The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn QB Williams switching positions
Linebacker Diggs sidelined with knee injury
STORRS » The biggest news at UConn football practice on Monday was made by a pair of players who didn’t take a snap.
Vontae Diggs, UConn’s top returning tackler, was sidelined with a knee injury, while former starting quarterback Donovan Williams is making the move to receiver.
The decision was made less than nine months after former UConn coach Bob Diaco made the decision to burn Williams’ redshirt with three games to play. The move came not long after declaring Williams as one of the brightest quarterback prospects in the nation. The Huskies were promptly shut out in two of the three games with Williams as the starting quarterback, although the issues went far deeper than the player lining up behind center.
UConn coach Randy Edsall said he recently had a conversation with Williams where he floated the idea of using the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Williams on special teams if he wasn’t either the first or second-string quarterback. “I wasn’t pushing. This morning he came in, he still likes to be a quarterback, but he wants to get on the field so he asked about moving to wide receiver and being involved with the special teams so that is when we made the move.”
Edsall felt like it would have been too much, too soon to use Williams at receiver in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 portion of Monday’s practice, but he will begin working in with the receivers on Tuesday.
Williams, who was not among
the players made available to the media after Monday’s practice, does have some experience catching passes. When he was a sophomore at Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, he had 11 receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown while playing for former NFL defensive back Tony Lilly.
“I think he is smart, he is athletic, he is big,” Edsall said. “Watching today on some of the special teams stuff, I saw him run in there and be physical. He’s a great kid and he wants to play. He sees this as his best opportunity to get on the field, contribute and play which is a great credit to him.”
With Williams no longer a quarterback, true freshman Jordan McAfee in concussion protocol and Brandon Bisack seemingly not in the mix, just three quarterbacks saw time during team drills on Monday. Junior college-transfer David Pindell looked at ease running offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s up-tempo, high-percentage passing offense. Former starter Bryant Shirreffs and true freshman Marvin Washington all saw time at quarterback.
Diggs is still holding out hope that he will return in time to play in the Aug. 31 season opener against Holy Cross. He was on the sidelines with a brace protecting his knee yelling encouragement to his teammates.
“I’ll be back at the end of the month, hopefully sooner but it all depends on rehab,” said Diggs, who is expected to undergo a procedure on his knee on Thursday. “The sooner, the better for me.”
So how did Diggs suffer the injury?
“Football happened, it just happened to be my turn,” Diggs said. “Nothing crazy, hopefully the 3-4 (week) mark, that is my hope. I don’t want to sit out of a practice. Sitting on the sideline is boring to me, so I just have to keep my head up and keep pushing. I’m trying to be as positive as I can, be as much of a leader as I can.”
Already without injured E.J. Levenberry, the Huskies are a little thin at linebacker especially with injured true freshman T.J. Gardner yet to practice. Senior Cam Stapleton, redshirt junior Chris Britton, junior-college transfer Santana Sterling and redshirt freshman Ryan Gilmartin were among the linebackers lining up next to Junior Joseph.
Center Ryan Crozier also was held out of the team drills on Monday due to a stomach ailment, but Edsall is hopeful he will return to practice on Tuesday. Punter Luke Magliozzi, a freshman from Australia, has yet to report to camp. He is currently in Canada as he looks he complete the proper paperwork. There’s a chance he could arrive on campus later this week.
UConn is planning an open practice (weather permitting) on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. at Rentschler Field. There will also be a barbecue open only to season ticket holders who have until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to RSVP for the event.