University of Massachusets Athletics
Massachusetts Football Camp Countdown - Quarterbacks
August 31, 2022 | Football
Jay Burnham talks with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Steve Casula about UMass’ quarterback competition.
Wrapping up our Camp Countdown conversations, Jay Burnham sat down with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Steve Casula to talk about the Minutemen's quarterback competition.
Since arriving at UMass, Casula has thoroughly enjoyed his time around the five individuals in his quarterbacks room. "They're fun to be around," he said. "They're engaged. They know when to be light they know when to be light. They know when to be serious. They've got the right kind of attitude. They support each other, but it's not manufactured, it's not fake. They're about the success of our offense."
Going into camp without a clear-cut QB1 was not a new experience for Casula. "I've been exposed to the fall quarterback competition in fall camp quite a bit and I've been lucky to either be intimately involved in those decisions about who the quarterback was going to be or how it was going to be structured or, at worst, there to assess and see it go on," he explained. "It's not different to me, it really isn't. Fortunately, we've got a group of guys where it's not totally different to them either where they've all competed before to play and they've been about it in the right fashion."
Casula wants to make it clear that the decision will be tough, not because of lack of talent in the room but rather the abundance of it. "I'd say this, I've been a part of quarterback competitions that there's a quarterback competition where there's a competition because you don't have one," he said. "That's not what this is. We've got guys that can play. We really do.
I don't want to make it seem like everyone has had this perfect fall camp, no, there's been ups and downs, but there's been a great back and forth amongst all five guys that play quarterback for us."
Gino Campiotti – Manteca, Calif. – Manteca – 6-3 – 215
Campiotti, who has past experience playing tight end, as well, came to UMass after appearing in 11 games at Modesto Junior College last fall and throwing for 1,931 yards and 18 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 55.4%.
Steve Casula on Campiotti – "The first thing I would say about Gino is he is competitive beyond reproach. He's his own hardest critic. That, a lot of times, is a really good thing. He is about the right stuff. He's one of the hardest working guys we have in the weight room, he's one of the hardest working guys we have that's a part of team runs. Gino happens to be able to run the football, but Gino can really throw the football too. He's got a very strong arm. He's got good anticipation. He makes good decisions and Gino is a guy that's dying trying for us to win. I'm really excited about what he's done in the time he's been here. He has gone out of his way to make himself better, just above and beyond getting coached, how he trains, how serious and intentional he is about playing the position. He's had an outstanding camp. He is a big put together guy. He's muscled up."
Garrett Dzuro – Lakewood, Ohio – St. Edward – 5-11 – 200
Dzuro, who is coming off offseason surgery, backed up Tyler Lytle last fall and totaled 139 yards rushing on 29 carries. He appeared in three games in 2020 after redshirting due to injury in 2019.
Steve Casula on Dzuro – "Garrett deserves a lot of credit. Garrett started the last two games of last season when he wasn't 100 percent relative to his health. You want to talk about toughness and grit, Garrett Dzuro has those things. Garrett Dzuro's a state championship quarterback as a senior in high school playing a national schedule, had a 149 yards in the state championship game and led his team to a state championship. Garrett Dzuro is made of all of the right stuff. Garrett is coming off an offseason surgery but he is getting back in the rhythm more and more every single day. Garrett Dzuro, not just of the quarterback position but of our team, has the pulse of our team. He's one of the guys. Garrett is an outstanding student, he's a really good football player. We are so fortunate to have him. When pressure's on, his hand doesn't move. There's no flinch in Garrett Dzuro. It's great to have him around. He's another guy that can go and help us win football games and be a major contributor to our offense.
Brady Olson – Bellingham, Mass. – Milford – 6-4 – 200
Olson stepped into a starting role for the Minutemen last season as a true freshman following an injury to the squad's game one starter and saw action in nine contests. He completed 104 passes on 216 attempts for 1,145 yards and connected for eight touchdown passes. Olson also had 28 yards on 35 carries on the ground.
