University of Connecticut Athletics
Football To Face Maine on Saturday in Home Opener
9/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
THE COACHES
CONNECTICUT HEAD COACH RANDY EDSALL
A veteran in his 25th year of major college coaching with three years in the NFL, Edsall has tackled the challenge of bringing a former NCAA Division I-AA team up to par with the BIG EAST in a six year span head on, guiding the Huskies to victory in the 2004 Motor City Bowl. He has compiled a 42-51 career record in his ninth season at UConn, including wins in 30 of UConn’s last 51 games. He is 1-0 vs. Maine. Immediately prior to becoming UConn’s head coach in 1998, Edsall served as defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in 1998 under George O’Leary. Edsall began his coaching career at his alma mater, Syracuse, from 1980-1990, working under Frank Maloney and Dick MacPherson in a variety of capacities. Among his highlights at Syracuse was being a part of the 1987 team that went undefeated at 11-0-1, tying Auburn, 16-16, in the Sugar Bowl. Edsall moved on to Boston College where he coached defensive backs under Tom Coughlin from 1991-93 before following Coughlin to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, staying on the First Coast through the 1997 season. Edsall is a native of Glen Rock, Pa., and graduated from Susquehannock High School. Last winter, he was inducted into the York Area Sports Hall of Fame.
MAINE HEAD COACH JACK COSGROVE
Jack Cosgrove is in his 15th season as head coach at Maine and boasts a 77-83 record. He is 3-4 vs. UConn. During his time as Maine’s head coach he has been named the I-AA National Coach of the Year (2001) and the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (1996 and 2001). The Black Bears have seen 11 All-Americans in this time and advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals in 2001 and 2002. Cosgrove has spent most of his professional career in Orono, also working at his alma mater as a graduate assistant (1978-80), quarterbacks and wide receivers coach (1987-88) and offensive coordinator (1989-92). He also served as head coach at Stoughton (Mass.) high School (1981-84) and as an assistant coach at Boston College (1985-86). A native of Sharon, Mass., Cosgrove played quarterback at Maine from 1974-77 where he twice earned All-Yankee Conference honors and went 3-1 against UConn.
RADIO & TV COVERAGE
BACK ON THE AIR
After a rare non-televised game last week (19 of UConn’s last 22 games have been televised), the Huskies will face Maine on an ESPN Regional local telecast with Bob Picozzi and Doug Graber calling the action. WTNH TV-8 in New Haven and SNY have the game locally. It will also air on Cox3 in Rhode Island, Altitude Sports in Denver and MASN in Washington D.C./Baltimore.
RADIO COVERAGE
For the 16th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada. Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines. The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff and is hosted by Bob Joyce, while at home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior to the game with Arnold Dean. The UConn Football Radio Network also includes WILI 1400-AM in Willimantic, WXLM, 102.3-FM in New London, WLIS 1420-AM in Old Saybrook, WMRD 1150-AM in Middletown, and WLAD 800-AM in Danbury. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com.
SERIES NOTES
WELCOME TO THE MAINE EVENT
Conn and Maine renew acquaintances on Saturday for the 73rd time overall but the first since 1999, the last year before the Huskies began their transition to Division I-A. UConn leads the series 38-31-3. At 72 games, it is second-longest rivalry in school history behind only Rhode Island (93 meetings). UConn has faced Massachusetts and New Hampshire 71 times each. All of these schools were long-time rivals in the Yankee Conference which later became the Atlantic 10 Conference. It is currently known as the Colonial Athletic Association. UConn won the last two meetings, coming in 1998 and 1999. Maine’s last victory was a 49-47 triple overtime affair in Orono in 1997.
HUSKIES WHO FILL THE STEINS TO DEAR OLD MAINE
UConn defensive backs coach Scott Lakatos was an assistant at Maine under Jack Cosgrove from 1995-99, coaching the Black Bear secondary and special teams. Maine offensive coordinator Kevin Bourgoin was also on the Black Bear staff for part of that time while Maine offensive assistant Phil McGeoghan played wide receiver for the Black Bears during that period...UConn offensive line coach Mike Foley was born in Kittery, Maine and served as an assistant at Bates College in 1978...UConn special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach Lyndon Johnson was an assistant at Fordham in 1998 along with Maine Assistant Head Coach Robb Smith...Five Maine players are Nutmeg State natives in Dominic Cusano (Wallingford), Bruno Dorismond (New Canaan), Kenneth Fersner (Stamford), Bryan Grier (Bloomfield) and Lionel Nixon (New Haven). Nixon is the brother of former UConn wide receiver Brandon McLean and 2007 UConn signee James Nixon... Maine QB Adam Farkes’ brother Josh played baseball at UConn from 2005-07...UConn FB Anthony Davis teamed with Maine’s Jerron Pearson and Tyrell Jones in high school in Maryland at Our Lady of Good Council.
STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT AGAIN
UConn is 5-1 in season openers since making the jump to then-Division I-A in 2002 and has now won each of its last five season openers after dropping a 24-16 decision at Boston College on Aug. 31, 2002 in the program’s first official Division I-A game. The Duke game marked the first time in the Rentschler Field era that the Huskies had not opened at home. UConn has won each of its four season and home openers at Rentschler Field (2003-Indiana, 2004-Murray State, 2005-Buffalo and 2006-Rhode Island). UConn has not lost its home opener since 2002 when Georgia Tech downed the Huskies, 31-14, at Memorial Stadium in Storrs. In 1998, UConn had a similar schedule to this year as it opened on the road (a 45-35 win at Colgate) before coming home in its second game to face Maine. The Huskies took that game 35-27. Saturday will also mark UConn’s third straight home opener to be played under the lights at Rentschler Field. UConn played host to Buffalo and Rhode Island for Thursday night contests in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
THE DRIVE FOR FIVE IS SUCCESSFUL
With its win over Duke, UConn has now won each of its last five season openers for the first time since a string of five straight from 1985-89. The school record is six straight season-opening wins from 1923-28 under head coach Sumner Dole, a mark UConn will try to equal on Aug. 30, 2008 when the Huskies play host to Hofstra at Rentschler Field. Nationally, only 12 schools have a longer active streak of opening day wins than the Huskies.
