September can’t come soon enough when you’re a football fan. That’s right folks, the college football season is upon us. We don’t know about you, but we’re ready to see what the Huskies are made of this season.
Connecticut hits the road on Saturday for the first match-up against Ohio University. Once again, the Huskies are underrated in the Big East, picked sixth in the preseason polls. No surprise there really.
Sure, it always hurts to lose the big man. We could sit here and imagine what kind of team Connecticut would be with the nation’s leading running back, Donald Brown. Wouldn’t that be nice? But Brown is long gone and fitting in quite nicely with the Indianapolis Colts - he scored his first TD last week. 'The Donald' and three other notable Huskies (William Beattie, Cody Brown and Darius Butler) all went in the first two rounds of this year's NFL draft.
Before 2009, no Husky was taken higher than the third round. And get this, Southern California was the only school to have more players taken in the first two rounds than Connecticut. This football program has made tremendous strides and people are taking notice.
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UConn held its first media luncheon on Tuesday afternoon and head coach Randy Edsall spoke with a consistent steadiness in his voice that we're used to hearing.
"I know we're ready to go play," said Edsall. "Now it's just a matter of how we're going to play on Saturday. We can't turn the ball over. We can't give up the long scores against us on defense. We gotta take advantage of the opportunities offensively. Not a lot of penalties, good tackling and running to the ball."
Sounds like a simple formula for success, but again, the Huskies have to execute plays on both sides of the ball to better their 8-5 record last season. Here's a preview of the things to come this season:
Determined D-Line:
UConn's defense is solid. They ranked 6th nationally in total defensive yards: 278. Connecticut is returning six starters led by junior linebacker Scott Lutrus and senior defensive end Lindsey Witten. Lutrus recorded 106 tackles in 2008, with one interception and five pass break-ups. Expect Jesse Joseph and Bridgeport's Trevardo Williams to see playing time-two freshman who will be expected to fill the void of Julius Williams and Cody Brown.
Offensive Incline:
New offensive coordinator. New offense. New starting QB. How is this revamped offense going to play out? That's the question on everyone's mind.
Zach Frazer is returning for his second year, and this time, he’s running the show. He lost about 20 pounds in the off season, spent countless hours in the weight room and now he’s ready to put all that work to use. Edsall is confident that his new leading man will get the job done.
“I think he’s completely ready to run the show and the offense,” says Edsall. “I think Zach throws the football well. “He’s a good passer. I think he has as strong arm. He has a presence that the offensive guys like.”
UConn loses a force in Donald Brown, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards last season. But there is plenty of room for guys to step up.
As a freshman, Jordan Todman rushed for 296 yards and had 3 TDs. Now a sophomore, he will start as running back and look to follow in Donald Brown's footsteps. No one wants a happy ending more than Andre Dixon. Two years ago he had 828 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, which earned him second team ALL-Big East Honors. Last December, Dixon hit rock bottom when he got arrested and charged with DUI. He accumulated a staggeringly low 37 yards. The senior tailback is fully aware that there are no more second chances. With a new found focus and sense of clarity, he will also look to fill Brown’s shoes.
Despite what the preseason polls say, let’s get one thing straight: Everything’s up for grabs this year in the Big East. And if there is anyone out there who doubts UConn’s potential, just talk to senior wide receiver Brad Kanuch.
“Everybody’s predicting our defense to be good,” says Kanuch. Everybody’s predicting our offense to not be good. They haven’t seen us. They don't watch practice everyday, they don't know what's going on. It is making us a lot more pumped up because we're going to show people what we're really like."
