UMass' 2025 Class Appears To Be Sign Of What's To Come
The Minutemen inked five prospects on National Signing Day.
Joe Harasymiak doesn’t have the luxury of taking his time rebuilding UMass; he probably wouldn’t take that option even if he did though, which is why the first-year Minutemen head coach hit the Transfer Portal hard in his first two months in Amherst.
The 27 portal additions since December are going to play big roles in how much success UMass has in Harasymiak’s first season.
But Harasymiak’s vision is to build a culture that lasts. The most stable way to accomplish that is through high school recruiting.
On Wednesday, the Minutemen added five new players to their family with the signings of running back Elijah Faulkner, receiver Elijah Pedro, linebacker Dinos Drossos and offensive linemen Garrett Cooper and Gavin Wilson.
“We’re thrilled to welcome these five outstanding men to the UMass Football family,” Harasymiak said in a statement provided to Minuteman Command.
“They exemplify the qualities we were seeking in our inaugural class and we’re eager to see them grow and make an immediate impact. This first class will lay the foundation for our culture and set the standard for future recruits as we prepare them for success—both in the NFL and beyond UMass.”
The bulk of the signings - Faulkner, Pedro, Cooper and Wilson - were together in Amherst for an official visit the final weekend of January while Drossos’ first trip was just this past weekend.
While the portal additions won’t be in the program as long as the high school recruits, there is a clear overlap in the traits this UMass staff is looking for, the first being size.
The Minutemen got bigger immediately up front via the portal and also just got bigger with the additions of the 6-6, 300-pound Wilson and the 6-foot-5, 290-pound Cooper.
UMass was also intentional about where they found players in the portal with multiple Ivy League transfers. The Minutemen were looking for high character, smart players who have experience in established programs.
They targeted the same traits in high school prospects.
Faulkner comes from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh while Drossos played at Salpointe Catholic in Tucson. Both programs are rich in tradition and send multiple players to high-Power 4 programs each year. Even Pedro split his first three high school seasons between Good Counsel and St. Frances Academy, two of the absolute premier programs in Maryland.
These guys have been coached by some of the best, worked out with highly-motivated players, practiced with those same top guys and played against other major talent for years.
The quantity of high school prospects added this offseason was always going to be small because of the overwhelming need to change the roster over quickly via the portal.
Still, there are plenty of encouraging signs based on the limited group signed on Wednesday.
UMass hit key schools and key areas that will be fertile grounds for more high school prospects. The Minutemen were able to find prospects who were a bit under the radar - Cooper and Wilson - prospects who had fallen off the radar - Drossos and Pedro - and a player who was overlooked in Faulkner.
They were able to call on their relationship with new Miami defensive coordinator Corey Heatherman to uncover Drossos. The staff has contacts up and down the East Coast, which is why they were able to go into Maryland to get Pedro and into South Carolina to get Wilson.
The hit rate of official visitors versus signees is very encouraging. Not every player who visited signed - something Harasymiak has highlighted as the way he expects it.
But the most promising aspect of the group that sits above all else is the consistent talk about a new energy and atmosphere in Amherst.
Eventually, that energy and atmosphere will no longer be new. But if Harasymiak’s vision plays out, it’ll be something recruits will always want to be a part of.
I’ve been closely following the recruiting since Walt Bell came in, and studied Whipple prior recruiting. My take has been that UMass has been recruiting low 3 star guys over this period of time. I did also conclude that low 3 star recruiting doesn’t get anyone besides Army consistently over 500 in FBS. However, it is a fact that good coaches can achieve significantly better results with the same talent. I’m fired up about the investment that has been made in the new staff and I am confident that if the university and alumni want it, we can compete with BC keep instate 4 stars away from Michigan and other P4s that recruit NE. It’s a new landscape out there.
I still think they need to improve their recruiting footprint in MA and CT. I fear they are too hyper focused in NJ. There are defensive backs in MA who are being very under recruited and they've only got to one of them.
Good they were able to tap into SC and to Get out west for Dino though.
To be very honest? New Jersey and Maryland make up a huge chunk of any New England football or basketball team and have for decades. Those states are givens.
You don't neccesarilly need a NJ based coach to double down on that.
and obviously, they need to start bringing in more 3 star players on a consistent basis, not out of the transfer ortal but out of high school. That will take years— But it will have to happen you cannot rely on people who had fallen off the radar and people who have been overlooked in perpetuity.