UMass coach Don Brown has dealt with a host of problem areas in the first half of the season but the interior defensive line isn’t one of them.
Defensive tackle Billy Wooden has been a bulwark in the Minutemen’s front seven with the capacity to stop the run and get after the passer.
Brown will be counting on Wooden again when the Minutemen (1-4) host Arkansas State (2-2, 1-0) of the Sun Belt Conference on Saturday (3:30) at McGuirk Stadium. ASU beat UMass 35-33 last season.
Wooden held down one of the few positions that Brown wasn’t urgently looking to upgrade in the transfer portal during the off season. He appeared in nine games last season and recorded 16 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles with 5.5 TFL’s and a forced fumble.
“The good thing with Billy is that we are kind of finally getting the really healthy Billy Wooden,” said Brown. “Last year was a year removed off his ACL injury so obviously there was a period of time where you have to get comfortable, get your strength back and be at full speed. We are seeing that guy this year for sure.”
Wooden has nearly exceeded those totals in five starts this season while establishing himself as a turnover machine. The 6-1, 310-pound, senior from Towson, Md., has five starts with 14 solo tackles, seven assisted with seven TFL’s, four sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Wooden recorded four solo tackles, three assists, three TFL’s, a sack and forced fumble in the Minutemen’s 34-31 overtime loss to New Mexico last Saturday at McGuirk.
“It has been a good ride for me this season,” said Wooden. “This is my last ride and I just want to leave it all out on the field. I give props to my coaches who have put me in this position and my body is feeling so much better than last year.”
Brown thought he had his quarterback situation solved when he brought in Clemson transfer Taisun Phommachanh and Carlos Davis from Western Kentucky.
Phommachanh looked terrific in the team’s win at New Mexico State in the season opener but got hurt the following game at Auburn. Davis has proven to be a capable back-up, but he was injured against New Mexico and his status is day-to-day.
