The Towson football team went 4-7 last fall, but the Tigers have a couple of experienced quarterbacks who should be able to help out after transferring in … and that includes one familiar face.
Tyrrell Pigrome and Tyler Johnston III are among the quarterbacks competing to be under center when Towson opens its season at Bucknell Sept. 3. Pigrome played for Maryland from 2016-2019, and Johnston III played for UAB from 2017-2021. Redshirt sophomore Nathan Kent, redshirt freshmen Zack Jackson and Scott Smith III and freshman Rishan Holmes (Milford Mill) are also competing.
But Pigrome and Johnston are clearly the most experienced passers on the roster. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Pigrome appeared in 34 games and started seven for the Terps, throwing for 1,777 yards and running for 630 yards across four seasons. He accounted for 17 touchdowns as well. He then spent the 2020 season at Western Kentucky and the 2021 campaign at Ole Miss.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Johnston is fourth in career passing yardage at UAB (4,837) and tied for third in career passing touchdowns (37). He won Conference USA championships with the Blazers in 2018 and 2020.
Both quarterbacks came to Towson with the understanding they’d compete for the starting quarterback job and that they wouldn’t be given the spot, according to head coach Rob Ambrose.
“It wouldn’t matter who you are, you don’t get promised a job. You’ve got to earn it, period,” Ambrose said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 25. “What you’ve done before doesn’t [give] any true indication of what you’re going to do tomorrow. You’re going to have to put it on tape here in front of teammates and coaches. It’s not just those two. I’ve got six quarterbacks in that room, and four and a half of them are ready to be starters right now. So really, it’s just a matter of who’s going to be the most consistent guy and who’s not going to let go of the horns once they take them.”
Ambrose wasn’t ready to tip his hand as far as who the starting quarterback would be against Bucknell.
“Truth to be told, my wife doesn’t even know who the starter is,” he quipped.
Pigrome’s story is especially interesting. The Birmingham, Ala., native came to Maryland as part of former Terps head coach DJ Durkin’s first recruiting class in 2016, showing off a dual-threat skill set while he got his feet wet as a freshman. Pigrome then won the starting quarterback competition ahead of the 2017 season and appeared primed for a breakout year.
However, Pigrome suffered a torn ACL during the first game of the season, a 51-41 victory at Texas, and did not return to action until 2018, when Matt Canada had taken over on an interim basis. Pigrome nearly led the Terps to a victory in a thrilling game against Ohio State in November 2018, but a two-point conversion to win the game failed.
Pigrome stuck around for Michael Locksley’s first season as head coach in 2019, starting three games. He moved on after the season and is now on his fourth school in four years.
“He had some knowledge of us. He’s a well-journeyed journeyman all across the country in a lot of programs,” Ambrose said. “With the advent of COVID and everything, I coach professional football. I coach 27-, 28-, 29-year-old football players now instead of 18-year-olds. It’s a great and exciting time for us. He’s brought obviously talent but he’s bringing experience. I’ve got two guys that have the greatest amount of experience that’s probably ever been in the quarterback room ever with him and Tyler Johnston.”
The quarterback position is critical, but Ambrose likes where his team stands as a whole heading into 2022. Towson opted not to play during the CAA’s spring season in 2021, so when the Tigers took the field last fall, it was the first time they had played in nearly two years, and program staples like quarterback Tom Flacco, running back Shane Simpson and receiver Shane Leatherbury were long gone.
Ambrose has brought aboard scores of new players in recent months, and he likes the mix thus far.
“You don’t get in the room without the talent, but this time around I’m more impressed with the people that we’ve brought in,” Ambrose said. “For us to have 50-plus new guys in the span of a year to be able to meld together and make a college football team is relatively unheard of. The kids are doing a fantastic job. They spend time getting to know each other, realizing that for them to be successful they have to know each other. It’s not just football. It really makes the days fun.”
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For more from Ambrose, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Towson Athletics