By MATT VAUTOUR
AMHERST — Ross Comis wasn’t at full strength yet, but UMass coach Mark Whipple said the sophomore quarterback increased his practice load Tuesday.
“He did a little more than he did last week,” Whipple said. “He threw, not any deep balls, but he was better.”
Whether Comis recovers quickly enough to compete to start this weekend against Mississippi State remains to be seen. Sophomore Andrew Ford started in his place against FIU last weekend.
“We’ll just see where he’s at as the week goes,” said Whipple, who added Comis needed to be healthier just to be considered. “If we were going (Tuesday) we would (start Ford).”
EXPANDING ROLE FOR ROBINSON-WOODGETT — Senior fullback John Robinson-Woodgett, a converted linebacker, had just one career carry before Saturday. But he carried it five times for 28 yards in the final drive.
At 6-foot-1, 247 pounds he offers a bigger alternative to Marquis Young (6-0, 196 pounds) and Sekai Lindsay (5-8, 215).
Whipple liked Robinson-Woodgett in the late-game clock-killing role.
“We knew in camp when he’d done some things that way. We just hadn’t been ahead,” Whipple said. “John’s a bigger guy so he gives us a bit of a different dimension.”
KICKING — Whipple, who has had a short leash with kickers at times in the past, said Mike Caggiano’s 30-yard field goal miss late in Saturday’s win over FIU doesn’t change the depth chart.
“It was just one miss,” Whipple said. “He was really good (in practice) today. He’s been good all the way through. He got great support from the team and he had probably his best day today.”
UNFRIENDLY SCHEDULE — When he realized his team’s game against UMass was followed by a bye, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, a New Hampshire native and fan of Boston sports teams, would have considered staying an extra day to see a game. He was disappointed when he checked schedules.
The Patriots are at home this week, but the game is on Thursday instead of Sunday and the Red Sox are on the road at Tampa Bay.
“If the Red Sox were in town I might have tried to catch a Sox game and try to see Big Papi one more time,” Mullen said at his weekly press conference Monday.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage