Iowa Football Opponent Preview: UMass Minutemen

In a perfect world, this will be a bounce back week for the Iowa Football team ahead of their Big Ten opener in Piscataway against Rutgers. After suffering their third loss in four years against Iowa State last weekend, the Hawkeyes return to Kinnick Stadium for a matchup against a Massachusetts squad that is really struggling.

The Minutemen program has been really subpar for quite some time, averaging just 2.1 wins per season over the last decade, including a 2-10 record a year ago. This season, under first year head coach Joe Harasymiak, has gone even further downhill. They dropped the opener against Temple 42-10 and followed it up with a shocking 27-26 loss to FCS Bryant as 16.5-point favorites this past weekend.

Iowa has opened as a 33.5-point favorite and will be looking to improve their record to 15-0 against non-P4 opponents since 2015. This will be the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and Minutemen, but UMass is 0-8 all-time against the Big Ten, including a 63-0 loss to Penn State back in 2023. Over the last four years, UMass is 0-9 against P4 opponents, including an 0-3 mark last season, dropping games against Missouri (45-3), Mississippi State (45-20) and Georgia (59-21).

***Some of the players that are mentioned have been ruled out of Saturday’s contest***

MINUTEMEN OFFENSE

2025 Numbers: 18.0 PPG, 102.0 RUSH, 228.0 PASS, 330.0 TOTAL

Quarterback

QB Depth Chart:
- Brandon Rose (Utah transfer): Starter, injured vs Bryant
- Grant Jordan (Yale transfer): Relief vs Bryant, likely starter if Rose is out
- AJ Hairston: 2024 backup, QB3 to start 2025

Starting with the quarterback position, it’s a bit up in the air as to who the Hawkeyes may see behind center guiding the Minutemen offense. Utah transfer Brandon Rose (Report: OUT) has started both games to open the year, but was injured against Bryant. Meanwhile, Yale transfer Grant Jordan entered in relief, while AJ Hairston is the returning backup from last season.

If Rose can’t go, Grant Jordan, an All-Ivy League selection last season for Yale will likely get the start. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 211 yards and one interception against Bryant. Last season, at the FCS level for the Bulldogs, Jordan completed 66.4% of passes for 1,998 yards and 22 touchdowns to three interceptions.

His backup, AJ Hairston, made one start last season backing up Taisun Phommachanh and some expected him to be the starter this year, but entered as QB3. He threw for 480 yards and five touchdowns to zero interceptions as a true freshman a year ago.

Running Back

Alongside whoever is taking snaps at quarterback, the Minutemen will have two backs getting carries. Vanderbilt/UTSA transfer Rocko Griffin is a veteran, totaling 1,312 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns through five collegiate seasons. He’s ran it well so far, averaging 5.9 yards per carry, tallying 117 yards on 20 carries, including one touchdown.

The other guy that will see snaps is Colorado transfer Brandon Hood. A former three-star recruit, Hood redshirted with the Buffaloes last season. He’s carried the ball 13 times for 49 yards (3.4 ypc) and one touchdown this season.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

There are a couple of pass catchers to know for UMass, but there’s one name that stands out above the rest to begin this season. Junior Jacquon Gibson was third on the team in receiving last season, but has gotten on to a hot start this year, tallying 19 catches for 221 yards, including 12 receptions in the opener against Temple. He has commanded 27 of 68 (39.7%) targets, so they’ll go to him in every type of situation.

Although Gibson has gotten the bulk the targets so far, junior receiver Ty Harding (Report: OUT) was second on the team in receiving last season, totaling 19 catches for 334 yards and five touchdowns. Harding has been targeted just five times, with four catches for 30 yards, but he’s a guy to keep an eye on. He was also the return man last season, so they like what he can do with the ball in his hands.

Other names to know include Pittsburgh transfer Jake McConnachie (Report: OUT) and USF transfer Tyree Kelly. Those two pass catchers have combined for 13 targets, eight catches and 77 yards. McConnachie caught one pass in three years at Pitt, while Kelly caught one pass in two years at USF. The UMass offense is still looking to find one of these four guys (or someone else) for their first pitch and catch touchdown of the year.

Offensive Line

Up front, the Minutemen have a mix of returning players and transfers. They came into the season ranked 129th in the country in returning starts (20) but are a bit more experienced than that number suggests, with three former Ivy League starters getting snaps. Right tackle Ryan Mosesso (66.6) is the highest graded player on a UMass line that ranks 59th in run blocking and 124th in pass blocking through two weeks. They’ve really struggled in the pass game, giving up 21 pressures on 89 pass blocking snaps.

