Pindell more at ease in second year at helm of offense
STORRS — When David Pindell reflects on his first set of snaps as a UConn quarterback, he doesn’t focus on the string of completed passes as much as hoping and praying that he didn’t mess things up in his first career start.
Pindell completed 10 of his first 11 passes but UConn had just seven points on the scoreboard. He played the first two series in the third quarter until getting pulled despite completing 19 of 28 passes. Bryant Shirreffs would take over control of the offense and led UConn to touchdowns on three of the next four series. He also had a clutch third-down completion to extend the final drive of the game as UConn escaped with a 27-20 victory over Holy Cross.
“I was going in there and thinking too much before the snap. Where’s the defense? Where am I going with the ball?” Pindell said. “The offense wasn’t in rhythm at all. When I was playing, I was just guessing. This is the one year where I feel like I learned the offense really well, better than in high school and junior college.”
After arriving from Lackawanna College, Pindell won the starting quarterback spot in preseason camp but his time as the starting QB was rather brief.
Pindell did not attempt another pass for the next six games after being benched against Holy Cross. Shirreffs’ career ended when he suffered a concussion in a loss to South Florida. Pindell would start the final three games of the season beginning with a Nov. 11 loss at UCF. Pindell rushed for a career-high 96 yards and threw for 201 more in the 49-24 loss.
“That was my first time coming back from the Holy Cross game (as a starter),” Pindell said. “Coach (Rhett)
Lashlee (UConn’s offensive coordinator at the time) told me to just go out there and play my game because we didn‘t have anything to lose. The mindset I had (was) just to be me, I didn’t have to worry about making mistakes.
“That UCF game gave me confidence that I would be myself, be able to show what I could do rather than be so nervous. Going into the BC and Cincinnati games, I was able to be myself. This year being able to do that and know the game a little better defi- nitely helps.”
Now nationally ranked UCF comes into Rentschler Field for the Aug 30 season opener and while most of the eyes will be on UCF’s Heisman Trophy candidate, McKenzie Milton, Pindell is determined to show that there will be two talented quarterbacks on the field that night.
If there is an area where Pindell has grown the most as a quarterback, it has been his willingness and effectiveness in throwing the deep ball. Pindell credits new offensive coordinator John Dunn for helping him understand the offense much better, resulting in more vertical throws to open receivers rather than settling for dumping the ball off to running backs.
“He trusts Coach Dunn, he trusts the offense and the reads so whenever he has a guy who can stretch the field like myself or (Tyraiq) Beals out there, he is not afraid to take the shot,” UConn sophomore receiver Keyion Dixon said. “That really helps the offense because we can get a 1-play drive and come back and do it again or get those intermediate routes to help the offense out a bit.”
Pindell will never be as comfortable as a vocal leader as some past UConn quarterbacks but he does think he is making strides in that area.
“Coach (Randy) Edsall was telling me to be more vocal and talk more,” Pindell said. “I didn’t have to scream or anything so that is what I have tried to work on.
“I didn’t knowguys (going into the 2017 season opener), I was like a young dude. I didn’t want to be somebody holding the team (accountable), I just wanted to sit back and just be there.”
Edsall has often mentioned Pindell as one of the hardest working players on the team and now he is seeing that translate into his daily interactions with the other offensive players.
“He seems to be more sure of himself this fall than
he was last fall and that is a good thing,” Edsall said. “He is playing faster and he is doing things faster.
“You want him to be him but you want him to communicate a little bit more. He is never going to be the rah rah guy but the one thing is, he has earned the respect of his teammates because of how hard he works and the time he put in. He is a guy who works extremely hard in everything he does and you can see it in terms of some of the things he is doing on the field and his teammates respect that.”
NEW ADDITION
Originally Terrence Ga- nyi was expected to be a part of the next UConn recruiting class. There has been a change of plans and the Montreal native is eligible to play this season.
Ganyi has practiced with the team this week and Edsall said he likely will play the safety/linebacker hybrid position.
“He is a good athlete and a physical player,” Edsall said. “I really liked what I saw and he is a great kid.”
Edsall didn’t rule out Ganyi playing this season although he said that he has plenty of catching up to do.