University of Massachusets Athletics
The '06 season full of potential for Liam Coen
September 20, 2006 | Football
Sept. 20, 2006
Here's a scary thought for football coaches in the Atlantic 10 Conference: Liam Coen, the UMass quarterback who dazzled opponents for four years at La Salle Academy, is just beginning to show how good he can be in college.
Coen is the A-10 Offensive Player of the Week for his superb 21-for-28, 350-yard, two-touchdown, zero-interception performance Saturday in the Minutemen's 31-21 victory at Villanova.
"Liam Coen played really well," UMass coach Don Brown said Monday in the understatement of the week. Coen's passing yardage was the second-highest of his career and the eighth-highest in UMass history.
It was just a year ago that Coen, a red-shirt freshman at the time, took over as the starting quarterback. He finished with 2,175 passing yards, a 217.5 average that placed him fifth in the league. He was also fifth in passing efficiency. This season he has passed for 654 yards in three games, a 218-yard average, third in the league. He is also third in passing efficiency.
"He's more experienced. He has played in big A-10 games," Brown said. "He's a lot more cool and calm. He has a good cast around him, and he manages the game extremely well. He's not forcing things. If you make a mistake, he'll make you pay for it."
At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and possessing a sound arm, Coen has the physical tools to play quarterback at the I-AA level. But Brown is equally impressed by his mental tools.
"He's a very cool customer. He loves the game of football. He loves to watch tape," the coach said.
He also loves to project an image of calm in the maelstrom that is a college football game.
"We got excitable guys, and he brings a calming influence to that group," Brown said. "You're starting to see the tip of the iceberg as far as how good he can be."
