AMHERST — Senior Jake Largay has one phrase branded into his mind from a former coach of his: “If you’re thinking, you’re stinking.”
At the time, it was directed at Largay when he was playing on the defensive line in high school. But it is just as applicable to the UMass redshirt senior now that he’s on the other side of the trenches.
The Minutemen struggled to consistently protect their quarterbacks last season, allowing 46 sacks in 12 games, tied for the second worst rate in the country. Largay said he felt there was too much thinking last season which has been eliminated by having a full year of experience.
“It’s more (center) Derek (Dumais) knows the playbook better,” Largay said. “As soon as we get up to the line, he’s calling out the play and knows exactly what we’re doing. And the rest of us do as well, everybody is just flowing with it more and it just clicks.
“You just get up there, you hear the play and you do it. None of us really have to think about it anymore, it’s just nice and fluid.”
Most of the damage against the UMass offensive line came in the first five games of last season when teams sacked quarterbacks Andrew Ford and Ross Comis a combined 30 times. That stretch included UMass’ worst offensive game of the season, a 17-7 loss to Old Dominion in which the Monarchs sacked Ford eight times.
The experience paid off, however, in the second half of the season and keyed UMass’ strong finish. The Minutemen averaged 37.5 points per game and won four times over the final seven games, aided in large part because Ford was sacked two times or less five times during that span.
Offensive line coach Mike Foley said the unit has taken another jump this offseason that should help solidify the pass protection even more.
“We’ve spent a lot of time on pass protection and blitz pickup with walkthroughs and film sessions,” Foley said. “A lot of that has to do with their chemistry, a combination of them knowing each other and seeing the blitz. Having been on the field together, they’re seeing it really, really well.”
Foley has also refined a lot of technique this offseason to help make the offensive line faster off the snap. Larnel Coleman, who will start at right tackle in Saturday’s opener against Duquesne, said he’s noticed the emphasis the third-year coach has put on making sure the quarterback is safe in the pocket.
“(Foley) has really helped us individually and as a group just working on footwork, our physicality and everything to make sure our quarterback is safe,” Coleman said.
The offensive line isn’t the only position that plays a large role in protecting the passer. The running backs and tight ends also have blocking assignments on many plays, and their breakdowns are just as costly.
“I think a big step in our pass protection game has been the running backs,” Ford said. “The running backs have taken a nice big step in understanding who their guys are and helping the linemen when they need it.”
Pass protection was on the forefront of senior running back Marquis Young’s mind for most of the offseason. He said he’s watched a lot more film to familiarize himself with UMass’ opponents and learn their blitzing schemes. He compared it to poker in terms of studying the opposing unit in order to discover the players who will telegraph what each defender is doing.
He said he views the urgency of pass protection like shielding an important family member from danger.
“You don’t want nobody to hurt your mom or your sister, you’re going to be very overprotective of them,” Young said. “I think it was a big deal for me this summer, going over that, watching film and studying to make sure that we don’t lead the country in sacks and trying to make sure I keep them safe until the end of the season.”
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.