AMHERST — As of Wednesday morning, the UMass football team welcomed 10 new additions to the program as part of Early Signing Day.

The Minutemen added eight different positions to the program, addressing some of the much-needed gaps in certain areas after losing nearly 20 players to the transfer portal already this off-season. Head coach Don Brown made it clear during his press conference on Wednesday that his work in the recruiting process is far from over with the portal still heating up.

“Now, that does not mean that’s all we recruited was 10 players, but these are the 10 guys I can talk about,” Brown said. “Obviously, with the portal system and so forth, we’re hard at work in that space. But we’re not allowed to give any of that information away at this point in time.”

Brown has one major concern following Early Signing Day. Yes, there is always room for improvement across the board, but he especially wants more depth, to no surprise, in the secondary.

UMass’ secondary was riddled with injuries this season, and the Minutemen’s inexperience in that area was prominent as the year progressed. So Brown’s attention is there, as well as the rest of the defensive unit that – to his expectations – underperformed in 2023.

“The inside defensive line position, we’re looking for a couple of solid guys there,” Brown said. “We’ll always take a pass rusher if available to us. But really, our concern is the back end on the defensive side – corner and safety. Really, we’re trying to go the experienced [route], and we think that’s going extremely well. I can’t really say any of the names, but I can tell we’re [heading] in a positive direction as we look there.”

More news coming out of Wednesday is that Brown noted that the transfer portal has changed his recruiting plan over the past couple of seasons. He now looks for proven, qualified athletes who have plenty of playing experience that can play right away – specifically in positions of need. This way, the whole developmental phase is skipped, and all it takes is getting the player acclimated to the culture of the program.

With kicker Cameron Carson parting ways with the Minutemen, there is need for a new specialist. While UMass has some pieces in house, its abysmal special teams play this year has given Brown no choice but to dip into the portal to weigh all of his options.

“We’re also in the process of cleaning that up as well,” Brown said of the special teams unit. “We’ll certainly add some pieces there, so that is definitely in the count and we are definitely moving forward in the specialist area.”

Below is an in-depth look at all 10 freshmen signees, and a comment from Brown on what each of them brings to the table next season.

Offense

Da’Marion Alberic | RB | West Palm Beach, Florida | 5’10” | 170 lbs.

Alberic was a three-star recruit out of Atlantic High School, where he averaged 7.3 yards per carry in his career. As a senior, Alberic rushed for 598 yards and eight touchdowns on 108 carries. He also caught 17 passes for 168 yards and a score.

Throughout his career, Alberic accumulated 1,452 yards on 198 attempts. His big-play ability give UMass a similar-style back to Greg Desrosiers Jr.

“He’s a lightning in the bottle player. Quick, agile, great change in direction and good short area quickness,” Brown said. “So a guy we feel really good about.”

Tanner Burlingame | OL | Endwell, New York | 6’5” | 270 lbs.

Burlingame was a part of a powerhouse Maine-Endwell High School program that went to three consecutive NYSPHAA title games during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

Both On3 and 247Sports listed Burlingame as a three-star recruit, and On3 has him as the No. 11 overall recruit in the entire state of New York. He was a huge contributor to the offensive and defensive lines on Maine-Endwell’s back-to-back championship teams in 2021 and 2022.

“He’ll play offensive line for us, and really comes from an outstanding program, Maine-Endwell in the state of New York,” Brown said. “We’re excited to get him to play tackle for [offensive line coach] Alex Miller here. You know, really good player.”

Kezion Dia-Johnson | WR | Phoenix, Arizona | 6’0” | 180 lbs.

The Don Brown-Arizona pipeline strengthens with Dia-Johnson, who happens to be the third-highest ranked high school commit in UMass football history.

Dia-Johnson is the No. 34 recruit in the state according to On3, and the three-star wideout shined for 882 receiving yards on 51 catches while scoring 13 total touchdowns as a senior, which earned him First Team 5A All-Conference honors. He also totaled 489 rushing yards on 56 carries with seven touchdowns through three varsity seasons.

“He’s the third-highest high school commit for UMass,” Brown said. “Obviously he’s a very, very good player. You know, a talented guy for sure. I think he brings us immediate speed and quickness. With Simpson, and some of the new guys that are coming along here, I mean, I just feel really good about the entire group that we have at receiver.”

AJ Hairston | QB | Pompano Beach, Florida | 6’3” | 215 lbs.

The Minutemen try to bring in a freshman quarterback each year, and they got a good one in Hairston. The three-star recruit out of Monarch High School won the 2023 Sun Sentinel and 2023 Broward County Player of the Year awards as a senior, throwing for 2,571 passing yards on 118 completions and 22 touchdowns.

Hairston is the definition of a dual-threat, and at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, his size proves him to be a tough tackle. He rushed for 769 yards on 113 carries with 14 touchdowns in his career. He should compete with Ahmad Haston for the backup job over the summer.

