Jack Zergiotis, a Montrealer and former John Abbott College football player, has been named the starting quarterback for the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies.
The surprise announcement was made by coach Randy Edsall last week.
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“He’s kind of got a little bit of the ‘it factor.’ It’s just something I see in the kid, how he handles himself, how he goes out and plays,” Edsall said.
“We went to practice and I saw something and I said, ‘this is the way we’re going to go.'”
Zergiotis, a native of Montreal’s West Island, signed with the university’s football team last December.
For this season, he was originally listed as the third quarterback on the Huskies’ roster.
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The freshman — and new recruit — was quickly thrown onto the field to make his collegiate debut against the University of Illinois last Saturday after it was revealed that starter Mike Beaudry had sustained a minor injury during practice Thursday.
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“I’m the best,” Zergiotis joked during a post-game interview.
“I mean, that’s the mindset we have to have, like ‘nobody is better than you’, nobody is better than me.”
Once he stepped on the field, Zergiotis became the first freshman quarterback to start a game for UConn since 2016.
Despite losing the game 31-23, Edsall confirmed Zergiotis will remain the team’s first-string quarterback.
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