AMHERST — Following a flurry of defensive coaching hires from new UMass head football coach Joe Harasymiak over the past two weeks, the Minutemen have started to round out the staff on the offensive side of the ball. It started with offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian last Tuesday, and two more coaches have since been added to the list as of Monday.

Sources told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that UMass will hire Jeremy Larkin as the team’s next running backs coach, replacing Damian Mincey, who coached the position for the last three years. Larkin spent two years coaching tailbacks at Youngstown State, where he helped the Penguins advance to the FCS playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2023. Prior to his time there, Larkin spent time as an assistant at Northwestern and Notre Dame coaching defense.

A native of Cincinnati, Larkin’s ties to that area could certainly come in handy when recruiting against other Mid-American Conference – a league that has a large footprint in Ohio – programs.

Elsewhere, UMass also hired veteran offensive line coach Kurt Anderson to coach the position in Amherst, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He was the offensive line coach at Northwestern, Arkansas and Eastern Michigan. 

From 2013-15, Anderson served as the assistant offensive line coach of the Buffalo Bills. He has plenty of experience as he steps in to replace Alex Miller, who was on UMass’ staff since 2021 and served as the interim head coach in 2022 after Walt Bell’s firing.

Anderson is from Evanston, Ill., another area heavily recruited by MAC schools.

Harasymiak also hired a new strength and conditioning coach, as George Greene arrived in Amherst last Wednesday, sources told the Gazette. Greene’s official title is head strength and conditioning coach/director of high performance. He had served as Stony Brook’s senior associate athletic director of high performance and competitive success since 2019.

More hires are to come for the UMass football team as coach Harasymiak continues to shape his coaching staff ahead of his first season as head coach of the Minutemen.