AMHERST — The UMass football team moved into the more contact-oriented part of the preseason in the last week. With the road opener against Rutgers fast approaching, the Minutemen are progressing as planned.
“I think we are right where we are supposed to be,” UMass coach Joe Harasymiak said. “We had a great first scrimmage. We got about…a little over 100 plays. We got what we needed to do there. We got some live tackling in.”
UMass now embarks on the part of camp in the juicy center, where some of the competition starts to intensify. The Minutemen also moved into more unscripted periods after their first scrimmage.
“We are kind of in the middle of the woods, per se,” Harasymiak said. “You start off camp and you’re excited, then you kind of get in the middle. Can’t see where you started and can’t see the finish. Now is the grind. The dog days of camp…you see it in the team periods. It’s getting a little chippy out there which is great. You want to see that.”
After practice on Monday, the focus shifted to a defense morphing into a more cohesive unit in the second season of Harasymiak’s 4-2-5 scheme. The defense disrupted the offense and created turnovers during practice.
“I think they are doing a great job,” Harasymiak said. ” They are really coming together. I think the second year in any system you kind of pick up your feet a little bit and go. But I think the connection is better.”
Harasymiak noted the improvement of the defensive line.
“We have the ability to get at the passer,” Harasymiak said. “You saw today, some tipped throws, some contested throws.”
Cornerback T.J. Magee had two interceptions in two-minute work on Monday.
“That’s a great day right there,” Magee said. “It definitely helps me a lot, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates. The d-line and the secondary, we all work together. If everybody does their job than everybody will be in position to make plays. You got to make the play anytime it comes to you.”
Magee is a 5-foot, 10-inch cornerback entering his senior season. He played in three games before an injury ended his season last year. Magee, who had a 57-yard kickoff return last year, mixes athleticism and football intelligence.
“I think one of my greatest traits is how intelligent I am and my athleticism,” Magee said. “I just try to use that in any way that I can. I can see a lot of things happen before they happen. I just try to communicate that to my teammates and just lead in the best way that I can whenever I am out on the field.”
Magee had to watch most of last season, but watching had its benefits.
“While I was injured, I spent a lot of time looking into the scheme and into the defense,” Magee said. “Not only just understanding my position but also other’s position to see how I can be more useful…I understand what everyone is doing, including myself.”
Coming off a winless season, Magee is not interested in prognostications and outside noise.
“We just focus on what’s between these four walls,” Magee said. “We control what we can control. I can’t control what everyone is saying on the outside. I really don’t know what they are saying, I don’t pay attention. I am just focused on this team and taking it day-by-day and having the best season we can.”
Quarterback William “Pop” Watson III took a brief rest during Monday’s practice, allowing the backups to get some repetitions. Ty McCutcheon (junior), Logan Inagawa (sophomore), Aedan McCarthy (freshman) and Will Perry (junior) are the other quarterbacks on the roster.
“We called it the bullpen day today,” Harasymiak said. “You know if the starter goes down who is going to step up and be the guy? More than likely at some point it’s going to happen.”
Elsewhere on offense is sophomore running back Elijah Faulkner, who’s shown some explosion during practice. T.K. Davis and Justin Lewis are two freshmen running backs to watch this season.
UMass has another scrimmage scheduled for Thursday, designed for some of the reserves to show what they can do in a game situation.
“That’s the favorite scrimmage for me,” Harasymiak said. “I get to go watch the twos and the threes go live and play. Those are the depth chart conversations you got to figure out, and you got to go do it.”
