Snap Thoughts | UMass Offense
Quick impressions on UMass' offense coming out of a very limited sample size of two spring practices.
AMHERST, Mass. - We’ve watched two spring practices so far and those practices weren’t even in full pads.
Saying the UMass Football team is a long way from establishing an identity is a massive understatement. We haven’t seen a depth chart yet and to be honest, we aren’t even sure there is one to see.
That being said, we finally got a chance to see several new transfers along with a brand-new coaching staff in action for the first time on Monday and Wednesday and first impressions were certainly made…at least on us.
So, we figured we’d share those with you with the understanding that we’ve basically seen just two pieces of a pretty big puzzle.
QUARTERBACK
Joe Harasymiak wasn’t exaggerating at the start of the week when he called AJ Hairston’s arm talent “elite.” It really is. He needs to be a little more consistent, but that’s to be expected this early in the spring. And even that may be nit-picking. That being said, Hairston is relatively limited when it comes to making plays with his feet, a trait that has become increasingly valuable in today’s game. Still, while it helps, being a dynamic runner isn’t absolutely necessary to have success these days, Cam Ward proved that at Miami last season. Hairston isn’t quite Cam Ward at this point (few are), but even approaching Ward’s level could be effective enough, provided the pass-catchers hold up their end of the bargain. From purely a passing standpoint, it’d be difficult to be much more impressed with Hairston at this stage, but will that be enough?
On the other hand, Grant Jordan is pretty athletic even if he won’t ever be confused for Lamar Jackson. Jordan’s arm strength seems to be a bit stronger than some of the clips we saw from Yale led us to believe, although he has nowhere near the kind of hose Hairston does.
Setting aside Brandon Rose for the moment since he isn’t a full participant in spring practice at the moment, if we had to choose between Hairston and Jordan on such a tiny sample size, one thing we’d want to know is how many broken plays would we expect our quarterback to need to get us out of. When there’s a bad snap or busted protection or simply nobody open on a must-have third down, we’re going to want Jordan back there. But if we trust the other 10 guys to do their jobs at a relatively high level, the upside Hairston brings would be too great to ignore.
Of course, Rose looms large over this entire competition even as he’s mostly limited to spectator. It’s obvious he’s itching to get back on the field and participates in every way possible, sometimes throwing from a stationary position and the rest of the time serving as almost a deputy assistant coach. Rose blend the best of what Hairston and Jordan bring into one. He may very well possess the highest ceiling of the three, but coming in winning the starting quarterback job without the benefit of spring practice is difficult. Now, he’ll have the advantage of having so much familiarity with Mike Bajakian’s system from Utah, but we also have to see just how quickly he can get back to near 100 percent.
Harasymiak and Bajakian are going to have to make a decision eventually, but fortunately for them, they don’t have to do so right now and by the time they do need to make a choice, it could very well be much more obvious than it is today.
RUNNING BACK
CJ Hester’s last-minute entrance into the Transfer Portal was certainly a blow to the running back position, but the Minutemen still have capable backs in the room who will be asked to play bigger roles now.
UTSA transfer Rocko Griffin is so damn sudden it’s difficult to miss. He may be on the shorter side, but he’s well-put-together. The days of workhorse running backs are over - save the Ashton Jeantys of the world - but Griffin seems stout enough to handle any load given to him. Throughout the first two practices, his quickness and change of direction was on display, but he isn’t a jitterbug type who runs too East-West and not enough North-South. Griffin is always looking to get down the field and when the opportunity presents itself, he goes. He busted multiple inside runs for explosive plays and also proved to be a weapon out of the backfield in the passing game.
Brandon Campbell now becomes the most experienced returner. There’s a noticeable difference in the suddenness between Campbell and Griffin during individual drills, but when Campbell gets into the team portions of practice, that’s when his stronger traits shine. Campbell is a patient, balanced runner who never seems to be in a rush until he wants to be. He seems to be the one in control when he has the ball as he waits for his linemen to make their blocks and when things do open, he too showed the ability to break long runs.
Youngsters Godson Ofonagoro and Da’Marion Alberic are also potential sources of gamebreaking juice. Both had moments on Monday and Wednesday where they stuck out.
WIDE RECEIVER
Next to quarterback, receiver could be the most interesting position to watch on the offensive side of the ball this spring. With so many wideouts getting on the field in different personnel groupings, the depth chart won’t be as meaningful as quarterback, but seeing who emerges could be.|
USF receiver Tyree Kelly may be the best-looking player on the roster from a ‘Get Off The Bus’ standpoint. He’s every bit of the 6-foot-3, 205 pounds he’s listed at. He has such a physical presence, it’s impossible to miss him any time he’s on the field. He looked tremendous going through individual drills, showcasing speed, hands and athleticism to go with that frame. But we want to see him create more separation during the competitive periods of practice going against defensive backs. To be fair, there was more than one play when he had a step on his defender and the ball was either underthrown or went elsewhere. But looking at just the physical tools he possesses, you almost expect him to be a truly dominant receiver and we haven’t seen that, at least not yet.
Pitt transfer Jake McConnachie and Dallas Elliott are other bigger receivers who made multiple plays in the first two days and could prove to be dependable options and possibly more.
But the receiver who stuck out the most during the first two days was slot receiver T.Y. Harding. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder can go. He had multiple long touchdown grabs during the team session. He also showed the quickness to get open and catch balls underneath while also being a threat to beat defenses on corner routes and gos. He is a dynamic player who could be used in a number of facets to get the offense started.
O-LINE/TIGHT END
Much like the quarterback position waiting for Rose’s return, the offensive line groupings are unlikely to be finalized until the summer, when Kyle Brown and Michael Entwistle arrive from Dartmouth and Harvard respectively.
Two things jumped out to us through two practices, though. One, the emphasis this staff is putting on size, especially on the lines, is obvious and it will be even more pronounced when the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Brown and 6-foot-3, 295-pound Entwistle are added. Two, it looks like the Minutemen got themselves one helluva offensive line coach in Kurt Anderson. How they’ll hold up physically against the competition throughout the year remains to be seen, but after just a couple sessions, we’d be comfortable betting that UMass’ o-line will be one of the best coached units in the league this year.
We admittedly didn’t see a ton from tight ends Magnus Von Saldern and Owen Anderson, but not through any fault of their own. We spent much of our focus on other positions, but when we were watching the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Von Saldern and the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Anderson, they displayed reliable hands and certainly look to have the size capable of holding up in the run game.
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