Mixed results in first practice

STORRS — The first practice of preseason camp had drawn to a close early Wednesday evening but there was still some work to do for the members of the UConn football team.

Randy Edsall, preparing for the second season in his second stint at the helm of the struggling program, didn’t like what he was seeing late in the practice. With his team gathered around him, Edsall cut loose in voicing his displeasure. Then he had his players line up so they could run, run some more and run a little bit longer.

“I thought we started out OK but didn’t finish the way you’d like to,” Edsall said. “That’s on me to make sure I get these guys in that type of condition and develop that mental toughness to be able to finish things.”

Edsall felt his players ran out of gas both physically and mentally. Knowing that plenty of work needs to be done before the Huskies open the 2018 season on Aug. 30 against defending American Athletic Conference champion UCF, he wasn’t about to let them get into bad habits in the first practice.

“You have to have a starting point,” Edsall said. “It’s a lot different when they might be doing things themselves and you have to get into situations. As I told them, it wasn’t what we wanted but we had to start somewhere, we started and now what we have to do is come out tomorrow and continue to build to peak to when we play our first game.”

The first practice was a bit of an eye-opener for defensive end Ryan Fines, a graduate transfer who recorded four tackles in the two seasons he played at Miami (Fla.).

Both Edsall and UConn defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter said Fines did not report to campus in the kind of shape they were expecting when he arrived around Memorial Day. Fines worked with the third-team defense in the opening practice.

“Today was not my best day, I came in probably a little overconfident,” Fines said. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

“It (playing with the third team) does send me a message because my goal here is to start, so I have work my (butt) off to make sure that

happens.”

He has two years of eligibility remaining and is immediately eligible after earning his undergraduate degree from Miami. He is pursuing a graduate degree in financial risk management.

Fines — who is originally from Colorado and moved to the Tampa, Fla., area with his family as a sophomore in high school — didn’t get as much playing time with the talent-rich Hurricanes as he had hoped.

“It was something I wasn’t getting at Miami so it was something I want to make sure I’m getting at the next school, I’m going to (play more snaps),” Fines said. “I think I can bring a leadership quality, experience, a defense that has a lot of young guys so I’m hoping I can share some experience with them and just a hardworking attitude.”

A connection with UConn players and coaches, realizing that UConn was suffering heavy graduation losses on the defensive line and a chance to pursue a graduate degree led to him landing with the Huskies.

“I had no intention of leaving,” Fines said. “I love the University of Miami and I wanted to stay there the whole time and get my master’s there but obviously there were different visions between me and the coaching staff and I respect that. I decided it was just my time to move on.

“There were a lot of really good guys (on the Miami defensive line), some guys that are now in the NFL. The competition there was far and away some of the best I’d ever seen, so it was challenging.”

Among the other defensive backs on the UConn roster is former Wilbur Cross all-stater Travis Jones. However, Jones did not take part in the practice.