The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Huskies have issues to address in spring
The UConn football team will hold the first of 15 spring practices on Tuesday. Coming off a 1-11 season and with a defense that statistically was the worst in major college football history, there are plenty of questions facing the Huskies moving forward. Here are five things to look for over the next five weeks.
⏩ 1. Passing grades?: The Huskies won’t have a quarterback who has started for them heading into the season for the first time since 2011. Marvin Washington and Steve Krajewski attempted 24 and 7 passes respectively as freshmen and they have a chance to put a stamp on the position before graduate transfer Mike Beaudry and true freshman Jack Zergiotis arrive in June. ⏩ 2. Gift of grab: Ten UConn players had multiple receptions last season, and only receivers Keyion Dixon and Heron Maurisseau and running backs Kevin Mensah and Dante Black will take part in spring drills. The graduation of receivers Kyle Buss, Hergy Mayala and Tyraiq Beals, tight end Aaron McLean and the decision by tight end Tyler Davis to use his final season of eligibility to play at Georgia Tech has left holes to fill. The UConn coaching staff addressed the receiving position in the recruiting process with the addition of three high school signees and graduate transfer Ardell Brown. None of them will take part in spring camp, so the next five weeks will be crucial for untested receivers Garrison Burnett, Cameron
Hairston and Elijah Jeffreys to use these 15 practices to prepare for significant roles. Currently Jay Rose is the only tight end listed on the UConn roster, but Donovan Williams was moved there late in the 2018 season so this is a time for them to carve out roles as well. Running back Zavier Scott was second on the 2018 squad with 33 receptions, but he will miss spring practice as he recovers from the knee injury that ended his freshman season. Graduate transfer running back Art Thompkins displayed passreceiving ability when he was at Toledo.
⏩ 3. Getting coordinated: Replacing one coordinator is challenging enough, but UConn will be moving forward without both its offensive and defensive coordinators. On offense, Frank Giufre was with the program last season and the hope is that the Huskies won’t miss a beat even after the departure of John Dunn to the NFL. Lou Spanos was brought in as the new defensive coordinator after Billy Crocker was not retained. Some positions have different names and it bears watching to see just how different the defensive alignment looks.
⏩ 4. Stability, stability, stability: The horrendous defensive numbers have been well documented.
While some of the struggles can be traced to the stunning number of true freshmen playing key roles, the constant revolving door on defense didn’t help matters. A total of 21 different players started by the third game of the season, 23 by week No. 5. A total of 16 of those starters will take part in spring practice. Although there is a new coordinator, enough defensive staff members are back so the players should be placed in positions where they can be the most productive instead of another season of trial and error. That should help the defense make some much needed strides.
⏩ 5. Center of attention: UConn coach Randy Edsall said before last season that the offensive line has the potential to be the best he’s had with the Huskies. With four starters back, this year’s line could be even better. The UConn coaches are extremely fired up about the potential of redshirt freshman Christian Haynes, so it would be surprising if he doesn’t take over one of the starting guard positions. The Huskies need to replace starting center Ryan Crozier and in the quest to get the five best offensive linemen out there, perhaps one of the returning starting guards (either Cam DeGeorge or Nino Leone) will get a chance at center.