LONGEST ACTIVE OPENING DAY WINNING STREAKS
22 Nebraska
18 Florida
11 Georgia
10 USC, Wisconsin
8 Ohio State, South Carolina, Texas
7 Iowa
6 Alabama, Missouri, Penn State
5 CONNECTICUT, Arizona State, Louisville, LSU, TCU, Texas Tech
OUT OF THE BLUE AND INTO THE BLACK
Last week UConn played the Duke Blue Devils and this week the Huskies face the Maine Black Bears. Although colors are a fairly common component of school nicknames (including the BIG EAST’s Syracuse Orange and Rutgers Scarlet Knights) it is the first time since the middle of the 2004 season that UConn has faced teams with colors in their nicknames in consecutive games. UConn faced Syracuse, then called the Orangemen, at the Carrier Dome on Oct. 30 and, after a bye week, traveled to Atlanta on Nov. 13 to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Prior to that instance, one has to go back to 1983 for a similar event as the Huskies opened the season against the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers after ending their 1982 campaign against the Blue Hens of Delaware.
HUSKIES HAVE I-A RESULTS VS. I-AA
UConn has played one Division I-AA school (now called the Football Championship Subdivision) since joining Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) in 2002. UConn has won all five of these games defeating Florida Atlantic in 2002, Lehigh in 2003, Murray State in 2004, Liberty in 2005 and Rhode Island in 2006. The closest of these games has been a 35-17 win over Lehigh in 2003. Overall, UConn has won the five games by a combined score of 259-52. Maine has played a I-A foe in each of the past three years and owns a 1-2 record. The Black Bears beat Mississippi State, 9-7, in Starkville in 2004. In 2005, Maine put a scare into Nebraska in Lincoln as the score was 15-7 with nine minutes to play but the Huskers pulled away for a 25-7 victory. Last fall, Maine played at Boston College and played valiantly in a 22-0 loss to the Eagles.
SQUAD NOTES
TAKING THE HARD ROAD
UConn’s 2006 schedule was rated as the nation’s sixth toughest by the NCAA and was ranked as the toughest for most of the second half of the 2006 season. UConn’s Division I-A opponents posted a combined record of 73-47 (.608), placing the Huskies not far behind first-place Florida (100-49, .671). UConn came out 11th when factoring in Division I-AA foes, as that mark for UConn stood at 84-54 (.609). That chart was also led by Florida (108-57, .655). Eight of UConn’s 11 Division I-A opponents (Wake Forest, Navy, USF, West Virginia, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville) were bowl eligible and seven (all but Pittsburgh) played in a bowl game, combining for a 5-2 record. For the first time, UConn faced two different teams in a single season that won major conference championships (Louisville - BIG EAST and Wake Forest - ACC) and participated in the Bowl Championship Series. UConn faced three ranked teams this past year, equalling the school record set in 2005. UConn was one of nine teams in the nation last year to play four regular season games against teams that won 10 games joining Alabama, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Penn State, Southern Miss and Syracuse.
TAKING THAT HARD ROAD AGAIN
The Huskies will face another tough slate in 2007 as five of the team’s final six games will come against teams that won bowl games a year ago in Louisville (Oct. 19), USF (Oct. 27), Rutgers (Nov. 3), Cincinnati (Nov. 10) and West Virginia (Nov. 24). While the first half of the slate does not feature any bowl teams from a year ago, it does include a pair of road games in ACC country as the Huskies travel to Duke (Sept. 1) and Virginia (Oct. 13). UConn is one of just six BCS conference schools this year to play two road games against BCS conference foes or Notre Dame. The Huskies join Duke (at Northwestern and Notre Dame), Florida State (at Colorado and Florida), Louisville (at Kentucky and NC State), Pittsburgh (at Michigan State and Virginia) and USC (at Nebraska and Notre Dame) in that regard.
JUST FOR STARTERS
No UConn player started all 12 games last year at the same offensive position. Conversely, six Huskies started all 12 games at the same defensive position. On offense, Matt Applebaum started every game, but he shifted positions from left guard to right tackle. On defense, DE Dan Davis, DT Rhema Fuller, DT Ray Blagman, LB Dontá Moore, LB Danny Lansanah and CB Tyvon Branch did not miss a start at those positions. UConn started a total of nine different offensive linemen this past year, including five players making their first career start. Eight different Huskies started a game in UConn’s defensive backfield in 2006. A total of 21 different players started a game on offense, 10 of which were making their first career start. A different offensive line combination started each of the final four games. UConn started 17 different people on defense in 2006 and has used four different place kickers last year.
