University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Football at West Virginia Game Notes
10/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 20, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - Head Coach Randy Edsall discusses the University of Connecticut football team's upcoming game at West Virginia and the tragedy that struck the team this past weekend at the weekly Tuesday Media Lunch.
The Huskies will be televised live on ESPNU when they take on the Mountaineers at Noon on Saturday, October 24.
Head Coach Randy Edsall on the upcoming weekend
I am going to address a lot of the football issues, here first, to take care some of that housekeeping. Because I know we didn't get a chance to talk on Sunday. As far as our injury situation goes…Scott Lutrus is out. Blidi Wreh-Wilson is questionable. The same guy, Jimmy Bennett is out, Sio Moore is out, Kijuan Dabney out, Kelmetrus Wylie and John Yurek are all out. So that is where we are as far as an injury stand point. Everybody else is good to go, from an injury standpoint.
As far as the depth chart is concerned. We've got Marcus Easley will be starting at wide receiver. Also, Jory [Johnson] at linebacker and Jerome Junior will be starting at safety. Those are the updates there, from that situation. As a punt return, we'll take a look at Reggie. Reggie has done that. Nicky Williams during the week and decide who we'll go with or if we will use both guys. So we will take a look at that during the week of practice.
As we go to get into to West Virginia, it is a tough football team. It will be a tremendous challenge going down there, playing them in Morgantown. It is a very difficult place to play. It is very tough to go down Morgantown and play down there. We haven't won in the five times that we've played them previously. They are a very talented football team. Jarrett Brown is an outstanding quarterback who can run the ball, throw the ball. He has a strong arm and some great weapons around him. In Noel Devine and Josh Sanders. A good athletic offensive line. So we are going to be challenged, defensively.
Defensively, it is a team that runs to the ball very, very well. They are athletic and they are physical. They play the three-three-five and Reed Williams and J.T. Thomas are two outstanding linebackers. Brandon Hogan is a guy that we've got to be concerned with in the secondary. Very sound, very solid in special teams.
Coach Stewart does a great job down there and has a great group of assistants. So we have our work cut out for us, we are back on the practice field today. We are looking forward to that. Just so you know in regards to the game, in talks between West Virginia and UConn, just a couple of things that will take place prior to the game and during the game. West Virginia, they're going to have a No. 6 on the back of their helmets in a tribute to Jazz. Also, there'll be a moment of silence before the game and, as I understand it, our team and their team will be out on the field and after the moment of silence we will embrace in a handshake before the game. So that it'll be something that has been decided by both schools and I think it is an outstanding tribute to Jazz.
Edsall on not playing the game
That was not discussed. Jazz wouldn't want that and the family wouldn't want that.
Edsall on moving the team forward
Yeah, that is my job. It was interesting, I had, I talked to Larry Coker last night. He reached out, he had a situation that he went through so Larry and I talked. We exchanged conversation and it was good. Got a call from my mentor this morning, Tom Coughlin, he left me a message, we went through a situation, not during the season at Boston College, with Jay McGillis. He gave me advice, which he always does and always good advice, and just said some things that I'll keep to myself, keep private. Now it is time to go practice and take these four hours that we have and channel all of our energy into try and beat West Virginia which is a tremendous task in itself. I guess, one of the things that I thought was never experience anything like I did last night.
We had very, very special, it wasn't a meeting, and it wasn't anything that was planned. Yesterday, I went and picked up Jazz's family and went around yesterday with them. The thing that really hit home about this program and these kids, as I was driving back to campus. Kashif Moore called me earlier in the day and just asked if Jazz's Mom and Dad going to be coming back here today. I said yeah, we had some things that we got to do. We'll get back here to campus later and I said I'll call you when we get closer to campus.
So I'm driving in I-95 up near Horsebarn Hill, so I call Kashif and say 'Hey, we're coming down near the Dairy Bar. Where are you at? We're going to be at the facility.' Kashif says, 'Well, there is a prayer service. Desi is having a prayer service at 6:45 and I am heading down there now.'
I say, 'Okay, we're going to be upstairs to let the coaches visit with the family.' So we did that and the coaches had a chance to visit with the family and then probably about six to eight of the guys, Kashif and Kijuan [Dabney] and some of his roommates and some of the guys that have been down to Miami to visit Jazz, came in. They had time with the family. The Mom and the Dad were just…incredible. What they had to say to those kids at that point in time was just what the kids really needed to hear.
That wasn't really, put it over the top. We go down to the locker room and we had Jazz's locker already decorated in terms of his helmet and jersey and have it the way it is going to stay until he would graduate. That number won't be given out and then when it is given out it will only be to a very, very special person who had the same qualities as Jazz had. So we go down, and they're there, all the guys are there, we go down the back staircase and come in. All the kids are there, and I say 'Guys, here is Jazz's Mom and Dad and Uncle.' And a couple of kids just let it go, just flew. And then what happened after that was just incredible.
The mother and the father went around hugged those kids that were crying and let them know that it was nobody's fault. There is nothing that they could have done. It was God's will, God's way of what he wanted to do. They spoke. They spoke about Jazz, they spoke about Jazz's love for each of them, Jazz's love for the University, for life and what Jazz would want them to do and how to carry on. They proceeded the Mom and the Dad went hugged every kid, hugged every kid. You could see…and then his Uncle who was in the police force in Miami for 25 years, spoke to the kids about how to handle things. Do not put things, do not try and go do this yourself. There are people that can do that. Gave a very heartwarming, passionate, from the heart talk to our guys. Standing back, you could see the tears dry up, you could see the face to shine a little bit more. You could see more color come to the faces of these kids.
As this was going on, Kashif motioned me over. He says, 'Coach, we're walking over to the front of the student union for a vigil, for Jazz.' I had no idea, the family had no idea. The mom gave her jacket and her purse to Desi [Cullen] and Desi hung it in Jazz's locker. When she got done embracing and hugging each kid, she went back to pick up her jacket and purse and came out full of tears. I grabbed her and hugged her. She had to leave. That is what kind of night it was.
Then we walked over to the vigil and spent time there. After I don't know how long it was, myself and the family we left. I took them to the hotel because they were drained, they were tired. To me, was something everybody needed, the players, coaches, their family, it was just surreal. It was just something that was more powerful, more loving then I have ever been involved with.
I was hoping to have them here right now, but there was some things as they flew in to get done. Yesterday was a very hectic day as you can imagine. Being a parent and going through and going through what they had to go through. Today, there is some things that they had to do, that they wanted to make sure that they got done. We had to put a priority on what we needed to get done. They were up in Jazz's apartment this morning, to take care of his belongings so that they'll get shipped back home. There are a couple of things to do on campus that they want to do, to talk to certain people so that they, in their mind, have peace, to be at peace with what took place. I hope, maybe, sometime early this afternoon, little bit after lunch that they can return because I think they would like to make a statement. Maybe not take questions, if you could understand that, but I think there is something that they would like to say as a family. If they get back here, and if I find out, if you want to hang around a little bit later, because there are players here you'll be speaking to. I really believe that they would really like to say something, and then they still have more things that they are looking to get done because they are looking to go home tomorrow.
Players Mentioned
