One snap into his collegiate debut last Saturday, freshman quarterback Tyler Phommachanh comfortably settled in.

"I felt good," Phommachanh said on Tuesday.

Apparently, the UConn football coaching staff is comfortable with the former Avon Old Farms standout running the show because he remains the No. 1 quarterback for Saturday's game against Wyoming (3-0) at Rentschler Field in East Hartford (3:30 p.m., CBSSN).

Phommachanh did something at Army that neither previous starting QBs Steven Krajewski or Jack Zergiotis could pull off this season; he led the Huskies on a scoring drive.

UConn's offense scored twice in a 52-21 loss, with the other touchdown coming on freshman Brian Brewton's 96-yard kickoff return.

It was a much-needed boost of confidence for the Huskies (0-4), who averaged just 9.3 points per game in the first three games.

"Once we scored, I said to the team, 'Finally, let's breathe again and just enjoy it,'" interim head coach Lou Spanos said. "We got better. Then we started putting up more points. ... We're working, making progress and trying to get better."

Showing off his athleticism and speed, Phommachanh bolted 38 yards for the first score and rushed four yards for the second. He led the team with 60 yards rushing and completed 11 of 26 passes for 109 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked twice.

Phommachanh appreciates all the support that he's received from family and friends, but knows he needs to keep working hard and keep improving.

"It's been amazing," Phommachanh said. "I love the support from everybody. Going over film, I noticed things that I've got to clean up, big-time. There were some good and some bad and some ugly.

"I think I did decent. I know I could have played up to a way better level than I did, to be honest. I missed a couple of throws, made some bad reads. ... Definitely a learning experience for me. It was good."

If Phommachanh needs advice about playing at the FBS level, he can turn to his brother, Taisun, a reserve quarterback at Clemson.

Prior to his first career start, Taisun had some words of wisdom for his brother.

"He told me just to be calm and be yourself, stay positive, keep the guys up," Tyler said. "Stay calm and just do what you do. ... He just told me to be smart, take what the defense gives us and that everybody is moving at good speed, so be careful."

The brothers have faced their share of adversity.

In December 2020, their grandmother passed away, and the next day the Phommachanh family lost their Stratford home to a fire.

"It was a hard time for me," Tyler said. "I just try to keep positive at all times and stay up."

It's far too early to tell if UConn has found its long-term quarterback in Phommachanh.

Right now, he's the best option in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Spanos likes what he's seen so far from Phommachanh, both on and off the field.

"He's an excellent student-athlete," Spanos said. "He does well in the classroom but also spends the extra time, communicates well and leads by example. ... He's putting the work in to make himself better."

Phommachanh's teammates are also in his corner.

"He's a big-play type of guy," said linebacker Jackson Mitchell. "It's great to see a young guy like him from Connecticut going in there making plays."

News and notes

Spanos says the team is always evolving and players earn their jobs in practice. With that in mind, there were several changes on the depth chart, including freshman Nate Carter moving ahead of senior Kevin Mensah at running back. Mensah rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons. "Nate is multi-dimensional," Spanos said. "More specifically, he has quick feet and can get to the outside as a runner. Also, he's pretty effective as a route runner. He's doing a better job on pass protection on third down. He's becoming a complete player with work in progress." ... Spanos called redshirt freshman Malik Dixon, who's gone from a role player to a starter at safety, "a player on the rise." ... Injured starting linebacker Omar Fortt is listed as day-to-day. Filling in for Fortt against Army, redshirt sophomore Hunter Webb had a career-best 15 tackles. ... Redshirt sophomore Noel Ofori-Nyadu has earned the starting offensive left guard job while freshman Keelan Marion is the new punt returner.

g.keefe@theday.com