AMHERST — It doesn’t feel like UMass football practice has truly started until ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” begins blasting through McGuirk Alumni Stadium’s speakers. And it definitely doesn’t feel like a Don Brown practice without the classic hit, either.

There may be about an hour of work being put in beforehand, but once Brown’s staple practice session takes place, an entirely different energy percolates through the team.

“That’s why we play the ACDC music, because it gets them going, and it gets me going, too,” Brown said with a smile after Monday’s practice. “Yup, it gets me going, too. It’s awesome stuff.”

Brown has been running “Thunderstruck,” which lasts about 10 minutes (enough for the song to play twice through), since his time at Michigan. His five years there and one season with Arizona saw countless “Thunderstruck” drills, although it wasn’t called that and there wasn’t a set song attached to it back then. It proved to be quite effective.

Thus, he brought it to Amherst.

He revamped the look and feel of the drill when he returned to UMass in 2022. The purpose is to prepare the defense to face up-tempo, high-octane offenses that don’t like to take their foot off the gas. That’s quite common in today’s college football.

So, the third-year head coach in his second stint with the Minutemen tells offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery and his unit to run their plays as quickly as they can. There’s no stopping to huddle, to substitute or to look over to the sideline for signals from the coaching staff.

It’s just go, go, go.

“We tell the offense to go as fast as they possibly can in no-huddle mechanics,” Brown said. “I don’t change a thing package-wise [on defense], we just let it rip. My point is, if you can line up to the offense when they’re going as fast as they can... and successfully do that, it’s gonna help you during the regular season, for sure.”

Brown believes it’s vital to have one consistent drill at practice. And “Thunderstruck” is perfect, because it splits the practice in two. The session is also something both sides of the ball look forward to, and it most definitely is a tone-setter every single day.

When the music comes on, players sprint to their respective sidelines – one for offense, one for defense – and immediately focus in on winning their matchups. There isn’t a points system that comes with “Thunderstruck,” but each side knows who won or lost based on how efficient (or not) the ball moves down the field.

“I think it’s a good way to start the whole day, for real,” fifth-year senior defensive back Te’Rai Powell said.

Prior to “Thunderstruck,” UMass is split into its position groups, working on drills tailored toward each unit. After “Thunderstruck,” the Minutemen get into 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 scenario-based scrimmaging. Everything post-“Thunderstruck” is turned up a notch.

With UMass fielding a package-heavy defense, certain players fitting to each package, they have to stay on the field for extended periods of times while offenses go no-huddle. That’s why Brown finds it essential they practice this way, knowing it will translate to games against fast-paced teams. The Minutemen have three SEC teams on the 2024 slate.

“For us, it’s so important because we’re a package defense,” Brown said. “This is the 11 that are on the field, and that’s it. So you gotta be [flying around] when they’re going 100 miles an hour. When you do that, the positive falls toward us.”

“Just getting used to hurry up offenses from our point-of-view, it’s a good drill to go through because in a game scenario, a lot of offenses run hurry-up offense,” Powell added. “So to get those reps in during practice, it makes it easier for the game.”

Another plus is the friendly competition it creates across the roster. Players are constantly chirping at the opposite unit, jumping around on the sidelines and encouraging each other while the players on the field buzz around full-speed. The “give-and-take” aspect is Brown’s favorite part, because both sides have their bright spots.

As the regular season opener against Eastern Michigan continues to approach — now less than three weeks away on Aug. 31 — Brown and the rest of the Minutemen are looking forward to many more “Thunderstruck” sessions.