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| AJ Hairston/Chris Tucci image |
The UMass QB room will look very different in 2025. Last year Taisun Phommachanh started and played eight games. It did not appear he had totally recovered from his injury suffered the previous year. His game was his dual-threat running and passing. In 2024 he appeared slower and less willing to run. He just did not pressure defenses as he did in 2023.
Coach Brown's loyalty to his QB may have cost him his job. After Phommachanh's second injury, the UMass offense became more productive under AJ Hairston and Ahmad Haston.
AJ Hairston went 4 GP 136.6 EFF 40-73-480 0 INT's 5TD's 75 LONG 120 yards/game.
Ahmad Haston went into the transfer portal.
Will Perry, after Hairston and Haston were hurt in the UConn game, came into the game cold with no previous appearances and engineered a nifty 73 yard scoring drive to make it close.
Will Perry 1 GP 148.6 EFF 7-11-72 1 TD .
Also in the QB room this year are:
Brandon Rose 6-2 212 from Power Four Utah. Rose appeared in three games during three years with the Utes.
Grant Jordan 6-2 210. Jordan was Honorable Mention All-Ivy in his last season with Yale and had a 66.4% completion ratio.
Ryan Jankowski 6-3 210. Transferred to UMass in 2024 from Akron. He did not appear in any games last year
Luke LoPresti 6-0 205. Transferred to UMass in 2024 from Duquesne. Did not see any game action last year.
Zach Lawrence, 6-1 195. A true freshman and a top-50 recruit in the state of North Carolina. Will probably redshirt.
Going into 2025. AJ Hairston, if healthy, would likely be the leader to start at QB. After him, Grant Jordan has the most game experience. Will Perry and Brandon Rose would be the other contenders.
