Diaco, Huskies Return to Practice

Everything's new for the Huskies. New coaches, new schedule, new outlook on their football lives. And it's also their first time through spring practice with Bob Diaco, who was hired in December, weeks after UConn put the finishing touches on a 3-9 season.

But three sessions in, spring break arrived, which meant a week off for the players. But when practice resumed this week, it was business as usual.

"[The players] would be the first to tell you shaking off the spring break rust took a little time, but they did," Diaco said, via the Hartford Courant. "And they did a nice job. It fit the model the coaches were expecting and we were pleased to have a successful Practice 4. ...

"Monday after a spring break could always be a hairy situation for teams across the country, and I feel like the team handled Practice 4 well," the coach continued. "It wasn't anything that was extraordinary. But [the coaches and I] know what it feels like as a player to go on spring break and have to come back, to try to be electric. It's just not realistic."

As for the actual football-related activities, Diaco remains impressed by the wide receiver corps, which will come in handy for Casey Cochran (and whomever finds themselves in the quarterback mix) and a Huskies offense that was stalled for much of last season.

"They are a group that has produced plays and playmakers in the past, and it's a pretty veteran group and a pretty good-looking group in terms of just sheer numbers," Diaco said of the wideouts. "But if you really watched them practice today, what they did away from the ball was what was most impressive. They really were blocking downfield, giving great effort, trying to shield defenders from other ball carriers. They really made great, great strides today."

The Blue-White Spring Game will take place on Saturday, April 12.

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