Uconn’s offense can finally breathe Mitchell is a tackle machine
When asked if Phommachanh’s two second-half touchdown runs against Army lifted a weight off of the back of Uconn’s offense, Spanos smiled.
“Are you guys wired into the frequencies on our headsets?” Spanos said with a laugh. “Once he scored, I said to the team, ‘Finally, let’s breathe again.’ We got better and then we started putting a couple more points up.
“We’re working, we’re progressing and we’re trying to get better. You’re not trying to force it [anymore]. In the back of your mind, it’s, ‘Let’s play football, let’s enjoy it, let’s compete.’ ”
Phommachanh’s 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of the loss was Uconn’s first score against an FBS opponent all season after being shut out by Fresno State and Purdue.
“It felt good,” Phommachanh said. “We’ve been waiting to score, waiting to do things. We kept fighting, and I appreciate the team for fighting with me and trying to put points on the board.”
Sophomore linebacker Jackson Mitchell leads the country in total tackles with 45 — seven more than Utah’s Devon Lloyd, the second-leading tackler at 38. He posted a career-best 16 tackles against Army after recording 15 against Purdue.
“You say Jackson Mitchell, I smile,” Spanos said. “When I first got the job, I visited Jackson when he was in high school. He looked at me, I met his parents — awesome family.
“To see how he’s developed and matured, he’s one of the leaders of this team. Also the time he committed — that’s another one, because of that extra time last year — we’re on the same page. He is playing at a high level ... and he’s getting better and better.”
Mitchell, a native of Ridgefield, led all true freshman nationally with 6 tackles per game in 2019.
“I’ve just been studying the game a lot,” he said. “The way I’ve been able to produce so far this year isn’t where I want it to be, but I think the film study has helped get me to the point where I’m at right now: getting tackles, being able to fly all over the field and make plays.”