AMHERST — Eyes are starting to peek toward the season opener in the UMass football program.
The Minutemen began preparing for their first game at Pittsburgh on Sept. 4 near the end of Tuesday’s practice.
“We’re starting to turn the corner a little bit,” UMass coach Walt Bell said. “We’re already starting on Pitt and we’ll continue to add a little more Pitt each day.”
UMass will conduct its evening walkthroughs on a grass field next to Gladchuk Field (home of the field hockey team), which will be painted to mirror Pittsburgh’s Heinz field with both NFL and college markings. The Minutemen normally practice either at McGurik Alumni Stadium, which has turf, or the turf practice field behind it.
“Being on grass, being on turf doesn’t bother me as much — but the reason it’s important that we get on the grass is with the NFL markings on the field, knowing they’ll have the NFL numbers, college numbers ticked off, possibly two sets of hashes,” Bell said.
With 11 days until the opener, it makes sense that UMass is transitioning out of full-on camp mode and into preseason and game prep. The Minutemen have selected travel squads and scout teams and finalized the two-deep depth chart.
Colorado transfer Tyler Lytle will start at quarterback, Bell confirmed Tuesday.
“As of today. Still gotta work, still gotta win,” Bell said. “All those young guys are doing a nice job. I promise you this — we’ll play Pitt, somebody will go out there at quarterback.”
Lytle hadn’t participated in practice recently due to an injury. He also was held out of Sunday’s scrimmage in favor of some of the younger, developmental players to get a look at them in situations.
“Tyler could have played, but we were more concerned who’s going to be the backup,” Bell said.
He wasn’t at the forefront of every drill Tuesday but controlled the line of scrimmage, made quick decisions and maneuvered effectively in the pocket during his opportunities.
“The couple days he missed were I think really good for him, honestly. He met with us, met with the staff and was basically a coach for a couple days,” Bell said. “Hasn’t really missed a beat. From a volume standpoint in terms of throws we have to be careful there because he has missed six or seven days, but he’s good to go, ready to go.”
OFFENSE REBUILT — UMass only scored one touchdown in four games last year. The offense needed a makeover, and Bell ripped it down to the studs. He’s taking over as offensive coordinator this year in addition to his head coaching duties.
“I think the biggest thing is it’s from the ground up, start over,” he said. “We’ve got to do a nice job putting our players in position to make plays, utilize our personnel groups where we have strength and making sure we’re asking the quarterback to do things he can do well and having better quarterback play helps as well.”
Bell has more talent to work with than his previous two years. Power 5 transfers have bolstered the running back and receiver corps, and UMass has done well recruiting, developing and converting tight ends.
“We feel like we’ve got good pieces, we’ve just got to stay healthy to be good for the long haul,” Bell said.
He came to UMass with a repudiation built around quick tempos. Bell has leaned that the brake can be just as important as the accelerator.
“We just have to do whatever we have to do to win a game. Offensive philosophy: you’ve got to be able to dictate the tempo of a game,” he said. “As fast as you need to go or as slow as you need to go to be mindful of whatever we have to do to win as a team. You’ve got to be able to do everything. You’ve got to be able to dictate the pace of the game, whatever that pace may be.”
DEFENSE YOUNG, ONLY GETTING OLDER – UMass’ defense is more talented than recent seasons but also lacks experience.
“We have some depth, but we’re still young. We have a long way to go. You have to coach them every day because they’re still immature. We still have to get them ready to play a football game,” UMass defensive coordinator Tommy Restivo said. “We have some guys that are much more talented, the thing is getting them going in the right direction and understanding some of the calls and what we’re doing defensively. We’re not there yet. Eleven days to kickoff, but we’re still a long way away.”
The Minutemen’s experience is concentrated in the defensive line. They have six upperclassmen, three of whom saw the field last season.
“I kind of lean on the D line. Those are the guys who I lean on to stop the run and draw some double teams. They’re the warriors up front, they’ve got 600 pounds put on ‘em play after play,” Restivo said.
WHO’S IN THE BOX – Bell will coach from the sideline filling both his roles, while Restivo will do much of his instructing from the press box.
“I’ve done it both ways,” Bell said. “There’s an advantage being in the press box, you see things a little better, it moves at a slower pace. Little bit easier to see defensive structure. On the field you’ve got direct communication with your players. On the field, and when you’re mainly responsible for quarterbacks and quarterback play, you’re able to see his eye spots and where his eyes should go.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.