UMass DC Jared Keyte Pleased With Start Of Spring
First-year UMass defensive coordinator Jared Keyte likes what he saw from his unit in the first week on the field in Amherst.
AMHERST, Mass. - New UMass defensive coordinator Jared Keyte was pleased with the first couple days of spring practice earlier this month.
“I've been happy,” Keyte said. “The biggest things we're coaching right now are effort and response. I think our guys have the right approach. We want to run to the ball, we want to play violently. We want to communicate. We're doing those things and I know we're going to coach the technique and the fundamentals on the tape, but I'm pretty happy with where we are as long as we continue to take steps forward.”
Keyte and the Minuteman staff have decided to install the defense as quickly as they can without overloading the players with too much information.
“We kind of agreed based on the installation to go as needed,” he said. “We put in our base coverages here in the first couple of days and we're going to go back and evaluate where we're at. If it's too much right now, then we'll pull back.
“It's a little bit flexible and fluid and just seeing what the guys can handle and seeing what we do well. We have a plan, but plans don't always go as planned, I guess you would say. We got our bulk in right now, but we're kind of just sprinkling it in.”
But what Keyte has been pleased with most is the defense’s intensity.
“You can see just taking the field, running off the field, the way we're swarming to the ball, they're violently communicating,” he said. “In my experience, it's easier in the first couple days of spring practice. It gets a little bit more difficult as time goes on, but right now I'm happy with where we're at and where we're going.”
Overall, Keyte has been pleased with the way the players have adjusted to the new staff.
“You see it in the way they carry themselves in meetings and on the field,” he said. “I wasn't here, but I'm just really, really happy with the approach we've had. Again, we are coaching effort and response to things that we can control and our guys are doing a great job with that.
“Obviously, we haven't won or lost any games. We've only had (a couple) practices, so things are good. We don't really have a set depth chart, but the biggest thing with us, especially defensively, is dealing with adversity and I think they've done a really good job with that. I'm really happy with the way they've responded with all the challenges and continuing to be coached moving forward.”
The defense is likely to be buoyed by multiple transfer additions, including former Georgetown safety Zeraun Daniel.
“He's athletic, he's physical,” Keyte said of the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Daniel. “We saw that on the tape when we were recruiting him, but he's also a student of the game. He's very, very intelligent. He doesn't like to make mistakes, which is one of the things we preach. He's not going to repeat the same mistakes and you see growth in him already.
“He's a mature guy who's played a lot of football and I have high expectations for him. He's done a great job so far.”
Former Jackson State defensive end Josh Nobles is another portal addition the UMass staff has high hopes for.
“Josh is a talent upfront for us. He's a guy who can get after the passer. He creates an element upfront that's difficult to deal with. He's strong, he can move his feet. I can't wait to see what he can do with full pads in a live situation.”
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