AMHERST — The 12 seniors who are scheduled to dress for Saturday’s season finale against BYU have been through a lot in the past 12 months.
Ten of them endured a coaching change from Mark Whipple to Walt Bell, a drastic change that took plenty of time for many of the returning players to adjust to this year. Then there has been the lack of success on the field with just one win in 11 games and all 10 losses coming by at least 20 points. Through it all, they’ve watched teammates leave the program, get injured and see their roles shift based on the needs of the week.
Yet through it all, they have stood committed to the process Bell has preached since the first day he arrived in Amherst.
“I had a coaching change my senior year, so having been through that before and seeing the normal change and things are different whether it be your role on the team or whatever it may be, this group of older kids has done a really nice job of handling the new normal,” Bell said. “More than anything else, just the mental resilience of what we’ve been through this season and these guys are still coming out and having good practices. We’ve got a great group of kids that are doing everything they can to help this program grow.”
Ultimately, this senior class won’t be remembered as much for their contributions on the field as how they helped set the tone for the culture change. The common thread between all of the seniors this season was witnessing the early signs of growth in a team that is filled with youth at almost every position. They took pride in helping the next wave of players improve on the field and making sure they appreciated each day of practice.
Redshirt senior offensive lineman Mike Yerardi said he was closer with more people on last year’s team because it was a veteran group, but he has enjoyed spending time with this group of players and it has given him more confidence in the future of the program.
“It’s difficult going through a coaching change, but you learn to adjust and buy into a new culture,” Yerardi said. “Although we had a bad season (in terms of our record), I definitely can’t wait to see the results of the upcoming seasons. I’m so happy to be part of the early stages because I’m the first group of people who came in here to help to bring a new culture in and I’m excited to see it grow from here.”
When the seniors reflected on their time in Amherst, most of them mentioned how appreciative they were of the camaraderie in the locker room. Senior cornerback Isaiah Rodgers mentioned how much more positive and upbeat the locker room is this season compared to previous years. The change isn’t the result of a group content with losing, but one hungry to continue to improve each day and learn from their mistakes.
Even though this year was Jarvis Miller’s only season at UMass after transferring from Penn State, he said he loved walking into the locker room each day with this team. He said the connections he made this season are ones that will last a lot longer in his mind than the results on the field.
“People just fail to realize when people think about relationships and bonds, they think about what’s just on the field,” Miller said. “For me, what I’m going to remember the most is that locker room. The locker room is sacred to me, the bonds and relationships you build in there are lifelong, guys who will be in my wedding or guys who will be godfathers to my children one day. You’ll remember the wins and losses, yeah, but you’re going to remember that locker room.”
REDSHIRT REPORT — Bell said earlier in the season that he hoped to redshirt as many of the freshmen as possible, but those plans were quickly erased as injuries continued to stockpile. UMass has 28 true freshmen listed on the roster – a total that includes walk-ons – and eight of them have played five or more games this season, meaning they cannot redshirt this year. Of the other four who have played, offensive lineman Xavier Gonsalves, defensive back Taj Jones and wide receiver Dariyan Wiley will be able to redshirt this year.
The curious case for Saturday’s noon kickoff at McGuirk is offensive lineman Xavier Graham. The Niceville, Florida, native has played in four games this season and Bell is hoping he won’t have to use him against BYU (6-4) so Graham can redshirt. However, if Graham is pressed into service, he will also be ineligible to take this year as a redshirt season.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.