University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Hosts Media Day
9/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 17, 2002
The University of Connecticut football team held its weekly media luncheon on Tuesday at the Putnam Dining Hall on the Storrs campus as the Huskies prepare for Ohio on Saturday. The following are some excerpts from the event.
Head Coach Randy Edsall
On what challenges playing Ohio University brings:
"This week presents a different challenge for us than what we’ve had in the first three weeks of the season based on the style of offense that we’re going to see this week in terms of an option attack. And, on defense we’re going to be seeing a different type of defense than we’ve seen in the first weeks going from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. We’ve got some challenges that lie ahead for us as we prepare to play this game on Saturday. We’re going to have to have a good week of practice, both mentally and physically and especially defensively we’re going to have to have a good practice this week because of the option’s precision and timing. Our scout team is going to be very critical. When we get to the game the speed is going to be a little bit faster because it will happen a little bit quicker since they’re used to running it and our scout people aren’t used to running that type of an offense. We have different challenges this week than what we had in the previous three weeks in terms of preparation."
On if this offense the most challenging to get ready for:
"I think it is because of the speed of it. Whenever you play teams that run the option, because of the speed, you have to be a little bit more disciplined on defense. If they’re running the triple option you need to have somebody who’s taking the fullback, you need to have somebody who’s taking the quarterback and you have to have people assigned to the pitch back. That’s what they do all the time. When your scout team doesn’t do it all the time, when you go first out there [on Saturday] for the first series or so takes some time to get used to the speed. Plus, the cutting that the offensive linemen do on the defenders is something that you just don’t see every day."
On the nuances of OU’s offense:
"We haven’t really played any true option teams. What’s different when you study Ohio University is that in the first game they came out very wide open against Pittsburgh. Then, against Northeastern they tried to be more power oriented and then against Florida they came out and ran all option which is what they did a year ago. We’ll have to practice a little bit of everything but from things that I’ve heard and read they’re more comfortable with the option attack than what they did in the first two games."
On the state of the defense:
"I don’t think we’re anywhere close yet but I think we’re getting better on defense. Now what we have to do is continue to play the way we did last week and even get better than we did last week. But I still don’t think we’ve played our best game defensively. I think our kids understand everything we’re trying to do. I think they’re better from the standpoint of understanding exactly what the opponent is trying to do to them but we still can get a whole lot better than what we are."
On UConn’s offensive line:
"I think we got better. I saw improvement from week two to week three. If we can keep seeing that kind of improvement with those kids playing together then I think we can develop into the type of offensive line we’d like to be by the end of the year."