OUR DOCTORS DID NOT FEEL GOOD
UConn came through its 2007 fall camp with very few injuries of note and, while always a welcome event, it was even more welcome than usual in Storrs after the injury bug hit the Huskies hard in each of the past two seasons. Some of UConn’s busiest staffers last year were its athletic trainers and physicians, much like in 2005. Out for the whole 2006 season from the preseason were WR Seth Fogarty (foot), WR Ellis Gaulden (knee), S Jahi Smith (multiple concussions) and DE Jason Ward (foot). Players who saw action this past year but were knocked out for the season due to injury included OT William Beatty (lower leg), TE Martin Bedard (elbow), DE Cody Brown (arm), C Keith Gray (shoulder), QB D.J. Hernandez, OT Mike Hicks (ankle) and WR Brandon McLean (ankle). TE Dan Murray missed the first three games with a high ankle sprain and was limited by the injury in the first few games that he did play. LB Ryan Henegan missed the first two games with a hamstring injury. TB Terry Caulley played with a broken bone in his hand after missing some action while LB Dontá Moore played through a broken arm suffered on Sept. 30 against Navy. Another pair of contributors to miss some time as the season progressed were S Allan Barnes, who missed a pair of games with a hamstring injury, and CB Darius Butler who missed the Syracuse game with a hamstring injury. WR Larry Taylor did not play against Cincinnati following a concussion suffered at Syracuse and CB Ernest Cole also missed the Cincinnati game due to a knee injury. WR Robert Theoudele was not available for the final four weeks with a shoulder injury. FB Deon Anderson missed the season finale at Louisville with a stinger. This trend, unfortunately, continued from 2005 when 18 different players from UConn’s preseason two-deep missed at least one game due to injury.
ONLY THE YOUNG CAN PLAY
Conn played a total of 14 freshman, including six true freshmen, in the season opener at Duke. The six true freshmen were Aaron Bagsby, Marcus Campbell, Kijuan Dabney, Jasper Howard, Greg Lloyd and Anthony Sherman. Redshirt freshmen Scott Lutrus and Lawrence Wilson both started the game at linebacker while fellow redshirt freshmen Mike Cox, Anthony Davis, Zach Hurd, Alex Polito, Derek Rich and Greg Robinson also saw action against the Blue Devils.
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BIG EAST!
Much maligned in the media in recent years, the BIG EAST Conference enjoyed a tremendous 2006 season on the field and earned national respect. The league’s eight football schools went a combined 37-8 (.822) in non-conference action, including a 14-7 mark against other BCS conferences. The BIG EAST was 7-3 against the ACC, 2-1 against the Big 12 and 2-0 against the SEC while playing even against the Big Ten (3-3). The league collectively did not face any Pac-10 squads. There were 16 road wins by BCS schools over other BCS schools this past year and six of those wins were by BIG EAST teams (UConn at Indiana, Louisville at Kansas State, Rutgers at North Carolina, USF at North Carolina, Syracuse at Illinois and West Virginia at Mississippi State). No other league won more than three (Big Ten and SEC). The ACC and Pac-10 each had two road wins against BCS schools and the Big 12 did not produce a road BCS win. With three undefeated teams entering November (Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia), it marked the first time any league has accomplished that feat since 1971 when the SEC did it (Alabama, Auburn and Georgia). Only Alabama stood undefeated at the end of the regular season but, ranked No. 2 in the nation, the Crimson Tide lost to No. 1 Nebraska, 38-6, in the Orange Bowl in a matchup of coaching titans between Paul “Bear” Bryant and Bob Devaney. At the other end of the spectrum, of the 11 Division I-A conferences, the BIG EAST was the only league in which each of its members won at least four games. In fact, the ACC had a winless team in Duke while Stanford of the Pac-10 had just one win. The Big Ten had a two-win squad in Illinois and the Big 12 had one in Colorado. The SEC had a three-win team in Ole Miss while the ACC had two in North Carolina and NC State. Meanwhile, Rutgers cracked the top 25 for the first time in 30 years, giving the league three top 15 teams along with Louisville and West Virginia for most of the year. The much anticipated Nov. 2 matchup between the Cardinals and Mountaineers drew the second-largest audience ever for a college football game on ESPN, and its best ever for a weeknight, with a 5.3 rating. This came not long after the UConn-West Virginia game on Oct. 20 became the highest-rated Friday night game in ESPN history with a 2.02 rating. The U of L-WVU game was followed a week later by a contest between the Cardinals and Rutgers that became ESPN’s second-highest rated weeknight game ever (behind only WVU-U of L) and the fourth highest regular season college football game overall in the network’s history.
BIG EAST PERFECT IN BOWL GAMES
The BIG EAST Conference tied the record for best bowl record in 2006, going a perfect 5-0 as a group. It was just the third time that a conference has gone 5-0 in bowl games. No league has gone undefeated playing in more than five bowls, but the SEC in 1996 and Big Ten in 1998 matched the BIG EAST’s 2006 accomplishment. Highlighting the five wins were victories over both of the ACC’s division champions as Louisville downed Wake Forest in the FedEx Orange Bowl and West Virginia took down Georgia Tech in the Toyota Gator Bowl. Additionally, Rutgers topped Kansas State of the Big 12 in the Texas Bowl, USF downed East Carolina in Birmingham’s PapaJohns.com Bowl and Cincinnati beat Western Michigan in the inaugural International Bowl at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
BIG EAST IS BACK SO FAR
The BIG EAST went a collective 7-1 on opening weekend with Syracuse accounting for the lone loss. Excluding conference games, the SEC went 9-1 on Saturday and the Pac-10 matched the BIG EAST’s mark going 7-1. The other three BCS leagues all had multiple losses as the Big Ten went 8-3, the Big 12 went 8-4 and the ACC went 5-3.
HUSKIES ON THE REBOUND
UConn is now 14-9 in games following a loss since Oct. 26, 2002 after downing Duke to open the 2007 season on the heels of a three-game losing skid to end the 2006 campaign. UConn went 4-4 in 2006 due to losses to Syracuse, Cincinnati and Louisville to close out the season. UConn also lost games following losses to West Virginia (Oct. 20) and Navy (Sept. 30). Earlier this past year, UConn won the game following losses against Rutgers (Oct. 29), South Florida (Oct. 7) and Wake Forest (Sept. 16). Also, UConn topped Rhode Island, 52-7, in its 2006 season opener on Aug. 31 after the Huskies dropped their 2005 season finale to No. 17 Louisville, 30-20, on Dec. 3 at Rentschler Field.
