AMHERST — If everything had gone to plan, Samuel Emilus likely would have never played this season.
The freshman from Montreal arrived late to UMass’ preseason camp due to paperwork issues related to his NCAA eligibility and student visa. He was stuck on the depth chart behind several other talented receivers who already had a grasp of the offense. The redshirt year would also allow Emilus to acclimate to life as a student-athlete at an American college.
But as soon as Emilus arrived in Amherst, he was determined to find a way to make an impact.
“Coming in a little late, he was behind a lot,” wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson said. “Me and him had to put in numerous hours to get him caught up, but that says a lot about him wanting to learn and wanting to do the correct things to speed up the process and get on the field. We set a time to come in each and every day to go over the install from Day 1 up until we started game planning.”
The biggest obstacle Emilus had to overcome upon his arrival was learning the lingo of coach Mark Whipple’s pro-style system. When he was playing in Canada, Emilus said, most plays were two or three words, but Whipple’s plays are much longer because it conveys more information.
“The languages of the plays is really different and professional style,” Emilus said. “It’s the whole formation, protection and the passing or running play, so it can be eight or nine words for one play. Right now, I’m comfortable with all my plays. It was difficult at the beginning because it was a new language, but now I (understand) the basic stuff, so it’s just clicking.”
Clicking might be an understatement given Emilus’ production this season. He earned his first career start last week against Coastal Carolina, two games after making his first appearance for the Minutemen against Ohio. He made two catches for 18 yards against the Chanticleers, but was held out of the end zone for the first time in his UMass career.
It was his first career touchdown, though, that provided a glimpse into his potential. In the middle of the fourth quarter against Ohio, quarterback Andrew Ford floated a pass to the left corner of the end zone in Emilus’ direction. The freshman stopped his route and outmuscled his defender to catch the ball, making the play look more routine than it actually was.
“You kind of saw it in that first game against Ohio, if there’s a 50-50 ball in the end zone, Sam likes to tell me when he comes into the huddle that those aren’t 50-50 balls but more like 70-30 or 80-20,” Ford said last week. “He’s saying the right things to me, trying to get more balls his way, but he’s right where he has the ability to make plays in the air, and if the ball’s not perfect, he’s still going to come down with it.”
Those are the types of plays Emilus said he prides himself on making and exactly what he has provided UMass this season. Of his seven catches on the season, Emilus has caught two touchdowns and four that converted a first down, including a 19-yard, fourth-down grab.
As UMass (2-6) prepares itself to face UConn (1-6) at noon Saturday in East Hartford, Connecticut, Emilus is the type of player who can help bring a lift to the Minutemen’s offense. His 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame provides the complement to Andy Isabella’s quickness and deep-play ability while also giving UMass a red-zone threat if it wants to throw in tight situations.
“You never know until someone gets here what type of football acumen they have, but Sam’s a smart player and he doesn’t make mistakes,” Whipple said last week. “We could see that early, so we got him out there. He certainly has some natural ability, we wouldn’t have recruited him if he didn’t, but he has some kick returning skills and he’s very quarterback friendly. He runs good routes and catches the ball well. I think you’ll see as time goes, his role expand a little bit.”
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.