Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Spring game.
I agree the running back depth should be much improved in 2022. The Minutemen went into 2021 with just two scholarship running backs Ellis Merriweather and Kay'Ron Adams. This year the RB room adds Louisville transfer Greg Desrosiers, Indiana transfer Tim Baldwin and true freshman Donta Whack.
Five scholarship RB's puts UMass where most Group-of-Five teams reside. Coach Brown said a number of times he wanted the Minutemen to be a "run first" offense. We are a bad weather team and a power running game would help.
The Minutemen have not really had a unquestioned QB starter since Andrew Ford graduated. I would think JUCO transfer Gino Campiotti or Zamar Wise would be the best fit to jump start the UMass offense.
Not much could be said about the Minutemen wide receivers. We did not have a passing game in 2021 and basically, for the last half of the season, only threw when we absolutely had to. The wide receivers could surprise if we had someone to get them the ball.
The other critical unit on offense is the offensive line. When was the last time we had a three or four year starter? When did we last have a first team MAC or Independent offensive lineman? A cohesive effective OL would go a long way towards restoring an effective running or passing game.
Our defensive woes were well known, but we finished #126 in scoring and #125 in total offense. Even Coach Brown's most killer defense would not make up for that level of offense.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Palm Beach Post ranks Coach Brown #3 out of the 29 head coach hires for 2022.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
