AMHERST — AJ Hairston dropped back to pass during the 11-on-11 live portion of the UMass football team’s first spring practice of the season Monday morning.

The sophomore quarterback uncorked a spiral in the direction of wide receiver T.Y. Harding. The ball layered perfectly over a leaping defensive back, and stayed short of the safety charging toward Harding. When Harding caught it in stride at midfield, he used his blistering speed that UMass fans saw several times last fall to take it the distance for an 80-yard touchdown.

Minutemen head coach Joe Harasymiak threw his arms in the air and ran down the field in celebration with the rest of the offensive unit. It was an ideal way to end the spirited, energy-filled day inside The Bubble.

“I thought the tempo was good,” Harasymiak said. “I was focused on the flow of practice, I think that’s what I need to pay attention to. There was a lot of anxiousness, a lot of nerves in the beginning. They were kind of running around like a fish out of water. But they were good. I was very pleased we stayed on our feet, which is a sign of a team that takes care of each other and practices the right way. I thought [there were some] good and bad [moments], but as long as we know how to get better from it we’re going to be all right.”

Hairston had several highlight throws similar to the bomb to Harding, including another deep shot down the left sideline that Jacquon Gibson caught for a huge gain. When Taisun Phommachanh went down due to injury toward the latter-half of last season, Hairston saw consistent time under center and commanded the huddle well as a freshman. But during the winter, Harasymiak brought in transfer quarterbacks Grant Jordan (Yale) and Brandon Rose (Utah) to compete with him for the starting gig.

Harasymiak didn’t say the competition would be limited to those three, though they are certainly the favorites to be tabbed QB1 come the end of summer – when the first-year head coach expects to make his decision, he said.

Rose didn’t practice as he still recovers from a surgery he had after an injury in his final game with the Utes last fall. He used Monday’s session to coach and mentor some of UMass’ younger passers, and do some static throwing to keep his arm loose. According to Harasymiak, Rose will “be back soon,” but ensured that the Minutemen are “taking it nice and slow.”

“[They’re] good,” Harasymiak said of the UMass QBs. “AJ had a couple shots in there, which was great. Just the way that [offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian] and [offensive analyst Drew Belcher] have handled that room, you saw today that we’re rotating different things, putting a lot on them. I thought for day one... they took control and did a good job.”

As each position group broke off into their section of the field on Monday, those in attendance to watch practice got a good look at the new coaches on Harasymiak’s staff. Only one position coach (Matt Layman, tight ends) remained from Don Brown’s staff a year ago, so it goes without saying that there were new personalities, teaching styles and drills taking place.

Each coach seemed very hands-on and used their time efficiently, which gave the nearly two-hour practice a very organized and structured feel.

“The leadership and culture that we have to have from the head coach down to the position coaches, coordinators – it’s about consistency,” Harasymiak said. “If we have consistent action, that’ll lead to consistent behavior, and that’s ultimately what produces the results.”

Monday marked the first of 15 spring practice sessions for the Minutemen. Three of those must be non-contact practices (Monday counted as one). After next week’s spring break, Harasymiak hopes to ramp up the intensity and bring some live action with pads in.

His first practice back as a Division 1 head coach – he previously served as the head coach at FCS Maine from 2016-18 – brought him an abundance of joy.

“It was awesome,” Harasymiak said. “I had a ton of fun today. It’s just great to be back in that role, grateful for it… We’ve hired a great staff and they did a great job today with the organization. We’ll continue to make some notes and move forward, but yeah, I had a lot of fun for sure.”