University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
New Mexico State
Massachusetts Football Kicks Off 2023 Season At New Mexico State Saturday Night
August 21, 2023 | Football
Minutemen take on the Aggies at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
| University of Massachusetts Football Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 1 | Massachusetts (0-0) at New Mexico State (0-0) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, August 26 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Las Cruces, N.M. | Aggie Memorial Stadium |
| Tickets | Purchase Tickets Here |
| Series History | New Mexico State leads, 2-0 Last Meeting | Oct. 29, 2022 | McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Amherst, Mass. | New Mexico State 23, Massachusetts 13 |
| Game Notes & Team Information | Massachusetts: Game Notes | Game Program | Record Book New Mexico State: Game Notes | Media Guide |
| Watch | ESPN |
| Listen | WHMP 101.5 FM, 1240AM & 1400AM | WCRN 830 AM App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device |
| Live Statistics | StatBroadcast |
| @UMassFootball | @FBCoachDBrown | |
| UMass Football | |
| UMass Football | |
AMHERST, Mass. -- The 140th season of Massachusetts football kicks off against New Mexico State at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 26 in Las Cruces, New Mexico at Aggie Memorial Stadium in a game that will also be broadcast on ESPN.
It will mark the 12th FBS season for UMass and its eighth as an independent.
Massachusetts is one of 14 teams playing week zero and started fall camp on July 28.
SERIES HISTORY
Last season, New Mexico State made its first trip to Amherst, Massachusetts and edged the Minutemen 23-13.
Current New Orleans Saints running back Ellis Merriweather rushed for 87 yards, while current redshirt junior Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams totaled 73 yards on the ground including a 66- yard touchdown run.
At quarterback, Brady Olson finished 15-of-28 for 97 yards in his first start of the season.
On defense, Gerrell Johnson made seven tackles (three solo), while Marcus Cushnie had five tackles (one solo), including 1.5 sacks and he added a quarterback hurry.
UMass held the Aggies offense to a 0-for-12 mark on third downs.
In 2021, the teams met for the first time on Nov. 27, 2021, with the Aggies coming away with a 44-27 win on that day in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
At quarterback, Garrett Dzuro went 12-for-23 for 124 yards with one touchdown, while current New Orleans Saints running back Ellis Merriweather led the Minutemen with 168 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
With that performance in the season finale, Merriweather surpassed the 1,000-yard mark to become the first UMass player to do so since Tony Nelson in 2008.
BORN AND BRED IN THE COMMONWEALTH
This season's rosters features 25 student-athletes from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
2023 - 25
2022 - 27
2021 - 31
2020 - 29
2019 - 30
2018 - 25
2017 - 27
2016 - 31
DEFENSIVE OUTPUT IN 2022
UMass finished 2022 ranked 55th in total defense (ranked 130th in 2021). Massachusetts ranked 16th in FBS with an average time of possession of 32:42. The Minutemen also finished 2022 with the 12th-ranked third down conversion percentage defense (43-for-139/.309).
REVAMPED QB ROOM
The Minutemen added four quarterbacks in the offseason including redshirt senior transfer Carlos Davis from Western Carolina, redshirt junior transfer Taisun Phommachanh from Georgia Tech/Clemson, freshman Ahmad Haston and walk-on freshman Conner Whitson.
Davis Played in seven games for Western Carolina in 2022 while compiling a 149.59 passer rating, throwing for and 16 touchdowns while also finishing as the team's third-leading rusher with 221 yards on the ground.
A Bridgeport, Connecticut native and former four-star recruit, Phommachanh appeared in two games for Georgia Tech last season and in 13 games for Clemson from 2019-21.
Haston joined the Minutemen as an early enrollee in January 2023 after leading Palm Beach Central to a 12-2 record and the school's first regional championship in 2022 as a senior captain (posted 2,150 passing yards and 38 passing touchdowns on the season).
Junior Brady Olson is the lone returning quarterback as the Bellingham, Massachusetts native appeared in nine games in 2022, recording 77 pass completions for 791 yards and two touchdowns.
MAHONEY ON NAGURSKI WATCH
Junior cornerback Jordan Mahoney has been named to the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List as announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Tuesday (Aug. 1).
Mahoney had a knack of making big plays on the defensive side of the ball last season, totaling a team-best three interceptions while adding six pass breakups, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 42 tackles (28 solo).
The Rock Hill, South Carolina native returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown against Stony Brook and had a scoop-and-score for two defensive touchdowns on the season.
His three fumble recoveries ranked third in the FBS.
His brother, Jaylen, is a defensive back on the Vanderbilt football team, which also plays week zero.
The FWAA selected 94 defensive standouts from 70 schools in all 10 Division I FBS conferences plus Independents to comprise the 2023 watch list.
SIXTEEN STRONG
Sixteen University of Massachusetts football players earned Phil Steele 2023 Preseason Independent Team honors it was announced on June 12.
The list of honorees included First Team selections George Johnson III (WR), Billy Wooden (DT), Jerry Roberts Jr (LB), Jordan Mahoney (CB), Cameron Carson (K) and Greg Desrosiers Jr (KR).
The Second Team honorees included Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams (RB), Mark Pope (WR), Josh Atwood (C), Cole Garcia (OG), Marcus Bradley (DE), Gerrell Johnson (LB), Tyler Rudolph (S), CJ Kolodziey (P), Isaac Ross (PR) and Ethan Dumont (LS).
UMass ranked second with the 16 selections, trailing only Notre Dame (18) but finishing ahead of Army West Point (13) and Connecticut (11)
POSITION SWITCHES
Redshirt senior Gino Campiotti moved from quarterback to tight end following the 2022 campaign.
Last season, he appeared in 10 games, recording 33 pass completions for 257 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for 390 yards and three touchdowns.
Campiotti played tight end during his redshirt freshman season at Northern Arizona in 2020, appearing in nine games and making three starts.
Zamar Wise moved from quarterback and now plays wide receiver for the Minutemen.
Redshirt freshman Magnus Von Saldern moved from the defensive line to tight end for the 2023 season as well.
COACHING AT THE ALMA MATER
UMass employs three alums in full-time coaching roles in 2023, including assistant head coach/special teams coordinator/defensive lines coach, Ben Albert, defensive line coach, Valdamar Brower and associate head coach/offensive line coach, Alex Miller.
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
Two additional coaching staff members earned a degree from UMass in analyst Jesse Monteiro '17 and Graduate Assistant Garrett Dzuro '23.
