Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

An open letter to the UMass community from Tajae Sharpe

(Judith Gibson-Okunieff/Daily Collegian)
(Judith Gibson-Okunieff/Daily Collegian)

To the UMass fans, community, my coaches and teammates,

Four short years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. I made the decision to join a UMass team and community that has given me so much in these four short years, and I’ll be forever grateful for my time here.

As I now begin to take the next step toward my future, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for making my UMass experience so special and memorable.

To Coach (Mark) Whipple and the rest of the coaching & training staff – thank you for believing in me and giving me the chance to compete in a game that I love. You’ve given me nothing but unwavering support and guidance during my time here. You’ve taught me lessons that I will carry with me through life, and you’ve helped mold me into the man and player I am today. For these things, I’m forever grateful.

To my teammates – it’s hard to put into words everything we’ve been through. We’ve shared blood, sweat and tears and fought day in and day out for this historic University. You pushed me to my limits and helped me achieve things I never thought possible. I’ll miss the daily grind with you all, and I look forward to enjoying the relationships we’ve built far beyond UMass.

To my professors, academic advisors and peers – off-field success allows me the ability to succeed on the field, and I’d like to thank you for helping me become both a better student and member of the Amherst community.

To the fans and UMass community – thank you all for your years of support.  You came from near and far to support this amazing program, and while we may not have achieved what we set out to do, your commitment and love for this team is resounding and something I know will be important to the future success of this team. Cheer on the future stars of this program like you did for my teammates and me, and continue your legacy of being some of the best fans in the country. I can’t express enough my gratitude for each and every one of you.

It was an honor to wear the maroon and white, and I will never forget my times at this amazing university.  Thank you all, and Go UMass.

From,

Tajae Sharpe, UMass wide receiver

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  • L

    Lucas CoughlinDec 10, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    Here’s hoping the pats draft you

    Reply
  • M

    Melissa RamsayDec 10, 2015 at 8:54 am

    He is a class act! It has been a pleasure to watch him play football these past four years. Wins/losses.. It didn’t matter, He always put 100% on that field every game! Good luck with your future endeavors. Hopefully NFL will be one of them!

    Reply