The Mid-American Conference held its annual football media day as part of the MAC Football Kickoff at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday.
UMass’ first-year head coach Joe Harasymiak, plus athletes Rocko Griffin and Malcolm Greene, attended the event that featured all 13 MAC schools at the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher kicked of the event with a State of the Conference Address, before an ESPN panel conducted interviews with every coach and select players from then on.
As part of Steinbrecher’s opening remarks he welcomed UMass to the MAC, then in a later interview with ESPN, delved deeper into the Minutemen returning to the conference as full-time members.
“We’ve been anxious for UMass to get into the league,” Steinbrecher said. “When they were with us previously as an affiliate member, affiliate members are renting, quite frankly, and I think they would tell you at the time they came in, they probably weren’t prepared and weren’t making the investments. Since that time, they’ve invested. Facilities are significantly better, support facilities are significantly better, how they’re underwriting the program is stronger.
“I expect them to ramp up in a short period of time and come in and be competitive,” Steinbrecher added. “I think that’ll be very, very positive for us. It opens up a corridor that we want to be in. It’s in the northeast, it’s in a contiguous state.”
Later in the afternoon, Harasymiak joined the ESPN panel and discussed an array of topics ranging from the excitement of landing within the MAC to, most notably, the upcoming quarterback battle between returner A.J. Hairston, Utah transfer Brandon Rose and Yale transfer Grant Jordan.
“Dual threat, [Rose] can do it with his arm, do it with his legs,” Harasymiak said. “Then Grant Jordan came in from Yale, started there, does a great job. Very smart, he’s always working at it, good arm strength, so we’re excited about those two and we can’t forget about A.J. Hairston. [He’s] our guy that’s on the roster, we were able to keep him when we got in here. He goes into the Georgia game and throws two touchdowns as a freshman. He’s got an immense talent to him, so we’re excited about all three of those guys.”
Harasymiak also talked about Griffin—an incoming running back transfer from the University of Texas at San Antonio—as someone who “is exactly what we’re looking for and the type of young man we want in the program.”
In terms of a play style Harasymiak hopes to initiate with this year’s group, the New Jersey native wants his coaching staff to set the tone.
“I think we did a really good job hiring the right people,” Harasymiak said. “Offensively, Mike Bajakian, who I went against, he’s very familiar with the MAC, was here at Central [Michigan] back in the day and I went against him, so I was always a little annoyed going against him and that’s how we lead to that. He does a great job with his staff. Defensively, Jared Keyte is going to lead that group. He’s been with me at both Maine and Rutgers, tactile defense, being aggressive. Special teams-wise, which is a huge addition for us, is Joe Castellitto. Those three areas, cleaning that up and the leaders that are there is going to be a great opportunity to take a step forward.”
Lastly, Griffin joined the panel for a brief interview and talked about his expectations for the Minutemen on the gridiron this fall.
“I would say a team that’s disciplined,” Griffin said. “We can’t promise wins, we can’t look at the schedule and think we’re going to have a ‘W’ or ‘L’. The biggest thing is making sure we’re showing up everyday and preparing. Whether that’s in practice, off the field, representing ourselves in the community as well. Really being a true Minuteman.”
UMass opens the 2025 season August 30 against Temple.