AMHERST — Over the past three weeks, UMass has traveled in excess of 5,000 miles roundtrip to play games.
The Minutemen have encountered weather delaying flights, long days in hotels due to night games and then arriving back in Amherst after 4 a.m. each of the past two weeks. The routine — or more aptly lack thereof — is hard to deal with, especially when it’s a three-week marathon of packing and unpacking.
“We’ve had a lot of travel, and that can take toll on anyone,” linebacker Bryton Barr said Monday. “Traveling takes a toll on you, but we’re home this week and we’re ready to get a win. We’re undefeated at home this year, so it’s a positive.”
Coach Mark Whipple said he has emphasized home games and defending their home turf since returning for his second stint in charge of the Minutemen, and the results prove it.
UMass opened this season with a resounding 63-15 win over Duquesne and have won three straight at McGuirk Alumni Stadium dating back to last season. The Minutemen have been the home team for nine of their 13 wins over the past four-plus seasons, seven of which were played in Amherst.
“Our guys have played well here, we practice here with the sightlines and all that,” Whipple said. “It’s the next game, but it’s good to be back at McGuirk. … They just like playing here. I think (former tight end) Adam Breneman said it a couple of years ago, ‘We’d rather play at McGuirk than anywhere else,’ so I think that’s the way everybody who ever played football here at UMass has felt.”
PADS MAKE DIFFERENCE — Whipple made the decision to be more physical in practice this week to “bring back the get back to square one.” The hope was to energize the defense with more physicality and let them cut loose a little bit more.
For three days, the plan has worked, and UMass has been a more energetic group at practice. Whipple said he believes it will help the defense play more physical and with more reckless abandon on Saturday against Charlotte.
Although he’s protected from the hits as a quarterback, junior Michael Curtis said it’s been enjoyable to see the life injected into the team.
“A lot of teams just come out there and they get a little walkthrough in just to get their legs back warm,” Curtis said. “But we went out there, we were hitting, we had probably the best practice we had all season as far as energy and excitement from all the guys. It’s been a real fun three days, a lot of good execution, a lot of excitement. It’s just fun to see guys being happy about playing football.”
ON THE MEND — Redshirt senior quarterbacks Ross Comis and Andrew Ford returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday but still remain game-time decisions for Saturday against Charlotte. Whipple said the pair were throwing the ball and running around during practice and remained optimistic at least one of them would be cleared before Saturday.
“They still have to go through some stuff, but they’re a lot better than they were, no question,” Whipple said.
The Minutemen should also receive good news in the secondary with the return of graduate transfer safety Brice McAllister and junior cornerback Bakhari Goodson. Whipple said both players practiced, although it was potentially on a limited basis
“I think the secondary will be intact for the first time all year,” Whipple said. “We didn’t have Isaiah for the first two games, then we didn’t have Brice, so we moved some people around. Those other guys have gotten some experience and they’re going to still play. We’re deeper.”
Junior tight end Kyle Horn was “running around” during practice Wednesday and Whipple said it is possible he could play in certain situations against Charlotte. However, Whipple said he believes Horn will be back fully against Ohio next week barring any setbacks.
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.