HUSKIES EARN HIGH MARKS AT OBEDIENCE SCHOOL
For each of the past two years, UConn has been one of the least penalized teams in the country. UConn was a disciplined squad in 2005 as the Huskies led the BIG EAST in 2005 in fewest penalty yards at 47.2 per game (519 yards in 11 games). This average ranked 23rd in the nation. In addition, UConn’s 68 penalties on the year narrowly ranked second in the league, just one behind Syracuse’s conference-low total of 67 accepted infractions. UConn’s discipline in 2006 was in the same fashion, with just 65 penalties on the year for 511 yards. The 511 yards and 65 penalties were both the fewest in the BIG EAST. The Huskies ranked 33rd and 43rd in the nation respectively in those categories.
CONN-TROLLING THE FLOW OF THE GAME
A telling sign of UConn’s strong performance on both sides of the ball during its brief tenure as a Division I-A program has been its ability to both record and prevent long drives. Since the start of the 2002 season, UConn’s offense has strung together 51 scoring drives of at least 80 yards while the Husky defense has surrendered just 28 such marches. UConn also holds a 13-5 advantage over its opponents in the number of 90-yard and over drives since becoming a I-A program. Four times in 2006, UConn had multiple 80-yard drives in a single game. In the fourth quarter of UConn’s win over Rhode Island, the Huskies pieced together touchdown drives of 99 and 87 yards. The 99-yard drive, covering 12 plays and 5:11 of clock time, ties for the longest in American football history. It was the longest in UConn’s Division I-A history, topping a pair of 97-yard marches in 2003 against Virginia Tech and Western Michigan. UConn pieced together a 12-play 98-yard fourth quarter march that helped lead UConn to its victory over Pittsburgh. UConn also had 98-yard scoring drives last year against Army and Syracuse while marching 93 yards for a touchdown against Navy.
ROAD WORRIERS
While UConn is 18-8 all-time at Rentschler Field, the results on the road have not always been as joyful for the Huskies, especially of late. Of UConn’s 27 losses in the Division I-A era, 16 have come on the road. During the combined 2004-07 seasons, UConn is 4-11 on the road but 13-7 at home with an 1-0 mark at neutral sites (Motor City Bowl vs. Toledo). UConn is 1-9 in BIG EAST road games with the lone win coming at Rutgers on Nov. 25, 2004 by a 41-35 count.
HUSKIES DOMINATING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
Over the past 52 games, UConn has outgained its opponent 38 times, including the season opener at Duke. The Huskies were outgained by Navy, USF, West Virginia, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Louisville in 2006. This stretch, like many UConn trends, dates back to a disheartening 28-24 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 26, 2002. Over this 52 game span, UConn has averaged 397.5 yards per game of total offense and 322.0 yards per game of total defense.
NFL ALUMNI WATCH
Three former Huskies have made active rosters for NFL teams on opening day in 2007. Alfred Fincher (2001-04) was the backup middle linebacker for the New Orleans Saints while Dan Orlovsky (2001-04) continues to battle to be the number two quarterback for the Detroit Lions behind Jon Kitna. Fullback Deon Anderson (2002-06) was a sixth round selection of the Dallas Cowboys and has made the 53-man roster for that proud franchise for his work at fullback and on special teams. Additionally, four former Huskies found themselves in preseason training camps Ray Blagman (Arizona), James Hargrave (Detroit), Tyler King (Jacksonville) and Sean Mulcahy (Cincinnati).
BRAVE, CRAZY, MOSTLY YOUNG
For the second straight year, UConn is seeing plenty of underclassmen in prominent roles. The 2007 Huskies have just two senior starters on the offensive side of the ball (WR Larry Taylor and RG Donald Thomas) and four on defense (DT Dan Davis, LB Danny Lansanah, LB Ryan Henegan and CB Tyvon Branch). The youth is especially evident at the offensive skill positions where UConn will likely start a pair of sophomore receivers (Terence Jeffers and Brad Kanuch), a sophomore tailback (Donald Brown) a redshirt freshman fullback (Anthony Davis) and a JuCo quarterback (Tyler Lorenzen). If games truly are won in the trenches, UConn should be in great shape for 2008. Of the 10 offensive linemen on the two-deep, nine are expected back next fall and the same can be said of seven of the eight two-deep defensive linemen.
NEW WALK-ONS INCLUDE TWO LITTLE INDIANS
Of the new walk-ons who joined the program prior to the 2007 season, two have a connection to the Cleveland Indians, one of them real and the other fictional. Mike Conroy was a first round draft pick by the Indians in 2001 out of high school and spent six years in the team’s organization, most of them with Lake County of the South Atlantic League. A native of Scituate, Mass., Conroy played for six years at the single A level batting .248 before retiring and going back to school to fulfill his dream of playing college football. Conroy is one of seven former minor league baseball players currently on Football Bowl Subdivision rosters. Meanwhile, Oliver Bernsen is the son of actor Corbin Bernsen who is perhaps best known for his role as Indians third baseman Roger Dorn in the movie Major League. A native of Studio City, Calif., Bernsen’s mother, Amanda Pays, is also an actress while his grandmother, Jeanne Cooper, is the matriarch of the soap opera The Young and the Restless in her role as Katherine Chancellor. Also, his grandfather, Harry Bernsen, produced several movies including Three the Hard Way starring NFL legend Jim Brown. The younger Bernsen was looking for a school in the northeast where he could pursue acting.
CONNECTICUT’S SIX CAPTAINS
The UConn team selected a school-record six team captains for the 2007 season, Darius Butler, Dan Davis, Keith Gray, D.J. Hernandez, Danny Lansanah and Larry Taylor. The diverse group features three players on each side of the ball and one player from each of the three defensive positional groups, spreading the leadership roles evenly. The group consists of three seniors and three juniors. Butler, Gray and Hernandez are the first juniors to serve as a team captain at UConn since Roy Hopkins and Jamal Lundy held the honor in 2001. Lundy was reelected as a captain in 2002 but Hopkins was not. UConn had never previously had more than four permanent captains, a sum used in 1979, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001 and 2006. The six ties for the most nationally with San Diego State while Wisconsin has five permanent captains and one rotating game captain.
