UConn, Coast Guard football teams in action today

Freshman LB from Ridgefield will make his first career start

Storrs — Jackson Mitchell hoped this day would come sometime this season, his first as a member of the UConn football team.

Today when UConn hosts Houston at noon at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Mitchell, a former Ridgefield High School standout, will make his first start for the Huskies. He'll line up at linebacker.

"I don't know how I'm going to feel but I'm going to be excited," Mitchell said. "It's been a dream of mine to start for a college team since I was little."

Mitchell worked hard to earn his starting assignment. He had an impressive senior season at Ridgefield, setting the football program's single-season sack record with 14.5. He showed his versatility by playing a variety of positions, including defensive end, safety and linebacker.

During the recruiting process, the UConn coaches "showed him the most love” out of all the schools recruiting him. Playing close to home appealed to Mitchell.

There also was an opportunity to play early in his college football career.

"They just said if you come in and work you never know what's going to happen because they had a lot of young guys play last year," Mitchell said.

The Huskies continue to rely on young players during their ongoing rebuilding process. Forty-three percent of the roster is comprised of freshmen and redshirt freshmen.

Mitchell's work ethic, consistent effort and football instincts impressed the coaching staff. He made his biggest impact in last week's loss at Tulane, leading the team in tackles with eight.

"It was good to get my feet wet and play a whole series instead of a couple of plays here and there," Mitchell said. "So this week I'm going to be ready to play the whole game."

Coach Randy Edsall announced Tuesday that Mitchell would start against Houston.

"I've been impressed with him since he got here," Edsall said. "He's worked himself into a position where you just see a guy getting better. He was on special teams and then when he went in there and played, I thought he did a good job.

"Is he ready to play? Yeah. Is he going to make some mistakes? Yes. But he gives you everything that he has each and every play And it's important to him. He likes to play. If he makes a mistake, it's not going to be because of a lack of effort or a lack of trying. I think if he stays healthy, he's got a chance to be a really good player."

The Huskies (1-5, 0-3) are taking their lumps while developing their young players.

They've dropped 21 straight FBS games and lost 14 in a row to American Athletic Conference competition.

"We're in a slump right now, but I think we're going to turn it around," Mitchell said. "You've just got to rely on each other when things aren't going well. You've got to lean on your brothers. The captains have been really vocal and just telling us to keep going and keep working at it. We know it's there and we know we have it. We've just got to put it all together."

The Cougars (2-4, 0-2) also are in need of a victory. Their overall record is deceptive, with two losses to nonconference ranked teams in Oklahoma and Washington State. Their AAC defeats are against Cincinnati (38-23) and Tulane (38-31), which beat UConn 49-7 Saturday.

Today's game will feature the two of the worst defensive teams in the AAC. UConn is 12th in scoring defense at 40.5 and Houston 11th at 33.0 points.

Like UConn, Houston has juggled quarterbacks. Sophomore Clayton Tune has started the last two games and thrown for 308 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Expect the Cougars to pound away on the ground. They're third overall in the conference in rushing offense at 240.8 yards per game while the Huskies are last in rushing defense, allowing 210.8 yards.

"We've got another challenge in front of us to take care," Edsall said. "We've got to work to continue to get better in all the little things, pay a little bit more attention to detail and play with confidence."

The Huskies scored perhaps their biggest conference win while playing Houston in 2015, handing the No. 13 Cougars their only loss — a 20-17 decision — that year.

Mitchell, who models his play after Luke Kuechly, a linebacker for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, will try to help the Huskies pull off another upset today.

His family and friends will be in the stands rooting him and the Huskies on.

"I have a lot of support from them," Mitchell said. "All my friends texted me and said they saw the box score last week and they're really excited for me. I told them I was starting this week, so they're really happy for me."