AMHERST — UMass wrapped up its 15 spring practices on Saturday with a wet exhibition that was a combination of a scrimmage and practice.
It was the first time many fans had a chance to watch the Minutemen under Walt Bell in his first year as a head coach. Throughout the spring several key themes continued to emerge about the program and the direction it is headed under Bell’s leadership.
Here are the four major takeaways from the spring as UMass transitions into the summer and prepares for training camp in three months.
CULTURE SHIFT — There is a different energy surrounding the program, which is to be expected when there’s a coaching change. The coaches want to make their mark on the program and sometimes are overexuberant in installing their systems. Meanwhile, the players feel like they have a fresh slate to impress and are working extra hard to earn playing time this upcoming season.
Yet the changing dynamic at UMass is more extreme than the typical transformations that occur during a coaching switch. There is a sense of optimism that can be felt in and around practice and a new belief that there are brighter days ahead for the Minutemen. That is not a knock on Mark Whipple and the way he ran the program, but a commentary on how well Bell and strength coach Matt Shadeed have infused their ideas into the fabric of the new team.
The players have embraced and taken on Bell’s personality, and it has resulted in a new edge in all facets of the team from the weight room to the classroom. Everyone is holding each other accountable and the team chemistry has improved as a result.
SPEED IT UP — Any fans trying to use the new bathrooms at McGuirk Alumni Stadium when UMass has the ball is running the risk of missing the Minutemen’s possession. The offense ran at a good pace last season and was in the middle of the pack nationally in terms of plays per game, but that’s a snail’s pace compared to the tempo the Minutemen will have this year.
UMass should be near the top of the country in offensive tempo in 2019 thanks to the quick-paced play calls Bell utilizes. There won’t be much time from when the ball is marked ready for play and when the quarterback is starting his cadence and catching the snap. Whatever was seen at practice was probably still a step or two slower than the speed the Minutemen will play with on game day, but practices were still quicker than most teams last season.
The system puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback and skill position players to be on the same page because one miscommunication can result in a negative play. If the quarterback is expecting one route and the receiver is running a different one, there isn’t much time for the quarterback to adjust to the actual route being run, especially if the receiver is the first read. It’s a quick-strike offense that depends on timing and rhythm, two things that depend a lot on communication and building trust with the other 10 players on the field.
DEPTH AN ISSUE — The very fact UMass didn’t hold a traditional spring game is proof enough that Bell needs healthy bodies more than anything else. The reinforcements are coming when the freshmen and other late additions to the roster arrive this summer, but it was a skeleton crew to begin with this spring.
Even if everyone was healthy enough to practice, UMass still isn’t particularly deep at important positions like the offensive line and running back to absorb one or two injuries. The only groups with enough players seem to be the quarterbacks and receivers with every other position room in some need of help to boost their numbers.
It will be a gradual process as Bell recruits his type of player and builds the roster with those guys. In the meantime, though, the Minutemen have little margin for error on the injury front before lineups start to get interesting in Amherst.
DEFENSE IS ALRIGHT — After losing so many critical pieces of last year’s defense, there were rightfully questions about the talent the Minutemen had on that side of the ball. The addition of Penn State transfer Jarvis Miller helped, but it did little to ease concerns about how UMass was going to replace seven starters on that side of the ball.
There won’t be one player who is ready to step into the shining role, but the younger players on the roster showed a lot of promise with their play during the spring practices. The Minutemen have a lot of versatile players who can both line up with a hand in the ground as a defensive end or stand up near the line of scrimmage as a edge rusher or outside linebacker. The bevy of redshirt freshmen cornerbacks held their own when healthy against a talented group of wide receivers.
The results might not be pretty and the defense might not be dominant, but the personnel fits the scheme new defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is installing. The Minutemen are fast, athletic and strong enough to fly to the ball and deep enough at the right spots that there can be enough substitutions to keep the energy high and legs fresh.