EAGLE SCOUTS
Each week head coach Randy Edsall issues an award for the Scout Team Players of the Week. In recognition of their often-overlooked hard work, those players earn a spot on the Husky travel squad and the dress list for that week’s game. The weekly honorees are listed below.
DUKE: Ellis Gaulden (offense), Harris Agbor (defense), Doc Goudreau (special teams).
GAME BALLS
After each UConn victory, head coach Randy Edsall awards game balls for the team’s top performer on offense, defense and special teams. The 2007 recipients are listed below.
DUKE: Tyler Lorenzen (offense), Cody Brown (defense), Desi Cullen (special teams)
ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS: Larry Taylor (7), Darius Butler (3), Cody Brown (2), D.J. Hernandez (2), Danny Lansanah (2), Lou Allen, Donald Brown, Desi Cullen, Tyler Lorenzen.
YOU KNOW GRAY IS MY FAVORITE COLOR
In an effort to help combat the heat at Duke by avoiding dark colors, the Huskies wore their white uniforms with silver pants in Durham. It was only the second time that UConn had ever worn that combination. The other instance was on Oct. 5, 2002 when UConn dressed as such for a game against No. 1 Miami in the Orange Bowl.
OFFENSE NOTES
TJ, KANUCH AND TYLER TOO
UConn’s offensive unit is a young one as the group features just two seniors on its two deep in wide receiver Larry Taylor and right guard Donald Thomas. Meanwhile, the silver lining to a rash of injuries the past two years, is that UConn is youthful yet experienced at the skill positions in particular. True sophomores Terence Jeffers and Brad Kanuch were thrown into the fire last fall and both proved to be dependable pass catchers, starting each of the final eight games of the year. Another sophomore, Donald Brown, will start at tailback after earning All-BIG EAST recognition last fall as a freshman. His backup is a junior in Lou Allen, a bruising tailback at 238 pounds. UConn has a pair of freshman at fullback and a quarterbacking corps that features a junior (Tyler Lorenzen), a sophomore (Dennis Brown) and two freshmen (Cody Endres and Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazer). Each of UConn’s top three tight ends will also return next fall yet starter Steve Brouse in particular already possesses a wealth of gameday experience.
LINING THEM UP
The UConn offensive line is in the interesting position of being both young and experienced at the same time. The Huskies have just one senior on the two-deep yet also have eight players with previous game experience at UConn, including seven people who have started games on the offensive line for the blue and white. The lone senior of the group is senior Donald Thomas at right guard, a former walk-on. Entering the 2007 season, William Beatty (9), captain Keith Gray (5), Mike Hicks (10), Alex LaMagdelaine (10), Dan Ryan (7), Donald Thomas (1) and Trey Tonsing (8) had all started games for the Huskies. UConn head coach Randy Edsall has often called this the best line UConn has had since the senior-laden group that pushed the Huskies to the 2004 Motor City Bowl. Better yet, this 2007 edition of the line will be back in near entirety for more in 2008.
HERNANDEZ RECEIVES NEW ASSIGNMENT
D.J. Hernandez started six games a year ago at quarterback and had fair success, highlighted on Nov. 11 against Pittsburgh as he spurred UConn on to 46-45 double overtime victory in one of the program’s most thrilling games as the Huskies erased a 31-17 fourth quarter deficit at Rentschler Field. Hernandez completed 20-of-29 passes for 164 yards with a career high four touchdowns and no interceptions but it was his work running the ball that was more noteworthy. His 17 carries were good for 130 yards while he also scampered in for the game-winning two-point conversion. Hernandez’s on-field leadership was crucial in the rally to win the game. He led UConn on touchdown drives of 98 and 77 yards in the fourth quarter, the latter capped with a touchdown pass to Dan Murray with just three seconds remaining in regulation. Still, with the addition of Tyler Lorenzen and Dennis Brown able to play after redshirting in 2006, Hernandez quickly found himself in the third spot on the depth chart at quarterback midway through spring practice. Too athletic to sit on the bench, Hernandez approached Edsall about playing at wide receiver and the results have been completely favorable. Using his athleticism and in-depth knowledge of the offense to his advantage, Hernandez has made a smooth transition to his new role and is expected to be one of the team’s top receiving threats in 2007. The move also allows Edsall to use him on special teams while Hernandez has shown a passion for downfield blocking and participating in some of the contact that he was deprived of when wearing a red quarterback jersey in practice. His smooth transition and the character and leadership he displayed in making it helped get the junior elected as a team captain for this fall.
DJ GOES TRIPLE PLATINUM
D.J. Hernandez caught a 57-yard touchdown pass at Duke in the season opener on Sept. 1. It was UConn’s longest passing play since Hernandez threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Young in the 2006 season-opener against Rhode Island. The scoring grab also put him in very elite company as Hernandez became just the fourth player in school history to catch a touchdown, rush for a touchdown and throw for a touchdown in their UConn career, joining Keron Henry (2001-04), Tory Taylor (1995-98) and Ken Sweitzer (1978-81).
