Despite the shroud of uncertainty around the possibility of playing college football, UMass held its first official practice on Wednesday. Head coach Walter Bell and Athletic Director Ryan Bamford also held their first press conference of the young season shortly after.
The week of practice comes amidst a slew of cancellations and conference announcements that will have a direct impact on the 2020 Minutemen campaign.
On Wednesday morning, the University of Connecticut announced that its football team would forgo the 2020 season. The Minutemen were scheduled to open their season against the Huskies on Sept. 3.
The cancellation marks the third game that has been taken off the schedule for UMass, with previous cancellations from Albany and Auburn. As of now, the Minutemen are scheduled to play nine games in the fall.
But, despite the news of the past couple weeks, both Bell and Bamford feel reason to be confident that UMass will play in some capacity.
“We have a good feeling that there’s a mutual interest in playing football games,” Bamford said of UMass’ remaining opponents. “The million dollar question is what the public health environment is going to look like moving forward. But right now, on August 5th, we feel like our first opponent will be Troy and then two weeks later we’ll play App State.”
“We’re going to prepare until they tell us not to,” Bell added.
UMass brought in a full roster back to campus for off-season training, with only one player opting out — a decision Bell and the entire team supported. Since then, safety protocols have been rigid as the team practices in Amherst.
“Just getting in the building is like getting in Fort Knox,” Bell said.
Players are screened for their temperature and administered a pulse oximeter test before entering the practice facility. From there, players sanitize from fingertip to elbow. Masks are required at all times inside the building, even when not within 6 feet of another person.
All football equipment is disinfected and sanitized after each use. The same entry processes for the practice facility are employed before players are allowed on the practice field. Coaches wear gloves and face shields on the field.
So far, the measures have been extremely effective for the team. Through this week, UMass has had only one positive COVID-19 test out of 488 conducted, a 0.2% positivity rate. The lone positive test was conducted upon arrival, and the student immediately quarantined and has since recovered.
With the success both UMass and the commonwealth have had in combating the virus, the Minutemen may be an attractive destination for teams that want to replace canceled games. Bamford acknowledged that these discussions have been happening, but will depend on announcements from all of the conferences.
“I have taken a number of calls for September, October, and November dates that we have open,” Bamford said. “I’ve put a couple things in pencil … but there’s some decisions coming from other Group of 5 conferences, and we’re waiting to see what those are before we put replacement games in place.”
For now, the team is focused on the schedule in front of it. Even though the team can only perform non-contact drills, Bell loves what he’s seen from his roster so far.
“There’s still plenty of football you can learn while having limited team reps,” Bell said. “There’s plenty of growth you can make as a team, especially with so much of the game being mental … With the 12 OTAs we were able to hold beforehand, we’re feeling really prepared.”
Even though UMass finished 1-11 last year, Bell can feel the tides changing for the team. Despite the difficulties of preparing for a season amidst a pandemic, he believes the team is in as good a shape as it ever has been.
“Every measure outside of wins and losses in the last 17 month is a hockey stick,” Bell said. “From what we’ve fundraised, to what we’ve invested in our players, to academics, to strength and conditioning … I’ve got a really good feeling about this group, and I hope we get the chance to play so we can go out and demonstrate that.”
As the schedule stands today, the Minutemen are set to kickoff against Troy Sept. 12.