AMHERST — There is no sugarcoating the statistics against this version of the UMass defense.
Opponents have gained nearly 570 yards per game and scored 53 points per game against the Minutemen (1-9) this season. To many outside the program, there has been a lack of visible improvement on the field because the scorelines have gotten worse as the season has progressed. Yet there is progress being made on the UMass defense this season, it’s just the type that those not on the team can appreciate.
It’s the incremental progress of young defensive linemen staying on their blocks that much longer to free up the linebackers and safeties to potentially make plays. It’s the little signs of the younger secondary members sticking with their receiver a second or two longer and forcing the quarterback to hold the ball longer than he would prefer. Senior safety Martin Mangram said the freshmen and walk-ons populating the defense have improved since their first game, it’s just they might not have been physically prepared to play so often early in their careers.
“I definitely see the difference,” Mangram said. “Against Rutgers, we had more scholarship kids playing, and we were just messing up simple defense, knowing the schemes and everything. Now we have our (missed assignments) down, we know the defense and everything. We’re just playing with smaller guys that may not be ready to play yet, and they’re getting a lot of experience gaining toughness.”
The defense as a whole is gaining a lot of experience this season because the unit is on the field roughly nine minutes more per game than the offense. The total difference in time of possession sits at 86 minutes, 1 second this season, including two games this year where the defense was on the field for more than two-thirds of the 60-minute contest.
The extra wear and tear on the defense has likely contributed in some aspects to the plethora of injuries affecting that side of the ball. But even with a thin depth chart at certain critical positions, the Minutemen are still competing for 60 minutes each game and showing a little bit of fight through the adversity. Coach Walt Bell said last week’s 63-7 loss to Army featured the fewest mental mistakes of the season and credited his team for its effort level in recent games.
It’s that type of small progress that the players are seeing every week when they review game film. It’s not enough to prevent the explosive plays or keep teams off the scoreboard yet, but the right habits are forming within the unit.
“What we’re doing, we’re getting there,” junior linebacker Cole McCubrey said. “We might not have the people to do it now, we might not have everything together yet, but looking toward the future, we know the hard work we’re doing now is going to pay off. It’s exciting to get better at something every day and to go in the film room the next day and see that you work on this and it translates into the game.”
Even sporting an ugly 1-9 record, the Minutemen are still a mostly positive group on and off the field during games and practices. At the end of Wednesday’s practice in preparation for Saturday’s noon kickoff at Northwestern, the offense celebrated a big play from quarterback Mike Fallon by rushing onto the field and mobbing him once he reached the end zone. It’s clear those still in the program understand the long-term vision Bell has for UMass football and have bought into that process.
That doesn’t take the sting away from the lack of victories or the points being scored against them, but it has given many of the veterans a different purpose to this season. Mangram called his final season “tough but very rewarding” specifically because he said he feels fortunate to be watching the start of the culture shift at UMass.
“The coaches are very on us about staying positive and controlling what we can control,” Mangram said. “They definitely keep us engaged in the game and help us have confidence in ourselves. Even though it’s not going well, it doesn’t mean everything’s going bad, it’s never as bad as it seems.”
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.