Learn more about the Gophers’ newest signal caller
Earlier this week, the Minnesota Golden Gophers received a commitment from Georgia Tech transfer quarterback Zach Pyron, who is being brought in to compete for the starting quarterback position. We found out to our friends at From the Rumble Seat, the Georgia Tech SB Nation site, to learn more about the Gophers’ newest signal caller.
I dug into the From the Rumble Seat archives and found their original post from when Pyron committed out of high school. Here was their scouting report at the time:
Watching his highlights, there is a lot to like here. Throughout the video, he faces a lot of pressure from opposing defenses, but he’s able to move around and avoid sacks while still keeping his eyes downfield. He showed that he has decent but not great wheels on runs. He’s also really good at the short-to-intermediates passes that he makes. His deep balls leave a little to be desired, though. There were a couple really good ones that defenders didn’t have a chance at touching, but there were also several where the receiver had to slow up to catch the ball. It’s less easy to get away with that at the college level. Overall, I really like this addition, and if he can work out those deep throws, Tech has got themselves a player.
And here is my brief Q&A with Jack Purdy, Site Manager of From The Rumble Seat:
The Daily Gopher: Based on his three years with the Yellow Jackets, what are Pyron’s strengths as a quarterback? What are his weaknesses?
Jack Purdy: Dude is an absolute bulldog.
In a moment in Georgia Tech’s football history where it was clear 100% effort was not being given, Pyron was a breath of fresh air when he took over at quarterback in 2022. The best version of his competitive drive we saw was against Virginia Tech back in 2022 where he repeatedly was trying to mow over guys, eventually breaking his collarbone that season because he was going for contact tackles. There are not many tougher quarterbacks out there right now than Pyron. Even if he’s having a bad day, he’s going to play hard in a way that can’t be disrespected.
This year, while Haynes King was healthy, he was pretty much exclusively used as a running quarterback on 1-yard-or-less situations. It regularly worked until NC State finally caught wind of how we used him. In the games he had to start (Virginia Tech and Notre Dame), the biggest issue we saw was accuracy and decision-making in the pocket. Notre Dame was a dead-on-arrival game for us, so I wouldn’t read into that, but against VT there were multiple open guys he missed that would’ve kept drives alive but he just didn’t. Eventually we put in Aaron Philo, who immediately made a dent, essentially making Pyron the third-string quarterback for the rest of the season.
TDG: What was the story of Pyron’s time at Georgia Tech, and why did he ultimately transfer?
JP: Pyron loved Georgia Tech. He absolutely could’ve transferred sooner (we’re pretty sure he got offers to leave), but he wanted that Georgia Tech degree and is a Yellow Jacket at heart. He would’ve started more in 2022 if he hadn’t gotten injured.
Once Haynes King transferred over from Texas A&M, it wasn’t clear in 2023 if Pyron or King would take over the starting job. We knew Pyron could do it, but then as we’ve all seen, King has been a revelation for the Georgia Tech offense and helped turn us into one of the more dangerous units in the ACC. Pyron took on his new role this season and at no point was there drama in our quarterback room, even with three dudes who could legitimately start a game if needed. Now that he’s finished his undergrad and it’s highly unlikely he was going to get playing time regardless of if Philo or King is our starter next year, it made all the sense in the world for him to move on to get the playing time he wants.
TDG: Is there anything else Gopher fans should know about Pyron?
JP: I do believe Pyron took an official visit to Minnesota during his recruitment, so I’ll bet it’s not random that he chose y’all for his graduate school seasons. I think Gopher fans are going to love his demeanor, his personality, and how humble of a guy he is. He has a great family supporting him, and I hope y’all get to get to know them like we have.