Massachusetts football running back Shadrach Abrokwah contemplated his answer, briefly searching for the magic ingredient to fix UMass’ fledgling running game.
“Just more will,” Abrokwah said after a pause. “Willpower and faith, I have to have faith in my blockers too and trust them.”
Depending on the person, the answer will vary. The Minutemen feel they’re close to breaking through with their rushing attack. But small mistakes and technique breakdowns hinder UMass’ ability to generate consistency.
For Abrokwah, part of finding his rhythm was simply playing more snaps. The sophomore running back started Saturday against Bowling Green, his first appearance of the season after missing the first four games of the year due to a non-disciplinary, non-football eligibility issue.
On the fourth drive of the game, Abrokwah fumbled on his own 30-yard line after a three-yard run. It was just his fourth carry of the game, and only his second carry, which gained positive yardage. Bowling Green scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to take a 10-7 lead.
Abrokwah called it a “rough start,” but UMass coach Mark Whipple sent him right back onto the field the next drive. He finished with 37 rushing yards and a touchdown.
“The main thing I forgot was the speed of the game and how fast it was moving,” Abrokwah said.
“When I first saw the holes, those holes close really quick,” he said with a laugh. “I had to hustle a little bit more and make my read and be patient.”
As the Minutemen prepare for this Saturday’s game against Miami (OH), the focus is keeping those holes open longer to sustain a legitimate ground attack.
Through five losses, UMass is averaging just 60 yards per game on the ground. It’s lost 210 yards rushing and averages just 2.0 yards per carry. Against the Falcons, the Minutemen ran the ball for no gain or negative yardage six times and abandoned the run in the second half.
Whipple seeks balance between his passing and rushing game, and right now, he’s not finding it. In order to make strides, Whipple believes the blocking along the offensive line needs improvement.
“The footwork’s not right,” Whipple said. “It’s four guys doing the right thing and one guy making a mistake and all of sudden you have a zero gain on run plays.”
“We’ve got to communicate a little bit better,” he continued. “That part was really kind of disappointing. We really need to be a little bit more balanced.”
UMass preached to its offensive linemen this week about cleaning up minor mistakes. Often, the difference between a positive run play and a disaster can boil down to simple footwork and technique issues.
“It’s just one block here or there,” center Matt Sparks said. “(It’s) someone going off to the wrong linebacker, someone not being able to come off to their linebacker. Or,if they stunt or slant, not being able to pick them up. It’s really frustrating, it’s little things.”
According to Sparks, the offensive line miscues are a bit perplexing.
“You get mad because it’s something that’s easily correctable,” he said. “I don’t know what our problem is with it, we just have to take more reps with it I guess.”
Often, Minutemen drives have stalled out due to inefficiency on first and second down. UMass has picked up 23 rushing first downs through five games. In comparison, opponents moved the chains on the ground 59 times against the Minutemen.
The inability to run into manageable down-and-distance’s puts a strain on the offense to convert low-percentage pass plays, especially when run plays result in no yardage gained at all.
“It kills us,” Sparks said. “It kills the drive. It puts us in a bad position like second and more than 10. It’s also a pride thing. As an offensive lineman, you want to be able to run the ball.”
The Minutemen have the talent to run successfully. Abrokwah appeared in two games last year as a freshman and rushed for over 200 yards. UMass feels its close too, as offensive line coach Shane Waldron said Tuesday’s practice was one of the better practices of the year.
“For our run game to be successful, we need to have all six, seven or eight guys involved in the blocking scheme to be on the same page,” he said. “And we’re working hard every day to get to that point.”
The Minutemen face a Miami defense allowing 180 rushing yards per game. According to Abrokwah, he feels the entire offense is close to breaking through, and this weekend is the perfect time to showcase the improvement.
“At first, it’s kind of frustrating because it only takes that one block, that last second or the hold on the block to break the big one,” he said.
“But we learn from our mistakes and come back the next week and hopefully fix our mistakes and break those runs.”
Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