FROM IOWA TO CONNECTICUT VIA SAN DIEGO
Tyler Lorenzen took a circuitous route to being named UConn’s starting quarterback. The native Iowan and first-team All-State quarterback signed with his beloved Iowa State out of high school but the Cyclones tried to switch him to wide receiver. Wanting to play quarterback, he transferred to Palomar Community College near San Diego where he was named a first-team JuCo All-American last fall after completing 229-of-332 passes (69-percent) for 2,960 yards with 26 touchdowns and three interceptions. Lorenzen joined UConn in January after carrying a 4.0 grade point average at Palomar and was named the starting quarterback on August 14. At Duke, he became the fourth different starting quarterback for UConn in the past four opening days. D.J. Hernandez started last year’s opener, Matt Bonislawski was under center when the 2005 season began and Dan Orlovsky started the third and final opening day contest of his illustrious UConn career in 2004.
TYLER RE-TRACES HISTORY
In his starting debut on Sept. 1 at Duke, Tyler Lorenzen was very impressive in leading the Huskies to a 45-14 win. Lorenzen earned the offensive game ball and a BIG EAST weekly honor roll mention after completing 22-of-30 passes for 298 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 56 yards, giving him 354 total yards on the day. The 298 yards were the most by a Husky since Dan Orlovsky’s school-record 445 at Syracuse on Oct. 30, 2004 while also ranking as the most by a first-time Husky signal caller since Ryan Tracey threw for 340 on Sept. 2, 2000 in his first start.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU-CONN?
Donald Brown burst onto the scene last fall as he became the only freshman at any position to be named to the All-BIG EAST team as voted on by the league coaches. Brown averaged 134.6 rushing yards per game in his five BIG EAST starts. He made his first career start on Oct. 29 at No. 15 Rutgers on national television and about 20 minutes from his hometown of Atlantic Highlands, N.J. The freshman was hardly star struck as he ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Perhaps more impressive was the competition this 199-yard rushing game was done against. Rutgers had not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Walter Reyes of Syracuse did it on Oct. 2, 2004. The Scarlet Knights entered the game ranked 12th nationally in rushing defense, yielding just 78.4 yards per game. In his second game, against Pittsburgh, Brown ran the ball 43 times (one shy of the school record) for 205 yards and two touchdowns while also making four receptions including another touchdown. Brown’s 205-yard effort against the Panthers is the second-best by a freshman nationally in 2006, trailing only Wisconsin’s P.J. Hill’s 257-yard performance against Northwestern on Oct. 7. Brown capped his season with a 122-yard effort on 21 carries at Louisville.
FINISHING IN THE RED IS GOOD
You wouldn’t want your financial ledgers to be full of red ink, but UConn’s Division I-A era success is in part due to finishing its time in the red zone in style. Since 2002, UConn has tallied on 195 of 229 (85%) of its red zone possessions. Of the 34 non-scoring drives, 23 came as a result of a missed field goal attempt. While this area has been a historical positive for the Huskies in their I-A tenure, it was an area of concern early last year. UConn was just 2-for-6 combined against Wake Forest (Sept. 16) and Indiana (Sept. 23) in consecutive weeks, turning the ball over twice, missing a 28-yard field goal and having another field goal try blocked. UConn went on to convert each of its last 14 red zone possessions into points, a streak it carried into the 2007 season. Still, the eight non-scoring possessions in 2006 for UConn were more than the team had in all of 2002 (four), 2003 (seven) and 2004 (five). In 2005, UConn failed to convert on 10 trips into the red zone. UConn got off to a solid red zone start in 2007 by going 5-for-6 at Duke with the lone scoreless possession being a missed field goal.
IF AT FIRST YOU DO SUCCEED
UConn has scored on its opening possession of each of the past seven seasons. The Huskies have scored a field goal on its first drive of every odd year during that span and a touchdown in all of the even ones. UConn opened its 2007 campaign with a 56-yard drive that was capped by a 30-yard Tony Ciaravino field goal. UConn’s opening drive also resulted in field goals in 2001 (at Virginia Tech), 2003 (vs. Indiana) and 2005 (vs. Buffalo). The 2002 and 2004 seasons opened with drives capped by Dan Orlovsky touchdown passes (2002 to Sean Feldeisen at Boston College and 2004 to Matt Lawrence against Murray State). The 2006 season commenced with a touchdown pass from D.J. Hernandez to Larry Taylor. The Huskies last opened the season with a non-scoring drive in 2000 when Eastern Michigan forced UConn to go three-and-out in Ypsilanti.
DEFENSE NOTES
THIRD DOWN INEFFICIENCY
A critical element to UConn’s defensive success in 2005 and 2006 was that the team’s opponents found third down to be a tough row to hoe. The 2007 season is off on the same path as Duke converted just two of its 11 third down tries against UConn. In 2005, UConn led the nation in third down conversion defense at 24% (38-for-157). LSU was second in the nation behind UConn with a rate of 28.2-percent followed narrowly by SEC rival Alabama at 28.3. Helping UConn to this was steady first and second down defense, forcing teams to convert from longer distances on third down. Only 28 times last year did UConn’s defense face a third down and three yards or less (2.5 per game). Of 157 third down conversion attempts faced by the Huskies last year, 90 were seven yards or longer (67%). Teams didn’t fare much better when going for it on fourth down against UConn either as the Huskies were 4-for-20 (20%) in fourth down defense, tying the Huskies for third in the nation along with Middle Tennessee. UConn did well in this area as well in 2006. The Huskies ranked 29th nationally with a 33.1% conversion rate. Helping this along against Wake Forest was UConn’s defense forcing the Demon Deacons into third and 10 or longer eight times on Sept. 16. A week later, UConn forced Indiana into a third and 10 or longer situation nine times. On the season, UConn’s opponents had to convert on third down from 15 yards or longer 18 times (converting twice) while the Huskies faced this obstacle just 12 times.
