University of Connecticut Athletics
Spring Football Practice Opens On Tuesday
3/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Huskies have made back-to-back bowl appearances in 2007 and '08
STORRS, Conn. (March 16, 2009) -- The 2009 University of Connecticut football team enters spring practice coming off two seasons of some of the loftiest achievements in the history of the program. Over the course of the 2007 and ’08 seasons, UConn has played in back-to-back bowl games for the first time ever, won a BIG EAST Championship, produced the country’s leading rusher and the program’s first FBS All-American and saw six former Huskies don NFL uniforms this past season.
UConn opens spring practice on Tuesday and has 15 practices running through the Blue-White Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 18 at Rentschler Field.
The challenge of spring practice, and the 2009 season in general, is to continue the progress that the Husky program has made since joining the ranks of the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2002 and the BIG EAST Conference in ’04.
The UConn offense will look to fill the void of two important starters in the skill positions – quarterback Tyler Lorenzen and running back Donald Brown, a First Team All-American, the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and the leading rusher in the nation.
The exciting news is that there are players returning at those positions with considerable experience. Lorenzen, who led UConn to 15 victories in the 22 games he started in over two years, missed four games in ’08 due to injury that allowed redshirt sophomore Cody Endres (below) and redshirt junior Zach Frazer (left) to start a pair of games. Redshirt freshmen John McEntee and Casey Turner will also be looking to make a push at quarterback.
“Offensively, it all starts with the quarterback position,” says UConn head coach Randy Edsall. “It’s the most visible part of the offense and we’ll have great competition there this spring. Right now, Zach and Cody are the frontrunners, but Johnny and Casey are right behind them.”
Redshirt senior Andre Dixon returns at tailback after earning Second Team All-BIG EAST honors in ’07 after he gained 828 yards on the ground. Sophomore Jordan Todman (left) played as a true freshman last year and gained 296 yards in 11 games. Redshirt sophomores Robbie Frey (below), who saw considerable time last year in kickoff returns, and Meme Wylie will also look to make a push along with junior Joss Tillard and redshirt sophomore Nathan Sherr.
UConn returns both of its primary fullbacks in junior Anthony Sherman and redshirt junior Anthony Davis (below to the right). Sherman came out late in the 2008 season as an outstanding receiver and finished the year second on the team with 26 catches.
“I see some good experience at running back with Andre coming back and Jordan getting on the field last year,” says Edsall. “There are also players such as Robbie and Meme, who have a chance to compete too. Anthony Sherman has done a great job this winter, so he probably has more of an edge this spring at fullback as far as getting playing time.”
The Huskies will be looking for increased productivity from its receivers in 2009 and there are plenty of candidates to do it. Redshirt sophomore Kashif Moore led the team in receptions last year with 27 receptions for one TD and improved as the season progressed. Senior Marcus Easley saw considerable playing time last year while classmate Brad Kanuch struggled through an injury the entire season, but enters spring ball healthy. Sophomore Michael Smith was just one of two true freshmen to letter for the Huskies last season and had 12 receptions.
Redshirt freshmen Gerrard Sheppard and Brian Parker will be pushing for playing time along with redshirt juniors Alex Molina and Kevin Poles and redshirt sophomore Isiah Moore.
“I really think Kashif was starting to come along at wide receiver at the end of last year and show some things,” says Edsall. “Brad is finally healthy again as we head into the spring. We’ve got a lot of players at wide receiver and the issue will be who is going to step up and make plays.”
The tight end position lacks experience headed into 2009 with the departure of Steve Brouse and Martin Bedard. Redshirt sophomore Yianni Apostolakos and sophomore Corey Manning have seen some action while redshirt freshmen John Delahunt and Ryan Griffin will be contenders for playing time along with junior Derek Chard.
The offensive line takes a hit with the departure of All-BIG EAST left tackle William Beatty and center Keith Gray – who started 31 games at that position.
Redshirt sophomore Moe Petrus, who earned Freshman All-America honors at tackle last year, moves over to to center position this spring. He is joined there by redshirt sophomore Gary Bardzak and redshirt freshman Ben Chapman.
Redshirt senior Mike Hicks started all 13 games at right tackle for the Huskies in 2008 while a number of Huskies will also be looking for playing time at this position – redshirt senior Dan Ryan, who has played in 30 career games, redshirt sophomore Mike Ryan and a trio of redshirt freshman – Jimmy Bennett, Adam Masters and Zac Zielinski.
