Snap Thoughts | UMass Defense
Quick impressions on UMass' defense coming out of a very limited sample size of two spring practices.
AMHERST, Mass. - On Tuesday, we’ll get to see the UMass Football team back in action as practice resumes after spring break, but before that happens, we wanted to offer our thoughts on what we saw from the defense during the first two practices, which were open to the media last week.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Coming into spring practice, Joshua Nobles was being talked about as one of the players who could make the biggest impact of any on the roster. None of those feelings have changed after a week of spring practice. There remains an equally strong belief that Nobles will be one of the best players on the squad regardless of position, but it’s interesting to note the shift in attitude among sources now that practice is under way.
At this point, sources on the inside want to see Nobles do it with the pads on. He was a standout during the first couple days of practice when players wore shorts and light shoulder pads, but those circumstances tend to favor the defensive line. Sources are eager to see what Nobles can do in full pads and will get just that chance this week.
But so far, the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder from Camden, N.J., who was at Jackson State last season following three years at Western Michigan, looks the part and checked all of the boxes he possibly could have last week. Nobles has also shown maturity and leadership with his motor and the way he works.
So far, so good for one of the players with the highest ceilings and the potential leader of the defensive line.
LINEBACKERS
There’s no shortage of leadership at linebacker either, where veteran Tyler Martin and transfer Timmy Hinspeter will be on the inside.
Head coach Joe Harasymiak and defensive coordinator Jared Keyte knew what to expect from Hinspeter, but the staff members who weren’t at Rutgers the last few years weren’t sure. A week in and everybody now understands why Harasymiak and Keyte were so keen on bringing Hinspeter to Amherst.
Basically, he’s what they said he was. He also has some alpha to him and will be a natural leader.
It sounds like Martin is making everybody happy with his size, athleticism and leadership. Martin and Hinspeter will make each other and - by extension - the entire defense better.
SECONDARY
If you remember, in our Snap Thoughts | Offense piece, we said we hoped to see wide receiver Tyree Kelly start creating more separation the rest of spring practice. The other side of that coin are the players who made it difficult for Kelly to do so during the first week, especially transfer corner TJ Magee.
He’s surprised many, including us, and looks like he could be a true gem coming over from Davidson. Magee has displayed superior coverage skills and real speed. He could be the lockdown corner that every defensive coordinator dreams off.
Coming into spring, we were high on Zeraun Daniels for reasons you can hear below.
After seeing the Georgetown transfer in action in person, we’re even higher on him now. He’s built like a high-level FBS safety and has the athleticism to match. He also has a certain bounce and swagger to him that should help him in the passing game, but it is obvious this kid is looking to get involved in the run game in a major way.
UMass clearly has playmakers at all three levels of the defense.
KICKERS
We didn’t get to see much punting during the first two days, but we saw plenty of kicking and it was essentially all very good. Now, people will rightly point out that kicking in a bubble in low pressure situations during spring practice doesn’t offer proof that somebody will be able to perform the same outdoors in high pressure situations in the Fall. The staff surely wants to see what the full operation looks like outdoors, but so far, they’ve passed every test we’ve seen them face.
Transfer kickers Derek Morris (Cal) and Marcus Lye (Northern Arizona) have both shown they can get good height and the ball jumps off their feet.
It’s early, but the Minutemen could be in a great position with this duo.
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