June 5, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Former Michigan running back Michael Cox and Notre Dame nose tackle Hafis Williams have officially joined the UMass football program as announced on Tuesday. The pair will be graduate students at UMass and are eligible to play immediately in 2012. Both players redshirted the 2008 season and earned their undergraduate degrees this past spring.

"Both Hafis and Mike can make an immediate impact on our program, not only on the field, but in the locker room," said head football coach Charley Molnar. "They were both highly recruited coming out of high school, played for a pair of tremendous institutions and are looking to further both the educations and their football careers here. One of the big factors for them in choosing UMass outside of their graduate programs was the challenge of our schedule next year which was something they wanted to embrace"

Cox, a native of Dorchester, Mass., played in 15 games during his three year career with the Wolverines. He rushed for 169 yards on 19 carries (8.9 per rush) and scored a pair of touchdowns. As a redshirt junior in 2011, he played mostly on special teams. In 2010, he had 56 yards on six carries against Bowling Green. His best career game came as a redshirt freshman when he rushed for 113 yards on 13 carries with a pair of touchdowns against Delaware State.

A four-star prospect, Cox (6-foot-1, 214 lbs) rushed for 2,400 yards in three seasons at Avon Old Farms. He rushed for 1,000 yards with 16 touchdowns as a junior but missed the bulk of his senior season due to an injury.

A native of Elizabeth, N.J., Williams (6-foot-1, 295 lbs) played in a total of 24 games in the past three years at Notre Dame. In five games last season he totaled eight tackles including 1.5 for loss. In 2010, he played in a career-high 13 games finishing the year with 11 tackles.

Prior to his career at Notre Dame, Williams earned first-team New Jersey all-state honors as an offensive lineman at Elizabeth High School. He was a four-year starter on defense as well making 78 tackles as a senior. He was the 9th-rated player in New Jersey as a senior in 2007 and the 35th-best defensive tackle in the nation.