Transcript | UMass HC Joe Harasymiak | 9.22.25
Everything UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak told reporters during his press conference on Monday.
To start off, just want to send our condolences down to UCF. We just got news about a half-hour ago that Shawn Clark had passed away, who was an assistant coach there, former head coach at App State. I've never worked with him, but obviously I've heard unbelievable things. So thoughts and prayers with them right now.
Shout out to Women's Soccer. Got our first MAC win against Akron last week, so starting off on the right foot there. Congratulations to Jason and his team. And then just shouting out Isaiah Rogers yesterday for that performance. That was pretty awesome to see.
With that being said, coming off the bye week, had a lot of time to work. We'll talk about injuries I'm sure here in a second. Trying to get guys back and looking back at the first three games, a lot of stuff that we can do better. Just looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. Had a quick practice last night. We practiced two times over the bye week and then we were able to go out and recruit. So looking good, just got to keep going.
How much self-scouting did you do over the bye week?
That's all we did. When we practiced, we didn't actually cross team-wise. We threw some 7-on-7. All we looked at was self-scout, really all the things we can do better. Obviously, the explosive play part where you've given up 16, we only have five. Being able to transfer that into some more explosive offensively and then taking care of it defensively. And then just three games of data on our team and how we can win with this team moving forward. A lot of good work, like I said, really focusing on us. We didn't touch Missouri last week, we started that this weekend. We thought it was probably coming at the right time, the bye.
Were there things that through three games that you hope that you'd say 'We were better than we thought,' and maybe stuff that you thought that maybe you were better at that you weren't as good at?
I think it's probably more things we need to get better at. Just some efficiency stuff. First and second down on each side of the ball. You kind of want to win first down and basically split the difference on second down. We were about 47, 48% on offense, a little bit lower, 45 to 46%. You want to live in the 55% world there. So that's why the third-down stats are so brutal right now. We're putting ourselves in position where we have too many third-and-longs and extra-longs offensively and then just defensively, we're not getting into situations where we can get into any packages and create some pass rush. It was really about diagnosing all the stats that we talk about and going from there.
Positives are, I think the team has not wavered in anything that they've wanted to do. I think the energy is good. They came in yesterday good. We've meeting with the captains, meeting with the team. We did a lot of that stuff this week, which we've been doing every week, but their mentality is the right thing right now.
Any updates on injuries?
Fortunately for us, TJ (Magee) is OK. He came back on Sunday night. He had to stay an extra night. He's going to be out, there's not really a timetable on this. Everything's good in terms of movement and all that. He's just a little foggy. We'll see when he gets back.
Unfortunately, T.Y. Harding is going to be out for the year. He has to get surgery, so he's done. He did everything he could. I give credit to him with that type of injury. He tried to push through, he did everything he possibly could. He showed his teammates the kind of effort it takes to do that and unfortunately just wasn't able to do it. Whether that happened in the game, he didn't really get hit that hard. He was blocking and kind of get hit into. So unfortunately he's out.
And then DD Snyder had surgery last week on his hand and he'll be out six to eight weeks. So from there other things, Ryan Barnes is going to be out again for another period of time. Zeraun Daniel is trying to make himself back, but probably not going to be ready. We had injuries in that game. Jeremiah McGill, Kendall Bournes, our two safeties, they're questionable for this week, so we'll see if we can get them back. Jay Mac (Jake McConnachie) looked pretty good, so hopefully to have him available in some capacity to help our out room. And then Keith (Sarkodieh), our safety that had to go in is questionable as well. So right now, our 3-deep at safety is either Out or Questionable. We did some position changes, we moved some guys around, some guys that were backing up some spots at Corner have to move them around and I think that's something that the defense worked really hard on this week is just putting this thing together on how we can go and win games.
Any update on Brandon Rose?
Brandon's still questionable. He is getting better. AJ Hairston will get the start this week. I think he deserves it. He's done a great job since that decision was made in camp, kept pushing forward, has been better with his preparation. I'm looking forward to him getting his chance, getting his start and moving forward. But it's because he put the right things in and the right work over that time period and I'm excited for him. So he'll get the start this week and see how he does.
What does he bring to the table for you?
Again, they're all different. I think I've talked a lot, Grant has the ability to create the second play and those kinds of things. Obviously, AJ's arm talent is what you want, right? It's superb. And now it's just him taking charge of the offense, the huddle, all those kinds of things that he's had growth in and there's been growth the whole preseason, even since we've been here since spring. I'm excited. Like I said, I'm very excited for him to get this opportunity, but certainly his arm talent is A #1. His decision-making, someone that's really starting for the first time, I know he had some reps last year, but that decision-making, we did not turn the ball over against Iowa, which was huge against a Power 4 opponent. That will be critical this week. Their defense is creating havoc at all levels, but I think decision-making and putting himself in position to use that arm talent.
When did you make the decision to start Hairston?
We talked to them yesterday. It was something that just after the Iowa game going in, evaluating that tape over the course of the week, but wanted to take some time, see how the practices went during the week. And like I said, he just kept moving forward. But yesterday we had a discussion with all the quarterbacks.