DAVIS MOVES INSIDE; ENDS HOPE TO THRIVE
After three strong years at defensive end where he amassed 18 tackles for loss as a Husky, senior captain Dan Davis shifts his 284-pound frame inside to defensive tackle in 2007. The move allows UConn to take advantage of Davis’ speed between the tackles and also helps provide more opportunities for a glut of talented young defensive ends. Juniors Julius Williams and Cody Brown will start outside while redshirt freshman Mike Cox and sophomore Lindsay Witten will rotate in. Williams will be a first year starter but is quick for his 261 pounds and is one of the strongest players on the team. In six starts last year before succumbing to a broken arm Brown made 24 tackles including an impressive 7.5 for a loss, assume that includes 4.5 sacks. Witten started the final six games with Brown out and made 39 tackles on the year as a true freshman, six of them for a loss including 3.5 sacks. Meanwhile, Davis will start at tackle alongside junior Rob Lunn who has had a very impressive offseason to earn the starting nod.
SIR LANS-ALOT
Linebacker Danny Lansanah turned up his play in 2006 and helped become a defensive leader both on and off the field. The junior led the Huskies with 99 tackles on the season, 9.5 of them for a loss. He also made four interceptions including a spectacular one-handed grab against Army. The four interceptions tied for the team lead and are the most by a UConn linebacker since Maurice Lloyd had four in 2002.
HENEGAN AGAIN AND AGAIN
After missing the first two games of the 2006 season recovering from a hamstring injury, Ryan Henegan quickly made up for lost time. On the heels of a career-high tying 14-tackle effort against Cincinnati on Nov. 25, the junior linebacker was second on the Huskies with 92 tackles and was third on the team with nine tackles for loss. His 9.20 tackles per game ranked 21st nationally and third in the BIG EAST.
THE QUARTERBACK MUST GO DOWN
For the third year in a row, UConn not only recorded a high number of tackles for loss, but the TFLs were again spread out over a high number of players. A total of 18 different Huskies contributed to a TFL in 2006 and 11 different UConn defenders had at least a half of a sack. UConn was 24th in the nation with its 6.83 TFLs per game and ranked 76th with 1.83 sacks per game, the latter total coming despite the fact that six of UConn’s 12 opponents attempted 20 passes or fewer. Last season, only five teams faced fewer passing attempts than UConn’s 275 led by Army with 268 passing attempts against. A total of 23 different UConn defenders factored in a tackle for loss last year and 14 different Huskies recorded at least a half of a sack. In the 2004 season, 17 different UConn players recorded a TFL and nine different players had a sack, numbers that UConn eclipsed after just four games in 2005.
BAD, BAD CODY BROWN
In the 2007 season opener at Duke, Cody Brown earned UConn’s defensive game ball after making six tackles, including a pair of sacks. It had been two years since a Husky had two sacks in a game, dating back to James Hargrave’s efforts against Syracuse on Oct. 7, 2005.
SECONDARY NOW A PRIMARY OBSTACLE
It should not be a surprise that UConn was ranked 25th nationally last year in passing defense at 178.50 yards per game. The Connecticut secondary blended youth and experience as well as any team in the nation, as the Huskies returned all but one letterwinner from the 2005 secondary which helped the team rank fourth in the nation in passing defense by yielding just 158.5 yards per game. An astounding six different active Huskies (at season’s end) had started at least six games as a defensive back in their UConn careers. A total of eight different Huskies started a game last year in the secondary. This glut of talented players was a problem for Edsall, but a good problem to have. The depth has carried over too 2007 as all four of UConn’s starters in the defensive backfield, corners Darius Butler and Tyvon Branch, along with safeties Robert Vaughn and Dahna Deleston, held that role at various times in 2006.
ZAK ATTACK FROM IRAQ
The Huskies have a rather unique person and a great role model at defensive tackle in Zak Penwell. The fourth-oldest Football Bowl Subdivision player in the county at 27 years and seven months old, Penwell served six and a half years in the U.S. Air Force working as a part of a Tactical Air Control Party in Kuwait, Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq amongst domestic deployments. Raised in Alaska, Penwell moved to El Paso, Texas for high school with his father, a missionary, and mother, a mid-wife. The couple now resides in the Philippines. Married with two children, Zoe and Titus, Penwell was drawn to UConn by its acclaimed kinesiology program. He came to the program as a walk-on but was awarded a scholarship on Aug. 29. Penwell is one of 12 FBS players, outside of the academies, who have actively served in the military. He is one of 12 native Alaskans on FBS rosters.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
TONY TONY TONY HAS DONE IT AGAIN
Tony Ciaravino edged out true freshman Dave Teggart to serve as UConn’s extra point and field goal kicker as the curtain rose on the 2007 season. He ended up hitting three of his four field goals at Duke and four of his five extra point attempts with the other one blocked. The three field goals made are the most by a Husky kicker since Matt Nuzie hit four in the 2004 Motor City Bowl. Ciaravino handled UConn’s field goals and extra points as the 2006 season drew to a close, the third Husky to serve in that role last season. Ciaravino was a perfect 5-for-5 on his extra point tries in UConn’s double overtime win over Pittsburgh on Nov. 11 and went 12-for-13 on the year. He hit both of his field goal attempts of the season, and his career, making a 29-yard boot against West Virginia and a 21-yard kick at Louisville.
KENTUCKY HAMMER NAILS HIS AUDITION
Louisville native Desi Cullen, the self-proclaimed “Kentucky Hammer,” solidified his role as the team’s starting punter and kickoff specialist with a steady fall camp. He earned the special teams game ball after the season opener against Duke for averaging 39.4 yards on his five punts and ably handling his kickoffs. Cullen handled kickoffs in five games last season as a true freshman and was the understudy to senior Chris Pavasaris at punter. The gregarious Cullen also showed a proclivity towards not staying back in coverage as he aggressively made a pair of tackles on the season in his limited action.
