AMHERST — The UMass football team held its first camp practice ahead of the 2024 season on Friday on a 90-degree day at McGuirk Stadium.

The Minutemen open their season with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Aug. 31 at home against future MAC opponent Eastern Michigan. It’ll be the fourth straight season the two schools face each other, but the first matchup in Amherst since 2021. Eastern Michigan has won the past three meetings, including a 19-17 win over UMass last year where the Eagles scored a game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes.

Friday’s practice was the first step in a several-week ramp-up to the opening of the regular season. Head coach Don Brown was pleased with how the summer has gone for the Minutemen and said the roster currently sits at 107 players.

“June was a really good month for us,” Brown said. “Because the NCAA allows us to work with the players now and do some things with the football.”

UMass returns starting quarterback Taisun Phommachanh, but the weapons around him have changed significantly. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, who rushed for a UMass FBS program record 1,157 yards last season, transferred to Michigan State. His backup, Greg Desrosiers, left for Memphis.

Jalen John is the only returning running back to have carried the ball last year, though he rushed for just 31 yards on 10 attempts. John followed Brown from Arizona, and Brown maintained that John was the best running back the Wildcats had in 2021. On Friday, Brown said he was impressed with a few of John’s runs up the middle where she showed off his straight-line speed.

To help fill Lynch-Adams and Desrosiers’ shoes, the Minutemen brought in transfer CJ Hester (Western Michigan). In one season with Western Michigan, Hester carried the ball 29 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

While speaking during his media availability on Friday, Brown rapped his knuckles on the table to knock on wood that running back Jackson Paradis, who didn’t play for Buffalo in 2022 and didn’t play for UMass in 2023, will be healthy for the season. He also mentioned running back Cookie Desiderio, another transfer (Tulsa) who hasn’t played in two years of college football, as someone who helped the Minutemen during practice this spring.

“Some people can go ahead and b**** about the portal and all that, or you can go ahead and use what’s right in it and use it for your benefits,” Brown said. “And I think we’ve done a good job at that.”

At wide receiver, UMass added grad transfers Sterling Galban (Texas Tech), Frank Ladson Jr. (Miami) and Jakobie Keeney-James (Eastern Washington) to a room that returns leading receiver Anthony Simpson (57 receptions, 792 yards, 3 TDs) but no one else who caught a pass last year.

“Simpson will be a key guy for us as well,” Brown said. “I have no doubt about that.”