UMass Season Preview | Quarterbacks
A look at the three signal-callers who will be competing to be the starter this season.
Whenever there is a question about the quarterback position heading into the season, that will always be a dominant storyline throughout preseason camp and that’ll definitely be the case in Amherst for the next month…or at least until first-year head coach Joe Harasymiak and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian announce a starter.
Most quarterback competitions are heads-up battles, but UMass appears to have a legitimate three-man race for who will take the first snap against Temple on Aug. 30th.
The Minutemen had two signal-callers competing during Harasymiak’s first spring - AJ Hairston and Grant Jordan - but this competition was never going to be complete until Brandon Rose had his say.
“We're excited about all three of those guys,” Harasymiak said from MAC Media Day last week. “Coach Jake's doing a really good job managing reps.
“That's going to be a great competition in camp. It's going to be awesome and I'm excited for it.”
It isn’t clear exactly when Harasymiak and Bajakian plan to anoint a starter or how they intend to structure the competition in terms of the sharing of reps, but we should get a better sense of both when Harasymiak speaks to the media on Wednesday.
THE CANDIDATES
AJ HAIRSTON
The incumbent - in a sense - Hairston played in the final four games a year ago and finished the season completing 40 of his 73 pass attempts (54.7%) for 480 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder from Pompano Beach, Fla., was pretty impressive in limited action, especially his last two games, when he combined to complete 20 of 37 pass attempts for 255 yards and four touchdowns.
Keeping Hairston on the roster was a priority for Harasymiak and his staff when the new coach arrived and we think they’re even more impressed with him after being around him for the past several months than they were initially.
“We were able to keep him when we got in here,” Harasymiak said at MAC Media Day last week. “He's got immense talent to him.”
Hairston has truly impressive arm talent, which Harasymiak has repeatedly described as elite.
“It's big-time,” Harasymiak said of Hairston’s arm during the spring.
Hairston doesn’t bring as much when it comes to moving around the pocket to extend plays or move the chains with his legs as Jordan and Rose. The biggest question surrounding Hairston will be whether his arm will be enough to make up for the athleticism the other two contenders can add to the equation.
GRANT JORDAN
The former Yale quarterback was in Amherst during the spring and often took the bulk of the first-team reps.
The grad transfer started for Yale a year ago and was an honorable mention All-Ivy League honoree.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound New Orleans native completed 166 of his 250 pass attempts (66.4%) a year ago for 1,938 yards with 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also ran for another 360 yards and five scores on 77 attempts.
“Does a great job, very smart,” Harasymiak said of Jordan. “He's always working at it, good arm strength.”
Jordan doesn’t have the arm talent that Hairston has, but he does bring some additional mobility. The question for him will be whether the coaches believe his combination of athleticism, smarts and a capable arm gives the Minutemen offense the best chance.
BRANDON ROSE
Check out Tommy Guy’s breakdown of Rose here.
Of the three, Rose may have the highest ceiling.
A true dual-threat quarterback, the California native transferred to UMass from Utah, where he was with Bajakian last season.
The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder started for the Utes against BYU a year ago and looked sharp in the rivalry game, completing 12 of 21 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He also ran for 55 yards on seven carries, but suffered an injury and was lost for the season in that same game.
That injury kept him from fully participating in the spring.
“He's been full-go in the summer,” Harasymiak said. “Can do it with his arm, do it with his legs.”
If Rose can stay healthy, he may be the guy who can make the offense go.
And, in case you missed it, Tommy sat down with assistant QB coach Grant Belcher for his thoughts on all three quarterbacks and more.
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