The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn football freshman class draws raves from recruiter
CROMWELL — Perhaps it is the result of increased opportunity, or simply a case of the planets aligning in the unpredictable world of football recruiting, but veteran UConn football coach Randy Edsall delivered an unsolicited tribute to his current group of newcomers during his speech at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Wednesday morning.
“Sometimes people get scared when they have to play freshmen,” Edsall said, “but the one thing is that this group of freshmen from top to bottom — this isn’t banquet talk — I think they’re the best group top to bottom that I’ve brought in since I’ve been here at Connecticut. I’ve been really impressed with the freshmen, their maturity, how they’ve adapted.”
Think about that statement for a bit. Edsall was at the helm when UConn made the transition to a Football Bowl Subdivision program 16 years ago, and 15 of his recruits were taken in the NFL draft from 2005-11, but he’s never had a deeper class of freshmen than the current group.
While it is too early to tell whether the current true freshmen will add to the number of former Huskies who played in professional football, there’s no question they will play early and often during the upcoming season.
“We thought we had a good group but you never know until they get here,” Edsall said. “You watch them perform, you watch them do certain things on the field. Now after having the number of practices that we’ve had and seeing them, I think top to
bottom it’s the most solid class that we’ve had since I’ve been here — both stints.”
Edsall confirmed that offensive guard Christian Haynes and cornerback Keyshawn Paul will start as true freshmen. Defensive lineman Travis Jones, a former Wilbur Cross twoway starting lineman, has seen more time with the starters than any other true freshman during preseason camp.
Running backs Dante Black and Khyon Gillespie and receiver Heron Maurisseau are first-year offensive players rising up the depth chart. Defensive linemen Jonathan Pace and Lwal Uguak are pushing for the starting defensive end spot across from Jones. Linebacker Kevon Jones finished preseason camp with a flourish and he could become a starter sooner rather than later. Fellow linebacker Hunter Webb, cornerbacks Shamel Lazarus and Ryan Carroll and safeties Jalon Ferrell, Jordan Morrison and Oneil Robinson could find themselves on the twodeep chart leading into the season opener against UCF on Aug. 30.
The emergence of 295pound freshman Haynes as a starting guard has been one of the most noteworthy aspects of preseason camp. Edsall sought the opinion of starting center Ryan Crozier and right tackle Matt Peart, who will play on either side of him, and they emphatically vouched for Haynes, who could become the first true freshman offensive lineman to start in the season opener since UConn began playing at the FBS level.
“Very strong, very powerful, smart, competitive,” Edsall said. “He’s one of those guys who doesn’t back down from anything. You watch him perform and he executes the things that we ask him to execute. He doesn’t say a lot, he just works.”
The number of true freshmen making an impact could increase once promising defensive lineman Pierce DeVaughn recovers from the high ankle sprain that sidelined him for much of camp.
Edsall said senior receiver Kyle Buss is likely to be the top punt returner while sophomore Keyion Dixon will handle the kickoff return duties.
UCONN RADIO
Bridgeport’s WICC-600 and New Haven’s WAVZ-1300 are among the stations in the UConn IMG Radio Network that will include broadcasts of the UConn football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s hockey programs.
WINE 940 AM in Brookfield, WGCH 1490 AM in Greenwich, WXLM 980 AM in New London, WATR 1320 AM in Waterbury and WILI 1400 AM in Willimantic join the flagship station, 97.9 FM ESPN in Hartford.