UMass QB Tyler Lytle eyes fresh start with Minutemen

UMass quarterback Tyler Lytle departed Colorado with an abundance of football knowledge and little to show for it in terms of game experience.

Lytle will get the chance to make that know-how operational when he leads his faction of the Minutemen’s offense in the annual spring game on Saturday (11 a.m.) at McGuirk Stadium.

“This is my fifth year and this is my fourth head coach and fifth offensive coordinator so I’ve became somewhat of a pro at learning new offenses and adapting to new coaching styles,” said Lytle.

“I’m learning a new offense but I think I’ve taken a lot of things from Colorado in terms of maturity, growing up and learning the mental aspects of the game. I’m continuing to build on that here and looking forward to competing and working on my game.”

Lytle is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound pocket passer from Redondo Beach, Calif., who set passing records at Servite High School in Anaheim. Lytle was a prized recruit who couldn’t find the field on a sustained basis in Boulder and his prospects never improved over three seasons.

Lytle played in four games in 2018, three in 2019 and none last season. Lytle has an opportunity to realize his ambitions of being a starter with a G-5 independent program like UMass while still competing against Power-5 programs.

The Minutemen open the 2021 season against consecutive ACC opponents and three overall. UMass plays at Pittsburgh on Sept. 4 and hosts Boston College the following Saturday. The Minutemen play at Florida State on Oct. 23.

“It’s been great and I really feel that I’ve been welcomed here with open arms, my teammates have been great and the coaches have been great,” said Lytle.

“The coaching staff is always around and I’m getting extra work and always watching extra film. I’ve really gotten acclimated with the receiving corps, the tight ends, the offensive line and the running backs. Everything is coming together in practices and scrimmages.”

Lytle is in competition with Garrett Dzuro and Zamar Wise for the starting job and they approach the position from different perspectives.

UMass head coach Walt Bell is the Minutemen’s play-caller, so has a good handle on what each quarterback brings to the huddle. Bell said Lytle has impressed at building on his strengths over 13 practices and two scrimmages.

“As of right now, Tyler Lytle is a bigger, taller kid who can distribute the ball really well and he’s done a nice job learning the offense,” said Bell. “But he still has a way to go to get where we all would like him to be, but that’s every quarterback in the country.

“He’s done an incredible job but I think his biggest strength is distributing the football. He’s really smart, really analytical and he’s done a nice job over 13 practices taking care of the ball.”

The quarterbacks room got smaller with the departure of redshirt freshman Will Koch, who is seeking opportunities elsewhere. Koch was the Minutemen’s most proficient passer last season, completing 24-of-40 tosses for 166 yards and a touchdown in three games as a true freshman.

Redshirt sophomore Dzuro developed his dual threat skills a St. Edwards High School in Lakewood, Ohio. Dzuro appeared in three games and completed 15 of 36 passes with two picks. Redshirt freshman Wise is a 6-foot-2, 188-pound converted wide receiver who also played quarterback and running back at Barringer/Milford Academy in New Berlin, N.Y.

“Garrett is a worker and he’s a guy that is going to maximize every bit of the athletic potential that he has,” said Bell. “He is incredibly invested, a tough guy that can run and throw and is a jack of all trades physically.

“Zamar Wise is a guy that is learning and growing as a quarterback and a passer and is one of the best athletes on the team. Anytime he has the ball in his hands in open space is a good time.”

Bell intends to a conduct a contact game with the exception of the quarterback position with the full offense on one sideline and defense on the other. Although his two-deep depth chart is a work in progress, Bell intends to put first offense against first defense and then progress down the line. He also inserted a few wrinkles and incentives that gives the spring football game some character.

“We are a little beat-up at one position group right now so we can’t necessarily split up in separate teams,” said Bell. “We will go O versus D and we will have a scoring system.

“The defense will have a scoring system and the offense will score as normal. We will get 10 possessions in the open field and then we’ll have a red zone lockout period that will last anywhere between five and seven possessions.

“We are hoping to get somewhere between 15 to 16 total possessions and somewhere around 100 total plays and we’ll tackle to the ground minus the quarterback.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3t1qnqV