Daelen Menard hit the ground slow to start the 2023 season. Now he is running and is one of the best quarterbacks in the Northeast 10 this season, and it only took two weeks.
Making his New Haven debut in their Week 1 affair against Frostburg State, Menard only completed 35.3% of his passes (11/31) in the Chargers’ overtime loss. He threw for a pair of touchdowns and interceptions. The loss couldn’t be fully blamed on him though, defensive errors by UNH along with coaching decisions also were big factors in the home-opening falling.
Going out in Week 2 against NE10 rival Bentley, Menard threw for a touchdown in the slim 14-13 win. Overall, the Boston College transfer went 9-for-30 passing (30%) with 115 yards.
UNH stood at 1-1 going into Week 3. Up to that point Menard had managed to get the Chargers to .500%, but it was clear that his passing game had to have a big time step-up.
Menard showed up huge with a statement win against cross-town rivals Southern Connecticut State. The 34-7 win marked 15-straight for UNH against their SCSU counterparts, but it was what Daelen Menard did that highlighted the blowout win. Daelen Menard completed 70.8% of his passes for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Menard came into the game with 249 passing yards on the season; he nearly doubled it in just one game.
Going up the east coast to Franklin Pierce, New Haven was the favorite as usual and Daelen Menard made sure to hold that up. Outsourcing FPU times-two, Menard threw for 4 touchdowns and avoided the sack due to his quick throws and brilliant offensive line. Menard went 15-for-26 (57.6%) passing with 258 yards. The 41-14 Week 4 win moves UNH to 3-1 (2-0 in NE10), giving them the lead in NE10 standings.
Daelen Menard has arrived and frankly it is a scary good. The former two-time highschool state champion looks to give New Haven a NE10 title, which looks very realistic.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the turnaround that Menard has had? I cannot imagine the hard work along with time spent watching film and studying the playbook that was put in.
Daelen Menard’s stats between Weeks 1 and 2 combined
20-for-61 (32.7%), 249 YDS, 3-1 TD-INT
Daelen Menard’s stats between Weeks 2 and 3 combined
32-for-50 (64%), 470 YDS, 7-0 TD-INT
Menard’s 10 touchdowns leads the NE10, and he ranked fourth in passing yards per-game with 179.8 yards.
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