Last year, the UMass football team had 10 players catch a total of 212 passes. Anthony Simpson is the only one of those 10 still on the Minutemen roster.

He was last year’s leading receiver – his 57 receptions and 792 yards nearly doubled No. 2 receiver George Johnson’s tallies – but this fall, it’s even clearer who the No. 1 guy in the receiver room is.

“It’s definitely my room,” Simpson said. “My boys come behind me and they go as I go. That’s why I make sure I come out here every single day and give all I got. Even when I don’t got it, they make sure that I have it because they just expect highly of me.”

UMass brought in 28 transfers this offseason, and the running back, tight end and receiver rooms are almost completely brand new. At receiver, UMass brought in graduate transfers Sterling Galban (Texas Tech/Jacksonville State), Jakobie Keeney-James (Eastern Washington) and Frank Ladson Jr. (Clemson/Miami). Jacquon Gibson, who played sparingly as a freshman in 2022 and took a redshirt last year after an injury, has also played a large role during camp.

Simpson said that those additions, combined with the arrival of new offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, mean that he’ll play more on the perimeter this season. Last year, the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder played primarily in the slot.

“I feel like it’s just better ways to get me the ball,” Simpson said. “And for (Taisun) to try to get me the ball too.”

Simpson was already a star for UMass in 2023, and now that he enters his senior season, head coach Don Brown said he’s expecting a big year from the wideout who followed him from Arizona. Simpson’s freshman year with the Wildcats lined up with Brown’s lone season as Arizona defensive coordinator in 2021. After spending 2022 as a reserve receiver and Arizona’s primary kickoff returner, Simpson transferred to UMass and immediately became QB Taisun Phommachanh’s favorite target.

Simpson said the knee injury that kept Phommachanh out of spring practice slowed him up, but they’ve been getting back to speed during preseason camp. This is season No. 2 in Amherst for both, and they’ve said their level of comfort has been growing.

“Our chemistry this year has been better,” Simpson said. “We’ve been getting extra passes after practice in and things that I feel like are going to pay off on Saturdays.”

Although Ladson Jr. has yet to practice with the Minutemen as he rehabs a knee injury, Galban and Keeney-James have played large roles throughout preseason camp.

This fall will be Galban’s seventh year of college football after four years at Texas Tech and two at Jacksonville State. He missed his first two years with the Red Raiders due to injury and didn’t play in the third before appearing in one game in his fourth year. He started at receiver for most of his two years at Jacksonville State before transferring to UMass this offseason.

“He’s already really polished. A really polished slot. A really polished receiver,” Simpson said of Galban. “He knows how to sit in the zones, settle in the spaces and he’s a real great returner. He’s great at getting open.”

Simpson said Galban’s 5-foot-10, 170-pound speedster’s skills will give him better chances against secondaries who may focus on him.

“Him having experience in the slot, already knowing how to run the slot well, the defense will bring eyes to him and allow the perimeter receivers to get open too,” Simpson said.

Simpson also said he’s been admiring Keeney-James and his “well-rounded” game. James is 6-foot-1, 195 pounds and appeared in 37 games across five seasons with FCS Eastern Washington. He missed most of last season due to injury.

“That’s another receiver that I kind of compare myself too,” Simpson said. “I feel like he can play the slot if he wanted to play the slot, he can play outside if he wanted to play outside. He makes plays and gets open.”

Simpson is the undoubted leader of the new cast in the Minutemen receiver room. Now it’s up to Montgomery to set them up.

“He’s a great guy,” Simpson said of the team’s new OC. “I can’t wait for him to display what he’s got going on with the offense this year.”