New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Huskies spring into action under Mora
STORRS — Jim Mora felt some healthy butterflies Tuesday morning at the Shenkman Center while taking the field for his first practice as UConn football coach. He had been removed from such a role for five years, the biggest gap in a coaching career that began in the 1980s.
“You walk out and you’re like, am I ready to do this?” Mora said Thursday. “It was no big deal. I don’t want to over(state). I was a little nervous. I was like, do I have my whistle? Do I have my script? Do I have my pen? Where do I stand? But it comes back fast. It’s really the only thing I’ve ever done in my life, coach and be around coaches.”
Whistles blew, balls flew and UConn players zigged and zagged and collided again Thursday during the second of 15 spring gatherings. The Blue/White Game is April 21 at Morrone Stadium. The Huskies are five-plus months out from the 2022 opener, Aug. 27 at Utah State, but four-plus months into a new era.
Mora is still feeling out a new situation.
“I don’t think anything is just consistent in your messaging,” Mora said. “It evolves as you get to know these guys, their personalities, what motivates them, what maybe fears they have or insecurities they have. Every player is different. We’re going to be terribly demanding of these young men, but we’re never going to be demeaning. We’re going to be highly critical of performance but encourage the performer.”
Mora was officially hired on Nov. 11, taking on leadership of a program with nowhere to go but up. The Huskies, 1-11 last season, are 10-50 since 2016, when the
Bob Diaco project fizzled out and only led to something worse under Randy Edsall, who retired after two embarrassing losses last season.
Mora spent the first few months on the job ingraining himself in the UConn community and communities his program will need close relationships with, covering the state in recruiting efforts that became a simulta
neous public relations campaign.
UConn football has to become relevant and interesting again, and eventually win more games than it loses, and the first baby steps have been taken. This is not an overnight project. Spring practice is an earlymorning endeavor, though.
Meetings start at 7 a.m. before two-hour workouts. On Fridays — “Zero Dark Fridays,” as they’re being referred to by players — alarms go off at 4:30 a.m. and workouts start at 6.
“I love their attitude, I love their worth ethic, I love their willingness to do the things we ask them with great energy,” Mora said of players. “I feel like they’re really engaged. A bunch of guys who are hungry to get better. That’s fun to be around. That’s encouraging to be around. I think they’re intent on trying to become a good football team. A lot of learning going on. For me, it’s a blast. I haven’t coached in a few years and I love being back out here with them.”
The first couple of practices are spent on basic lessons, some first-down and second-down work. Saturday will include thirddown and red zone work. More concepts will be incorporated as the period moves on.
“You’re anxious to cover everything at once, but you can’t do that,” Mora said. “You have to prioritize, what makes sense.”
Mora and his staff have a lot to figure out and players are working to prove themselves from a clean slate. The quarterback situation, addressed aggressively in the offseason, will be remain fluid for a while.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Phommachanh, the starter for three games last season before tearing and ACL, is still recovering and only doing drills on the side. Highly-rated true freshman Zion Turner from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has yet to arrive. Redshirt sophomore Cale Millen, a transfer from Northern Arizona who previously was at Oregon, has committed but has yet to join the program.
Ta’Quan Roberson, a redshirt sophomore who transferred after two years at Penn State, and redshirt junior Steven Krajewski, who played three games last season, are participating in spring ball.
“Every day is competition,” Mora said. “At that position, the earlier you can define how you’re going to work those guys and who is going to be your No. 1 or if you’re going to platoon, which I’ve never been a big fan of, the better it is for your football team. But we’re not going to make a decision until it becomes clear.”
Roberson and Krajewski each connected with sophomore receiver Keelan Marion for long passes Thursday. Marion went over the middle for a one-handed catch from Roberson and deep left for a touchdown from Krajewski.
“I say the offense,” Marion said when asked which unit won the day. “Offense is going to take it. We’re going to get at it every day.”
“Defense definitely won,” said redshirt sophomore defensive back Malik Dixon. “We competed. That’s what coach harped on, competition. I love the staff. I can tell they’re really here for us. All we do is compete. (Mora) always harps on finishing. That has to translate to the games: finish.”
Defensive coordinator Lou Spanos, who served as interim coach through the final 10 games of last season after Edsall’s departure, has been a valuable resource for Mora. He was Mora’s defensive coordinator at UCLA for two years and they competed against each other in the NFL for about 20.
Mora coached the Atlanta Falcons in 2004-06 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2009. Also a longtime NFL assistant, he was UCLA coach in 2012-17.
“I was really nervous,” Mora said of returning to the practice field this week. “But once I got at it, all I had to do was get my whistle — once I had my Fox 40, I felt like I was OK. I had to remember how to kind of fold my script the right way. But in terms of coaching, it’s kind of like riding a bike.”