University of Connecticut Athletics
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University of South Florida
10 Years Later: A Look Back at the 2009 UConn Football Season
10/4/2019 9:31:00 AM | Football
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It's been a full decade since UConn's unforgettable 2009 football season. It was a bittersweet season which featured some historic wins, heartbreaking losses and the tragic midseason death of a teammate.
When the Huskies take on the USF Bulls Saturday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, several players from that special team will be in attendance for their 10-year reunion. The players returning include running back Andre Dixon and kicker Dave Teggart, both of whom were huge pieces to that team.
Teggart said the thing he remembers the most about that team was the amount of incredible talent it had.
"We had a really good group of guys," Teggart said. "There are guys from that team that are still in the NFL. It's crazy when you think about it, how many NFL athletes were on that one team."
Several players on that team spent extended time in the NFL, including running back Jordan Todman, defensive back Robert McClain, linebacker Sio Moore and wide receiver Marcus Easley. There are three players from that team still currently playing in the NFL -- Kansas City Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman, Atlanta Falcons cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson and New York Jets tight end Ryan Griffin.
UConn finished 8-5 in 2009, but the five losses were by just a combined 15 points. The team was in a position where it could have won every game that season.
"That was crazy because no matter who we lined up against, there wasn't any kind of doubt," Dixon said. "Every week we felt like, 'Whoever. Bring 'em in. Line 'em up.' We were confident. We didn't care who was coming in, we were ready to rock. We knew we could win every game."
The Huskies lost a 12-10 heartbreaker to No. 19 North Carolina in Week 2, but they took care of business against other teams and got off to a 4-2 start, capped off by a key 38-25 win over Big East rival Louisville on Oct. 17.
Just hours after that victory, however, an unthinkable tragedy struck that would change the course of the season. Star cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed during an altercation outside the Student Union on campus, and died later that night at the hospital, leaving a void in the UConn secondary, but an even bigger void in the hearts of the players and coaches.
"I remember going to West Virginia the next week and it was like, 'How are we going to play this game?' " Teggart said. "Everybody's head was obviously somewhere else. The recovery took longer than just that year, but it was definitely something that everybody rallied around and got behind."
The Huskies had a new purpose to play for the rest of that season and Dixon said that brought the team even closer together.
"We all had each other's back," Dixon said. "We all carried each other if we were down and out. It was a great team and family environment even before that, but the Jazz situation gelled us closer even more. Such a bad situation, but it kind of helped bring us together."
After Howard's death, the team would lose three straight one-possession games, two of them against ranked opponents. Then on Nov. 21, the Huskies traveled to South Bend for their first-ever meeting with Notre Dame.
"I remember our confidence," Dixon said. "When we walked into that stadium, everybody was like, 'We've got what it takes to get it done.' We ran out of the tunnel with Jazz's helmet before the game. The energy was crazy … We weren't just playing against Notre Dame. We were playing for Jazz, and we were playing for the respect of our program."
The program definitely earned respect in what was arguably probably the biggest win in UConn football history. The Huskies won, 33-30, in a double-overtime thriller. Dixon scored the game-winning touchdown, which he said was the most unforgettable moment of his football career.
"When I see a UConn fan or people from Connecticut still today, 10 years later, people still stop me and talk about that," Dixon said. "They talk about how that was their greatest sporting event they have ever been to."
That historic win sent the Huskies on a four-game winning streak to end their season. Another key game was the regular-season finale against South Florida. UConn won that game, 29-27, on a last-second 42-yard field goal by Teggart in the snow.
"It was the culmination of the year," Teggart said. "To end the year like that, with everything that happened, with the Jazz tragedy and everything. To hit that kick when everyone's relying on you, that's what it's all about."
That kick would prove to be a foreshadowing of the following season, when Teggart once again hit a game-winning field goal against USF in the regular-season finale, this time to clinch the Big East championship and send the team to the Fiesta Bowl. (Ironically, the Huskies are playing USF this weekend for the reunion game, too.)
The 2009 season ended on a high note with a 20-7 win over South Carolina in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, which was the third and most recent bowl vicotry for UConn.
"I thought that the Papa Johns Bowl was great because we showed we could play against a team from an elite conference, with South Carolina from the SEC," Dixon said. "For us to line up against them and get a win says something about how we can play against any big team."
Dixon was the MVP of that game with 126 rushing yards and a touchdown in what would be his final game at UConn. He said he dedicated that performance to Howard.
Ten years later, both former Huskies are excited to be reunited with some of their teammates this weekend.
"I'm sure everybody's gonna pick up right where we left off," Teggart said. "I wouldn't expect anything different from this particular group of guys. It'll be great to see them."
"The camaraderie, the family, we all bled blue at one point," Dixon said. "I have memories with every single one of those guys … coming back and just sharing some of those stories, some of those laughs, I think it's going to be amazing. Whatever the record is, I still have the same exact love for UConn football and for all my teammates."
