(S25) - PT 3 - Early Decisions

[CLG Rampage]

Hanyadi played football his entire time in high school after a switch from baseball. Coming out of Excel High, Hanyadi was a decent prospect, but nothing too special. He was undersized, didn't really have that killer top speed, didn't have that much power and lacked lateral agility. While he had an incredible career at Excel, he wasn't playing against great competition like some players in the southern US, for example. His average rating as a prospect was around 3.3 out of 5, with most outlets having him as a 3-star recruit. He garnered interest from some larger schools, but decided to go to the University of Massachusetts, both because the school offered a full ride scholarship and it was closer to home, something he cared about in order to stay close to his ailing father.

Starting at UMass, Hanyadi was right at the bottom of the depth chart, being the 5th string running back. This would be the case for most of his freshman season, up until the 7th game of the season. Three of the running backs on the roster ended up transferring, and the other guy ahead of him had a minor wrist injury, which meant Hanyadi got to start the first game of his college career. He steamrolled over the BYU Panthers with a 221 yard, 3 touchdown performance, and the rest was history. Hanyadi would still be 2nd string for the rest of his freshman season, but he would start every single game for the Minutemen after the end of his first season with the team.