Avien Peah is the strongest member of UMass’ defensive line.
The senior wasn’t shy about declaring it. When the unit is in the weight room, his sets have more plates on the bar.
“For the most part. Sometimes the guys tell me ‘hey, slow down a little bit, slow down,’” the Providence, R.I., native said Thursday. “We always push each other.”
Peah has assumed a leadership role of the unit after switching positions from offense last season. He also overcame knee injuries to establish himself as one of UMass’ leading tacklers and backfield disrupters last season. Peah led the Minutemen with six tackles for loss and had a sack.
“That’s part of what makes Avien special is he’s been through a lot of adversity. From the ability to handle adversity and persevere and go through tough times and come out on the other side as one of our team leaders is huge,” UMass coach Walt Bell said. “No only does he provide the physical leadership piece of doing things the way they’re supposed to be done, but he has earned that respect from his teammate, so now he can provide some vocal leadership, and it’s much needed as well. Really hope, really pray he can stay healthy and continue to be the leader that he is for us.”
Despite UMass’ struggles in an 0-4 season last fall where the Minutemen were outscored 149-12, Peah relished the opportunity to play again after missing so much time with injuries. UMass also dealt with travel restrictions, quarantine requirements and other COVID-19 protocols to play all four games on the road.
“It was hard due to all the COVID things and everything that was going on at the time, but at the same time it was a blessing because I had just come off an injury. I was super excited to get out there and enjoy the moment with the guys and be able to play. It was bittersweet,” Peah said.
The Minutemen were one of the youngest teams in the nation for the second year in a row, and nearly every player on the roster saw time. It allowed UMass to gain a year of experience without sacrificing a year of eligibility.
“It forced everyone to have to step up and play a role because we didn’t have a lot of bodies,” Peah said. “It was a great thing to experience that I think will carry over in a positive way this fall.”
That work starts in the spring, where Peah is adjusting his position again from the defensive line to more of an outside linebacker role. He rarely has his hand in the dirt unless he’s playing inside and is learning how to handle plays in the flat like tosses or quick screens in space.
“At first, it was a little different getting adjusted to, especially trying to pass rush out of it,” he said. “As the practices went on, I started getting more comfortable. I don’t mind it at all.”
With that change, Peah altered his number from 87 to 0. While the NFL recently expanded its numerical eligibility to give players more flexibility, college football has long allowed defensive lineman to wear single digits.
“Coming into this year I was like ‘it’s my final year, I was thinking of a single digit.’ Zero happened to come to mind. That’s what we’re going to go with,” he said. “I don’t think I feel different. It’s a cool look. It’s a better look than the 87. That’s the new wave with our generation, we like the single digits. Look good play good. That’s what I’ve got to go by.”
Playing good allows him to continue to lead by example, which he prefers. But Peah has also gained the confidence to speak up and either correct teammates or motivate them when necessary.
“Coach keeps telling me I’m a leader and definitely I want to point guys in the right direction. That’s definitely a role I play,” Peah said. “I definitely do believe I’m a leader.”
DEFENSE A STEP AHEAD – The Minutemen focused on goal line work Thursday, and the Minutmen’s defense won out.
“Defense had a great day. Offense not so much,” Bell said. “We’ve got really good momentum right now.”
That’s not uncommon for spring football periods, Bell said. He mentioned he’s been a part of offenses that finished in the top-10 in the nation in scoring that couldn’t move the ball in the spring.
“Some of that’s teaching, some of that’s install. You’re not game planning your defense,” Bell said. “Our defense is doing a great job, but our offense is learning and coming along.”
Both units are helping each other improve through healthy competition. Peah said he banters with the offensive line and running backs all the time.
“It’s super competitive. We’re constantly going at each other, but it’s all out of love,” he said. “Football is a game you’ve got to have fun with you have to enjoy why you’re out there playing. The chirping and going back and forth it makes it way more exciting.”
BACKFIELD SQUADRON – While the Minutemen largely relied on Ellis Merriweather (42 carries for 122 yards) last season, they’ll have more depth in the backfield this season. That will allow for greater flexibility in formations and personnel usage.
Rutgers transfer Kay’Ron Adams and redshirt freshman Jonathan White will provide new dimensions for Bell’s scheme to explore.
“All three of those guys are explosive players. They can all run physical. They can all hit home runs,” Bell said. “We’ve had two, three backs on the field at the same time. Whatever personnel grouping, whatever alignment, whatever gives us an edge and the best matchup is what we’ll do.”
LOAD MANAGEMENT – Bell cut practice a little short Thursday in the practice bubble because the Minutemen were without players dealing with minor injuries. He emphasized it was nothing serious and the players were just a little banged up.
“Empathy is part of it and knowing what they’re going through and what their bodies are going through and what we’ve asked of them up to this point,” Bell said. “Obviously, the strength staff, the sports science staff, keep us posted on workload and volume and some of those things. We haven’t needed much of that up to this point. (Thursday) we were down a couple bodies and we wanted to make sure we have a good product out on the field.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.