Football Prepares For Home Opener Against Stony Brook On Saturday

University of Massachusetts Football Game Notes & Information
Game 3	Massachusetts (0-2) vs. Stony Brook (0-1)
Date \| Time	Saturday, September 17 \| 3:30 p.m.
Location \| Gameday 101	Amherst, Mass. \| McGuirk Alumni Stadium \| Gameday 101
Tickets	Purchase Tickets Here
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 3-0 Last Meeting \| LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, N.Y. \| Massachusetts 26, Stony Brook 21
Game Notes & Team Information	Massachusetts: Game Notes \| Game Program \| Record Book Stony Brook: Game Notes
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WHMP 101.5 FM, 1240AM & 1400AM \| WCRN 830 AM App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device
Live Statistics	SIDEARM
Twitter	@UMassFootball \| @FBCoachDBrown
Instagram	UMass Football
Facebook	UMass Football

AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts football returns to McGuirk Alumni Stadium for the first time in the 2022 season to take on Stony Brook at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3.

The Minutemen will take to the field, lead by first year students. First year students are invited to help lead UMass onto the field as it embarks on the season's home slate. Students are asked to meet behind the Student BBQ (under the press box) with 15 minutes left on the pregame clock. Please see map here for the route students will take as they run across the field.

SERIES HISTORY

The Minutemen and the Seawolves are meeting for the fourth time in program history, with Massachusetts holding a 3-0-0 lead in the all-time series.

UMass and Stony Brook last met on Sept. 25, 2010, as FCS opponents. The Minutemen came out on top, 26-21, in the road victory.

WELCOME BACK COACH

Head coach Don Brown returns to Massachusetts for his second stint with the football program. Brown was named head coach on Nov. 22, 2021, by Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford, after spending a season with Arizona as the defensive coordinator.

During his first stint as head coach with the Minutemen, he led UMass to the winningest five-year stretch in program history from 2004-2008, accumulating a 43-19 record and making two postseason appearances. He spent the previous 13 years guiding defenses at Maryland, Connecticut, Boston College, Michigan and Arizona.

The Spencer, Massachusetts, native has 45 years of coaching experience to his credit, beginning at Hartford High School in 1977. As a head coach, Brown combined for a 95-45 overall record between Plymouth State, Northeastern and Massachusetts. He also totaled four postseason appearances.

HOME OPENERS

During head coach Don Brown's previous tenure as head coach at UMass, the Minutemen went 5-0 in home openers including wins over Colgate 2004 and 2006), Albany (2005 and 2008) and Holy Cross (2007).

UMass last won a home opener in 2018 when the Minutemen posted a 63-15 in over Duquesne.

BORN AND BRED IN THE COMMONWEALTH

This season's rosters features 21 student-athletes from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

2022 - 27
2021 - 31
2020 - 29
2019 - 30
2018 - 25
2017 - 27
2016 - 31

HIGH CALIBER TRANSFERS

Massachusetts has 19 transfers on the 2022 roster, including 14 from Power 5 institutions:

Kay'Ron Adams - Rutgers
Devin Baldwin - Rutgers
Tim Baldwin Jr. - Indiana
Noah Boykin - Notre Dame
Marcus Bradley - Vanderbilt
Marcus Cushnie - Florida State
Greg Desrosiers Jr. - Louisville
Sammy Faustin - Michigan
Darius Gooden - Rutgers
Zukudo Igwenagu - Rutgers
George Johnson III - Michigan
Tyler Rudolph - Penn State
Cameron Sullivan-Brown - Penn State
Tyson Watson - Michigan State

THE QB ROOM: A MIX OF YOUNG AND OLD

The Minutemen's quarterback room features two sophomores (Brady Olson and Zamar Wise), one redshirt sophomore (Garrett Dzuro) and one redshirt junior (Gino Campiotti).

Olson (6'4'', 200-pounds from Bellingham, Mass.) appeared in nine career games during the 2021 season as a true freshman.

Campiotti (6'3'', 215-pounds from Manteca, Calif.), meanwhile, arrived at UMass after spending the 2021 season at Modesto Junior College, playing in 11 games, and competed at Nothern Arizona in the 2019-2020 seasons.

FIRST OF THE SEASON

Redshirt junior Gino Campiotti scored his first touchdown in a Massachusetts uniform at Tulane (9/3). The Manteca, California, native, found his way into the endzone on a four-yard rush. Campiotti rushed for 58 yards on 17 carries in the season opener, while completing two passes for 12 yards.

Isaiah Holiness rushed one-yard into the endzone at Toledo (9/10) for his first touchdown as a Minuteman

COMMONWEALTH CONNECTIONS

Redshirt sophomore Zukudo Igwenagu is the cousin of former Minuteman Emil Igwenagu '12.

