University of Massachusets Athletics
Greenfield Recorder: UMass Football Gears Up
August 22, 2005 | Football
Aug. 22, 2005
By CHIP AINSWORTH
Recorder Sports Columnist
Good morning!
The UMass football team hosted the local media on Wednesday so the Fourth Estate could get a look at a squad that's ranked ninth in Sports Illustrated's preseason poll.
For their 124th season, the Minutemen have 19 of 22 starters returning and a schedule that includes games against three consensus Top 10 teams: defending I-AA champion James Madison, Delaware and UNH.
On Tuesday, UMass coach Don Brown put his team through a scrimmage that had several players limping around in yellow pullovers. "Must have been a tough one," commented Marty Miller of the walking wounded.
A scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miller travels the Eastern seaboard from August through December searching for pro-caliber talent. On Tuesday night he watched Minutemen game films, on Thursday he was at Holy Cross and yesterday he watched Harvard practice.
For Miller, the real fun begins when he watches games amidst the peculiar pageantry of places like Morgantown, W.Va. Two years ago he was standing on the Virginia Tech side of Mountaineer Field when a state trooper walked over and told him to leave the sideline.
"The fans are beginning to throw rocks at the Virginia Tech players, sir, and you're not wearing a helmet."
It wasn't the only lesson he learned about football in that part of the country.
"They have a law down there that requires residents within a three-mile radius of the stadium to take furniture off the porches so the students won't steal it for bonfires."
Miller spotted UMass punter Christian Koegel ambling by and asked him the whereabouts of senior defensive back Steve Costello. Two seasons ago, Costello wore jersey No. 1, but switched to No. 2 this season "for a fresh start" after being sidelined with a stomach injury last season. Miller's interest in Costello was prompted by his physical maturity (he'll be 24 on Oct. 3) and the fact that he was fourth in the nation with six interceptions two seasons ago.
"There aren't a lot of I-AA players that get drafted. There's a few but most will get signed as free agents," said Miller.
Only two former UMass players made the NFL last season, Marcel Shipp with Arizona and Jeremy Cain with Chicago. Others like Adrian Zullo and Khari Samuel played in the Canadian Football League, and former quarterback Todd Bankhead is one of five to have played in the Arena Football League.
One who never got a chance to show his prowess in the pros was quarterback Jeff Krohn. An Arizona State transfer who arrived at UMass in 2002, Krohn was 18-5 in the two seasons he started but was later diagnosed with a heart condition. He underwent successful surgery but the operation prevented him from ever playing football again.
As for the punter Koegel, he is one of 13 Floridians on the UMass roster. He grew up in Deerfield Beach and his mother Susan has flown up to watch every game. When he was a senior in high school, Koegel averaged 47.6 yards per punt and landed a scholarship at UMass after his buddy Brian Monroe of Palm Beach Gardens beat him out for the full ride at the University of Miami.
Koegel is second all-time in UMass career punting average and last season set a school record for total punt yardage with 526 yards during the Minutemen' s 29-7 loss at Boston College.
"It's all technique," said the 185-pound Koegel. "My first punt here, I was nine yards deep in the end zone. I loved it."
Closer to home, the lone local product on this year's team is former Mahar quarterback Scott Woodward.
"He's a good, smart athlete," said UMass offensive coordinator Kevin Morris. "He's made some good throws and he's made a couple of bad throws, but for a freshman, he's a real mature kid."
Woodward will likely be red-shirted and holding a clipboard when UMass kicks off at Atlantic 10 rival Richmond a week from Thursday. The team's first home game will be Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. against Albany.
The most intriguing date on the schedule is the Nov. 12 game at Army that will be televised on ESPN Classic. The season will end a week later at Hofstra. By then, the Minutemen should be 9-2 and ready for a run at the I-AA playoffs.