By Chip Malafronte, Register Staff
cmalafronte@nhregister.com

STORRS — Five losses by a combined 15 points. The figure is a double-edged sword, and the UConn football team is well aware.

On one side, it shows just how close the Huskies were to a truly remarkable season. They were in position to win every game until the final second last fall, losing by four points only once.

But the other side is an indicator of the team’s inability at times to finish, glaring mistakes in the final 130 seconds directly responsible for three losses.

Most of the key personnel returns for UConn, which finished last season with a flourish — four straight wins, including at Notre Dame and over South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl. It’s made the Huskies a fashionable dark horse pick in a Big East Conference expected to be tight at the top.

“Any time you have success, people want to talk to you,” UConn coach Randy Edsall said. “We always have high expectations for ourselves. This year, the team has set expectations even higher for themselves.”

UConn opens the season on Saturday at Michigan, where newly-refurbished Michigan Stadium’s expanded capacity of 109,901 will be sold out, making it the highest-attended football game in history.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES WITH CHIP MALAFRONTE'S BLOG

Defense has driven the bus for Edsall’s teams over the last several years. But it was the offense which stepped to the forefront last season, and is once again expected to be UConn’s strength.

Quarterback Zach Frazer overcame the inconsistency that’s plagued him since he arrived from Notre Dame three years ago and became a true team leader.

His passing numbers may not elicit a second glance, but it’s the little things that pushed Frazer to his status as one of the top quarterbacks in the conference. Prone to turnovers — he threw seven interceptions and three touchdowns in his first three games before Continued...

• 1
• 2
• See Full Story

See UConn, D6

Continued from D1

an injury sidelined him for six weeks — he stopped “trying to do too much”, Edsall said, and the results were apparent. During the four-game win streak, he tossed seven touchdowns to just two interceptions.

Frazer won’t have graduated Marcus Easley, the Huskies first big-play wide receiver. Instead of one favorite target, he’ll have three in juniors Michael Smith, Isiah Moore and Kashif Moore.

Tailback Jordan Todman, coming off 1,188 yards and 14 touchdowns, will handle the load at tailback. USC-transfer D.J. Shoemate and Robbie Frey are expected to split the remaining carries.

All three should find success running behind one of the league’s biggest and most physical offensive lines. Center Moe Petrus, guards Zach Hurd and Mathieu Oliver and tackle Mike Ryan all started the bulk of games last fall. Tackle Adam Masters, who played in eight games at guard last year, is the least experienced of the bunch.

Linebackers Scott Lutrus (69½ tackles, 3½ sacks) and Lawrence Wilson (140 tackles) will lead the defense, along with an experienced line of tackles Kendall Reyes and Twyon Martin and ends Jesse Joseph and Trevardo Williams.

It’s the secondary that is UConn’s main concern. A year ago, the Huskies were one of the weakest defenders of the pass in the conference. Robert McClain (Carolina Panthers), the top cornerback, and Robert Vaughn, the top safety, have both graduated.

Edsall, in an effort to speed the learning curve of his young defensive backs, took on the added duty of safeties coach in the preseason. Corners Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson and strong safety Jerome Junior all have a year of starting under their belts, and look to eliminate the mistakes that haunted the unit as freshmen.

“I like the progress so far,” Edsall said. “They’re listening, they’re learning, they’re doing all the things we’ve asked them to do. That’s all you can ask for. Now, they just have to go out and play. I think they’ll be fine.”

• 1
• 2
• See Full Story

• 1
• 2
• 3
• See Full Story

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

• Return to Paging Mode