AMHERST — It will be monitored closely throughout the rest of the summer, and will be the most talked about position group among the fan base. The UMass football team has three starting-worthy quarterbacks, but only one can be tabbed QB1 come Week 1 against Temple on Aug. 30.
During Wednesday’s preseason practice opener, Utah transfer Brandon Rose — who is now healthy after suffering a season-ending injury last fall — was a full participant for the first time since joining UMass back in the winter. He split first-team reps with redshirt freshman AJ Hairston and graduate transfer Grant Jordan (Yale).
Equal first-team reps will likely be the case for the next few weeks, or at least until first-year head coach Joe Harasymiak sees separation among the three. They each bring something different to the table. Rose and Jordan pose as dual-threat guys with the ability to extend plays and throw on the run, while Hairston is more of a traditional pocket passer with a rocket for an arm.
Harasymiak said he values one area more than the rest when evaluation the quarterback competition.
“I look at the operation, but most importantly taking care of the football,” he said. “That’s number one to me. The ball is the heartbeat… The ins and outs of the reads and stuff like that, that’s why you hire great people. But I’ll be looking at the operation, the body language around the quarterbacks from the other teammates when they get in the huddle. But certainly number one is taking care of the football.”
Last year, Rose appeared in three games for Utah, his best coming against top-10 ranked BYU — which made the College Football Playoff — in a 22-21 loss. Rose completed 12 of his 21 pass attempts for 112 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and added 55 yards on the ground. He injured his leg in the second quarter of that game and powered through to finish it, but he was shut down for the rest of the season.
Jordan appeared in nine games for Yale, and he was terrific in each one. He posted a 6-2 record as a starter (the two losses coming by a combined four points) and threw for 1,938 yards, 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions. His legs were also a weapon, as he dashed for 360 yards and five scores on the ground, with a season-high 73 rushing yards coming in a huge 34-29 victory over Harvard in the final game of the year — one in which Jordan accumulated 360 total yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. In a 56-34 win over Brown, Jordan tossed for 372 yards, six TDs and no picks.
As for Hairston, his time was limited, and all of his action came late in the season after original starter Taisun Phommachanh went down with an injury. Hairston showed promise in each outing, most notably throwing for 134 yards and three TDs against UConn to end the season. Hairston also recorded 121 yards and a touchdown against national powerhouse Georgia on the road in a hostile environment. He totaled 480 yards, five passing scores and no interceptions in four games, while also recording 24 carries for -5 yards.
Each quarterback has their strengths, and each one is certainly capable of winning the competition in camp.
“They’re just going to keep battling,” Harasymiak said. “We’re just rotating who’s with the ones, who’s with the twos and who’s with the threes. It rotates by period [of practice]. I’m proud of those guys. Those guys are fighting through it… It’s interesting. They all have different things they have strengths and weaknesses of, and it kind of brings out the best in all of them.”
After going through spring practice with just Hairston and Jordan available while Rose wrapped up injury rehab, all three quarterbacks were in full swing on Wednesday. Harasymiak noted that the addition of Rose into the mix added an entirely different level of intensity.
The wide receiver room noticed a change as well.
“I love all three of them, if any of them play I’ll be happy with it,” redshirt junior T.Y. Harding said. “They all have their own identity, you know what I’m saying? [Brandon] Rose, it was his first day back; his arm is amazing. Beautiful touch on the ball. Same with AJ and Grant, they all have their own things they’ve got going on. But being with B-Rose was amazing. I like B-Rose a lot.”
Harasymiak said there is no timeline for when a QB1 will be named, simply saying “when it happens, I’ll know.”
More on UMass’ quarterback competition will come as camp progresses into August.