TAYLOR MADE RETURNS
Larry Taylor reassumed his role as UConn’s top return specialist for the first nine games last year before suffering a concussion at Syracuse on Nov. 18. Taylor was 15th in the nation in punt returns, averaging 12.75 yards per run back. Behind Taylor, UConn was 26th in the nation in punt returns as a team. Taylor’s 25.36 kickoff return average ranked 24th nationally until he fell out late in the season due to a low number of returns for the year. Through the week when he fell out, he was one of two players in the nation ranked in the top 25 of both categories, joining Oklahoma State’s Perrish Cox. Taylor hurt his knee in UConn’s game at Cincinnati on Oct. 15, 2005 and the loss was felt hard in the team’s return game. Taylor ranked 18th in the nation in punt returns (12.30 average) and seventh in kickoff returns (34.2 avg.) when he was hurt, but would fall below the national minimum to be ranked because of time missed due to injury. He started the 2005 season off on the right foot with 118 punt return yards against Buffalo on Sept. 1, marking 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. Taylor returned in 2005 after an electrifying true freshman season in 2004 during which he became only the second Husky ever (and the first since 1975) to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season. His punt return score was a 68-yard scamper against Toledo that blew the Motor City Bowl wide open. Behind Taylor, UConn ranked 18th in the nation in punt returns in 2004 after finishing the previous season ranked 116th out of 117 Division I-A teams.
WITH OR WITHOUT LT
The field position edge that UConn gains from Larry Taylor is palpable. In games when Taylor has played from start to finish, the Huskies are 18-7. When Taylor does not play throughout, UConn is 1-10.
STADIUM/ATTENDANCE NOTES
MOVIN’ ON UP TO THE EAST SIDE
The Huskies moved into brand new Rentschler Field in East Hartford for the 2003 season with the stadium opening its doors on August 30 when UConn defeated Indiana, 34-10. Conveniently located within miles of Interstates 91, 84 and 384, Adriaen’s Landing and downtown Hartford, the new home of the Huskies lies on 75 acres of land donated to the State of Connecticut from the historic Pratt & Whitney Airfield. The stadium, like the former airfield, is named for that company’s founder, Frederick Rentschler. The stadium boasts a capacity of 40,000 with 38 luxury suites in a massive press box tower which helps enclose the natural grass field. The $91.2 million construction project was an integral part of former Governor John Rowland’s economic development program for the Hartford metro-area. While UConn football serves as the primary tenant, the facility also attracts other prominent events to Hartford. Rentschler Field hosted two concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, one by the Rolling Stones and one this past summer by The Police. Several prominent international soccer contests have been played on the pitch at Rentschler Field, most notably a World Cup Qualifier between the United States and Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 17, 2005.
STARTING A COMMOTION
Swelling interest in the Husky football program as it gradually moved up into BIG EAST play can perhaps be best evidenced by the rise in attendance. For the 2006 season, UConn sold in excess of 30,000 season tickets at Rentschler Field, including a record 5,000 student season tickets, a pair of staggering sums considering that the 2001 season ticket base was around 4,000. In 2002, fueled by a season-ticket base of 11,300, UConn ranked 23rd in the nation by playing to 97.58% of Memorial Stadium’s 16,200 seat capacity. The burgeoning season ticket base more than doubled to 24,000 for the inaugural season at Rentschler Field and rose to 28,000 a year later in 2004. UConn reached an all-time high of 32,000 season tickets in 2005.
40,000 HUSKY FANS CAN’T BE WRONG
The Huskies have sold out 18 of their first 26 dates at Rentschler Field including a recent stretch of 12 in a row. UConn has played to 96-percent of capacity all-time in East Hartford, drawing 1,001,161 fans, or an average of 38,502 per game. UConn finished 2005 ranked 18th in the nation in attendance based on percentage of capacity, a sum that led the BIG EAST Conference and ranked ahead of BCS participants Georgia, USC, Penn State and West Virginia, amongst many others. In fact, UConn sold more football tickets in 2004 (275,129), 2005 (240,000) and 2006 (272,576) than either men’s or women’s basketball tickets.
RENTSCHLER FIELD PROVES FRIENDLY FOR HUSKIES
UConn went 4-2 at Rentschler Field in 2005 after compiling a 6-1 home record in 2004. UConn’s 3-4 mark at home last year was its first sub-.500 record at Rentschler Field. The six home wins in 2004 set a school record for a single season. Seven times UConn has won five home games in a season. UConn turned the trick in 2003 and 2004 and also managed the feat five times at Memorial Stadium, going 5-0 in 1986 and 1989 and posting a 5-1 mark in 1987, 1995 and 1998. UConn presently stands at 18-8 all-time at Rentschler Field including a 13-3 mark in non-conference games. Due to the crowd noise, UConn’s opponents have been flagged for a total of 38 false starts and delay of game penalties in the past 17 games at Rentschler Field.
SCHEDULE NOTES
A LUCKY SEVEN FOR HUSKY FANS
With the NCAA permanently expanding schedules to 12 games last season, UConn was able to reward its fans with seven home games this year for third time in the past four years, a feat never previously accomplished in school history. In 2004, UConn also played seven dates at Rentschler Field with the Huskies posting a 6-1 mark in those contests. The Huskies joined West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati as BIG EAST schools who played seven home games in 2006. UConn will only have six home games next fall as the Huskies are presently scheduled to play host to Hofstra, Virginia and Baylor along with league foes Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
A LONG DECEMBER
For the first time since 2004, UConn’s regular season does not extend into December, a welcome change for head coach Randy Edsall. In both 2005 and 2006, UConn played the longest regular-season schedule in the nation, covering the full 94-day regular season playing period permitted by the NCAA from the Thursday before Labor Day to the first Saturday in December. Last fall, UConn was one of only six teams in the nation to have a regularly scheduled game on both the first and last days of the season, joining Florida International, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, Oregon State and San Diego State. UConn would of course gladly welcome a contest this December, provided that it came in a bowl game.
