‘Less Severe Than the Rumors of a Broken Foot,’ ‘Next Man Up’ — UMass Turns to Freshman Aedan McCarthy as Ankle Injury Sidelines Pop Watson
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UMass quarterback Williams ‘Pop’ Watson III will miss Saturday’s homecoming game against Miami (OH) with an ankle injury, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning, with true freshman Aedan McCarthy set to make his first career start for a Minutemen team looking to rebound from its first defeat this year.
Pop Watson to Miss Miami (OH) Game With Ankle Injury, ESPN Reports
Thamel, a college football senior writer for ESPN, cited sources for the news and added that McCarthy has appeared in two games this season. “UMass quarterback Pop Watson will miss the game against Miami University today. He’s dealing with an ankle injury.”
Watson, a senior transfer from Virginia Tech and a Springfield, Mass., native, has completed 74 of 100 passes this season for 820 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions, and he has run for four more scores. On Pro Football Network’s board, his PFN Impact grade of 82.7 this season ranks tied for 34th of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks.
EVERY QB, GRADED:PFN’s CFB QB Impact Rankings
One UMass fan, answering Thamel’s report, called the news brutal before adding, “Let’s just hope it’s not as bad as everyone is assuming.”
Thamel’s report covered only Saturday’s game and did not say how long Watson would be out. UMass plays its next two games on the road, at Buffalo on Oct. 17 and at UConn on Oct. 23.
Another fan found some relief in the report while bracing for a longer absence. “Less severe than the rumors of a broken foot, could be missing a few games.”
In the loss to Eastern Michigan, Watson went 20 of 27 for 210 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He said afterward that the team’s penalties were his fault. “We’re going to respond this week.”
Aedan McCarthy Steps In for UMass
Another UMass fan wrote that he had hoped the news was a rumor pushed by bettors. “I guess I was a little too hopeful. Next Man Up.”
That next man is McCarthy, Thamel reported. A freshman from Bluffton, S.C., McCarthy chose UMass over 11 other Division I offers. He made his college debut Sept. 12 against Sacred Heart, relieving Watson midway through the third quarter of a 37-10 win, and completed two passes for 11 yards.
He threw for 6,643 yards with 69 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in high school. When he signed with UMass last December, head coach Joe Harasymiak said, “[McCarthy] takes care of the football.”
Harasymiak said Sept. 28 that he was comfortable with the three quarterbacks behind Watson, though he hoped not to need them. “You never know until you got to get in that situation. Hopefully we can avoid that, but at some point probably it’ll happen.”
UMass and Miami (OH) Face Off in the Battle of the Backups
Miami (OH), 2-3 and 0-1 in the MAC, is in a similar spot for Saturday’s Week 6 game. Opening-day starter David McComb has been ruled out for the season after an injury against UConn on Sept. 26, and Caleb Heavner made his first start in the RedHawks’ 24-20 loss to Bowling Green last week.
Another response to the news embraced the matchup. “Let the Battle of the Backups begin!”
Against Bowling Green, Heavner went 17 of 24 for 198 yards and a touchdown. Heavner’s PFN Impact grade of 66.1 this season ranks 141st of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks.
CHECK YOUR TEAM’S ODDS:PFN’s CFB FPM
PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter gave UMass a 51.5% chance to win the game and a 3.9% chance to win the MAC before the news that Watson wouldn’t play was announced.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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