Walt Bell faced plenty of challenges in his first season as UMass coach. His most pressing one was the roster he inherited and is trying to overhaul.
There are several reasons the Minutemen were playing most of last season shorthanded, but the most prominent one is the most simple — there weren’t a lot of bodies to begin with.
When Bell took over a year ago, UMass was well short of the maximum 85 scholarship players an FBS team is allowed under NCAA rules, and those numbers shrank as players decided Amherst was no longer the right fit for them. The injuries didn’t help, either, but it did force several players into game action, a positive consequence for future years.
With one year under his belt now with the program, Bell has a much better sense of where he needs to beef up the roster over the next two recruiting cycles to make UMass into a more competitive program. But those additions cannot lift the program themselves. The Minutemen need contributions from the players currently on the roster who just finished a grueling 1-11 campaign.
So what exactly does UMass have on the roster after several more players announced their intent to transfer after the season ended?
Perhaps the only position of strength in terms of numbers for the Minutemen is the offensive line where seven players who started at least three games return. UMass also has experienced depth in Xavier Graham, who played in four games this season to preserve his redshirt as a true freshman. That group of eight — led by rising senior left tackle Larnel Coleman — is a great foundation for the Minutemen on offense and that depth could be beefed up with offseason improvements from the four true freshmen who did not play last season in order to physically mature.
There is another position where UMass has some depth at the moment, but it probably won’t be enough to last an entire season. The wide receiver depth will be interesting to watch because none of the players at that spot really stood out last season with the exception of Jermaine ‘OC’ Johnson Jr. The rising sophomore will return along with Dariyan Wiley, who will be a redshirt freshman, and the duo of rising juniors, Samuel Emilus and Zak Simon. There are several other capable receivers on the roster, including Melvin Hill and Javon Turner, but the Minutemen will need for more of those receivers to develop into trustworthy options on the field.
Bell will need to address the holes that are very apparent with the rest of the offense. There’s the obvious question mark at quarterback with Andrew Brito and Mike Fallon returning as the only experienced arms in the room. Jaret Pallotta is still an unknown to those outside the program because he has never appeared in a game and he received very limited repetitions with the offense during the season.
Bell will also need to make a decision on Josiah Johnson and whether the Jacksonville, Florida native will stay at tight end or transition back to quarterback, the position he was recruited to play under the previous staff. One factor that will certainly be on Bell’s mind is the lack of tight ends on the roster right now, and how valuable Johnson is at that position of need. Taylor Edwards is the only other tight end on the roster with game experience, and there are just two others returning next season who are listed at the position.
But there’s nowhere UMass needs more help right now than at running back after Bilal Ally’s departure. The Minutemen were already shorthanded at that position all last season, but now the backfield consists of converted wide receiver Cam Roberson, speedy but raw Victor Santiago and converted linebacker Gilberto Torres. The one wild card is the return of Nick Orekoya from injury with his 20 career carries in his first three years with the program.
Switching sides of the ball, UMass is in need of defenders at every single position due to a lack of bodies and a few critical departures. Starting on the defensive line, the Minutemen seem set on the interior with the quartet of rising sophomores — Wilson Frederic, Grant Laws, Cletus Mathurin and Billy Wooden — who took their lumps this past season as undersized linemen. However, there is a lack of defensive ends behind rising senior Jake Byczko with the other linemen either listed heavier than 280 pounds or lighter than 250.
It’s possible those lighter linemen will add depth to Chinedu Ogbonna for the hybrid Buck position along the defensive line. But having that type of position muddies the waters as to how the Minutemen will utilize some of their lighter and faster linebackers. There’s the solid core of Cole McCubrey and Mike Ruane as more traditional linebacker types, but then there is a plethora of players like Tyris Lebeau, Da’Shon Ross and Xavier Steele, who are sort of tweeners in terms of positions. After last season, though, there is a need for more physical linebackers who can stop the run and there aren’t a lot of those players on this roster.
At defensive back, the Minutemen benefit from the playing time accrued by younger corners like Donte Lindsey and Josh Wallace, both of whom will be sophomores next year. Justin Lewis will be a junior with two years of playing experience and Notre Dame transfer Noah Boykin will finally be eligible after sitting out last season. Then there’s Taj Jones, who played cornerback out of necessity at the end of last season, but maintained his redshirt so he could play either defensive back or wide receiver in the coming years.
Yet, the Minutemen need to figure out the safety position and solidify the back end of the defense. There are only four safeties listed on last year’s roster, but that list doesn’t include Elijah Johnson, who seems likely to slide to safety full-time next season. Logan Darby and Tanner Davis both made impacts at safety last season as well, but the Minutemen need more than just three safeties. The coaches could switch some more cornerbacks to safety, but that only passes the need for bodies from safety to cornerback.
The good news for UMass is help is on the way Wednesday when the early signing period opens for a week. It’s now a question of what Bell has decided to prioritize for next season and where he believes he can patch up enough bodies to field a more competitive team.