UMass vs. Pitt a tale of two quarterbacks
Lytle, Pickett set to square off at Heinz Field
UMass coach Walt Bell has two quarterbacks factored into his game plan going into the Minutemen’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday (4) at Heinz Field.
The first is the formidable looking Tyler Lytle, a 6-foot-5, 225pound graduate transfer from Colorado, who will make his UMass debut and first career FBS start against Pittsburgh.
Lytle saw limited action with the Buffaloes but gained immense knowledge of the position under three different offensive coordinators. Lytle was all but assured of the starting job the second Bell extracted him from the NCAA transfer portal.
“He is good to go and he will be the starter against Pitt,” said Bell. “He has done a really nice job, he
did a great job in the spring and now we have added some parts on offense.
“I think he’s elevated his game and he throws the football well.
He’s a timely decision maker and that’s what we need. He earned the job and we are excited for Saturday.”
While Lytle is operating from a clean canvas, his counterpart, Pitt field general Kenny Pickett, is recognized as one of the premier passers in the ACC.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound redshirt senior is a pro-style pocket passer from Oakhurst, N.J., who completed 203 of 332 passes for 2,408 yards over nine starts in the COVID-19 abbreviated 2020 season. In 2019, Pickett completed 289 of 469 passes for 3,098 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Pickett will make his 37th start against the Minutemen and he enters the season on watchlists for the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Manning Award.
“I think the easy thing to say is the arm talent that he absolutely possesses,” said Bell. “He will be a draft pick and he has incredible arm talent and he has multiple years in the system so he’ll have a great level of comfort.
“I think the thing people forget about him is that he is a very good athlete. He has the ability to make reactionary plays when things break down and create for himself on his feet.
“He is hard to get on the ground. He is the whole package. He’s a good football player and another great challenge for us.”
UMass had little to show from its four stop-gap games in 2020 that Bell had little time to prepare for. UMass initially shut down in August 2020 but regrouped in October with a patchwork team that went nowhere in lopsided losses. The Minutemen have a new look with a refurbished roster full of young players and refugees from the transfer portal.
Bell and his staff have done an exceptional job with player personnel. But UMass plays an independent schedule and opens the campaign against consecutive ACC powerhouse programs. After Pitt, UMass will host Boston College on Sept. 11 at McGuirk Stadium.
“Even though we are still young we have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football and we are really excited to see our team’s development,” said Bell. “Anytime you play great competition it raises your level and we honestly don’t care who we play or where they are from.”