Offensive Plan Is In Motion At UMass

Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian has taken the head coach's plan and trust in building out this Minuteman offense for immediate success.

Every good head coach sets a vision for their program. However, the coaches that are most successful can stick to that vision despite all the distractions and options that present themselves. Typically, coaches fall victim to the “shiny object syndrome” at some point along the way. However, those who can re-focus and stick to the plan are generally those who prevail.

Without saying it explicitly, acquiring players from winning high school programs with a rich history has been a priority for first-year UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak and staff. Habitually, these programs produce players who have a certain work ethic and grit that is more “inherent” than some others.

Certainly, new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian has received the message loud and clear by carrying out the marching orders on the offensive side of the ball.

“This program's going to be built on toughness and on discipline and on attention to detail,” Bajakian told Minuteman Command. “So those are the personalities we're recruiting.

“We want physical tough guys and obviously we can to a certain degree teach them to play that way, but it's a little bit easier to teach them to play that way when it's a part of who they are,” Bajakian continued.

The UMass football staff has landed players either straight from high school or via the portal with a stop in-between, from programs of the likes of Don Bosco Prep in NJ, Central Catholic in PA, Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Frances – both perennial powers out of Maryland.

All the while, they have made offers and or are walking the halls of Springfield Central HS, perhaps the most consistent Massachusetts football program over the last decade, and are road tripping the New England prep school circuit seeing underclassmen prospects and coaches at places like Avon Old Farms and St. Thomas Moore – both in CT - BB&N and Tabor Academy - both across the home state – just to name a few.

While these more innate and sometimes hard to quantify intangibles are a prime concern, Harasymiak knows that you first must have the measurables to get on their recruiting board.

“I mean, you can't get your foot in the door unless you're a certain height and weight because the people you go against are a certain height and weight,” Harasymiak noted at a press conference last month.

“So that's something that we really strive for in terms of the physical aspect of it. Certainly, the film evaluation comes down to itself and what we do there.”

While acknowledging that you must identify players that meet the criteria they have set to be successful at each respective position, Harasymiak goes right back to the root of who he wants to make up the UMass DNA.

“Then again … it's just about getting around them,” Harasymiak said. “I want to be around the families. That's something that I think we've done a really good job with over this past month and a half. Just because you visit doesn't mean you're coming to UMass. This is a mutual agreement. You have to want to be here, we have to want you here, and it's got to be a genuine decision.”

It was clear when taking over the Minuteman program, Harasymiak wanted to hire staff with the same type of qualities as he wanted in his players – with a little bit of grit and discipline. From there, everything we are hearing is that he is empowering his staff to recruit the kids that fit their position and phase of the game, as long as they have those aforementioned intangibles.

Harasymiak made note of this exact thing when talking about Bajakian.

“When you hire people, you hire them because you trust them,” Harasymiak said. “It's going to be his show to run and we're already working great together and I'm excited about what he's going to bring and just the organization and the system that he's going to bring here.”

This mode of thinking from the head coach has permeated into the way in which Bajakian is identifying and recruiting offensive personnel. As stated, while toughness, discipline, and attention to detail are at the forefront of prospective player evaluations, Bajakian and the offensive staff have already laid out the blueprint for what they are looking for to fit their schemes.

“We want to recruit playmakers. We want to recruit specifically, the way I put it, guys that can do with the ball more than what the play is intended for,” Bajakian said. “I value explosive plays in the offense. Therefore, guys who can break tackles, make people miss whether catch in advance, those are the guys who I value in this offense.”

While this speaks to the skill players that the UMass offensive staff has identified and already started to bring in, being more athletic overall is something that they are looking for at all 11 positions on the field when UMass has the ball.

“Obviously there's the big men up front and in the offenses I've been a part of, we've done a lot in the screen game,” Bajakian went on.

“We've done a lot with pulling. So, I value athletic guys as much as I value size. I want guys that can move out in space that climb to the second level that can get on the perimeter and block DBs, whether it be in pin-and-pull schemes in the run game or in the screen game.”

While taking into account the type of player generally available at the “Group of 5” level of football, this personnel philosophy makes great sense. Typically, at this level, massive offensive linemen who are still available after getting picked over at the Power 4 level, do not move as well as desired.

“Pin & Pull” refers to what old timers know as “Buck Sweep” or even older timers may know as the “Green Bay Sweep,” referring to Vince Lombardi’s pride and joy during his time as the head coach of the Packers.

Buck Sweep is actually a “Wing-T” principle, where the “pin” is a down block, generally by the tackle and pulling guards on the perimeter. Sometimes there are adjustments based on the defensive front where the tackle or center may pull as well. Either way, the goal is to create an alley for the running back with a kick-out of some sort and a puller leading through and down blocks the rest of the way.

This is a play in the “gap scheme” family, as opposed to zone blocking where you need to move people man on man. Gap schemes create angles for blockers and favor linemen who are a bit undersized and able to have the athleticism to get out and run.

Moreover, you can mitigate the offensive lineman’s impact on the game if you are able to have the linemen running in one direction to influence linebackers and safeties, while throwing the ball out to “playmakers on the perimeter.” Having a robust screen game is critical for the same reasons.

Sources around the program have also mentioned wanting to get longer at wide receiver during this past recruiting cycle and by the looks of it, they were able to accomplish their mission with a couple of tall receivers out of the portal.

Tyree Kelly, a Georgia high school product, who they picked up from the University of South Florida is listed at 6 feet, 3.5 inches and 6-foot-5-inch Jake MaConnachie who hails from New Jersey but was acquired in the portal after five years at Pittsburgh University.

Those in the UMass building are also excited about a couple of returners as well. While receivers Ty Harding and Jacquon Gibson may not be the tall outside receiver types, from everything we hear, the staff will look to those two to check a lot of the “playmaker” boxes.

As we sit here in February, all anxiously awaiting spring football practice that kicks off March 9th, what can we deem from looking at what and who this offense wants to be?

Thus far, the staff has stuck to the plan.

From the top down, this program is looking to bring in winners who are the right kind of people. They want those who are tough, disciplined, and have great attention to detail. The players certainly must meet the physical criteria for the needs of each position.

From there, this offense is going to be long on the outside with speed (read: be able to work the ball vertically) and quick and athletic along the line of scrimmage (read: get the ball out quickly horizontally), all while being good in gap schemes when need be and double-teaming the point of attack while giving up a little size at offensive line, but more than compensating with athleticism and scheme. All while handing it to tough running backs that are going to run through tacklers.

There is a plan. And, in today’s world of college football – it is rare to see a team sticking to it as they build their team. UMass is doing that on offense, and we are here for it.

Stay locked into MinutemanCommand.com as we will dive into the defensive design soon!