The NCAA mandated that all student-athletes have Tuesday – Election Day – off from all athletic commitments.
For the UMass football team, it was no big deal. The Minutemen usually have Mondays off, so head coach Walt Bell simply switched the days on his weekly calendar.
But while UMass has spent the last week preparing for Saturday’s road trip to No. 16 Marshall, the Minutemen spent even longer preparing for election night.
The conversations began over the summer and continued on Thursdays and Fridays before the season resumed. The meetings were geared specifically toward government and economic education.
Bell thought the Minutemen have had a healthy discourse.
“Not to get on a soapbox but just in general I don’t think very many people in today’s political climate use much common sense and have very much objective thought,” Bell said. “It’s almost become like Alabama-Auburn, you pick a team, you root for a team and the other team is wrong and you’re right no matter what. We all know in real life that’s not how things work. But our kids have been really good. I think the biggest thing is just doing everything we can to educate those guys on how to make choices that are important to them and what they believe in and really just the decision-making process.”
Football teams bring people from different corners of life together. The Minutemen have players from Democratic states, Republican states and swing states.
For example, Mike Fallon, the top quarterback on the depth chart, is from Milton, which is south of Boston. Highly touted running back Ellis Merriweather is from Georgia, while fellow running back Cam Roberson is from California.
Second-string QB Josiah Johnson is from Florida, linebacker Nahji Logan is from Pennsylvania, right guard Max Longman is from Michigan and center Dalton Tomlison is from Ohio.
“That’s what makes football so great. Paul Brown said once if the whole world had to do inside drill the world would be a better place,” Bell said. “If everybody had to be a part of a highly competitive athletic team where people had to sacrifice and people don’t always get exactly what they want, but you have to come together and find a way to go make it the best that you can; I think those are some of the great lessons that you get, especially when you see how ineffectively our government operates at times in terms of the ability to make sacrifices and make deals and do what’s best for the largest portion of people.”
Not every player was eligible to vote. The Minutemen have four foreign players who brought a different perspective to the discussions: wide receiver Samuel Emilus (Canada), linebacker Tyris Lebeau (Canada), offensive lineman Dominik Behrens (Germany by way of Williston-Northampton) and defensive lineman Hugo Klages (born in Spain, raised in Germany).
“I think the biggest thing is providing objective thought to how other people in the world do things,” Bell said.
Bell said Klages was in his voter discussion group and the conversation centered around the difference between America’s two-party majority system and the many different political parties in Spain.
“Our kids have been really good about (the conversations) and we’ve had multiple discussions in group settings and team settings,” Bell said. “Our kids have been wonderful. It will be interesting to see what transpires today and over the next couple days.”
SIMON SAYS — Redshirt junior wide receive Zak Simon tweeted on Monday that he will transfer. Simon was one of the Minutemen who opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.
“He made the choice for what he thought was best for him and his family,” Bell said. “For us, what ever he needs to do and what’s best for him, especially in these times, we’re all for it.”
SCHEDULE — UMass announced some changes to future games. A home game with Troy that was postponed this season was moved to 2025. A home game with NIU in 2025 was moved to 2026.
Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Follow on Twitter @mikemoranDHG.