AMHERST — Inside UMass tight ends coach Scott Woodward’s office is a four-point checklist written on a whiteboard that hangs next to his desk. The last item on that list simply reads: “Catch The Ball.”
Last season, Adam Breneman proved more than adept at hauling in passes from the tight end position. He reeled in 64 passes for 764 yards and four touchdowns, marks that made him the team’s second-leading receiver. But Breneman’s graduation left a hole that will be filled by a trio of tight ends who have a combined 11 career catches.
Junior Kyle Horn, who has taken most of the first-team reps this preseason, said he welcomes the opportunity to have more passes thrown in his direction.
“We’ve been looking really for catching and working on our hands because (Breneman) never dropped a ball, so we need to fill that,” Horn said. “All summer we’ve been using the jugs and working on our hands while getting ready for the season. It should be nice getting a few more targets every game.”
Woodward is in his first year as tight ends coach after working the previous three years in various offensive roles within the program. He also played quarterback for four years at UMass. He said he is using that experience to help the tight ends become better pass catchers.
In addition to the basic drills that focus on hand placement, locating the ball and running routes, Woodward said he works his tight ends — Horn, junior Travis Reynolds and sophomore Taylor Edwards — on more subtle aspects of the position. He said he’s taught his players how to read a defense and diagnose coverages to help them run better routes and give their quarterback a better window to throw the ball.
“I’m trying to teach them the nuisance of the pass game,” Woodward said. “The little things in reading the defense and the safeties, and how to run a route correctly and doing all that, and then obviously at the top of the route is catching the ball. We drill all the little things with catching the ball – getting your hands out in front and seeing it in with your eyes.”
The closest player UMass has to Breneman is likely Edwards, who looks the part at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds. The Wilmington, Delaware, native played mostly wide receiver in high school, but has added more than 40 pounds to his frame since arriving on campus to complete the switch to tight end.
The question about Edwards was always about his blocking and using his physicality better in the trenches, something he never had to do as a high school receiver. Through work with both Woodward and offensive line coach Mike Foley, Edwards said he has made drastic improvements in that aspect of his game.
“I’ve had some pretty good coaches in Coach Woodward and Coach Foley, they took me under their wing and helped me a lot,” Edwards said. “I always had the physicality, but just putting the feet there is what I needed and that’s what I got, so now I feel I’m a phenomenal player because of my blocking.”
In addition to his coaches, Edwards said he soaked up a lot of information by just being around Breneman and watching him operate for two years. He said he wants to use the lessons he learned from Breneman to help take him to the next level.
“I learned so much from him just by not even talking, but just my watching him every day at practice and his demeanor,” Edwards said. “I feel like what he taught me will help make me almost surpass him, and that’s what I’m working to do, to be better than him.”
Although Edwards’ goal is to eventually surpass his former teammate, Woodward said no one in the room expects to be as good as Breneman this season. He said he isn’t depending on any one person to match Breneman’s production or fill his shoes. Instead, he wants the tight ends to use their strengths and make a difference on the field in those aspects.
“They know that nobody in this room has any clout that can make them say they’re as good as Adam,” Woodward said. “They’re working hard as a group to be the best that they can be. I’m not trying to have somebody be an Adam Breneman, but just to play themselves and play to the best they can.”
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.