Harasymiak Sees Leader In New UMass QB Pop Watson
UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak says Pop Watson gives the Minutemen both the quarterback and leadership they were missing last season.
Joe Harasymiak didn’t just need to find a quarterback this offseason. The UMass head coach also needed to find a leader.
He believes he found both in Pop Watson.
After cycling through multiple quarterbacks during a difficult first season, Harasymiak entered the offseason looking for more than improved play at the game’s most important position.
He also wanted someone capable of leading an almost entirely new football team.
“I think the quarterback at any program has to be the leader,” Harasymiak said Wednesday during the MAC Football Kickoff in Detroit.
“That was an issue for us last year at that position. Our entire quarterback room is brand new, the entire room.”
The former Springfield Central High School star checked plenty of boxes, but it was his presence away from the field that immediately stood out.
“He’s transferring in from Virginia Tech, he’s a local kid, Springfield Central here in Western Mass.,” Harasymiak said. “He’s the son of a coach, you know he’s been raised the right way. He’s got great leadership qualities. Everybody gravitates towards him.”
Those qualities are especially important for a UMass team that has undergone a dramatic roster overhaul this offseason. With dozens of newcomers joining the program, including longtime teammate Joe Griffin, who Watson may have thrown more passes to than anyone during their careers together, Harasymiak believes leadership from the quarterback position will play a critical role in bringing the team together.
Watson also provides a skill set Harasymiak felt the Minutemen lacked a season ago.
“He’s got the ability to create that second play that I think you see so much now in college football when things break down, which we struggled with tremendously last year just being able to create that,” Harasymiak said.
It’s obvious Watson’s infectious attitude has impressed his new head coach.
“I’m excited for him,” he said. “He’s a great young man which I’m most excited about, credit to his parents. Just really happy he’s back home, that means a lot to us.”
Bringing Watson home also aligns with a broader objective for the program.
Harasymiak has repeatedly stressed the importance of recruiting Massachusetts, and landing one of the state’s most recognizable quarterbacks represents another step in that direction.
“We’ve got to recruit the state,” Harasymiak said. “A local kid that’s coming back and can lead us to places we’ve never been. That’s the hope.”
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