Beavers, Thomas Adjusting To DE Roles
Two Former Linebackers Fill A Big Hole For The Huskies
At the biggest moment of UConn’s game against Rhode Island on Saturday, it was Eli Thomas who made a play.
With seconds on the clock and the Rams at the 16-yard line threatening to tie the score, Thomas lined up with a hand on the ground, burst around the edge and dragged quarterback JaJuan Lawson to the ground, sealing the Huskies’ victory.
Not only was the sack crucial for UConn, it was especially significant for Thomas, who was playing his first game at the defensive end position. Though Thomas said Tuesday he was thinking more about the sacks he missed out on than the one he recorded, he said he felt good about his adjustment to the new position.
“After watching the film, there’s a lot I can work on,” he said. “But it went well.”
In lining up at defensive end Saturday, Thomas joined sophomore Darrian Beavers in making the shift from linebacker to D-line. Beavers debuted at defensive end at Boise State and played significant snaps there against Rhode Island. Whereas Thomas remains listed on the depth chart as a linebacker and will likely play both there and at defensive end moving forward, Beavers appears to be locked in on the line.
UConn coach Randy Edsall said Tuesday that Thomas and Beavers’ position changes arose from a desire to improve the Huskies’ lackluster pass rush.
“If you sit there and you see that you can’t get a pass rush and you sit there and don’t don’t do anything about it, you’re hurting your team,” Edsall said. “So that was in an effort to get a pass rush going, utilize guys who could maybe could be better utilized at those positions than people we already had.
“It was really a combination of getting our best people on the field, helping ourselves in an area where we were deficient … and trying to get speed and athleticism on the field on third downs.”
UConn did not record a sack in its first two games of the season and generated little pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. That changed a bit against Rhode Island, when the Huskies sacked Lawson three times, including twice in the final minute.
Beavers said Tuesday that when he first got word coaches wanted him to play D-end, he didn’t quite believe it. Then he was summoned into Edsall’s office, and when he walked out he had himself a new position.
To Beavers, the shift hasn’t been too complicated. As a linebacker, he had to know what was happening both in front of him and behind him, so he already understood the D-line’s responsibilities on any given play. Now, he can simply focus on the quarterback.
“[Defensive end] is a lot like outside linebacker,” he said. “It’s using my abilities, because I’m one of the best pass-rushers on this team, so in those situations when I can pass rush, I just try and get to the quarterback.”
Not long ago, Beavers and Thomas would have seemed like odd candidates to play defensive end. Both played safety in high school before shifting to linebacker and are known for speed as much as strength.
But with UConn lacking depth on the defensive line, where Edsall has sometimes played four freshmen at once, the two linebackers-by-trade have little choice but to adjust on the fly.
“I’ve been gaining weight, gaining weight,” Beavers said. “I was probably 205 in high school. Now I’m 240, and now I have to just keep getting bigger, I guess.”
Though switching positions mid-season is never easy, Beavers and Thomas both say that they have benefited from the presence of the other.
“Darrian and I are good buddies, and we bounce ideas off each other, different moves,” Thomas said. “He’s a younger guy, but he’ll help me out if I need help with a pass-rush move.”
Beavers, Thomas and the rest of UConn’s defensive line will face a stiff challenge Saturday against Syracuse. But if the Huskies have any hope of stopping the Orange, they’ll need a strong pass rush. And they’ll likely need their duo of D-end converts to be a part of that.
Fortt Practices, But Coyle Goes Down
UConn safety Omar Fortt was back on the practice field Tuesday after missing the game against Rhode Island with a concussion. That was the good news.
The bad news was that fellow starting safety Tyler Coyle went down during practice with an apparent leg injury. Edsall did not offer an update on Coyle’s status, but if the sophomore can’t play Saturday against Syracuse, fresh- man Oneil Robinson will likely make his second straight start.
Edsall also declined to provide updates on cornerback Tahj Herring-Wilson and linebacker Marshe Terry, who left Saturday’s game with ankle injuries.
Simulating Syracuse
After committing six false-start penalties at Boise State, UConn used artificial crowd noise Tuesday to replicate the atmosphere the Huskies will face Saturday at the Carrier Dome. … Running back Donevin O’Reilly, who tore an ACL in the preseason, was on the field Tuesday in a T-shirt and a leg brace encouraging his teammates. … Freshman cornerback Terrence Gayni, who has appeared on special teams for the Huskies this season, will not play the rest of the season, taking a redshirt year. Ganyi arrived on campus just before the start of the season, and Edsall said it would be best for him to focus on academics. … Last week, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald made headlines when he said the run-pass option was “the purest form of communism.” On Tuesday, Edsall seconded the analogy, explaining that the rule allowing offensive linemen to block up to 3 yards downfield was a “hindrance” to defenses. How that relates to communism remains unclear.