UMass defensive backs ready for action

The Massachusetts defense, and especially its defensive backs, are ready for a change of pace.

The Minutemen (2-1) defended only nine passes last week against James Madison, which racked up 338 rushing yards on 58 carries en route to a 52-38 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association opener.

Texas Tech (3-0) will employ a much different offensive strategy.

“I can actually get an opportunity to cover someone,” said UMass senior cornerback Sean Smalls, a preseason all-American in Division I-AA. “Last week was kind of boring.”

Saturday’s game at Jones AT&T Stadium figures to be much more eventful for the Minutemen’s secondary, which will try to corral one of the nation’s most prolific passing attacks. Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell leads the country with 1,251 passing yards, and three different Tech receivers – 2007 Biletnikoff Award winner Mike Crabtree, Detron Lewis and Eric Morris – have at least 16 receptions for at least 197 yards.

Smalls said containing Tech will be a “pretty big challenge,” but he and his fellow defensive backs might be up for it. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Smalls was tabbed as the CAA’s best NFL prospect by James Madison coach Mickey Matthews, an Andrews native, while cornerback Courtney Robinson and free safety Jeromy Miles, a Navy transfer, also were preseason all-conference selections in the CAA.

“They’ve got weapons on that team from every direction, so we have to be sharp – real sharp,” said Miles, a 6-2, 215-pound junior. “… We know if we execute, we feel like we can compete with anybody pretty much.”

Opponents have thrown the ball in Smalls’ direction only five times this year, and he’s yielded only one reception for four yards. He’ll likely spend most of Saturday’s game lined up against Crabtree, who leads Tech with 24 catches for 395 yards and five touchdowns.

Miles leads the Minutemen with 17 solo tackles and ranks second on the team with 25 total tackles, and he also has one of UMass’ two interceptions.

But Miles and Smalls both said the secondary hasn’t performed up to par this season, and the same could be said for UMass’ defense as a whole. Nine starters returned from a unit that led the CAA in total defense and scoring defense last year, but so far this season, the Minutemen rank eighth and 11th, respectively, in those categories.

“We’ve kind of been struggling the last few weeks on defense, which is pretty rare,” Smalls said. “Hopefully this game will help us get back on our feet and back to where we want to be at.”

UMass head coach Don Brown has the same hopes, and he said his Minutemen must be opportunistic in terms of creating turnovers and capitalizing on mistakes the Red Raiders might make. He also said his defense can’t afford to overlook Tech’s running game, which produced 180 yards against SMU last week, and an offensive line that “blocks out the sun.”

“We have our hands full,” Brown said. “We have to play our best game just to have a chance.”