No surprises. Randy Edsall named D.J. Hernandez as the team's opening-day starter at quarterback against Rhode Island on Aug. 31. Hernandez was adequate last fall until the season finale against Louisville, when he threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Since then, he's made his case by working countless extra hours and improving his game in spring and summer practice sessions. Hernandez had so distanced himself Edsall decided to make the announcement today and get it out of the way before he releases the rest of the depth chart on Tuesday.

Barring more injuries, I don't see many real surprises coming when the final two-deep comes out next week. Julius Williams should start at middle linebacker with Ryan Henegan's nagging injury. Cody Brown should fill in for injured Jason Ward at defensive end. Terry Caulley will start at tailback, but will be spelled more with the talented trio of Lou Allen, Andre Dixon and Donald Brown backing him up. The Huskies have played wide receiver by committee in the past, and that likely won't change. Freshmen Brad Kanuch and Kevin Poles may not be listed at starters but all appear to have a shot at playing a lot right away. Keep an eye on punter Desi Cullen, too. Just a hunch, but he may unseat Chris Pavasaris for URI.

By the way, no media access at UConn until Saturday. I'm not complaining. Fans shouldn't either. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that coach Petrino has closed all practices to the media: partly because he feels too much info gets leaked on the internet. Not sure I agree with that, but that's a column for another day.