felt love there.

“That's what I kept saying to him, 'You want to go to a place that really, really wants you.' Not that the other places didn't, but they really were just relentless in their recruiting and he had a great visit. I think they made him feel very comfortable with this offer. He feels really good about the decision he made.”

Muldoon compared Amobi to another of his recent standout defensive ends, Mylachi Williams, who is currently at Penn State.

"Just not quite as tall, doesn't have the length that Mylachi had, but he's not far behind,” the coach says. “What he has is relentless pursuit. Great bend, very strong, probably a little bit stronger than Mylachi was at one point.

“He's young too. He's still 17. He's not going to turn 18 until next week. So, he's a really young kid. He really got into the weight room, which most kids make that kind of leap from sophomore and junior year into senior year. From this time last year to now, he has progressed. He's probably up to about 235 now. Again, I think they're getting a really special player, an impact player and I think a kid who could play for them early.

“I've known some of the guys from previous stops. They were familiar with coming to our school, familiar with our program. Some of the success we had winning the state championship last year, really lending some credibility to what we're doing and how we've been really competitive in one of the better leagues around. The Philadelphia Catholic League is one of the better leagues I think, not just in the state, but in the country.”

Muldoon has sent several other players to Power-4 programs like Minnesota defensive lineman Rushawn Lawrence and Arizona defensive back Ayden Garnes.

“We have probably six or seven D-I kids in a lot of big-time programs,” the coach says. “I think they looked at it and said, 'Yeah, this kid's playing at a high level.'

“And he played well against some of the better teams; against Prep and LaSalle, CJ played really well. Then in the playoffs, he was a problem in the state semifinal and final game, he played out of his mind. I think that film that we got out there really convinced people this kid's worth going after.”

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