The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Shirreffs named starting QB
STORRS >> A year ago when UConn football coach Bob Diaco announced his starting quarterback, he brought in all four scholarship QBs and Bryant Shirreffs sat quietly in the background while his teammates found themselves very much in the spotlight. It’s safe to say that things have changed in a year.
Diaco made official what seemed like a foregone conclusion since spring practice as Shirreffs will start Thursday’s season opener against Villanova.
“Bryant has performed well,” Diaco said on Sunday. “He hasn’t played in a football game in a long time, so we are not going to heap too much pressure or praise on him at this point. We are going to let him be him. We are looking forward to turning the keys over to him and let him drive it.”
Following his transfer from North Carolina State, Shirreffs was relegated to the role of scout team quarterback as he sat out the season as a redshirt due to NCAA rules on undergraduate transfers. Casey Cochran, Chandler Whitmer and Tim Boyle each had opportunities as the Huskies’ starting quarterback. Following the graduation of Whitmer and retirement of Cochran due to multiple concussions, Boyle was the only quarterback who had taken a snap at UConn. Early on in spring practice, Shirreffs saw time with the first-team offense and he never relinquished his hold on the job.
In the two scrimmages during preseason camp, both held at Rentschler Field, Shirreffs was unofficially 22 of 32 passing for 236 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was easily the most productive quarterback. Now it is time for Shirreffs to take control of an offense which has lacked quality play from the quarterback position since the graduation of Dan Orlovsky.
“People will tell me all the time that we have had struggles at UConn all the time in the quarterback area, but I couldn’t tell you that much about it because I have only been here a year,” Shirreffs said. “I just know what I can do and I am going to do it to the best of my ability.
“I don’t think any other quarterback is trying not to play well, I am going to try to play the best that I can. I wanted to be the best I can be and wherever the coaches, wherever I was on the depth chart, that was up to them. I wanted to prepare the best that I could and have it show up on the field. I don’t really think of first string, second string, seventh string, that doesn’t matter to me as long as we are winning.”
Shirreffs played in eight games as a freshman at North Carolina State in 2013, running the ball 34 times and passing it five times. In his second game Shirreffs had a 28-yard touchdown run and a 7-yard TD pass in a win over Richmond.
While Shirreffs has displayed arm strength and accuracy during camp, his ability to make plays with his legs will provide an added dimension to UConn’s offense.
“He is a great quarterback,” UConn receiver Noel Thomas said. “He can do things with his legs and extend plays. He is a great friend off the field, he is a good person, good teammate and that is the best part about him.”
It will be a new era with not only a new quarterback but also a first-year offensive coordinator in Frank Verducci.
“I love Bryant Shirreffs, I think his teammates will say that he is one of if not the hardest working guy on the team,” Verducci said. “Bryant Shirreffs is a guy that every minute you invest with him, you get a return, he is a joy to work with.”
Not being able to play was difficult for Shirreffs a season ago especially when the offense struggled. He used his season on the sidelines as a chance to become a better player even while not taking snaps in a live game situation.
“This spring, the cerebral aspect of it, taking a year off and really witnessing different situations against a lot of different defenses, that has been the biggest strides for me,” Shirreffs said.