What can Hairston do to avoid being pressured?
I think what Coach Jake does a good job of, I think you've got to manage, I think this gameplan will be a little bit different just from the standpoint - and it's not that AJ can't create the second play - it's just that's what those guys feel more comfortable doing. They just have some more ability there. But those guys obviously don't really have the elite arm talent that AJ has. We'll put it together for him and then ultimately I think you'll see he's going to have to create something because their two d-ends are havoc-creators and that's really what their defense has been doing here. So he's going to have an opportunity to create the second play. Certainly, I think things that we do and what we ask him to do, we have to put him in the best position possible. So hopefully we can do that and put him in the position to just let him go play. Hopefully we can create some momentum early too. Get him some throws and get him some plays that make him feel more comfortable.
What stands out about Missouri early on in your scouting?
Offensively alone, I think they're averaging 46 points a game, I think that's 10th. They're rushing almost 300 yards a game. Coach Drinkwitz has been there, I think this is his seventh year, so he has his stuff established. They're just extremely violent, extremely physical. I like their commitment to running the ball on offense as something that puts them in position to have explosive plays over the top. And then defensively, the two d-ends stand out. Their transfer linebacker Trotter had a good game obviously Saturday and just the speed at which they play is really because you watch the tape, it's kind of silent, there's no noise, but it's very loud. But it's a great opportunity. It's homecoming for them. Similar environment, I'm sure to Iowa. I've never been there. I had the experience of going Iowa, so just excited about getting the opportunity to go do that for a lot of guys.
What's the depth chart in the wide receiver room looking like right now?
Hopefully we get JMac back a little bit, but guys like Donnie Gray, Gibby, Kez will have to step up. Kenyon Massey. We've even started repping our true freshmen, Elijah Pedro there. And I think that's one thing that's getting challenged here is not only the depth of the roster, but ultimately the talent. I think that's something that I've been really studying over the course of my time here is how we flip that. I think no more evident than right now, we're really excited about the class that's coming in the 20 guys because that's how you grow and develop. I'm really excited about that. This might be a long-winded answer, but total MAC average since 2021, just in general, high school kids average 18 a class, portal kids average 10.
We're the complete opposite of that right now. We have 10 on average in high school and 24 transfers. So that roster turnover, like the culture that all these guys are bringing in that to develop them - and I think Coach Hammock said it last week - you lose them, but you have a chance to retain them and that's what we're going to be in a position to do now. So the younger guys on our roster are getting tested and the depth of the talent in our roster is getting tested. And just look at the last four MAC champs. Since 2021, NIU, their average portal 5.8, Toledo 8.8, Miami 7.8 and Ohio 10.8. Their average high school takes was 19. So already we're trying to build that from the ground up and trying to do a better job with that. Numbers are numbers and I feel confident with what we tried to do here early to make sure we get the depth and develop these guys and go, because it's really hard to take on average, probably 24, I wasn't here, but that's hard.
You've got to reteach. Guys that come in with one or two years of eligibility, their foundation is kind of made up already. They've been taught in college by other people. So I think that's something that's critical and I can only go ask the guys that have had success in our league what they're doing. And it's a challenge. It's a challenge. But I feel confident with the guys that we have young guys that look; Elijah Faulkner, Jax Markovich, Dino is on kickoff this week as a backup. So our true freshmen are being tested here, the ones that we were able to go out and get in that second window there. So just trying to put it all together we feel confident about, but I certainly want to live there because then you get to retain and we're in a position to do that.
Is it easy or hard to tell your players after what has happened that you're going to be 0-0 (going into MAC play)?
We've had open conversations that kind of the non-conference schedule you could look at is kind of its own season. Certainly no one wants to be where we are, but that'll be an opportunity once Sunday hits to kind of flush it all move away and everything's in front of us. Everybody's got eight MAC, an opportunity to play in a great league, which is what we've been looking forward to. We've put ourselves in position to be here. So yeah, it'll definitely be a mindset of having a new season per se, of eight games to go out and compete. But ultimately, we've got to take care of now and we've got to have growth in this game. We've got to play a clean game. I feel like at times we certainly haven't done that, right? Everybody knows that, but we've got to have growth. We've got to do the things right, we've got to execute the right way and we have to make Missouri earn everything they're going to get. Because it's going to be hard enough. So we've got to make sure that we play a clean game and try and get it to somewhere where we can execute with an opportunity to put some pressure on them. Because that's really the thing we've got to be able to do. We've got to play clean enough to make this a game.
It's going to be one of those opportunities where you get a chance to go up against a guy you work with in Sean Gleeson, their quarterback coach. What do you remember when you worked with him and how challenging is that going to be?
Awesome guy. I enjoyed my time with Sean at Rutgers. He does a great job. There's a lot of guys that over the course that all our staff has been with. So there's a lot of guys that are probably familiar with Jake's system as well when we faced him, especially last week at Iowa and all that stuff. You see a lot of guys that you work with, so can't speak highly enough about him. And then certainly just their head coach, what he's done there and kind of turn that thing around. And the last two seasons, I mean he's done a really good job. I think he's got 21 wins in the last two years. It didn't start that way for him, but he just kept grinding.
