UMass coach Mark Whipple has named redshirt sophomore Ross Comis the starting quarterback for its Week 1 season opener at Florida in The Swamp, according to MassLive.com.
He beat out Virginia Tech transfer Andrew Ford during fall camp.
“Everybody knows that he’s going to start the game,” Whipple said of Comis. “And finish it, unless we don’t block for him.”
As a backup to then-senior quarterback Blake Frohnapfel in 2015, Comis completed 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) pass attempts for 171 yards and two touchdowns. That includes an appearance against Notre Dame, where he went 8-for-8 with 69 yards and a score through the air.
Florida will host the Minutemen (3-9 last season) on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Later on that month, Mississippi State will go on the road to face UMass for its Sept. 24 Week 4 non-conference matchup in Gillette Stadium – home of the New England Patriots.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
