AMHERST — If anyone on the UMass football roster is familiar with first days, it’s Bryton Barr.
The middle linebacker hit the field for his seventh — and final — first day of training camp as a college football player Sunday as the Minutemen began fall camp. After all these years, Barr said he is thankful he still has a chance to play the sport, especially after missing almost every game for Towson between 2013-15.
“It’s finally my last Day 1 in college,” Barr said. “It’s a good feeling, bittersweet, but I’m just excited to be out here. I thank God every day for giving me another opportunity with this.”
For other veterans like redshirt senior quarterback Andrew Ford, the return to the gridiron was a welcome change of pace before school resumes after Labor Day.
“Summer kind of drags on there toward the end, guys really want to get camp going and get the season rolling,” Ford said. “For us older guys, finally getting out on the field was good, nothing too crazy for the first day, but being out here with the guys and flying around on the field is always fun.”
Like every team across the country, there were plenty of mistakes on opening day, but most of those miscues were teachable mistakes. Where Barr and Ford both said the Minutemen shined on the first day were the intangibles — lining up in the correct spots, hustling every rep and maintaining the proper focus.
Those are attributes that Barr said hurt the team last year in some of the close games UMass played at the end of last season when it finished 4-8. He said setting the tone early in the preseason about the importance of hustle will make a difference this year.
“Everyone was hustling to the ball,” Barr said. “Last year, we had some guys that were slacking a little bit, and it showed up on the field and it hurt us coming down in those close games. Day 1, practicing running to the ball and hustling, it’s going to pay off in the end.”
Coach Mark Whipple said he was pleased with the first day of practice as a whole. He complimented the defense’s ability to create turnovers during the 11-on-11 portions of practice but still was disappointed the unit dropped a few more potential takeaways.
Overall, he said the Minutemen had more spirited competition than in years past, a credit he said to UMass’ ever-improving depth that is starting to show itself on the field.
“I think we have a deeper football team,” Whipple said. “Our twos look pretty legit, although I might not say that after I look at the film, and we’ve got thirds who can function, which we haven’t had.”
That depth will come in handy on defense, where UMass is trying to replace five starters, including three defensive linemen. Barr said he was impressed with the younger players on the opening day, especially their mentality when things didn’t go well for them.
He said he was excited about the unit’s potential as everyone gains more repetitions in the coming weeks before the Aug. 25 opener against Duquesne at home.
“They have a little bit to work on with the playbook, but if they mess up, they just put their head down and just run,” Barr said. “Once they start to understand the playbook a little better, they’re going to be a dangerous group and will make an impact as sophomores, junior and seniors.”
With a little less than four weeks left until the first game, Ford said it is important to utilize each practice to the maximum. He said it is vital the Minutemen build off the first day when they hit the field again Tuesday and continue to chip away at the larger goals the team set almost seven months ago.
“We’ve had our goals set since we came back in our first meeting in January,” Ford said. “We’re just one more day closer to working toward those. For us, it’s not losing sight on what we can get better on today keeping that end goal in mind, but understanding the importance of each day and really attacking those days.”