Van Demark growing into his role on UConn football team

True freshman starting on offensive line a rarity

Storrs — True freshman Ryan Van Demark regularly lines up against stronger and more experienced football players. It can be a humbling experience. "I get knocked down a lot," Van Demark said.

Yet Van Demark doesn't get discouraged. He just keeps fighting, relying on his athleticism, competitive spirit and sheer will to battle any disadvantage.

"I just give it my all every day," Van Demark said. "I just get after it. That's really just how I was raised. You've got to fight for everything. If you want it, go get it. It's not going to be handed to you."

Van Demark's development is an individual bright spot for the UConn football team this season. He took over the starting offensive tackle job in the fourth game and has remained there ever since. He'll make his ninth straight start in Saturday's season finale at Cincinnati (noon, ESPNEWS).

Coach Randy Edsall noticed Van Demark's potential early on despite being a bit undersized (265 pounds).

"You saw his athleticism and you saw his work ethic," Edsall said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. "You saw the things that we do offensively that he could be pretty good at. You knew there was going to be some things because of his weight and strength that he would struggle a little bit. But you knew you are going to get his best effort each and every snap.

"And he's a guy that's gotten better. I think he will be a leader as he continues his career here . ... To play offensive tackle as a true freshman is hard. To go against some of the guys that he's had to go against, you have a tremendous amount of respect for his competitiveness." Van Demark was a late bloomer. It took until his senior year in high school to crack the regular rotation and eventually earn a starting spot. Then he played a post-grad year at The Hun School in Princeton (N.J.) where he was named first team allstate prep.

He wakes up every morning with the mindset that he's got something to prove.

To aid his physical growth, Van Demark is working with a nutritionist to help him put on weight. His goal is to consume about 6,000 calories per day. Every night before he sleeps, he eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

He's made significant gains in the strength department by working hard in the weight room.

"I'm going to keep working at it, getting bigger and stronger," Van De-

mark said. "That's what I need to do, that's my main focus for the offseason."

He's been leaning on his veteran teammates for help, pointing to his backup, redshirt senior Tommy Hopkins, and senior offensive tackle Steve Hashemi as making a big impact on him.

"Each time I come off the line after a series or during practice, he'll pull me aside and coach me up," Van Demark said of Hashemi. "I love him for it."

The future looks promising for Van Demark and his young teammates. UConn is one of eight teams in the nation to have at least six true freshmen start a game this season.

This season's experience will be invaluable building block for Van Demark.

"Just by him having this year under his belt is going to help him and help us moving forward," Edsall said. "He has the talent to be pretty good . ... All he is going to do is just get better because he has the ability, and plus he has the right mindset."

Van Demark couldn't be happier at UConn.

Recruited by Bob Diaco, who was later fired, Van Demark admitted not knowing much about Edsall before looking up some information on him once he was hired at UConn.

Someone told him that Edsall was "insane."

"I got to know to him, looked him up a little bit, his history and stuff like that," Van Demark said. "He's definitely the guy that I want to be coached by. He's good. He's perfectly sane. He's an insanely good coach.

"It's worked out great. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

News and notes

• Redshirt freshman Ryan Gilmartin will make his first career start at linebacker, replacing senior Junior Joseph who has to sit out the first half after being ejected for targeting in the second half of the Boston College game on Saturday. "It's going to be interesting to watch him play on Saturday," Edsall said . ... Defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi and running back Arkeel Newsome have received invitations to play in the East-West Shrine game and Tropical Bowl, respectively, in Florida. Both senior showcase events will take place in January . ... Several Huskies returned to practice after dealing with injuries, including linebacker Chris Britton, running back Jason Thompson, receiver Kyle Buss. ... Defensive back Anthony Watkins (concussion) is out. g.keefe@theday.com