The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Legendary Palmer dies at age 87
EAST HARTFORD » The normally reliable UConn defense was reeling as they trotted onto Rentschler Field for the first time in the second quarter.
The 167 yards gained by Syracuse were the most surrendered by UConn’s defensive unit in any quarter this season. The offense needed an official’s review to overturn an interception and on the next play quarterback Bryant Shirreffs’ fourth-down pass to Noel Thomas was overthrown. It was danger time for the Huskies who were already trailing by two touchdowns. If Syracuse found the end zone again, it could have been light’s out.
No words needed to be uttered by the defensive players when they stepped back on the field. It was time for somebody to make a play and for at least one player to get Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey out of his comfort zone.
Junior linebacker E.J. Levenberry, playing in his fourth game with the Huskies after transferring from Florida State, was happy to oblige.
A nine-yard pass from Dungey to Steve Ishmael gave the Orange a down to play with. On second down and short Dungey went back to pass. Levenberry burst through the line and threw the Syracuse quarterback down for an 11-yard loss. Defensive end Cole Ormsby’s pressure forced Dungey to rush a throw on the next play and the defense had made that
statement.
The surge of energy from the defensive stand carried over to the offense which embarked on a 53-yard scoring drive.
Levenberry would finish the game with two tackles for loss matched the total he had in 26 games at Florida State.
“I feel like it was being in the right place at the right time,” said Levenberry, who finished with five tackles. “Football is a game that has been good to me. It hasn’t been easy playing it but I learn on the go. I feel comfortable and my confidence is just high.”
Levenberry, a member of Florida State’s national championship team in 2013, came to UConn with plenty of hype. There were those that thought that once he became eligible after sitting out the 2015 season that he would have an impact on UConn’s defense similar to what record-breaking receiver Amba Etto-Tawo is doing on offense at Syracuse after transferring in from Maryland.
However, Junior Joseph and captain Matt Walsh were entrenched as starters at inside linebacker. The coaching staff opted not to kick him to one of the outside linebacker positions, so Levenberry needed to work himself into the rotation as inside linebacker.
After three solid but relatively quiet games, Levenberry had his best game as a Husky in Saturday’s 31-24 loss to Syracuse.
“He is a natural instinctual linebacker,” UConn coach Bob Diaco said. “You can really see it, he has high football intelligence. He works hard; he is passionate; he loves to play; he loves to compete.”
Levenberry admits that sitting out last season due to NCAA regulations on Division I transfers tested his patience. Levenberry did what he could when placed on the scout team to prepare the UConn offense for the upcoming games. However, he was clamoring to get out there and make some plays on game day.
“It was probably my toughest time because it was my first time ever not playing football,” Levenberry said. “Youth ball I always played, in high school I started as a freshman, college I played every year. It was tough not being around the game watch my teammates have so much fun when I can’t really be out there.
“When you come in and learn a new system, it takes time to adjust and feel like you can play fast. I just feel comfortable, I trust Coach Diaco and all of our defensive coaching staff.”
Davis contributes
When the decision was made for Tyler Davis to move from quarterback to tight end, he figured his days of throwing a football have come to an end.
However, twice this season Davis has been asked to throw the ball after the team sent on the field goal team.
Davis had a 25-yard completion to Alec Bloom against Navy to set up Ron Johnson’s short touchdown run. He connected with Tommy Myers for a 17yard gain against Syracuse to give the Huskies four chances inside the 10 yard line to tie the game against the Orange.
Davis becomes the first UConn player with a reception and completion in the same game more than once during UConn’s time playing at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
“Nobody was out there, nobody ran with them so I snapped the ball and threw it up and Tommy made a great play for me,” Davis said. “It was a great catch by Tommy, it was a better catch than throw for sure.”