AMHERST — Now that UMass has opened its preseason football camp, the race toward opening day is hurtling toward an end.
Although there are a few position groups where a clear hierarchy has emerged, there are still several other key position battles up for grab. Many of those battles will go a long way to determining the Minutemen’s fate this season, so here’s four important position battles to watch this summer:
RIGHT TACKLE — UMass returns four of its five starters along the offensive line, but the unit gave up 46 sacks in 12 games last year, which ranked second-to-last in the country ahead of Idaho. In theory, another year to gel as a unit should help improve that number and keep Andrew Ford or Ross Comis safer.
However, the Minutemen need to replace the starter at the most important spot on the line — right tackle. Jack Driscoll left after two productive years for Auburn, leaving a hole on Ford’s blindside. There are several options for coach Mark Whipple, most notably redshirt sophomore Larnel Coleman, who made one start at left tackle last season and is the only other UMass lineman with starting experience.
No matter who ends up winning the job, they will become the most vital member of the UMass offensive line. The Minutemen won’t win many games if Ford is continuously driven into the dirt when he drops back to pass.
DEFENSIVE LINE — The defensive front is one of the few places where UMass lacks significant game experience. The Minutemen return one starter and two prominent reserves to lead a young group that features 10 freshmen or sophomores.
Joe Previte is the closest to a guaranteed starter along the defensive line after making 16 starts over the last two seasons for UMass. The redshirt senior is versatile enough that Whipple could start him either at tackle or end, but he only made 25 tackles last year.
Leon Flanagan Jr. played in nine games last year — including starting against Coastal Carolina — and made 16 stops, including a sack. He also had an interception, quarterback hurry and pass breakup in 2017. Mario Patton is the other defensive lineman with extensive experience with 20 tackles in 23 games over the past two season.
TIGHT END — Tight end has been a position of strength for UMass in recent years. The Minutemen have sent two tight ends to the NFL in the past five years and Adam Breneman probably would have been a third if he wasn’t forced to retire due to a knee injury.
However, there is no clear successor to Breneman as a receiving threat with experienced tight ends Kyle Horn and Travis Reynolds both excelling as blockers. The duo have a combined 11 receptions in their careers for 111 yards, which could mean more four wide receiver sets for the Minutemen on passing downs.
One intriguing pass-catching option is sophomore Taylor Edwards, who flashed some good hands during the first practice Sunday. The question about the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder is whether his blocking can be good enough to be the type of three-down player Breneman was for the Minutemen.
KICKER — The good news for whoever ends up kicking field goals and extra points this season is that it won’t take much to satisfy fans. UMass’ issues at kicker are well-documented, although Logan Laurent’s 13-for-15 performance last season helped solidify the position.
The two early favorites to replace Laurent are juniors Mike Caggiano and Cooper Garcia after they split almost all the reps during the special teams portion of practice Sunday. Both looked solid on the opening day, but this competition might last well into the summer before Whipple chooses his opening-day starter.
It’s hard to find a good kicker in college, but the teams with consistent kicking are normally the ones who find themselves above .500 at the end of November. The only question we can’t answer this summer about the kicker is how they’ll do when linemen starting running at them during a game.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG.