Allen looks to specialize special teams

STORRS — The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for former University of New Haven quarterback Eddie Allen.

About two weeks after recently appointed UConn special teams coordinator Chris White left to become the tight ends coach for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, it was announced that Allen would be handling those duties.

Seven UConn assistant coaches are back for their second seasons on Randy Edsall’s staff. While offensive coordinator John Dunn and Frank Giufre have been on board since January, Allen didn’t arrive until late last month.

“You come in as a running backs coach, you only have to learn six guys names so going out to practice,” Allen said. “I have pictures, you watch them workout and you try to put their names to faces and to numbers so I get a baseline evaluation of who these guys are. We are going to get started pretty quick.”

Allen will get to do more than just watch the UConn players go through workouts on Monday when the Huskies kick off spring practice.

Allen has gotten results at Rhode Island and Delaware. Delaware tied for the FCS lead with a net punting average of 38.8 yards during the 2017 season and he coached two all-conference punters in his four seasons at Delaware.

UConn’s special teams units were rather ordinary a season ago. The Huskies finished 121st out of 130

Football Bowl Subdivision programs in punting average, were 79th in yards per punt return, 71st in yards per kickoff return and 108th in punt return yardage. The Huskies did rank 14th by allowing an average of 3.8 yards per punt return and was 96th in yards per kickoff return allowed.

Allen will only have one of his two punters to work with during spring drills as redshirt freshman Luke Magliozzi is recovering from shoulder surgery. As for which players will be placed on the kickoff and punt coverage and return units, that is still to be determined.

“Coach Edsall is giving me the ability to use the guys I have to use so I have to get an evaluation,” Allen said. “I am sure at some point in training camp we will have a conversation about the guys we might need to limit to two units or three units so that will be based on where we are depth wise.

“I tell the players that if you are in this program whether it is scholarship/ walk-on, fourth year, fifth year or a first-year player, if you’ve got the skill set and play with high energy to do it, I will find a spot for you. The more guys that get involved on a team the better the team is going to be.”

Allen lists former University of New Haven head coaches Tony Sparano and Darren Rizzi among his mentors. Sparano was Allen’s coach when he was at UNH while Rizzi hired Allen at Rhode Island and worked with him again when Rizzi was coaching special teams at Rutgers.

“I got a little bit of both of them in me,” Allen said. “Coach (Sporano), I was the quarterback, he was the head coach but he was also the offensive coordinator. He was very even keeled but he can get on you. (Rizzi), obviously he has a lot of energy a lot of passion and I have taken a lot from him over the years.”

UConn hasn’t accomplished much in the punt blocking department in recent years but that could change under Allen’s watch.

“You have to pick one or the other (punt block or punt return),” Allen said. “You have to focus on it but you have to be ready to do both. The last five years or so I made the decision to practice both, they are situations in games when you are going to have to get after people. Are you going to try to block the kick or are you going to set up the return. I think we have the body types to be good at either one of those but we are going to find out in the next couple of weeks.”

FATUKASI SOLID

Former UConn defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi had a solid showing at the NFL scouting combine highlighted by 33 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press which was in the top five of his position group.

Fatukasi also had a vertical leap of 30 inches, a broad jump of 9-4 and ran 5.29 in the 40-yard dash including an impressive 10-meter split of 1.74.

The 6-foot-4, 318-pound Fatukasi capped his day by running the 3-cone drill in 7.44 seconds and 20-yard shuttle in 4.53 seconds.

Allen