AMHERST — For the first time this season, AJ Hairston will trot out on the field Saturday as the UMass football starting quarterback. Hairston started three games as a true freshman in 2024 under Don Brown, but transfers Brandon Rose (Utah) and Grant Jordan (Yale) saw almost all of the action under center through three games this season with Joe Harasymiak as head coach.
Hairston, who was announced on Monday as the Week 4 starter against Missouri (Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU) during Harasymiak’s weekly media availability, has appeared in two contests this season — going 7-for-12 with 84 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
With Rose battling an injury and Jordan not showing the ability to consistently push the ball down the field with his arm, Hairston now has his chance as the team’s QB1.
Harasymiak feels more than confident with the redshirt freshman manning the offense.
“I think he deserves it,” Harasymiak said of Hairston. “He’s done a great job since that decision (Rose getting the start Week 1) was made in camp, kept pushing forward, has been better with his preparation. So I’m looking forward to him getting his chance, getting his start. It’s because he put the right things in and the right work over that time period. I’m excited for him.”
Rose and Jordan brought a scrambling ability to the table that Hairston doesn’t necessarily have. They used their legs to extend and create plays, and designed quarterback runs were a key part of offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian’s play calling.
Although Hairston may not be as quick and agile as those two, he undoubtedly has the best arm. He throws the best spiral, can chuck it the furthest and he makes the right decisions. He has yet to throw an interception in the six games he’s played in throughout his young college career.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound gunslinger is more than capable of leading the Minutemen into Missouri, especially considering he threw for 121 yards and a TD on the road against Georgia last fall.
“Obviously AJ’s arm talent is what you want, right?” Harasymiak said. “It’s superb. And now it’s just him taking charge of the offense, the huddle, all those kinds of things that he’s had growth in. And there’s been growth the whole preseason since spring, and like I said I’m very excited for him to get this opportunity. Certainly his arm talent is No. 1, and his decision making … that will be critical this week, because [Missouri’s] defense is creating havoc at all levels.”
Harasymiak said he made the choice to go with Hairston on Sunday, and revealed he had conversations with all of the QBs to inform them of that.
He evaluated the tape from the Iowa game, saw enough from practices late last week and decided it was time to give him a shot.
“We wanted to take some time to see how the practices went during the week,” Harasymiak said. “He just kept moving forward. Yesterday we had a discussion with all the quarterbacks [to let them know].”
One of Hairston’s strengths is getting the ball out quickly, and not taking sacks. He hasn’t yet been sacked this season in his limited time. Although he doesn’t rely on his legs much, he maneuvers in the pocket well to avoid pass rushes, and is always content with throwing the ball away instead of throwing it into danger.
Part of that is Bajakian’s play calling, giving Hairston short routes to fire at, but a lot of it is Hairston’s ability to simply play quarterback at a high level.
UMass fans are eager to watch him operate moving forward.
“[Rose and Jordan] don’t really have the elite arm talent that AJ has,” Harasymiak said. “So we’ll put together [plays] for him, and then ultimately, I think you’ll see he’s going to have to create something because [Missouri’s] two defensive ends are havoc creators … We have to put him in the best position possible. Hopefully we can do that and [let him go play].”
