Randall West gets the first crack to lead the UMass offense. Kick-off: The Walt Bell era kicks off in Piscataway, New Jersey tonight when the Minutemen face off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It will be our first look at many of the new faces starting for the Minutemen. Here are three keys to tonight’s game. 1. Stop the Run: The Minutemen were awful against the run last season. Rutgers…
Kick-off: UMass hired 35 year old Walt Bell to reinvigorate a program that was struggling. Bell hired a young, motivated staff that can teach his philosophy but also relate to the players. Bell and his staff have a lot of work to do. The Minutemen are young. It will be a challenge but Bell and his staff will try to lay the foundation for future success this season. Offense: Bell…
New UMass coach Walt Bell was hired to reinvigorate a program that was stuck in neutral under former coach Mark Whipple. One of the ways Bell plans to turn the program around is by installing a fast paced, up tempo, spread offense. Bell was the offensive coordinator under Willie Taggert at Florida State last season where the Seminoles ran the “Gulf Coast” spread offense. Like most spread offenses, the Seminoles…
UMass will kick off its first spring practice under new coach Walt Bell this afternoon at 4 pm at McGurik Stadium. There is great anticipation for the upcoming season. Bell has hired a new staff and is installing an uptempo offense and an aggressive defensive scheme. Bell is also inheriting a young team that lost a lot of talented seniors most notably. wide receiver Andy Isabella, running back Marquis Young…
UMass receiver Andy Isabella is turning heads this week at Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama. He has displayed many of the same skills that allowed him to rack up 3,519 yards and 30 touchdowns in three seasons as a starting receiver in Amherst. Isabella also gained national attention earlier in the week by claiming that he ran a 4.26 hand timed 40-yard dash. Isabella said he hopes to run between a…
When UMass announced the hiring of new head football coach Walt Bell on December 3rd, the move was met with some hesitation. At 34, Bell is the youngest head coach at the FBS level. Despite his age, the Middle Tennessee State grad has an impressive resume. Mostly recently he served as offensive coordinator at Florida State under Willie Taggert. Prior to that, Bell was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State…