Don Brown (HC) – Head coach Don Brown has a history with the University of Massachusetts. He first joined the program in 1998 as the program’s defensive coordinator. Eventually, after a brief stint at Northeastern, Brown returned to UMass as the program’s head coach. Once his first tenure as head coach of UMass came to a close, Brown served various defensive roles across the country. He was re-named the Minutemen’s leader in November of 2021. This season, Brown has had the unfortunate pleasure of playing two other SEC teams prior to Georgia. They fell to Missouri and Mississippi State but are fresh off a one-point overtime loss to Liberty. A big game lingers ahead for the Minutemen, and Don Brown brings years of experience to his group.
AJ Hairston and Ahmad Haston (QB #8 & QB #5) – UMass is currently in an interesting situation at the quarterback position. Their starter, Taisun Phommachanh, was ruled out for the season after suffering an injury recently against Mississippi State. That leaves true freshman AJ Hairston and redshirt freshman Ahmad Haston battling for the starting job. Against Liberty, both QBs saw the field for a fair share of plays. However, Hairston was the only one of the two to attempt to move the ball in the air. He had 13 completions for 163 yards, while Haston had six carries for 62 yards and a touchdown. Therefore, it seems like UMass will have a somewhat predictable offense depending on who is on the field, yet there is always room for concern when a defense has to worry about two separate signal-callers.
Jakobie Keeney-James (WR #11) – The Minutemen may not have many yards through the air, but receiver Jakobie Keeney-James accounts for over a third of them. Keeney-James has 670 yards on 42 receptions with four TDs so far this season. Watch for “JKJ” to be the main target in the UMass passing game.
CJ Hester (RB #33) – In a run-heavy offensive scheme, the football makes its way into the hands of multiple backs. UMass has three running backs with over 200 yards on the year. Plus, before getting hurt, quarterback Taisun Phommachanh had 317 yards on the ground. CJ Hester just barely leads the team in rushing yards with exactly 400 through 10 games. He leads the room in carries, but has almost the exact same statline as fellow back Jalen John. The Minutemen have a variety of options in the backfield.
Louce Julien (DE #18) – Redshirt junior Louce Julien has been the best defensive lineman for the Minutemen this year. Of those on the defensive line, he has the most tackles. He leads the team in sacks with four, one of which helped force a Liberty punt in the second half. In addition to his tackles, he has deflected one pass and has forced one fumble.
Te’Rai Powell (DB #21) – Massachusetts has five total interceptions on the season. Two of those were caught by safety Te’Rai Powell. In addition, he also has a pass breakup. The senior DB leads the team in solo tackles with 20.
Jalen Stewart (LB #23) – The team’s leader in tackles, Jalen Stewart, has been a very serviceable linebacker for UMass. Stewart’s in his senior year and his third season with the team. In order for the Minutemen to stay competitive against one of college football’s best teams, he will need to lead his defense in slowing down Beck and the Bulldogs’ offensive attack.
The most famous athlete to ever play at UMass is undoubtedly Basketball Hall of Fame legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving, who is one of the most beloved players in the history of the sport.
Under the watch of John Calipari and led by All-American Marcus Camby, the Minutemen advanced to the 1996 Final Four, where they fell to national champion Kentucky in the semis.
When UMass visited Sanford Stadium in 2018, wide receiver Andy Isabella had an incredible performance against the Bulldogs, with 15 receptions for 219 yards and two touchdowns.