Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh matched the entire specs that UMass’ head coach Don Brown seems for in a refugee within the NCAA switch portal.
Phommachanh was a four-star recruit out of prep college and rated within the high 10 at his place by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN. Phommachanh gravitated in the direction of two Power-5 faculty packages with lofty ambitions solely to grew to become a depth chart casualty at each locations.
Phommachanh had unproductive stints within the ACC at Georgia Tech and Clemson earlier than selecting UMass to make a contemporary begin with a sensible alternative of seeing the taking part in subject.
Phommachanh’s perseverance was rewarded on Monday when Brown named him the Minutemen’s starter within the season opener on Saturday evening (7) at New Mexico State. UMass misplaced to NMS 23-13 final season.
“We are going with Taisun,” stated Brown. “It was not a scenario where one guy didn’t win the job and the other guy did. It was really just that his play was exemplary and I’m comfortable and happy with the other guys as well.”
The quarterback place was the Minutemen’s overwhelming drawback space final season on a workforce that went 1-11 for the second 12 months in a row. Brown employed six totally different quarterbacks and none of them may produce a sustained passing assault.
Brady Olson of Bellingham was the best, finishing 77 of 153 passes for 791 yards with eight interceptions and two touchdowns in 9 video games. Dual menace QB Dino Campiotti was a distant second and was transformed into a decent finish in coaching camp.
Olson had the advantage of incumbency, nevertheless it grew to become apparent early in coaching camp that the competitors was between the 6-4, 215-pound, Phommachanh, and Carlos Davis, a 6-2, 225-pound, switch from Western Carolina.
“He can run, he can throw it and we just made the decision that he was going to get us off on the right foot,” stated Brown. “Obviously he has a really feel for the place, however the actuality is we make our personal selections.
“We just felt at this time he was the guy we were going to go with. In that quarterbacks’ room, they’ve all got each other’s backs. There are good guys in there.”
Phommachanh is from Bridgeport, Conn., and attended Avon Old Farms prep college. He accomplished 339 passes with 46 touchdowns at AOF.
Phommachanh’s dual-threat capabilities put the run cross choice in play, however he’ll want a sustained floor assault with the specter of play motion to get the UMass offense up and working.
Tailbacks Kay’Ron Adams and Gregory Desrosiers, who performed scholastically at Belmont Hill, have had their moments working the ball however weren’t dependable full-time ball carriers.
Adams rushed for 335 yards on 84 carries that included a 66-yard landing run in opposition to New Mexico State. Derosiers had 223 yards on 44 carries with two touchdowns.
The working backs room received deeper with the addition of Jalen John, a 5-11, 225-pound, redshirt sophomore who spent the final three seasons at Arizona. John performed in 9 video games with three begins for the Wildcats and gained 250 yards on 62 carries.
“We have a number of guys who can carry it,” stated Brown. “We are excited and Derosiers has actually jumped into the combo and we’re actually proud of him and Kay’Ron.
“We have a number of guys we are excited about and the one thing is, if we can get out in front of it with the run game. What I told the guys is we are not going to talk about it, we are going to be about it. It is put up or shut up at this time.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com