Steve Casula on Olson – "Brady Olson is a football guy from a football family. His dad's been a coach, his uncles are both coaches and Brady loves football, Brady's all football all the time. Brady is as talented of a player that I've probably I've ever been around. He has that much good inside of him. There's not a throw on the football field he can't make. There's not a run he can't execute. He hasn't even been put in a ton of situations to run the football in his career, Brady Olson can run, can carry the football. Brady Olson is really in to being a football player. A year ago, Brady was put in a tough spot, he was, and it's hard to play quarterback in college football period. It's particularly hard to play it when you're young. It's particularly hard to play it when you find yourself in a lot of situations where you might be behind or you've got to go throw the ball to win it, but I do think he's learned a lot from that experience and has grown through it and that hasn't always been easy. Each and every day from where he was when we started in the spring to where he is now, where he's grown is night and day. That's a credit to him. He's fun to coach."
Zamar Wise – Newark, N.J. – Milford Academy (N.Y.) – 6-2 – 190
Wise had six completions on nine attempts for 22 yards in 2021 and ran for 136 yards on 35 carries with one touchdown on the ground over seven games of action. He also appeared in two games as a receiver in 2020.
Steve Casula on Wise – "He's as good as anyone else in the room. Zamar is a great athlete, but a part of his great athleticism is his capacity to throw the football. There's nothing on the football field that Zamar Wise can't do. He is, under the right conditions, electric. Zamar has been outstanding. Z, his rhythm and timing has grown in the pass game, he's become more comfortable hanging in the pocket a little bit longer and make all the throws. There's not a read Zamar Wise can't make, there's not a throw he can't make. When he does take off and run, very similar to Gino, very similar to Garrett, and in a lot of ways, similar to Brady too. He can run he can. Zamar Wise is a quarterback. I believe in him as a player at that position a million times over."
Chase Brewster – Hanover, Mass. – Tilton – 6-5 – 195
A true freshman, Brewster was a First All-NEPSAC Team honoree at Tilton and the All-NEPSAC Quarterback of the Year, logging 1,000 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 300 rushing yards.
Steve Casula on Brewster – "Chase benefits from being around the other four. Chase is a guy that, I don't know how much the UMass fanbase is going to hear about him this year. It's crowded, but Chase Brewster is going to be an exceptional college football player and he makes strides to do that every day. He's got a good personality about him. He's unassuming, quiet, but he's unbelievably competitive. Chase is a tall glass of water now and we're going to put more weight on him, he's a big dude and he's a good athlete. We're really excited to have Chase here."
Since arriving at UMass, Casula has thoroughly enjoyed his time around the five individuals in his quarterbacks room. "They're fun to be around," he said. "They're engaged. They know when to be light they know when to be light. They know when to be serious. They've got the right kind of attitude. They support each other, but it's not manufactured, it's not fake. They're about the success of our offense."
Going into camp without a clear-cut QB1 was not a new experience for Casula. "I've been exposed to the fall quarterback competition in fall camp quite a bit and I've been lucky to either be intimately involved in those decisions about who the quarterback was going to be or how it was going to be structured or, at worst, there to assess and see it go on," he explained. "It's not different to me, it really isn't. Fortunately, we've got a group of guys where it's not totally different to them either where they've all competed before to play and they've been about it in the right fashion."
Casula wants to make it clear that the decision will be tough, not because of lack of talent in the room but rather the abundance of it. "I'd say this, I've been a part of quarterback competitions that there's a quarterback competition where there's a competition because you don't have one," he said. "That's not what this is. We've got guys that can play. We really do.
I don't want to make it seem like everyone has had this perfect fall camp, no, there's been ups and downs, but there's been a great back and forth amongst all five guys that play quarterback for us."
Gino Campiotti – Manteca, Calif. – Manteca – 6-3 – 215
Campiotti, who has past experience playing tight end, as well, came to UMass after appearing in 11 games at Modesto Junior College last fall and throwing for 1,931 yards and 18 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 55.4%.
Steve Casula on Campiotti – "The first thing I would say about Gino is he is competitive beyond reproach. He's his own hardest critic. That, a lot of times, is a really good thing. He is about the right stuff. He's one of the hardest working guys we have in the weight room, he's one of the hardest working guys we have that's a part of team runs. Gino happens to be able to run the football, but Gino can really throw the football too. He's got a very strong arm. He's got good anticipation. He makes good decisions and Gino is a guy that's dying trying for us to win. I'm really excited about what he's done in the time he's been here. He has gone out of his way to make himself better, just above and beyond getting coached, how he trains, how serious and intentional he is about playing the position. He's had an outstanding camp. He is a big put together guy. He's muscled up."
