AMHERST — They call themselves the “Captain” and the “General,” and their success will go a long way to determining the success of the UMass offense this season.
Last year, Ray Thomas-Ishman — the “General” — was the starting left tackle while Larnel Coleman — the “Captain” — was the starter on the opposite side. Now the two have combined forces to anchor the left side of the offensive line with Thomas-Ishman slipping inside to guard and Coleman switching sides at tackle.
Both came to UMass in 2016 and Thomas-Ishman played right away while Coleman redshirted. The bonds that were built over the last three years have been helpful in creating an offensive line that is in sync and devoted to the same goal.
“Me and him are on the same page, everything on the left side must get destroyed,” Thomas-Ishman said. “We’re two different people, but we know exactly how we think, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so that’s really great. When you don’t know that, you have to take each game slowly and you might not get good until the end of the year when it’s too late.”
The two are very different players on the field, even if both are known as maulers on the outside. Thomas-Ishman is one of the most intense players during a game — which has gotten him into trouble at times with the officials — while Coleman seems to be more even-keeled during games.
However, Thomas-Ishman’s passion is a source of fuel for the offensive line, Coleman said, and he commands a great amount of respect when he does speak to his teammates during a game.
“He’s a real aggressive player and it motivates me,” Coleman said. “I’ve got to match his energy and whatnot and it helps me get through the games. Say I do something wrong on the previous play, he’s like ‘Come on, come on, come on’ his energy is just very contagious, it gets everybody going. It’s very helpful and it’s very powerful, and that’s going to be a great motivator for us.”
The biggest sacrifice Thomas-Ishman had to make was to move to guard, although it may end up suiting his game better. His physicality suits the interior of the offensive line, and he said he had no qualms about moving to guard when the topic was broached during his meetings with coaches.
He said the shift to guard allows him to showcase just how tough offensive linemen actually are and put the defensive line in its place.
“You’re more in the action,” Thomas-Ishman said. “The defense, they always say that they’re more of a dog, but the O-line is more, we’re the real dogs, we just don’t get the recognition of it because we ain’t knocking off a quarterback’s head, so I like to throw their head in the dirt.”
STARTING FIVE — UMass has settled on a starting five on the offensive line.
Joining Coleman and Thomas-Ishman in the trenches will be center Jaylen Larry, right guard Mike Yerardi and right tackle Brian Abosi. Head coach Walt Bell said those five haven’t separated themselves from the pack much, but that he liked how the group was jelling during practice.
“I wouldn’t say they necessarily separated themselves,” Bell said. “That’s the most cohesive five right now. We plan on playing some more guys, we’ve got to continue build the program and build some experience.”
The group wasn’t surprising because they are the five most experienced with each entering at least their third year at UMass. But there was significant competition for the three spots alongside Coleman and Thomas-Ishman, which Larry said helped build on the chemistry that was already established between the group.
“It was built practice by practice,” Larry said. “It’s all about competing, there’s obviously great players at every position, so we kind of bonded through the struggle of every day practice.”
STAYING IN SHAPE — The biggest challenge for this offensive line is going to be keeping up with the rapid-fire tempo UMass will play with on offense.
The offensive line has worked extensively with strength coach Matt Shadeed on their conditioning and mobility to ensure they can execute the play calls in games. That is especially important with an offensive line that features three players 6-foot-5 or taller and just one listed at less than 300 pounds.
“I don’t get tired at all now,” Coleman said. “I’m able to push through whatever drills we may be doing just because we did so much during the summer, really pushing ourselves to the limit and then past that limit.”
With the physical demands of the offense so taxing on the offensive line, Bell said he plans to play eight or nine linemen per game to help spread out the wear and tear more. That should help UMass build some competitive depth behind the starting five, which will graduate two seniors at the end of the season.
The biggest adjustment for the linemen, though, might be mental. Thomas-Ishman said the speed with which players need to comprehend the play call has been the toughest thing he’s had to deal with this offseason.
“Basically getting the play down real quick because we’re only getting it once then the ball is getting snapped right then and there,” Thomas-Ishman said. “You ain’t got two seconds to even think ‘Oh, we’re going left,’ you ain’t got time to think twice about going left, you hear ‘Left, left, left’ then you need to go left. That was the biggest adjustment.”
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.