MINUTEMEN DEFENSE

2025 Numbers: 34.5 PPG, 136.0 RUSH, 297.0 PASS, 433.0 TOTAL

Defensive Line

Up front on the UMass defensive line, the Hawkeyes will go up against a number of transfers that came in to retool the group. Six of their top seven in snaps played through two weeks were added through the portal. The UMass defense has tallied just five tackles for loss and two sacks through two games.

On the edge, Rutgers transfer David Onuoha has made the biggest impact so far, totaling eight tackles and a team-high eight quarterback pressures. Starting on the otherside of the defense line is Florida State transfer Shambre Jackson who has matched Onuoha with eight tackles, but has generated just three quarterback pressures. The other edge rusher to know is McNeese State transfer Marques White. He totaled 52 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three passes broken up last season. White is third on the team in pass rush snaps by a defensive end and has generated six quarterback pressures.

In the interior, the Minutemen are led by Maine transfer Shymell Davis and returning rotational piece Tim Grant-Randall. Davis totaled 27 tackles and one sack at Maine last season, while Grant-Randall finished with 27 tackles and two tackles for loss a year ago. They’ve combined for ten tackles, while Grant-Randall has one of two sacks for the Minutemen.

Other names to know up front include UConn transfer Tim Passmore Jr and Virginia Tech transfer Malachi Madison. Those two will garner a good bit of the snaps rotating with the other two interior defensive lineman. Madison has totaled three quarterback pressures in 26 pass rush snaps. Neither player recorded any statistics at their previous stop.

Linebackers

This is the strength of the UMass defense. Although they don’t have tons of statistics to point to, they have a decent amount of experience and have shown it through the early part of the year. The top three tacklers for the Minutemen are linebackers.

A preseason All-MAC selection, senior Derrieon Craig totaled 44 tackles last season and leads the team with 17 tackles, while he leads the linebacking corps with 125 snaps played. Meanwhile, Rutgers transfer Timmy Hinspeter has been an early surprise after tallying 21 tackles in two years with the Scarlet Knights. He’s the highest graded linebacker (81.4) and is just behind Craig with 16 tackles over 97 snaps played. You could argue that Craig and Hinspeter are the top two players on the UMass defense.

The other linebackers to know are Tyler Martin and Yale transfer Dean Shaffer. Martin tallied 27 tackles last season and is third on the team with 15 tackles over 94 snaps played. Meanwhile, Shaffer played in just four games for Yale due to injury, but managed to put up 25 tackles and two tackles for loss in limited action. He has five tackles over 50 snaps played.

Defensive Backs

The UMass secondary has struggled, ranking 119th in pass coverage per PFF through two games. Temple completed 75.9% of passes for 276 yards, while Bryant completed 22 passes for 318 yards. They’ll be facing Mark Gronowski who has just 127 pass yards over two games.

At corner, the guy that’s going to be on the field for every play is Davidson transfer TJ Magee. He tallied 45 tackles and ten passes broken up last season and leads the team with 136 snaps played this year. Magee only has six tackles, but has the best coverage grade (73.3) out of any defensive back. Sophomore Brennen Bailey and Virginia transfer Malcolm Greene (Report: OUT) are the other two that will see significant snaps. They’ve combined for 152 snaps and have allowed just three catches on nine targets, but those three receptions have gone for 107 yards.

Meanwhile, at safety, Jeremiah McGill returns after playing in 11 games, with DII Concord University transfer Kendall Bournes starting at the other safety spot. McGill tallied 28 tackles last season, while he is second on the team in snaps (130) and has 13 tackles. As for Bournes, he finished with 80 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions last season at Concord. He’s got eight tackles over 90 snaps.

MINUTEMEN SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker Derek Morris: 3/4 FG, 3/4 PAT, LNG 53 (11/15 FG, 13/13 PAT at Cal LY)

Punter Keegan Andrews: 9 punts, 50.1 AVG, 8 In20, LNG 66 (Texas A&M transfer)

Kick Returner TJ Magee: 1 return, 57 yards, LNG 57

Punt Returner Samuel Baddoo: 2 returns, 6 yards, LNG 5

FINAL THOUGHT

There’s no reason for this not to be a 5-6 touchdown win for the Hawkeyes. Anything less would be a disappointing result and with the way the first two weeks of the season have played out, there’s not much left in the way of patience for anything other than a healthy blowout. There’s not much else to put here for this game. Best case scenario, the passing game finds some success, the run game dominates like it did against Albany and Iowa wins 48-3 or something similar.