Offense struggles during scrimmage
STORRS — There was no sugar-coating after the Uconn football team’s situational scrimmage Saturday: The ball was on the ground too much, and the offense struggled. With the team’s season-opening matchup at Utah State just two weeks away, urgency is beginning to swell in Storrs.
“We’ve got to start faster, and we’ve got to eliminate the ball on the ground, and we’ve got to eliminate the red zone penalties,” coach Jim Mora said. “So that gives us something to really work on, but we’ve got to do it with a sense of urgency. ... I think they’ve had a sense of urgency up to this point, but now it has to be amplified. I’m looking forward to them coming back on Monday and having that type of attitude.”
Alot of the struggles came at the quarterback position, where a starter has yet to be named.
Starting running back Nate Carter took the first play Saturday 20 yards on the ground before quarterback Ta’quan Roberson pulled off a gain of about 60 yards with his legs on an option play.
Roberson would have scored, but with the practice situational, the offense returned to a goal-line set and failed to get into the end zone.
From then on, the play got sloppy. Passes were commonly deflected, intercepted at times; ball carriers were stripped; the line was jumping early — it just wasn’t the offense’s day.
“I wish I could stand here and say ‘this guy jumped out at me’ or ‘that guy jumped out at me,’ but unfortunately I can’t say that,” Mora said following the scrimmage. “And that doesn’t mean I’m disappointed in them, because I’m not, because they work at it. Am I disappointed in the day we had at that position? Yes. Am I disappointed in the players? No. Am I still encouraged? I am, but we have to start making some real time progress at that position.”
Offensive coordinator Nick Charlton planned to sit down and review Saturday’s film with Mora, but for him, the competition at the quarterback position is starting to settle itself.
“We have a good idea of where it’s really going, but we’ve got to evaluate that and really take a hard look at it,” Charlton said.
Roberson took most of the first-team reps Saturday, as has been the case since he joined the Huskies last spring. Freshman Zion Turner played primarily with the second team, and Tyler Phommachanh came in third. Phommachanh is still dealing with some of the after-effects of the knee injury that shut down his 2021 season after starting three games.
“I’m always going to be confident in my abilities and what I can do,” Phommachanh said Saturday. “(My knee) has definitely been hurting me, but you’ve got to push through the sore little pains and aches.”
Mora has been erring on the side of caution with Phommachanh as he has with other players experiencing fatigue.
Near the end of practice, in a red-zone situation, Turner was the quarterback to make a play. He found sophomore tight end Bo Estes in the end zone for the score, and the offense made it clear that Estes’ catch brought it relief. From receivers to offensive linemen, the entire offense ran over to Estes near the sideline to give him a hug or a pat on the helmet.
Turner has impressed Mora with his strong arm and his mobility since he joined the Huskies.
“We didn’t play our best football today, but you’ve got to finish strong,” Turner said following the scrimmage. “That red-zone situation is a great situation for us. We were in that situation a lot, just being able to execute when it counted — it was a great feeling for us today. But we still have a lot to go back and correct.”
Soon camp modewill turn into game prep.
Mora said Monday will be a normal camp day, and Tuesday will begin the transition into preparing for Utah State. The team moves into its regular dorm rooms Thursday, which is what, alumni told Mora, signifies the end of camp.
“I’m getting excited,” Mora said. “There’s just a little different energy as you get closer to the season. As you get closer to game time, you’re a little more focused. I’m excited to see these guys play. I want to see what kind of progress we’re making. I want to see them handle some adversity. I want to see how they react to some success. I want to see how they’ve grown together — if it’s real or if it’s just imagined.”