The Massachusetts football team’s front seven has struggled in the first seven games of the season to show consistent success. In the first half against Wagner, UMass (2-6) showed that its linebackers and defensive line can control the game when they’re playing at a high level.
The Minutemen came into Saturday’s game against the Seahawks (4-5, 2-1 Northeastern Conference) tied in second-to-last place in both tackles for loss with 23 and sacks with six as a team. UMass should be moving up in those rankings after totaling nine TFLs and two sacks against Wagner. Most of the production by the front seven came in the first half, with a few flashes through the final 30 minutes as well.
Louce Julien led the way for the Minutemen in the trenches, tallying a sack in the second quarter. On second and four, UMass brought pressure from all over, leaving Julien one-on-one with Wagner’s right tackle. The redshirt junior used his power to get the offensive lineman off balance, before exploding past him and bringing down quarterback Jack Stevens.
Julien didn’t just get after the passer on Saturday, tallying a team-high three TFLs. These plays against the run helped to halt drives for the Seahawks, consistently creating longer downs.
UMass created problems for Wagner’s offense throughout the first two quarters, surrendering just 69 total yards. 36 came through the air, with 33 on the ground.
Despite showing success in both pass rush and run defense in the first half, the Minutemen struggled getting off the field out of the gate in the second half. The first drive out of the locker room went 85 yards and into the end zone for the Seahawks, running the ball all 15 plays and converting on four third downs.
This drive looked more like what the front seven for UMass has looked like through its previous seven games. The Minutemen adjusted their defense from then on, stacking the box with an eight-man front to stop the run and prevent any other points from scoring.
Kofi Asare almost replicated Julien’s day to a tee, finishing with 2.5 TFLs and one sack on Saturday. The redshirt sophomore’s sack was the main “flash” shown in the second half for UMass, using his speed and bend, getting around the edge and tracking Stevens down for the first sack of his career.
“[Asare’s] movement skills are freakish,” head coach Don Brown said. “He can do things, bending, changing direction, just putting himself in awkward positions that you put the tape on and go ‘Hey that’s a pretty good play right there.’”
At the beginning of the second quarter, Asare shot through the line on an outside zone play, grabbing Wagner running back Rickey Spruill and tossing him to the turf for a loss. After not having more than a half-TFL in any game throughout his young career, Brown is hoping this can lead to more production in the future.
The front seven won’t have any turnovers created in the stat sheet, but the lone interception for the Minutemen wouldn’t have happened without Jaylen Hudson. The graduate student came through the right side of the field untouched, grabbing a hold of Seahawks’ quarterback Jake Cady’s shirt as he threw downfield and into the defense.
On a different outside zone in the second quarter, Tyler Martin shot past the line and into the backfield for a TFL near the right sideline. The big tackle along with a half-TFL from Macklin Ayers, Gerrell Johnson and Brandon McElroy rounded out the total from the front seven.
Despite bouncing back and having success up front, the defense for the Minutemen will need to stay consistent moving forward if they want to continue adding wins to their record. Controlling the line of scrimmage gave Wagner a tough time throughout the day, and to compete with future SEC opponents UMass has to continue creating havoc.
The Minutemen hit the road on Saturday, Nov. 2, taking on Mississippi State in Week 10, with the kickoff from Davis Wade Stadium set for 4:15 p.m.
Mike Maynard can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @mikecmaynard.
