University of Connecticut Athletics
Larry Taylor Receives BIG EAST Weekly Honor
9/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (Sept. 5, 2005) – University of Connecticut sophomore returner Larry Taylor has been named the BIG EAST’s Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. In addition, senior defensive tackle Deon McPhee was named to the league’s honor roll, a new feature this season which will recognize five players who made significant contributions to their teams, but did not receive Player of the Week accolades on either offense, defense or special teams.
Taylor had five punt returns for 118 yards and a kickoff return for 43 yards in UConn's 38-0 win over Buffalo on Sept. 1. All of these numbers were accomplished despite the fact that Buffalo was kicking away from him and he often had to dart across the field just to pick up ground balls. Taylor’s 118 punt return yards against Buffalo marked the eighth-best performance in BIG EAST history and the second-best ever by anyone not wearing either a Miami or Virginia Tech uniform. Taylor was not far off of the UConn record of 145 yards set by Joe Markus at Maine on Oct. 20, 1979. The previous individual high for a Husky during the Division I-A era was the 74 that Taylor had against both Murray State (Sept. 4, 2004) and Pittsburgh (Sept. 30, 2004). Taylor ranks second in the nation after week one with his 118 total punt return yards, trailing only Terrence Nunn of Nebraska who ran back four punts for 135 yards in the Huskers’ win over Maine. Taylor's punt return yardage were crucial in the UConn win as the Huskies dominated the field position battle and were able to mount four touchdown drives of under 50 yards in the game.
In his first game as one of the team's defensive leaders and team co-captain, McPhee helped guide UConn to its second consecutive shutout at Rentschler Field with its 38-0 whitewashing of Buffalo. In the process, UConn became only the second team in BIG EAST history to open its season by shutting out a Division I-A opponent and the first since 1996. Coupled with a 29-0 win over Buffalo in the 2004 home finale, it marks UConn's first consecutive home shutouts since 1968. UConn and Iowa were the only teams nationally (through Sunday’s games) to open their 2005 seasons with a shutout. The Huskies held Buffalo to just 125 yards of total offense, leading the nation through one game. UConn also presently leads the nation in scoring defense (0 points) and passing defense (60 yards). McPhee had a career-high tying five tackles of his own in the contest, including a sack, in addition to his superb on-field coaching, earning him UConn's defensive game ball, the first of his career.
The Huskies will return to action on Sept. 10 when they play host to Liberty at 1:00 p.m.