Garrett Dzuro – Lakewood, Ohio – St. Edward – 5-11 – 200
Dzuro, who is coming off offseason surgery, backed up Tyler Lytle last fall and totaled 139 yards rushing on 29 carries. He appeared in three games in 2020 after redshirting due to injury in 2019.
Steve Casula on Dzuro – "Garrett deserves a lot of credit. Garrett started the last two games of last season when he wasn't 100 percent relative to his health. You want to talk about toughness and grit, Garrett Dzuro has those things. Garrett Dzuro's a state championship quarterback as a senior in high school playing a national schedule, had a 149 yards in the state championship game and led his team to a state championship. Garrett Dzuro is made of all of the right stuff. Garrett is coming off an offseason surgery but he is getting back in the rhythm more and more every single day. Garrett Dzuro, not just of the quarterback position but of our team, has the pulse of our team. He's one of the guys. Garrett is an outstanding student, he's a really good football player. We are so fortunate to have him. When pressure's on, his hand doesn't move. There's no flinch in Garrett Dzuro. It's great to have him around. He's another guy that can go and help us win football games and be a major contributor to our offense.
Brady Olson – Bellingham, Mass. – Milford – 6-4 – 200
Olson stepped into a starting role for the Minutemen last season as a true freshman following an injury to the squad's game one starter and saw action in nine contests. He completed 104 passes on 216 attempts for 1,145 yards and connected for eight touchdown passes. Olson also had 28 yards on 35 carries on the ground.
Steve Casula on Olson – "Brady Olson is a football guy from a football family. His dad's been a coach, his uncles are both coaches and Brady loves football, Brady's all football all the time. Brady is as talented of a player that I've probably I've ever been around. He has that much good inside of him. There's not a throw on the football field he can't make. There's not a run he can't execute. He hasn't even been put in a ton of situations to run the football in his career, Brady Olson can run, can carry the football. Brady Olson is really in to being a football player. A year ago, Brady was put in a tough spot, he was, and it's hard to play quarterback in college football period. It's particularly hard to play it when you're young. It's particularly hard to play it when you find yourself in a lot of situations where you might be behind or you've got to go throw the ball to win it, but I do think he's learned a lot from that experience and has grown through it and that hasn't always been easy. Each and every day from where he was when we started in the spring to where he is now, where he's grown is night and day. That's a credit to him. He's fun to coach."
Zamar Wise – Newark, N.J. – Milford Academy (N.Y.) – 6-2 – 190
Wise had six completions on nine attempts for 22 yards in 2021 and ran for 136 yards on 35 carries with one touchdown on the ground over seven games of action. He also appeared in two games as a receiver in 2020.
Steve Casula on Wise – "He's as good as anyone else in the room. Zamar is a great athlete, but a part of his great athleticism is his capacity to throw the football. There's nothing on the football field that Zamar Wise can't do. He is, under the right conditions, electric. Zamar has been outstanding. Z, his rhythm and timing has grown in the pass game, he's become more comfortable hanging in the pocket a little bit longer and make all the throws. There's not a read Zamar Wise can't make, there's not a throw he can't make. When he does take off and run, very similar to Gino, very similar to Garrett, and in a lot of ways, similar to Brady too. He can run he can. Zamar Wise is a quarterback. I believe in him as a player at that position a million times over."
Chase Brewster – Hanover, Mass. – Tilton – 6-5 – 195
A true freshman, Brewster was a First All-NEPSAC Team honoree at Tilton and the All-NEPSAC Quarterback of the Year, logging 1,000 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 300 rushing yards.
Steve Casula on Brewster – "Chase benefits from being around the other four. Chase is a guy that, I don't know how much the UMass fanbase is going to hear about him this year. It's crowded, but Chase Brewster is going to be an exceptional college football player and he makes strides to do that every day. He's got a good personality about him. He's unassuming, quiet, but he's unbelievably competitive. Chase is a tall glass of water now and we're going to put more weight on him, he's a big dude and he's a good athlete. We're really excited to have Chase here."
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