Casey Cochran arrived in Storrs as the two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut. He redshirted last season and began this season as a backup quarterback behind Chandler Whitmer. But four games into the season, Whitmer was benched for true freshman Tim Boyle and Cochran remained on the sidelines.
Four games and three relief appearances later, Cochran will finally get his chance. Interim coach T.J. Weist made the official announcement on Tuesday morning. Weist called Cochran "one of the hardest working players on the team" and cited his decision-making as one of the big reasons he has been elevated to the top of the depth chart.
We wondered if Cochran might get the nod two weeks ago when Weist said he would "re-evaluate" the position. At the time, Cochran said all the right things about any chances that might come his way.
"We've all been working hard at it all season, all the quarterbacks in here. We've got four great guys right now," he said. [Freshman QB] Kivon [Taylor] is a really great player. Chandler [Whitmer] has showed what he can do and Tim is a really good player so I think the best thing we do as quarterbacks we help each other out. ... I think we can all help each other out."
This week, Cochran's the man and he'll be the Huskies' best hope to finally win a game. UConn faces SMU this Saturday.
In four appearances this season, Cochran has completed 17 of 28 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
