Following UTM’s 40-7 rout of Murray State (MSU) on Saturday, Sept. 28, redshirt freshman quarterback (QB) John Bachus III has been named Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) “Newcomer of the Week.”
The Pulaski native took control of UTM’s offense as the starting QB and played a key factor in securing UTM’s first conference win of the season.
Against MSU, Bachus completed 26 of his 40 pass attempts, racked up 345 total yards and scored two touchdowns.
Bachus performed both in the air and on the ground. Of the 345 yards Bachus collected, 312 came from passing and 33 from rushing. Bachus completed a 47-yard pass to junior running back (RB) Lamarcus Young in the first quarter and completed a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the second.
Bachus also recorded new career highs in completions, attempts and yards in leading the team to 500 total yards of offense, according to Sports Information.
In addition to obtaining new career-highs, Bachus recorded a season-high 65% pass completion and is the first game of the season without recording an interception.
Bachus now finds himself amongst other OVC offensive leaders, ranking first in yards-per-game (345) and second in passing yards per game (312), according to Sports Information.
Head coach Jason Simpson spoke highly of Bachus’ performance against MSU.
“We made some personnel changes on offense and I’m proud of those guys. It certainly wasn’t as clean as we wanted it to be but I really liked John’s calmness and his execution tonight. We were able at times to control the line of scrimmage and mix some things up – kind of call the game backward, throwing on first down or throwing on second-and-long,” Simpson told Sports Information.
Bachus split playing time last season with senior QB Joe Hudson following a season-ending injury to then-starting QB Dresser Winn. Bachus made his starting debut this season against Northwestern State, which resulted in a 42-20 win for UTM.
Bachus took the Murray State Racers to task and helped the Skyhawks secure a 40-7 conference win over their regional foe. Bachus has assumed the starting quarterback role since the first game of the season against Northwestern State. UTM now sits at 2-2 going into their next conference game against Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 6. | Photo Credit / Sports Information
