Huskies ponder rest vs. rust before return
As Uconn prepares for first game in 637 days, Edsall and his players say readjusting to game speed isn’t a concern
Saturday the Uconn football team will strap on pads and play an opponent with a different colored jersey on for the first time in over a year and a half as the Huskies will open the 2021 season at Fresno State — 637 days removed from their last contest in 2019.
By all accounts, Uconn has used its time off wisely. When the Huskies opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, they hit the playbook hard, bulked up in the weight room and fine-tuned the technical sides of the game. But for all the preparation, training and scrimmaging Uconn could do, it could not simulate the experience of a real game, against a real opponent.
The pace, physicality and stakes of an actual game have not been felt by a Husky coach or player since November of 2019. The only person who played in 2020 was running back Robert Burns, who served largely on special teams for Miami before transferring to Storrs this spring.
When it comes to rest versus rust, head coach Randy Edsall isn’t concerned about the latter.
“It’ll be a little bit faster than maybe what we anticipated,” Edsall said Tuesday. “You just have to adjust to that. I’m not worried. What we’ve done is we’ve prepared the best way that we can, doing the things that we’ve been able to do. I know our guys are going to be ready to play come 11 o’clock Pacific Coast Time.”
According to the two-deep depth chart releasedmonday,thehuskieswillhaveplayers
with experience across the board. Uconn has a starter, or starting candidate, who played in the majority of games in 2019 at 17 of the 22 positions on offense and defense.
Those who played in 2019 say the reinsertion into game play shouldn’t be a challenge.
“For me personally, it was just like learning how to ride a bike again,” said senior long snapper and Darien native Brian Keating. “It’s just like second nature. Once you get that first play under your belt, you’re just back playing football. As a program, every practice rep is like a game rep. We intend to make our practices harder than the games are. So when we go into the games, we feel prepared.”
The Huskies will be inexperienced in certain areas. Projected starting center Sidney Walker and right tackle Chase Lundt have never played in college. Neither have freshman running back Nate Carter, safeties Malik Dixon and Durante Jones, kicker Joe Mcfadden and punter Haydn Kerr. Even starting quarterback candidates Jack Zergiotis and Steven Krajewski, both sophomores, have only played a collective 14 games, while key players such as sophomore wide receiver Cam Ross and secondyear linebacker Jackson Mitchell have just one full season of experience.
One thing is certain in Edsall’s mind. “These kids haven’t forgotten how to play football,” he said.
Edsall not in favor of vaccine mandate for fans
Across college football, some programs have placed inoculation requirements on fans. At LSU, for example, fans must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test no older than 72 hours in order to attend a game.
Edsall would rather not see Uconn follow suit.
“I’m not in favor of that, I’m really not,” he said. “Here, I think everyone has the right to determine whether or not they want to be vaccinated. We have six [players] that aren’t vaccinated. You’re in an outdoor environment. I don’t know, maybe I’m different. But I don’t agree with that, but I’m not the guy who makes those decisions.”
QB watch continues
Uconn listed both Zergiotis and Krajewski in an either-or capacity on Monday’s depth chart. Edsall declined to delve into specifics on Tuesday.
“It is what it is,” he said. “We’ll see Saturday.”
When asked about the team’s secondary — which features three positions with two potential starting candidates — Edsall had this much to say about the two-deep.
“The depth chart is an ever-evolving thing for the most part,” he said. “All these guys listed on the two-deep have the ability to be on the field playing.”