The media met with Randy Edsall prior to Saturday night's practice at 6:45 p.m., but since we won't get player access until it's over at 9:30 p.m. I thought I'd come to you live from the media room inside Gampel Pavilion with a few tidbits...

• Walk-on quarterback Andrew Simmons has left the team. Edsall will hold walk-on tryouts shortly after classes begin on Aug. 28th to try and find some players for the scout team and perhaps another quarterback. This could be good news. "Invincible", the movie based on Vince Papale, a former Philadelphia bartender who makes the Eagles out of a tryout camp, opens on Aug. 25. Maybe Marky Mark can serve as inspiration for a few UConn students, sort of how Sly Stallone convinced a slew of kids in the 70s to try boxing. You never know. "Rocky" inspired a generation of fighters including Vinny Pazienza, who once said he had little interest in boxing until saw the movie and bought the story hook, line and sinker. I'll go on a limb and say Rocky 6 probably won't have the same impact. By the way, have you seen Stallone in interviews lately? Is it possible to be punch drunk from portraying a boxer?

• Ryan Henegan's nagging hamstring injury continues to hold him back in camp. Even Edsall is showing showing frustration over it. This quote about the battle to start at middle linebacker says an awful lot without saying much. "The biggest concern I have is at the middle backer position. I don't even want to mention his name because he hasn't been out there so there's no sense mentioning his name. It's not worth it to mention his name because he hasn't practiced." Not hard to figure out who he's alluding to.

• Asked if it was crazy to think true freshman Scott Lutrus could win the middle linebacker job in camp, Edsall said "pretty much". He equated starting a freshman at that position to starting a freshman at quarterback. Add to that the fact that Lutrus had no experience in the middle until last week and it looks Julius Williams will be the starter.

• Another big battle will be at the "husky" linebacker spot, where Justin DeRubertis and Donta Moore appear to be waging a fight to the end. Edsall said it could be a game-time decision on who starts there for the URI game.

• Freshman punter Desi Cullen left campus Saturday morning to attend his sister's wedding in Kentucky. He is expected to fly back Sunday morning.

• Edsall is also thinking long and hard about his backup quarterbacks. A decision on the No. 2 won't be made until after Monday's scrimmage, although my feeling all along is it appears Dennis Brown has the inside track. The conundrum for Edsall seems to be if it comes down to it, should Dennis Brown's redshirt season be burned if D.J. gets injured at some point. Could be something to watch. More on this in Monday's edition of the Register.

OK, time for me to head back up to the practice field. Hopefully, it's not raining. Don't forget next week's mailbag. Send your questions to cmalafronte@nhregister.com.