Head Coach Pleased with Scrimmage http://www.gazettenet.com/2012/08/18/umass-football-coach-charley-molnar-pleased-with-scrimmage August 26, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
KEVIN GUTTING UMass senior running back Alan Williams pauses during a morning practice Wednesday at McGuirk Stadium. AMHERST - As his team walked off the field after Friday's intrasquadscrimmage, University of Massachusetts football coach Charley Molnar was encouraged at its progress from the previous one last weekend. "It was by far our best scrimmage. Guys lined up fast today on both sides of the ball. Our special teams look like they're getting close to game ready right now," Molnar said. "Guys knew where they were supposed to line up and needed very little prompting from the coaches. They played fast and the best part of all we came out healthy. We played cleaner. There were some penalties with the second team, less with the ones. We secured the ball very well in the run game." With UMass' season opener less than two weeks away, the Minutemen are mostly healthy. Molnar said Kellen Pagel (post-concussion symptoms) definitely won't be available. There are a handful of undisclosed players whose status will be determined at game time.
MR. VERSATILITY - It would almost seem weirder for Alan Williams if he stayed at the same position. When he arrived at UMass he was a wide receiver. Then he moved to cornerback as a sophomore and running back last year. This season he'll be kind of a hybrid between running back and wide receiver as UMass tries to take full advantage of his versatility in his final year of college football. "I can run pretty good and catch pretty good. So any way that coach wants to use me, I'll do it," Williams said. "I like playing receiver. I'm just trying to use my skills the best I can to help the team." Williams, who was slated to be the No. 2 running back last year, suffered a foot injury in the season opener and never really got on track, even after he returned. "Last year was pretty disappointing getting hurt the first game and having to sit out," Williams said. "I'm looking forward to getting the season started." SHARPE IS SHARP - When asked about true freshmen ready to make an impact immediately at media day Wednesday, Molnar singled out receiver Tajae Sharpe among offensive players. "I think he's going to be really good," Molnar said. "I kind of knew he was going to be that kind of guy, but to see him demonstrate it every day is really, really exciting." Sharpe was proud of the praise. "It definitely feels pretty good. I think every freshman's goal is get here and get on the field and compete with the upperclassmen," he said Friday. "If you come in, work hard and learn the system, everything will fall into place. I just want to get better each and every day so when that game comes we'll be prepared for it." SPECIALIST BATTLES - Molnar said there are ongoing competitions at both kicker and punter. "We have a nice little battle going at both spots. It might go all the way through game week," Molnar said. "We feel good about our No. 1 and No. 2 at both spots. At kicker, returning starter Brendon Levengood is competing with Blake Lucas, a true freshman from Georgia. At punter, Jeff Strait, who averaged 37.3 yards per punt last year, is competing with Colter Johnson, a junior college transfer from Alfred State College.
Several players are in the mix to return kicks and punts. "We like (Antoine) Tharpe as a good returner. (Brian) Dowling, Mike Cox. Alan Williams has a chance. ... Jamar Smith, Stacey Bedell. We're pretty comfortable with just about any of them," said Molnar, who confirmed that Bedell, a true freshman running back from Mastic Beach, N.Y., would not be redshirting. "We're going to play him as a running back and move forward." Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.