AMHERST — For nearly 30 years of his life, UMass offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian has been a football coach. He’s had stints at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, his most recent gig being at Utah – where he was the program’s offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach.

Bajakian, who spoke with the media for the first time following Tuesday’s practice, noted that despite the speed and skill changing at each level, the drills, techniques and teaching tactics remain the same. He’s taken what he’s learned from his long list of stops – which includes three years with the Chicago Bears and four with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and brought it to Amherst.

And despite being at Power 5 schools like Tennessee, Utah, Northwestern and Boston College, nothing has quite given him the feeling he’s received through two weeks of practice with the Minutemen.

“It’s a new UMass, that’s [been] the message,” Bajakian said. “Our guys have embraced what we’re trying to do here, and I’m excited about it. It’s really exciting. What we’re experiencing here in our program, in our culture, in our energy and enthusiasm, for me personally – and I’ve coached at a lot of different places – it’s as good as I’ve ever been around. It’s definitely exciting.”

UMass had some time off in between practices due to spring break last week, which certainly has its pros and cons. On one hand, it gives the players a chance to recover and rest their bodies after going at it for the first time since last fall. For the coaches, it can be a chance to reset and evaluate where how far along their team has come compared to where they want it to be.

On the other hand, especially for the offense, the break in the action could potentially put a halt to the installation process. But that isn’t the case with this UMass unit, as Bajakian believes the offense’s lack of rust this week shows that players used the seven days off as a chance to study the playbook.

“I was pleasantly surprised at our execution coming off of having one week off,” Bajakian said. “You encourage the guys to stay active, you encourage the guys to get in the playbook. We got good guys. I’ve been really impressed with them. It showed [this week] that they’ve been studying, that they’ve been working.”

Another positive that comes with Bajakian’s experience is he’s absorbed what works well through trial and error when it comes to putting in plays. He understands when players may be overwhelmed by how much is being thrown at them, and when they’re ready for more.

For now, he’s taking his time.

“Slowly, which is natural,” Bajakian said when asked how his offense has progressed throughout spring practice. “Any time you start anew, you’re going to be simple to start. I’ve been through a lot of transitions, and I’ve made the mistake of being too aggressive with install. I learned that early in my career. So we’re going to take it slow. The most important thing right now for us is to master our style of play, our effort, our tempo, our physicality.”

As for how Bajakian feels about his quarterback room, he couldn’t be more pleased with what he’s seen from guys like AJ Hairston and Grant Jordan. He also has a third quarterback, Brandon Rose, who followed Bajakian from Utah this offseason. That trio is as good a QB room as any in the Mid-American Conference.

“The guys are working hard, they’re putting extra hours in on their own,” Bajakian said of his signal callers. “They’re asking good questions, the whole group is. We got a room full of quarterbacks who enjoy being around each other. I enjoy being around them. Those guys are doing a good job of supporting one another and competing.”

UMass holds Pro Day on Wednesday

Twenty two former Minutemen players participated in the program’s Pro Day on Wednesday afternoon in The Bubble following spring practice.

Dominick Mazotti, Jaelyn Lay, Frank Ladson, Jakobie Keeney-James, Brayden Rohme, Ethan Mottinger, Josh Atwood, Mack Ayers, Gerrell Johnson, Isaiah Rutherford, Arsheen Jiles, Tyler Rudolph, Leonard St. Gourdin, Lake Ellis, Te’Rai Powell, Etinosa Reuben, CJ Kolodziey, John Burton, Darius Gooden, Delvin Attafah, Michael Oppong, and Jake Orlando rounded out the group of UMass players to take part.

Keeney-James, who had a career year last fall with 50 receptions, 839 yards and six touchdowns, had a stellar day Wednesday. He ran a 4.37 40-yard dash, reaching his goal of breaking the 4.40 mark. It was just one of Keeney-James’ several standout drills.

“It felt good,” Keeney-James said after the conclusion of his day. “It’s been a minute since I’ve been back in Massachusetts. I had an amazing year last year, met a lot of great people, so it felt good to kind of get back in that environment… I was excited to be out here, definitely did my thing and I’m grateful for my teammates and the people that showed up. Needed that energy today.”

Compared to the 39 wide receivers who participated at the NFL Combine, Keeney-James would have tied for sixth in the 40-yard dash. He also would have came in third in the bench press (17 reps), third in the vertical jump (40 feet, five inches) and first in the short shuttle (4.05 seconds).

Back in January, Keeney-James took to social media to say, “in two months I’m [going to] shock the world.” He backed it up by putting on a head-turning performance in front of NFL scouts in Amherst.

“I think I did pretty well,” he said. “I felt like I took it step by step today, and I was able to execute every goal that I set out to reach. I’m definitely excited about that.”