Akron Zips football team has new starting quarterback after another's season-ending injury

Since Tahj Bullock transferred to the University of Akron from Virginia Tech earlier this year, he has grown close to DJ Irons, and the two quarterbacks are hotel roommates whenever the Zips hit the road.

Now Bullock is succeeding Irons as UA's starter at the sport's most important position.

“It's tragic what happened to him,” Bullock told the Beacon Journal. “I wish him the best still, but I know he's in my corner. I know he's in our corner for sure.”

Bullock made his first collegiate start Saturday in Akron's 55-14 loss to Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois at InfoCision Stadium.

Despite the blowout defeat, Zips coach Joe Moorhead said during his postgame news conference Bullock will be UA's starting QB moving forward.

Akron Zips quarterback DJ Irons continues to serve as a captain despite his season-ending injury

A week earlier, Irons suffered a season-ending leg injury during a 13-10 overtime loss to Buffalo. In the buildup to the lopsided Northern Illinois game, Moorhead confirmed Irons is done for the season. According to reports, his injury is a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

During the pregame coin toss with NIU, Irons stood alongside his fellow UA captains. Then he watched the game from the sideline.

“You only get one shot at your senior year in college, and it's tough,” Moorhead, a former captain and starting quarterback at Fordham University, said of Irons. “He's responded very well in terms of the 'C' that's on his chest and his leadership and rallying the guys and staying positive.

“It's easy to go in the tank and wallow in self-pity and kind of just worry about yourself. But I think it speaks volumes for the fact that guys elected him a captain and he's trying his best to fulfill that role regardless of whether he's playing or not.”

University of Akron football team has Central Michigan on deck for another Mid-American Conference game

Akron (1-5, 0-2) will certainly need leadership to rebound from an embarrassing setback to Northern Illinois (2-4, 1-1). UA's next game will be at Central Michigan (3-3, 1-1) on Saturday.

“[My teammates are] going to look to me to rally around,” Bullock said. “I take that responsibility with much pride. I know they're going to look to me, and I've just got to continue to keep my head up.”

A redshirt sophomore, Bullock went 19-of-34 passing for 146 yards and a touchdown with an interception. He rushed 21 times for 74 yards and a touchdown but took four sacks and lost 33 yards.

Bullock rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to cap Akron's first possession, though UA didn't reach the end zone again until he and tight end TJ Banks connected for a 21-yard TD with 6:44 left in the third quarter. By then, the rout had been on for a long while. NIU led 35-7 at halftime after a second quarter in which it scored 28 points and the UA offense went three-and-out on four consecutive possessions.

“He didn't have a bunch of yards per completion,” Moorhead said of Bullock. “I thought he ran the ball well. I thought he probably held onto it a little bit too long. A couple bad throws, a couple reads that he missed, some overthrows.

“But you've got to remember he's a guy making his first college start who really hasn't played a significant role in any game either here or at Virginia Tech.”

Before this season, Bullock's collegiate resume was limited to a single game. He made his debut with Virginia Tech when he completed 2-of-4 passes for 27 yards and rushed six times for 14 yards during the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29, 2021. Virginia Tech lost 54-10 to Maryland. He didn't appear in a game last season.

“We're going to get back in the lab to see what I could have done better. There's countless throws I wish I could have back,” said Bullock, who helped St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, New Jersey, win a state championship as a high school junior in 2019.

Why did Zips coach Joe Moorhead start Tahj Bullock at quarterback instead of Jeff Undercuffler Jr.?

Moorhead giving Bullock the starting nod against NIU was somewhat surprising because Zips quarterback Jeff Undercuffler Jr. started last year against the Huskies and helped UA roll to a 44-12 win on Nov. 26. Undercuffler went 21-of-32 passing for a career-high 312 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, and the Zips prevailed in the series for the first time since 2005.

There's also this fact: After Irons was knocked out of the Buffalo game with 5:47 left in regulation, Undercuffler was the next man up.

Moorhead explained why he chose to start Bullock instead of Undercuffler.

“Jeff played in the win against Northern Illinois last year and did some nice things and obviously [replaced Irons in] the game against Buffalo,” Moorhead said, “but has had some opportunities this year and really hasn't kind of stepped up to seize that opportunity that was presented [after Irons was injured].

“Then, quite frankly, with what we're trying to do in the run game and trying to help out our offensive line that certainly needs a lot of help, Tahj provides a different element in the run game that Jeff doesn't. So part of the idea was we've got to do some things to help out the offensive line and have Tahj get some run yards, which he did today. So that factored into the decision.”

Undercuffler is a pocket passer. Bullock is a dual-threat quarterback. The difference is significant to a head coach who conceded what Moorhead did Saturday when he said, “We don't pass protect very well.”

Bullock played the entire NIU game. Moorhead said he never made a QB change amid the thrashing because he wanted UA's new starter to gain experience and develop timing with his supporting cast.

“Moving forward, I do believe he gives us the best opportunity to win,” Moorhead said. “So you want to give the guy as many reps as you can regardless of the score, just to see how he reacts and get him some chemistry with the receivers and see how he reacts in certain situations. So more than anything, we think he gives us the best opportunity moving forward.”

Bullock said he's thankful for the opportunity and hopes to reward Moorhead's faith. Bullock explained he has been watching film, studying and throwing to receivers on his own time.

“I'll do my best to gain everybody's respect in here,” he said. “All the work I do behind the scenes, that doesn't guarantee me their respect, but I'll come out and I'll give everything I've got every game.”

More Zips football coverage: Akron wrecked by Northern Illinois after injury forced quarterback change

Bullock is also aiming to play with a proverbial chip on his shoulder, he said, and show everyone how hungry he is to succeed at UA.

Meanwhile, Irons will be nearby to guide him.

“I've been seeing his process and taking little things away,” Bullock said. “He's on the sideline keeping us all up as well, and he's in my ear telling me what I could have done here, what I could have done there.”

The torch has been passed.

More on DJ Irons: How Akron Zips senior quarterback and captain demonstrated leadership as adversity hit

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips commit to Tahj Bullock as their new starting QB