Peah seeks redemption at UMass
UMass defensive end Avien Peah endured devastating setbacks on his football journey without a thought of giving up.
The 6-2, 280-pound, redshirt senior from Providence, R.I. will line up on the edge of the UMass front seven when the Minutemen (0-3) engage the Liberty Flames (8-1) on Friday at noon at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Va.
Peah, 22, was a two-way all-conference standout at La Salle Academy in Providence before arriving in Amherst in the fall of 2016. He redshirted his freshman season and was limited to special teams the following year.
He bounced around the offense as a marginal fullback and tight end in 2018, an unsatisfactory experience that compelled Peah to reinvent himself in the midst of a coaching change.
Peah approached first year coach Walt Bell about making the crossover to defense and a plan was set in place. Tragedy intervened when Peah suffered his first setback, a fractured right kneecap during spring ball.
He got bushwhacked again in the fall when he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, putting him of the shelf for the entire 2019 season.
Peah put on about 30 pounds of good weight and was settling into his new role when the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated spring ball and put the 2020 season on hold.
“Yeah, definitely, I think about it all the time,” said Peah. “I didn’t think that I would even be here right now and its such blessing and a great opportunity to be out here with the guys considering what happened in the past with the injuries and stuff like that.
“I definitely think about that a lot, basically every single day. But it’s a great opportunity to be out there where I need to be.”
Peah said he will be back next season, intent on compounding his investment in UMass with a full slate of games. Peah enjoyed his finest outing in the Minutemen’s 24-2 loss to Florida Atlantic on Nov. 20, recording seven tackles, three tackles for a loss and a sack. His counterpart on the opposite flank, lineman Jake Byczko, had eight tackles with three tackles for a loss and a sack.
The tandem of Peah and Byczko limited the Owls dual threat quarterback Javion Posey to one big play, a 70-yard touchdown run that made it 21-0 in the third quarter. Posey completed 13-of-27 passes for 203 yards and was sacked six times.
The Minutemen will face a tougher test from Liberty’s explosive dual threat quarterback Malik Willis, a 6-1, 216-pound, redshirt junior that takes the RPO to a different level.
Willis has completed 135 of 212 passes for 1,817 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. Willis leads the Flames in rushing with 744 yards on 113 carries with nine touchdowns. UMass must contain Willis inside the pocket and away from open space where he can shred a defense in so many ways.
“I think we can do a good job along with the interior guys if we all work in unison to keep him in the pocket,” said Peah. “If we can do what’s asked of us out there, we can.
“We didn’t have many calls in last week’s game and it was pretty much out of our base defense. We just tried to execute and that’s what we have to do and get after it and just make plays.”
The UMass defense held up well against FAU after suffering lopsided losses at Georgia Southern and No. 16 Marshall. The Minutemen held FAU to 368 yards of total offense, was able to get off the field on third down and put the Owls in third and long which led to six sacks from six different defenders.
The Minutemen gave up 308 rushing yards and 436 yards of total offense against Georgia Southern. Marshall record a balanced 495 yards of total offense, 267 on the ground and 228 through the air. While the Minutemen’s offense remained stagnant under true freshman quarterback Will Koch, the defense showed signs of life against FAU.
“I thought our defense played really well and if really not for three plays, that would have been a one score game” said Bell. “We created a bunch of negatives, we were able to pressure the quarterback, we had a great plan and we held up in the back end with the exception of one or two plays.
“I’m really proud of the defense.”