Harasymiak: Connection At The Core Of UMass Rebuild
Joe Harasymiak says a tighter squad, improved leadership and an overhauled roster has UMass positioned to take a step forward in Year 2.
One word kept coming up when Joe Harasymiak discussed his expectations for the 2026 UMass football team during this week’s MAC Football Kickoff in Detroit: connection.
It’s a message that first surfaced during spring practice, when Harasymiak and several of his assistants, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, repeatedly stressed the importance of playing - and seemingly being - together.
Now, as preseason camp approaches, the UMass head coach believes that attitiude will be one of the biggest factors in determining whether the Minutemen take a step forward in Year 2.
“I think the biggest thing that we’ve kind of taken steps this next season is just the connection of the team,” Harasymiak said on Wednesday.
“Obviously, with the tremendous struggles that we had, roster turnover was huge for us. We had a lot of new players coming in January, still a lot of new freshmen that came in the summer. But, the connection of the team will be important. How much we want to play for each other, our toughness, that’s really been the message.”
The emphasis on connectivity is understandable considering how dramatically the roster has changed. Harasymiak noted that only 11 players remain from the roster he inherited when he arrived in Amherst in December 2024, forcing the coaching staff to build chemistry while simultaneously rebuilding the program.
“We’ve overhauled it,” Harasymiak said. “We had a great transfer class, a lot of guys that are connected looking for their next opportunity.”
But, he’ll also be counting on the few holdovers to be among the leaders.
“We’re excited about it, but we need the Tyler Martins, those guys to step up and lead the team,” the coach said. “They’ve been doing that this offseason, so I’m excited about it.
“I think we have a nucleus of guys that are returning, especially defensively that have played a lot of snaps for us. We’ve got to stay healthy.”
After navigating a difficult first season, Harasymiak admitted one of the toughest tasks wasn’t finding a way to change his philosophy. It was trusting in the one he already had.
Drawing on lessons learned while working under Jack Cosgrove at Maine, P.J. Fleck at Minnesota and Greg Schiano at Rutgers, Harasymiak has remained committed to his process of building the program the right way rather than searching for shortcuts.
“The biggest challenge for me was to remind myself, ‘Hey man, you’re a good coach,’” Harasymiak acknowledged. “‘We’ve got good coaches. We’ve got to improve the roster, you’ve got a good nucleus here, but you’ve got to stay the course. Don’t sacrifice anything right now for what you want down the road.’
“It’s been hard, but you’ve just got to continue to remind yourself of that.”
Harasymiak believes patience, a rebuilt roster and a more connected football team will eventually produce results.
“If we stay the course and do the right things, we’ll end up winning some games.”
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