Emil was a fullback and tight end for the program from 2008-2011. He served as a team captain in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and was named to the CAA All-Conference First Team (2011) and the CAA Academic All-Conference Team (2009). In the postseaason following his senior season, Emil competed in both the East-West Shrine Bowl and became the sixth player in program history to play in the Senior Bowl (2012)

The former Minuteman went undrafted in 2012 and was part of the Philadelphia Eagles organization.

CAPTURING CAREER MARKS

Isaiah Holiness' first touchdown as a Minuteman marked the first rushing touchdown of his career at Toledo (9/10). In addition, Tim Baldwin Jr., ran for 29-yards at Toledo (9/1), marking the longest rush of his career. Gino Campiotti also recorded a career-long rush of 22 yards at Toledo (9/10).

MAKING OUR DEBUT

In the season opener, 24 Minutemen made their debut . Three were members of the team last season, four are true freshman and 17 transfered into the program for the 2022 season.

MERRIWEATHER NAMED TO MAXWELL AWARD WATCH LIST

Ellis Merriweather was named to the 86th Maxwell Award Watch List, announced July 18 by the Maxwell Football Club. The award is presented to theCollege Player of the Year.

Merriweather completed the 2021 year as Massachusetts' first 1,000-yard rusher in the program's FBS era, while accumulating 1,138 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. He recorded 218 consecutive carries without any fumbles and totaled a career best 39 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns, leading UMass to its first victory of 2021. Merriweather received 2021 Phil Steele All-Independent Second Team honors.

FIVE MINUTEMEN TABBED PHIL STEELE PRESEASON ALL-INDEPENDENT

Massachusetts placed five members of the team on the 2022 Phil Steele Preseason All-Independent Team, including running back Ellis Merriweather, tight end Josiah Johnson, offensive tackle Max Longman, defensive tackle Billy Wooden and cornerback Josh Wallace. Merriweather earned First Team accolades, while Johnson, Longman, Wooden and Wallace each were named Second Team.

COACHING AT THE ALMA MATER

UMass employs four alumni in a full-time coaching role in 2022 in assistant head coach/special teams coordinator/defensive lines coach, Ben Albert, defensive line coach, Valdamar Brower, associate head coach/offensive line coach, Alex Miller and tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator, Jeff Moore. Albert is a 1995 graduate of the University of Massachusetts and was an All-Conference defensive lineman. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he served as the inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, where he aided the Minutemen to the 2003 Atlantic 10 Conference championship.

Brower, a 2004 graduate of UMass, was a star defensive lineman for Massachusetts from 1999-2003, playing for then-defensive coordinator Don Brown during the 1999 season.

Miller developed into one of the most celebrated offensive lineman during his playing days at Massachusetts. His four years starting on the line culminated with multiple first team all-America awards following the team's appearance in the 2006 National Championship Game. Miller cemented his legacy as a durable and reliable centerpiece for the Minutemen with starts in all 50 games played during the 2003-06 seasons

A 2012 graduate of UMass, Moore played receiver for the Minutemen from 2008-12 as awalk-on.

Two additional coaching staff members earned a degree from UMass in analyst Randall Jette '15 and Jesse Monteiro '17.

COEN TO BE INDUCTED IN UMASS ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME

UMass football's Liam Coen (2004-08) is one of four inductees to the UMass Athletics George "Trigger" Burke Hall of Fame. The Class of 2022 will be inducted on Friday, September 16.

Coen was the starting quarterback for the 2005-08 seasons for head coach Don Brown and was a team captain during his redshirt senior year in 2008. The Minutemen were 37-14 overall and 25-7 in conference play (2005 – Atlantic 10; '06-08 – CAA) during his four seasons as the starting quarterback. Coen was selected Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team (2006) and CAA All-Conference Second Team (2007, '08). At the time of graduation, he was one of 21 quarterbacks in FCS history with 10,000 or more passing yards in a career. He was 18th all-time in FCS/I-AA history for career passing yards (11,031) and 20th for touchdowns thrown (90).

Coen is currently the career record-holder for passing yards (11,031), pass attempts (1,303), pass completions (830), touchdown passes (90), completion percentage (.639), passer efficiency (152.92), yards per pass attempt (8.47). He holds the UMass single-season record-holder for completion percentage (.650; 2006) and passing efficiency (160.52; 2006).

He helped lead Massachusetts to the 2006 NCAA FCS National Championship Game by going 69-of-109 for 837 yards with six touchdowns during the playoff run. Coen also led the Minutemen to an NCAA postseason appearance in 2007 and won conference championships in 2006 and 2007, as well. He tied the program record for most passing touchdowns in one game (5 at Towson, 2006; vs. Bryant, 2008), and is one of only two quarterbacks to throw five touchdowns in a single game.

Coen spent two seasons as an assistant coach at UMass under then-head coach Mark Whipple in 2014 and 2015. After leaving UMass to serve as the offensive coordinator and QBs coach at the University of Maine (2016-17), Coen then coached in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018 and 2019, helping the team reach the Super Bowl during his first season as an assistant wide receiver's coach. In March of 2022, Coen was named the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.

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