As the University of Massachusetts football team jogged off the rain-soaked McGuirk Stadium turf Tuesday morning, there was an audible buzz amongst the tired players.
Drenched, sweaty and a little sore, the team was still excited and upbeat. This wasn’t just the end of another practice – it was the end of the last practice of spring camp before it was time to get out and give the team a little test drive.
After a month and a half of preparation, the Minutemen will play their annual spring game Wednesday night at 7 p.m. under the lights at McGuirk, which is still in the process of being renovated. Admittance to the game – more of a glorified intrasquad scrimmage, really – is free, and tailgating outside the stadium is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
For the players, the spring game is something of a reward. After 15 practice sessions interwoven with the usual array of weight lifting and running, the game is a chance to have fun and play a little football under near-gameday conditions.
“When we split it up and knew the two teams for Wednesday night, everyone just got excited,” sophomore quarterback A.J. Doyle said. “We’re all in the locker room talking trash and just having fun getting ready. It’s a lighter atmosphere, and it’s a lot more fun to play.”
Doyle, in particular, will have a lot on the line as he looks to make a strong impression on the new coaching staff before quarterback reinforcements arrive over the summer.
“I’m just looking to go out and have some fun. Play with my guys, score some points and just have fun,” he said. “We’re playing each other at the end of a long, hard spring of workouts and meetings. It’ll be fun to get out there in front of some people and throw the ball around.”
Sophomore cornerback Trey Dudley-Giles, who will look to get the better of Doyle and the offense, agreed with the fun factor, but added that the game will also be an important teaching tool for the young team.
“(The key is to) just to go out there and have fun, make sure you’re doing your technique right and know your assignments,” he said. “You want to go out there with a good performance, so over the summer you know what you need to work on.”
The plan according to coach Mark Whipple is to run the starters against the starters and the backups against the backups in live game action, with the exception of special teams. There’s a depth chart in place for the game, but it’s far from set in stone and will be revisited often over the summer.
“It’s just another evaluation of the players. We’ll just let them play against each other – 1s vs. 1s and 2s vs. 2s,” he said. “We’ll be evaluating how they prepare, how they play and how they handle adversity. We want to see who can make some plays and let them go have fun.”
With nothing on the line in terms of wins and losses, Whipple said he’ll step away from a controlling role on the sidelines in favor of observation.
“I don’t get involved in the spring game. I go on both sidelines and get to see how the players react,” he said. “I’ll go back and forth and let the coaches coach. I like to be with the players and see what they’re like and get to know them better. And I think it’s good for the coaching staff to be divided up where they’ll get to be coordinators and call the game.”
New defensive coordinator Tom Masella will join Whipple in his hands-off approach, leaving line coach Dave Sollazzo and special teams coordinator/linebackers coach Ted Daisher to run the defense, while offensive line coach Shane Waldron and wide receivers coach Mike Cassano to lead the offense.
On display for the first time will be UMass’ new pro-style offense and 3-4 base defensive scheme. The team is “better than we were three months ago, no question,” Whipple said, but there’s still a ways to go when it comes to getting the new play book down pat.
Doyle doesn’t expect the team to show too much of what it’s installed.
“That’s most spring games wherever you go. No one’s going to show everything, he said. “We either expect someone from BC will be here or they’ll get the film, so there’s no reason to show all of our stuff. But we’re not going to just be running three plays, either.”
Even without a full arsenal of plays and packages, Whipple is expecting positive results and another important step for his team as it gets ready to open the season Aug. 30 against Boston College at Gillette Stadium.
“We’ll let them go have some fun, let them go play football,” he said.
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