What kind of short-term value will this game give you before eight MAC games?
Like I said, I think we need to see ourselves take a step off the bye week and have some growth in terms of execution, cleaning things up, having more efficiency to put ourselves in better position on third down, because those are really the most alarming things that we're not putting ourselves in opportunities to where we can have some constant growth. We're too far behind the chains and we're not putting ourself, on defense, in particular position. Certainly the explosive plays. I mean our defensive unit meeting last Monday was just 16 explosive plays that probably took about 45 minutes to get through and why they happen. Certainly all those things, but we got to have some growth and some confidence coming into this game. Go play our game, play a clean game and then see what happens, right? They're human as well. They've got to go play as well and they've got Alabama looming and all those kinds of things that everybody's talking about for them. But we've got to go play and I'm sure Coach Drinkwitz will have his team ready to play. If there's one thing about that guy, he'll have them ready to play.
What do you think of the NCAA Transfer Portal going to one window, given Missouri QB Beau Pribula had a difficult decision to make last December, when he chose to transfer to Missouri from Penn State during the Nittany Lions' Playoff run?
On him too. He got in the game in 2022 when we knocked Drew Allar out quickly at Penn State, or it was '23 maybe. I forget what year it was. He is, he's a handful. Talk about creating a second play. He's almost impossible to tackle in the open field.
With the one window, I think it comes back to kind of what I just said. I think it puts us in a position now certainly without the spring window, that winter period is going to be insane. It's going to be crammed into whatever they vote on in terms of the length of it. But I think we have to be calculated at what we do. Unfortunately last year, I know our number's 38, we're not going to do that. We had 23 graduate to eligibility and we had 23 going in the portal, quit or leave in December.
So we had 46 spots going into what would be the spring semester. And then we had another 23 leave, but being transparent, that was probably because they were buried on the depth chart and we didn't evaluate that they were good enough or they didn't feel like they were good enough to play here. So 67 spots in total is the reason that's number so high. But given the evidence, the portal to me as free agency. The high school kids that you draft, you put in your farm system, you develop, they have a connection to this place. That's what keeps coming up with these 20 guys. Their families, they have a connection, they want a challenge, they want to come in here, they want to change the place. Sometimes the portal kids' mindset isn't that right? And that's why you got to be so selective in what you do.
But with the one window now you survive that window per se. From a retention standpoint, that puts us in a better position to keep developing. I think that's something that I'm looking forward to. I would see it as a positive for us. It's just like commitments. I'd rather have the commitment and have to keep it than never have it and to keep battling. So same thing with our roster. I'd rather have so many talented players that are young guys to keep and now be put in position financially to retain them moving forward as of the summer that we're in a position to fight for that. And along with that is they feel like a connection there is to the place and they love their coaches and they love the fan base and all those kinds of things. I think we'll put ourselves in a position to really change it.
I view it right now, never going through it, as a positive, but it will be insanity. It's going to be because I just think you're shrinking from two to one now. And my opinion was being in the Power-4 level the last six years, and then certainly now at this spot, Group of 5 per se, that spring portal was limited in terms of who went in. That was always more of a crapshoot per se, because everybody's looking to come off of spring ball and be like, 'OK, we're injured...We're not.' and it becomes more of a feeding frenzy. Whereas the winter, I thought you had more availability, more people you could target that were relative to your situation. So we'll see what this does, but it's going to drastically change everything. And from the mindset of our players too. They have to make decisions on what they want to do based off their position within certain programs.
Everybody's players are going to have to make those decisions faster. A lot of guys in the past would be like, 'Alright, I'm going to go through spring ball and kind see what I'm going to do.' That's not the case anymore. So it'll lead to some probably more drastic decisions on both ends, but I think we'll be in a position to go out and what we're creating here, I'm very positive in. I feel like inside these walls, we've got a good mindset and hopefully that comes to fruition when we've got to make our decisions and they have to make them.
How different was recruiting last week for you and your staff and what was the response like?
I got hired on Signing Day. That was my first team meeting. At the time, we signed three guys. There was three in the '25 class. Going through our own evaluations and doing that stuff, as the staff was built, we were able to go out and get guys like Elijah Faulkner and Jax Markovich and all those guys that I kind of just mentioned that were playing critical roles right now with the depth. But I think over the summer, and again this comes back to what we've been provided right now by everybody, our summer official visits were awesome. That's where those verbals came. And getting people on campus multiple times is so critical, I believe, at this level. So the two Junior Days and Underclassmen Days that we did in February and March, having spring practice open to everybody, right? Going out on the road then again, right in April and May. I believe that that connection that we're building with those guys and their families. All our guys are really excited. So now we've got to what? We've got to retain them. If they keep playing really well, it's going to be hard, but I want them to keep playing really well, so hopefully they do.
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