By MATT VAUTOUR
AMHERST — It won’t take Blake Lucas faltering for Logan Laurent to have a shot at place kicking this season.
Laurent took over the starting job from Lucas each of the last two seasons. Lucas has graduated and Laurent is hoping to kick wire-to-wire.
He and sophomore Mike Caggiano are competing for the starting job in camp.
“Camp has been awesome. I want to do everything I can to help the team win,” said Laurent, who replaced Lucas seven games into the 2014 season and four games into 2015. Laurent was 8 for 12 on field goals with a long of 48 yards and was a perfect 25 of 25 on extra points. Whipple put the former walk-on on scholarship during the offseason.
Laurent’s taking nothing for granted.
“The level of competition amongst the kickers has done nothing but gone up. Competition makes us all better,” he said. “The best guy is going to kick. Everybody has a shot. Nothing is given.”
Caggiano, who was 1 for 1 on field goals and 3 for 3 on extra points in limited duty last year, is Laurent’s top challenger.
“It’s been good. I have one year under my belt. I know what to expect and how to take care of my body,” Caggiano said. “I’ve definitely improved a lot. I can see difference in the flight of my ball and the length. I’m a lot more confident.”
Laurent praised Caggiano.
“Mike has done a fantastic job. He’s an unbelievable kicker. I’m extremely confident in both his field goals and his kickoff ability and he’s actually doing great in punting,” he said. “He’s a great kicker. He makes me better and I make him better.”
UMass coach Mark Whipple was pleased with both kickers.
“Both Logan and Mike have been really good. The other young guys are getting better,” he said. “They’ve both made pressure kicks (in practice).”
Andrew Libby, who has played fullback and tailback, is set to be the starting holder.
GREYSHIRTS ETC. — Whipple clarified the status of a handful of players who signed on signing day but aren’t listed on UMass’ roster.
Wide receiver Patrick Volcy and defensive back Antoine Webster, who are both from Florida, are expected to enroll at UMass in the spring as greyshirts, which will allow them to participate in spring practice, but their five-year athletic clock won’t begin until fall 2017.
Tyler Thompson, a running back from New Jersey, and T.J. Rayam, a defensive lineman from Alabama, are in prep school. They could matriculate at UMass next fall, but enrolling in prep school negates the binding power of a letter of intent, allowing either the player or UMass to reconsider.
Infinite Tucker, a receiver from Huntington, New York, has decided to run track instead of playing football and will do so elsewhere.
FLORIDA SUSPENSIONS — Whomever emerges as UMass’ No. 1 receiver won’t face perhaps the nation’s No. 1 cornerback on Sept. 3 at Florida.
Gator junior Teez Tabor, who went by Jalen last year, is the nation’s top corner according to NFLDraftScout.com. He and tight end C’yontai Lewis were both suspended for the game by Florida.
“Both C’yontai and Jalen will not be involved with the team or practice due to behavior that is not acceptable,” Florida coach Jim McElwain said in a statement. “By no means are these bad guys and yet consequences have been handed down. We will not look the other way when it comes to breaking of team policies. I want to echo what I said earlier: These are both fine young men who will learn and be stronger from their actions. They will also be suspended for the first game. There are life lessons in everything we do. We will be better because of it and no one person is bigger than the Florida Gators.”
Tabor commented on the suspension on Twitter:
“Scuffles happen in football all the time , just didn’t kno you could get suspended for it lol” and later added — “I accept my punishment.”
Tabor had four interceptions and returned two for touchdowns last year and Lewis had four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns in 2015.
ALUMNI IN ACTION — Two of the three members of the 2015 Minutemen who are on NFL preseason rosters will be in action Thursday. Marken Michel and the Minnesota Vikings play at Seattle at 10 p.m. (NFL Network).
Randall Jette and the Green Bay Packers host the Oakland Raiders at 8 p.m., but the game will be replayed at 1 a.m. Friday (NFL Network).
Tajae Sharpe, who is in contention to start for the Tennessee Titans, plays Saturday at 3 p.m. against Carolina.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage