In case it wasn’t clear enough before, Tom Brady leaving New England and winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay this year cemented just how critical the quarterback position is for a football team.
Walt Bell has spent his first two years at the helm of the UMass program trying to fill the void under center, with a revolving door of players vying to be the starter at the most important position on the roster. Four different players took snaps at quarterback during the Minutemen’s four games last year, with nobody entrenching themselves as ‘the guy’ going into the 2021 season.
With the potential long-term answer — incoming freshman Brady Olson — not yet on campus, Colorado transfer Tyler Lytle is spending the first few weeks of spring practices trying to learn the offense and his new teammates. He’s hoping to prove he can be the UMass signal caller next season.
“I feel like I’ve been welcomed here with open arms,” Lytle said. “Teammates have been great, coaches have been great. The coaching staff is always around to get in extra work; you never have to find coaches. Everything I’ve asked for I’ve gotten it. From a teammate perspective, I’m getting acclimated to the receiving core, tight ends, offensive line, running backs. Things are coming together these first few practices.”
Adjusting to a new offense isn’t anything unusual for the redshirt sophomore. Bell will be his fourth different head coach during his five years in college football, as well as his fifth offensive coordinator.
Constantly having to learn and adapt to new schemes is a difficult task for a young quarterback, but Lytle said he feels he’s coming along well in the new offense.
“I’m becoming somewhat of a pro at learning new offenses and adapting to new coaching styles,” Lytle said. “Coach Bell and [quarterback coach Frederick] Walker and [football analyst Kyle] Schmidt have been great learning the new offense. I took a lot of things from Colorado in terms of maturing, growing up and the mental aspect of the game. Now I’m just continuing to grow on that here. You can’t expect to make huge strides every day but just coming in with a good mindset, focusing on the little things and progressing each day is all you can do.”
Having been in so many different systems throughout his college career, Lytle has learned there’s underlying similarities in all of them.
The offense he ran at Colorado is not the same as the one at UMass, but parts of it are similar enough to make the transition not as steep.
“There’s definitely carryover,” Lytle said. “There might be a little change in philosophy or scheme but everybody runs smash, everybody runs hitch, everybody runs four verticals, everybody runs space and stick. Throughout all levels of football and all different offenses, you run those same concepts just in terms of philosophy and the read, the play might be different. It’s just making those tweaks but there’s definitely carryover.”
With Thursday being just the fifth practice of the spring for the Minutemen, Bell likes what he sees from the California native, understanding there’s going to be some hiccups during the early stages of learning the offense.
“He’s had some really good moments and had some really average moments,” Bell said, “but that’s to be expected when you’re learning a new system. He can really drive the football down the field and he is what we thought he was going to be, which is an exciting thing. There’s some great competition in that room right now.”
According to 247Sports, coming out of high school Lytle was a three-star recruit and held offers from 13 power-five schools, ultimately choosing to play at Colorado. He appeared in seven games with the Buffaloes — four during the 2018 season and three during the 2019 season — completing four passes for 55 yards.
At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he’s a throwback pocket, pro-style quarterback though he’s working hard to use his athleticism more often.
“I try to be a leader both on and off the field,” Lytle said. “I’ve traditionally been a pocket quarterback but I feel I’ve made huge strides in my athleticism over the years and have been able to utilize my speed more. I’ve worked really hard to make plays with my feet as well.”
Lytle is currently competing with the four other quarterbacks on the UMass spring roster — Zamar Wise, Garrett Dzuro, Will Koch and Luke McMenamin.
Koch made two starts last season and Dzuro got the start in the Liberty game. Wise was used mostly at wide receiver last year and McMenamin didn’t make an appearance.
With multiple players vying for the starting role, Lytle believes it will bring the best out of everyone in the quarterback room.
“At the end of the day, competition creates greatness and there’s a lot of competition all over the team which is great,” he said. “Everybody is attacking it the right way. I’ve been very fortunate to have great competition here which will make everybody better.”