UConn returns starting guard redshirt junior Zach Hurd and and redshirt senior Alex LaMagdelaine, who played in just one game last year before being shut down with a shoulder injury, will also work at guard.
“We have to replace two key players from the offensive line and there will be competition there this spring,” says Edsall. “It will be interesting to see how some of our young players do and how they develop. We also need to take Moe Petrus, Zach Hurd and Mike Hicks and get them to do a little bit more. At tight end, I like what we’ve seen out of all of our guys. They all have ability, we just have to see who is going to step up and do the things that need to be done.”
Defensively, UConn loses five starters from a unit that was ranked sixth in the country in total defense in 2008. Both starting defensive ends, Cody Brown and Julius Williams, have graduated.
UConn does have experience at that position though with senior Lindsey Witten and junior Marcus Campbell, who were both part of the regular rotation last year. Redshirt junior Mike Cox missed all of last year with an injury but is healthy and back to contend for playing time. Redshirt freshmen Ted Jennings and A.J. Portee will look to get on the field as well as three mid-year freshmen enrollees – K.C. Chambers, Jesse Joseph and Trevardo Williams.
The Huskies have a young, talented crew on the defensive tackle sport. Despite losing four-time letterwinner Rob Lunn, UConn comes back strong with a pair of redshirt sophomores in Twyon Martin and Kendall Reyes. Both of these players were in the starting spots come the end of the ’08 season.
Redshirt junior Alex Polito saw considerable playing time last year and will push for more this year. Redshirt senior Brandon Dillon and redshirt Scott Schultz have experience while redshirt freshmen Beau Brunelli and Ryan Wirth will make a run for playing time.
“The continued development of Kendall and Twyon at the tackle spots is critical this spring.” says Edsall. “We also need to find the backups there. We need to develop the depth and figure out who will work their way into the rotation. At defensive end, we’re expecting big things out of Lindsey and it’s a good situation because we’re going to have a lot of players to develop and get better.”
The Huskies are strong in the linebacking corps with all three starters back from 2008 – redshirt junior Scott Lutrus (below), who led the team with 106 tackles, redshirt sophomore Lawrence Wilson (left), who was second with 73, and junior Greg Llloyd.
The competition here will be for the backup spots with redshirt senior Matt Ashmead, junior Kijuan Dabney and redshirt junior Greg Robinson leading the way. Redshirt freshmen Jory Johnson, Sio Moore and Jerome Williams along with sophomore Mark Hinkley and redshirt freshman James Healy will also look to get on the field.
“All of our starting linebackers are back and we will get some of the young players plugged in there,” says Edsall. “We are also making room for Greg Robinson at middle linebacker. That is going to be worth watching because Greg has had one of his best winters that he’s had since he’s been here.”
The secondary looses a key pair of starters, in cornerback Darius Butler, who also saw time last year as a wide receiver, and safety Dahna Deleston. That duo started 88 games over their Husky careers between them.
Junior Jasper Howard started all 13 games at the other cornerback spot last year and returns, while senior Robert McClain also saw considerable playing time and started the final three regular season games when Butler suffered an injury. Redshirt sophomores Gary Wilburn and Harris Agbor will look for playing time as will redshirt freshmen Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
Senior Robert Vaughn (left) is solid at the other safety as he started all 13 games last year and was third on the team with 67 tackles. Redshirt sophomores Aaron Bagsby and Jonathan Jean-Louis will look to be in the other starting spot along with redshirt freshmen Matt Edwards and Jerome Junior. Redshirt sophomores Emmanuel Omokaro and John Yurek are also at the safety position.
“In the secondary, we have three players who have played a lot for us,” says Edsall. “We don’t know who’s going to be at the other safety and at cornerback, it’s going to be interesting to see who wins those battles for backup positions. It’s going to be fun, but we want to continue to be the defense that runs for the ball, is fundamentally sound and plays well as a unit.”
Punting duties are solid with senior Desi Cullen, a two-year starter, returning and redshirt sophomore Dave Teggart took over kicking duties midway through 2008 and made 13 field goals – including the first 11 consecutive of his career.
“On special teams, we have the luxury of having David and Desi back,” says Edsall. “What we’ve got to do is work on the team part of it. We need to work on punt protection and make sure we don’t have the same issues we had a year ago. We need to find more returners and solidify the snapping situation. There’s a lot of work to be done, but the good news is we have a lot of players coming back who have experience on special teams. We are also going to incorporate the redshirt freshmen who I think have a lot of athletic talent into the special teams.”
