First-team offense being guided by QB Washington

So often during the 2018 season, UConn’s offense seemed to depend entirely on quarterback David Pindell, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards and threw for nearly 2,000 more.

With Pindell having graduated, the Huskies will look to replace his production with some combination of three different quarterbacks: sophomore Marvin Washington, redshirt freshman Steven Krajewski and junior grad transfer Mike Beaudry.

Beaudry, who joins the program after four years at the University of West Florida, won’t arrive on campus until the summer, leaving Washington and Krajewski to battle for first-team reps during spring practice.

Over the opening days of the five-week spring period, it has been Washington leading the first-team offense. The sophomore from Orlando served as Pindell’s backup for much of 2018 but has struggled over the past two years to remain academically eligible. Washington sat out the end of last season so he could focus on school.

He said Thursday that he has worked to become more accountable and to follow the path coach Randy Edsall has laid out for him.

“I had to pick a side if I really wanted to be a part of this football life or if I wanted to keep messing up,” Washington said. “I love football, and this is what I want to do.”

Krajewski, who attempted only three passes last fall as a true freshman, said he has focused on improving his leadership skills and is ready to compete over the coming months to win the starting job.

“That should be everyone’s goal on the field: to be the starter,” Krajewski said. “That’s definitely one of my goals, and I love to compete.”

O’Reilly back on the field

Six months after an ACL tear ended his 2018 season before it began, running back Donevin O’Reilly is back at practice, participating in non-contact drills while wearing a knee brace.

O’Reilly said he has remained cautious with his knee, which still aches sometimes, but he tries to forget about the injury when he’s on the field.

“I’ve taught myself not to think about it because if I’m thinking about it on the field, it increases my chance to hurt it,” O’Reilly said.

Still, the tailback remains limited to practicing handoff exchanges and route-running.

“I’m itching to get back on the field with the team so I can do team reps,” O’Reilly said. “But we’re working to get the leg strong enough so I can take the hits, [make] off-balance cuts, things like that.”

O’Reilly began his UConn career as a walk-on but emerged during spring and summer camp last year as one of the Huskies’ most promising running backs. He appeared positioned for a major role in the offense before his injury last August.

O’Reilly said Thursday that he expects to participate fully in summer camp and be ready for game action in the fall.

‘It can’t get any worse, can it?’

Asked Thursday about whether he expected 2019 to be better for UConn than 2018 (when the Huskies went 1-11 and set records for poor defense), Edsall replied, “It can’t get any worse, can it?” … UConn is breaking in two new coordinators this spring: Frank Giufre on offense and Lou Spanos on defense. Edsall said Giufre’s playbook will be similar to that of his predecessor John Dunn but that Spanos has introduced some new concepts. … Junior Nino Leone took reps at center Thursday after starting last season at right guard.

Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.