“Dual-threat guy, a guy that can really run as well,” Brown said. “We try to sign a freshman [quarterback] each year, and obviously we think we got a good one there.”

Ludovic Martin | TE | Montreal, Quebec | 6’5’ | 230 lbs.

Martin has a huge frame and soft hands coming out of Clearwater Academy in Canada. The big tight end should help fill the gap Gino Campiotti is leaving at the position.

His size and strength helps him in blocking schemes as well, which makes him easy to hide on the offensive line. Martin grabbed 28 catches for 381 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games.

“He’s got real good abilities. We’re excited of what this guy can bring to our offense,” Brown said. “A good pass catcher from the tight end position. Those guys are hard to find. So we’re excited about that piece as well.”

Kenyon Massey | WR | Newark, New Jersey | 5’10” | 185 lbs.

Between Dia-Johnson and now Massey, UMass did a great job addressing the holes at wide receiver following the departure of George Johnson III, Christian Wells, and Shawn Harris.

Massey has incredible speed, and the three-star recruit is ranked in the top 50 in New Jersey. He tallied over 2,000 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns on 131 receptions during his career, good for over 15 yards per catch. His big-play threat extends to special teams as well, where he was his high school’s kick returner at Paramus Catholic.

“Kenyon is a really polished receiver,” Brown said. “He’s totaled 2,006 receiving yards in his career, so no stranger to the ball. He’s a guy you want to get the ball in his hands for sure.”

Brock Taylor | OL | Hanover, Virginia | 6’3” | 280 lbs.

Taylor is the exact type of lineman UMass was looking for. An On3 and 247Sports three-star recruit, Taylor played on both the Atlee High School’s offensive and defensive line, where he became a top 50 player in Virginia.

The Minutemen’s interior offensive line struggled at times during the season, so Brown is going to have Taylor stick to the offensive side and play one of the two guard positions.

“He’s a block. He’s a top 50 player in Virginia, four-year varsity player,” Brown said. “He’s thick, strong, has great leverage, and he loves to finish [his blocks]. Those guys are hard to find, so we’re excited we got one.”

Defense

Brahim Wynn | DE | Camden, New Jersey | 6’3” | 235 lbs.

Don Brown loves his pass rushers, and he feels he landed a gem in Brahim Wynn. The New Jersey native is a three-star recruit out of Timber Creek High School, and checks in at No. 35 in On3’s state rankings.

Wynn posted 11 sacks in his senior season, as well as tallied 56 tackles and two forced fumbles. Wynn recovered both of those fumbles, even returning one all the way back for a touchdown. He spent time at outside linebacker before making the switch to edge rusher.

“I’m going to lean to this guy, and I’m excited about what he brings to the table from a pass rush ability, without question,” Brown said. “Great competitor, and he loves the havoc.”

Jadrian Gibbs| VIPER | Hugo, Oklahoma | 6’0” | 200 lbs.

Along with Brown loving his pass rushers, he also has a soft spot for the viper position, a player who can do a little bit of everything. And that’s what Gibbs brings to the table.

Gibbs is the lone junior college recruit out of the 10 signees on Early Signing Day. 247Sports lists Gibbs as a three-star recruit, coming over from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M where he totaled 20 tackles, including two for loss and a sack. He also blocked a kick.

“We think this guy has all the attributes that we look for in the Viper,” Brown said. “You know, he’s agile, he can rush the passer, he can drop into coverage, he can defend the run game. So this is a guy that we’ll expect a lot from. The versatility that you have at the Viper position is a huge deal.”

Keith Sarkodieh | DB | Worcester| 6’2” | 190 lbs.

It’s clear UMass is going to add to its secondary through the transfer portal, but the Minutemen did land an in-state defensive back who lives 10 minutes from where Don Brown was born.

Keith Sarkodieh has great size for a defensive back at 6-foot-2, and the Worcester Academy senior posted 31 tackles and two interceptions in 11 games. He also was an offensive threat, grabbing 33 receptions for 682 yards and 11 scores in the same amount of games.

“He played all varsity games both ways,” Brown said. “He has outstanding coverage ability. Could play corner, could play safety. So we’re kind of excited about him because we can plug him into any one of the four positions, and [he] has outstanding position flexibility.”

Minutemen earn All-Independent Team honors

Ten UMass football players were named to Phil Steele’s 2023 Postseason Independent All-Conference Teams.

First Team

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams (RB), Anthony Simpson (WR), Cole Garcia (OG), Billy Wooden (DT)

Second Team

Gino Campiotti (TE), Josh Atwood (C), JB Brown (DE), Tyler Rudolph (S), Greg Desrosiers Jr. (KR), Ethan Dumont (LS)