The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Buss inspired by mom’s memory
Standout of Huskies’ spring game prepping for memorable final season
STORRS — When David Pindell’s pass found its way into the reliable hands of Kyle Buss in the UConn football team’s 2017 finale, it was barely noticed by many of the 23,125 in attendance at Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium.
The first and only reception by Buss during his junior campaign didn’t result in a first down, and the drive early in the fourth quarter ended with a punt. However, when Buss managed to get his hands on that pass, it was truly soothing for his soul, and it provided some positive vibes for a person who had dealt with much sorrow in the previous weeks and months.
Buss was less than three weeks removed from the death of his mother. After seeing whether the 4-yard reception resulted in a first down, the next thing that entered his mind was the pride his mother must have been feeling.
“That was a good way for me to end the season personally, just to get out and catch one ball, get that feeling going into this season,” Buss said at Tuesday’s UConn media day. “It’s been a long ride; there’s a lot of emotions still.”
Buss transferred from Robert Morris to UConn so he could be closer to his cancer-stricken mother. A year ago at this time he wondered whether leaving
her side to take part in his first preseason camp at UConn was really the best idea. Karen Buss, however, encouraged him to head to Storrs with no regrets. Buss would return to Clifton Park, N.Y., to see his mother in late October as he spent the last few weeks of her life at her side.
Buss returned to the team during the week the Huskies were to play Boston College. The game was held at Fenway Park — less than 10 miles from the cemetery where his mother, a native of Brookline, Mass., is buried. Buss’ hamstring injury wasn’t healed well enough for him to take the field. A week later, though he was dealing with a broken heart, Buss returned to the football field.
“It’s not something you can teach somebody or prepare somebody for or let them know it’s coming,” Buss said. “When it happens, the best piece of advice I was ever given was ‘Don’t hold everything in,’
which is hard for me because I can be an introvert at times. Getting back to school and being around my teammates was the best thing that I could have done because it served as a distraction for what was going in during the mourning process. Not that it’s not important but that was the biggest thing for me, was to get back to school as soon as possible because it’s what my mother would have wanted and it just kind of helped me just get into things. There’s no moving on, but just moving forward.”
Even during the most trying times, Buss didn’t lean too heavily on his teammates.
“Not that I don’t feel comfortable venting, but I don’t ever want to be the one to put my problems on somebody else,” Buss said. “Everybody’s got stuff going on in their lives, stuff they have to focus on, especially when you’re a college student trying to balance school and football and whatever else you have going on. I didn’t want to be a burden to anybody else. Not that any of
my teammates would have felt that way but I really do keep everything to myself.”
UConn receivers coach Aaron Smith admitted that Buss’ selfless approach to dealing with such tragic circumstances has “kind of set that bar in my room” for the fellow receivers.
“He kind of kept a poker face through the whole thing. You have to admire someone who can be so strong,” UConn junior receiver Donovan Williams said. “I can’t even imagine that type of tragedy happening to me. Kyle’s like a brother to me, he’s like a brother to all of us. We were there whenever he needed us to be there, he just handled it with such maturity and you have to have loads of respect for somebody like that.”
It wasn’t just the fellow receivers and his position coach who felt that way. Shortly before UConn’s spring football game, Buss was pulled aside by head coach Randy Edsall and told that he had a scholarship for his final season. Buss promptly led the Huskies with 116 receiving yards in the spring game. If his performance throughout spring camp is any indication, that won’t be his last huge game as a UConn receiver. He’ll certainly have extra motivation moving forward.
“Before games, workouts, practice, that’s something that will never leave my conscience,” Buss said. “She always has been a motivating factor in a loving and caring way. I used that in a good way and it really does help me. It (the feeling of loss) is still fresh. I don’t know if it ever will subside but it’s a thing that (Kyle and his twin brother) both keep in our minds, to want to use that to move forward every single day, try to use her blessings, her mind set of how she raised us and things that she instilled in us, molded us into who we are today.”
UConn kicks off preseason camp Wednesday. Edsall said he is expecting every player on the roster to be able to take part.