The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
UConn football team prepares to take on East Carolina
STORRS — A knee injury suffered late in preseason camp would have sent many true freshman running backs into emotional overload. However, with all the adversity Kevin Mensah faced on his journey from under recruiting speed merchant to Division I player, it was little more than a minor setback.
Mensah spent much of his senior year of high school getting a rude introduction to the court system and received a crash course on Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association transfer rules.
Mensah was a prolific running back at Holy Name in Worcester, Mass. as he ran for more than 2,500 yards during his sophomore and junior seasons. He transferred to Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley as a senior to play on the same team with his cousin. However, when officials at Mensah’s former school wouldn’t sign a waiver form, it appeared he would not be permitted to play in 2016.
Mensah was just beginning to generate interest from Division I programs. It was a turn of events that could have ended his dream of playing major college football. Mensah considered enrolling at Cheshire Academy or going back to Holy Name before opting to stay at Shepherd Hill. He wasn’t quite sure how much his new school would be willing to fight for him. He got the answer when veteran Shepherd Hill coach Chris Lindstrom, who retired at the end of the 2016 season, would
not coach the team as long as the MIAA refused to let Mensah play.
“I am always going to remember that, not coaching just to fight for me that is something I will always remember and I love him for that,” Mensah said.
There was plenty of fighting to be done and court sessions to attend before it was ruled that Mensah could suit up for Shepherd Hill. Despite missing the first two games of the season, Mensah ran for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns in nine games, while four of his nine receptions also went for touchdowns.
“That was a very tough time,” Mensah said. “What I learned through that was to always stay positive, have faith, there are going to be times when things aren’t going to go your way, but you have beat that and be the better man, do what you have to do. What I could do in going to court is stay positive, I had a lot of help from Shepherd Hill. It was very stressful, but I got what I needed.”
When Randy Edsall was hired for his second stint at UConn, he was looking for at least one more running back. He had kept tabs on the 5-foot-9, 200-pound Mensah, who originally planned to spend this season at St. Thomas More so he could get a scholarship from an FBS program. When Edsall began to pursue him more vigorously, there would be no reason to go the prep school route.
“They have been following me since my senior year and I felt like I instantly gained a relationship with them, we instantly became close,” Mensah said. “After he gave me a scholarship, I wanted to come here because I felt like I was part of this team already.”
Mensah didn’t commit to UConn until mid June, when most of the 2017 recruiting classes had been finalized. Rather than choose to be a part of next year’s recruiting class, he opted to join the team right away.
Mensah got the call in UConn’s road opener against Virginia on Saturday, when he ran six times for 49 yards. The second time he touched the ball, he was involved in a flea-flicker resulting in a 60-yard scoring
pass from Bryant Shirreffs to Hergy Mayala. Mensah’s final carry went for a 30-yard touchdown. Along with the play of true freshman offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark, Mensah’s work in the second half was among the highlights in an otherwise humbling loss at Virginia.
His mother, a native of Ghana who left her native country to give her family a better life, was in tears when she called him after the game.
The touchdown figures to be just the start of things. Mensah is big enough to gain tough yards inside the tackles. He also has speed, winning a state indoor track title and finishing seventh in New England in the 55 meters as a senior.
“He is fast and he is physical,” UConn senior linebacker Junior Joseph said. “He is (the type of) back I haven’t seen in a while who has a combination of both. The last back I remember like that is (former UConn running back) Ron Johnson, but he is a little bit faster. He is physical. He likes contact, so he is a guy you have to look out for in the coming years.”
Moving forward it will be interesting to see how the carries are divided up. Arkeel Newsome was the team’s leading rusher in each of the last two seasons, Nate Hopkins ran for 130 yards in the season opener against Holy Cross while Jason Thompson is considered the best running back in terms of pass protection. However, it is clear that Mensah will have a significant role moving forward.
“He just has speed and explosion,” Edsall said.
“We saw it from the day that he came in here. He would have been playing (earlier) if he didn’t get hurt during training camp. He has a burst, some explosion, he still has a lot to learn, but he gives us some things we don’t have at that position.”
Starting safety Anthony Watkins is in concussion protocol. True freshman Ian Swenson is listed as a starter for the East Carolina game. Also, true freshman Brian Keating of Darien is expected to handle the long snapping duties for the second game in a row. Edsall said that former starter Nick Zecchino is back home in New Jersey dealing with a medical condition.