Transfer QB Grant Jordan Ready To Compete at FBS Level

Inside Jordan's decision to transfer to UMass and what he hopes to bring on the field next season.

UMass football players don’t officially have to report back to campus until Jan. 21 — but incoming transfer quarterback Grant Jordan is already in Amherst looking for apartments and itching at the chance to get to work. 

The graduate student had a stellar senior season as the quarterback at Yale in 2024. The New Orleans native threw 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions en route to a 7-2 record. But after using up all of his eligibility as a Bulldog — Ivy League schools don’t allow fifth-year seniors —  Jordan entered the portal in the hopes of continuing his collegiate career. 

“I love football,” Jordan said. “I love everything about it. It's what I want to do. So unfortunately, at Yale, because I ran out of undergraduate years, I had to transfer. So I graduated with a degree in Economics this past December, and the decision was whether I wanted to keep playing football or not. 

“And football is something that I love doing, so there was no doubt in my mind I was gonna enter the portal and try to go play somewhere else.” 

Once Jordan entered the portal things moved pretty quickly. He received some interest from ACC and SEC schools about providing depth at that level, but Jordan wanted a place where he could compete for the starting job.

Then first-year UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak and new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian called to arrange a visit to Amherst. 

“I loved everything about it,” Jordan said. “I loved Harasymiak. I spent about three hours talking to Bajakian on my visit. My dad and I and him talked ball for about three and a half hours.”

After four years in New Haven, Jordan has become familiar with the region and even spent a summer in Wellesley to train. So the chance to compete as a starter and remain nearby made the decision an easy one. 

“I love the Massachusetts area,” Jordan said. “I’ve got a lot of buddies from up here who I played with at Yale. Some of my closest friends are from Medfield and Worcester and Wellesley and Boston. I got really tight with the guys in Massachusetts. It was just kind of every box that could have been checked.”

Another added bonus is transferring in with his best friend and roommate from Yale, linebacker Dean Shaffer. While the two initially talked about coming to the same place, eventually they recognized each to do what was best for their football careers.

That just so happens to be together, at UMass. 

“We were just roommates, following all the coaches on Twitter and messaging people laughing about how cool it would be if we all went to the same spot,” Jordan said. “Ideally, going to a new spot, you get to go with your best friend. That makes the transition easier.

“We hadn't really talked for about a week or so. And then when we finally caught back up, he was telling me how he was probably gonna be planning a trip to UMass. And I had just planned my trip to UMass. We were pretty fired up.”

In terms of on-field production, Jordan is just as excited to become a Minuteman and learn under Bajakian’s offense. A major factor in Jordan's decision was Bajakian’s coaching history, which includes some legendary NFL names. 

“Coach Bajakian has coached at a lot of high-level programs,” Jordan said. “He’s coached really legendary players like Antonio Brown and Travis Kelce, and everywhere he’s been, he’s been successful. I’m just excited to grow and learn from him.”

Jordan comes in with some scheme familiarity. Yale had a heavy emphasis on the RPO game. While he’ll still be running a lot of RPO in Amherst, he’s also going to be under center a lot more than he was down in New Haven.  

“There’s no one specific thing,” Jordan said. “Coming from Yale, we ran a lot of RPO, and we’re gonna run RPO and get under center, which I’m not used to, but excited to get after it in practice.”

Jordan will also bring mobility to the field. At Yale, he ran for 360 yards and five touchdowns. He isn’t afraid to scramble out of the pocket to make a play. 

“I think I'm pretty slippery,” Jordan said. “I think I can get out of certain situations if something happens, or I could make plays down the field. I just try to get the ball to my playmakers and let them be great. 

“I have a point guard mentality. We’ve got a lot of new weapons coming in, it’s gonna be fun to see what Coach Harasymiak and the program is going to build.” 

As Jordan gets settled in Amherst he’s looking to improve physically over the offseason. The quarterback is looking to get stronger to compete with the bigger and faster athletes at the FBS level. 

“I'm excited to have a real offseason at this at a higher FBS level to strength train and be better physically, stronger, faster,” Jordan said.   

“Just mentally learn from coaches that are coming from the NFL and Big Ten and higher level programs. I'm just excited to really learn and kind of just try to soak everything up like a sponge and just get better mentally and physically.” 

So as Jordan finishes up apartment hunting, he and the rest of the Minutemen are hungry to get to work for this new era of UMass football. 

“We’ve got a whole new group of guys. We're all excited and going to be working our ass off this spring to compete at the highest level and do the best we can to win some football games.”