The start of the football season is less than a month away and the only thing people in New England have been talking about is the PSI levels inside the footballs themselves and how the United States legal system works.
I think I can speak for most people in the region that we – media and fans together – are ready to start focusing on what’s actually happening on the field between endzones.
So for Massachusetts and college football fans, Monday’s start of training camp meant one thing and one thing only – football is finally back.
Blistering heat? Check. Playing on old grass fields instead of the turf at McGuirk? Check. Players walking around carrying water by the gallon with ice packs strapped to various parts of the body? Check.
The boys of fall are getting ready to go out and play again.
Last year on day one A.J. Doyle was throwing dimes down the sidelines and Blake Frohnapfel was learning the difference between three-, five- and seven-step drops. Doyle’s now fighting for reps at the tight end position and Frohnapfel is one of the Football Bowl Subdivision’s best returning quarterbacks.
My point?
What happens on day one means absolutely nothing. The only thing that matters is that it’s the return of actual football itself and getting back into the routine itself.
“On day one it’s all about knowing where you are supposed to be and being on time with everything. Not giving into the heat is another thing,” linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox said. “Everyone is going to be tired, it’s the first day. It’s hard getting back into the swing of things.”
Frohnapfel added: “Our first day plays are really just our basic plays to make sure we know the tempo, that guys are lining up right and to minimize mistakes. I’d say we did a pretty good job of that to make sure we were efficient and on the same page.”
Head coach Mark Whipple made a statement to his team by not giving any players numbers or helmet decals. He said it was all part of the effort to “make the players remember where they came from.”
“We’re starting from scratch really. You have to earn everything–first team, second team, it doesn’t matter. Nameless, faceless and we get to learn them,” Whipple said.
UMass isn’t starting from scratch entirely however. The team returns all but three starters and the Minutemen have a full year of experience with Whipple’s systems under their belts. Both internally and externally, the expectations are higher than ever. A bowl bid is certainly in the cards and a trip to the Mid American Championship game are some of the big-picture goals the team has set for the season.
But it’s only day one of camp.
Players will switch positions, injuries will happen and the depth chart will look different almost every day. The season is a long ways away, but it’s clear that UMass is ready to erase the bad taste in its mouth from the 2014 season.
Santos-Knox, arguably the most vocal and upbeat player on the team, started dancing in place and smiling when asked about the season opener against Colorado.
“I wish it were tomorrow,” he said with a grin.
Sept. 12 can’t come soon enough for the Minutemen.
Isn’t it nice to have football finally back?
Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.
