UMass Week Five Injury Update
Who’s In and Who’s Out for the Minutemen this week and the rest of the season
The injuries continue to pile up for the Minutemen as they head into their Week Five matchup against the Missouri Tigers.
The secondary has been an issue for UMass, and the injuries have not helped the cause. Head coach Joe Harasymiak provided 10 injury updates at his Monday press conference. Some were good, some were bad and some were gut wrenching.
Detrimental would be a word to describe the update about star wide receiver T.Y. Harding. Harasymiak announced the Cambridge native would be out the rest of the 2025 campaign due to season-ending surgery. Harding came out of the game against Temple clutching his arm, but dressed for the following week’s matchup. However, he didn’t play a snap.
“He’s done,” Harasymiak said. “He tried to push through and he did everything he could.”
The wide receiver room could be receiving some surprise reinforcements, though. Pitt transfer Jake McConnachie was seen on crutches after sustaining an injury against Bryant, but could be back very soon. Harasymiak didn’t state his exact timetable or his short-term availability.
Assuming UMass doesn’t have Harding and McConnachie, it will continue with Jacquon Gibson, Tyree Kelly and Donnie Gray as its main wide receiving corps. Look out for contributions from Kenyon Massey, Kezion Dia-Johnson and freshman Elijah Pedro, according to Harasymiak.
At the quarterback position, Brandon Rose is still questionable, but the coaching staff has made the decision to start sophomore A.J. Hairston against Missouri this weekend.
The first major defensive update was about starting cornerback TJ Magee, who exited UMass’ Week Three matchup against Iowa in scary fashion. Harasymiak said he was doing better after spending an extra night in an Iowa hospital, but his movement is good. He didn’t provide a timetable for the Davidson transfer.
Ryan Barnes, the starting cornerback on the other side, will be out for another period of time, according to Harasymiak. He was absent with an injury for the first two weeks of the season, but appeared against Iowa without making a tackle.
The two starting safeties, Jeremiah McGill and Zeraun Daniel, are both Questionable this week. Daniel acquired his injury during the opening week matchup against Temple, and is working on getting himself back. McGill played in all three games for the Minutemen, and his injury and timetable weren’t revealed.
Unfortunately for the secondary, both backup safeties coming into the season are on the injury report as well. Ball State transfer DD Snyder had surgery last week on his hand and will be out six to eight weeks, according to Harasymiak. It was also reported that Kendall Bournes is Questionable for Missouri.
To make matters worse, Keith Sarkodieh, the third-string safety who made a team-leading five solo tackles against Iowa, is also Questionable with a hamstring injury. Now, all three of UMass’ deep safeties are either Out or Questionable.
As reported by Harasymiak, the Minutemen plan to move backup cornerbacks over to the safety spot to fill the hole.
As of the Monday press conference, UMass had six out of the eight defensive backs listed on the Week One depth chart either Out or Questionable, and seven overall players in the secondary on the injury report. Look for Zach Farris and Malcolm Greene to move over to the safety position, and Brennan Bailey, Raheim Sexil and JC Clark to fill in at cornerback.
Stay tuned for more injury updates and game day reports on the Minuteman Command website and all of our socials.
Your one-stop-shop for all your sports marketing needs… Owned and Operated by UMASS Grads.
We specialize in providing top-quality marketing & printing services for coaches, athletic directors, and sports marketing professionals.
Get Fan Ready!