UMass eyes a good start
Opens against Hawaii
Rainbow skies and hula skirts have been replaced by the Pioneer Valley welcome mat as UMass prepares to kick off the 2017 football season tonight when it entertains the University of Hawaii at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst.
It’s the second straight game for UMass against the Rainbow Warriors after Hawaii took a 46-40 win in the regular-season finale last year in Honolulu.
Tonight’s game marks the farthest east (5,066 miles) the Rainbow Warriors have ever traveled to play.
“It’s definitely going to be a big difference. They’re traveling,’’ said UMass defensive captain Steve Casali. “Last year it definitely took a toll on our bodies. This year I feel like we’ve matured as a team, for sure. (Strength and conditioning coach Joe) Connolly really helped us out and did a great job. We have more depth, which we didn’t have before. It’s going to be very valuable.’’
“Well, I hope it’s a sevenpoint difference in favor of UMass,’’ quipped Minutemen coach Mark Whipple. “We were there in Hawaii a week last year after going over from BYU. I really haven’t coached a team traveling west to east like that, or at least I haven’t since I was in the NFL and I know how hard it was there. But I’m glad we’re at home. We talked about it with our players. We’re trying to build the program and you always start with taking care of the home field.’’
UMass, coming off a 2-10 independent campaign, would be wise to keep a close eye on Rainbows junior quarterback Dru Brown, who went 209-of335 for 2,488 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. Brown (22-of-30, 311 yards, five TDs) and senior Diocemy Saint Juste (14 rushes, 122 yards) were thorns in the side of the UMass defense last year. And Brown is working on a streak of 79 consecutive passes without an interception.
“Brown is a real good player,” Whipple said. “He’s a dual threat. He’s smart. He does a real good job protecting the football. He threw about nine or 10 touchdowns the last two games of last year and I know he threw five against us. I know their line is big and solid. We just have to mind our P’s and Q’s. We have to get on them early and get a turnover early. We have to get a fast start.
“I didn’t like the way we practiced this week. There are a few things that we need to clean up. We’re healthy, though, and we’ve had a really good look from the freshmen on the scout team. I’ve talked with them and they’re competing at a high level.’’
At quarterback, Whipple plans to play both Andrew Ford and Ross Comis, who began last season as the starter before suffering a knee injury in the fourth game that ended his year.
“Ever since that game ended we have been thinking about it,” said Ford of the loss to Hawaii. “It should be exciting to play them. We know that they are a great team. We have to play our best game to have a chance. We know that they are talented everywhere on the field. It’s going to be a big challenge for us and we’re looking forward to it. They have a lot of guys returning from last year and the new guys they brought in are just as good if not better than the guys they had last year. So we’re well aware of how confident their football team is and we know that it’s going to take our best game for us to have a chance.
“But that’s what you want. You want to play these games. You want to play the best. I think our guys are looking forward to it.’’
Casali said Hawaii, which finished 7-7 last year, poses a stiff challenge.
“They’ve got a great running back (in Saint Juste). Just the biggest thing for us will be tackling him. He was a 1,000-yard rusher last year. Everybody on the defense just has to do their job and be in the right position,’’ Casali said.
That defense will hear the signals from new coordinator Ed Pinkham.
“He’s a great teacher,” Casali said. “Coach Pinkham has changed the culture. He’s awesome. He’s one of the best coaches that I’ve ever had. This has been the best (preseason) camp since I’ve been here. All the hard work is going to pay off (tonight).’’