It was only natural that sophomore quarterback Scott McCummings was very much in demand from the media at Tuesday's practice since it is the first time McCummings took part in a practice the media was allowed to view.

McCummings missed the early portion of camp to tend to a personal matter. He returned Friday and while McCummings admitted he is rusty, he is trying to catch up as best he can.



"It was hard. I wanted to be here so bad," McCummings said. "It kind of stinks being at home working out problems. It is great to be back basically. I was just dealing with a lot of family problems, Coach (Paul) Pasqualoni helped a ton."

McCummings was used primarily as a runner out of the Wildcat formation and he was UConn's second-leading rusher in 2011. McCummings is working to become a better passer to offer opposing defenses another dimension to prepare for when he comes into the game.

"I am really hoping that I become more consistent as a passer," McCummings said. "In 7 on 7 and 1 on 1 (drills) I feel a lot more consistent, a lot more accurate but at the same time I have the occasional bad throw. It is going to take a while

"I still feel overall a lot more complete as a passer than I used to be so that is a good thing but I still feel like there is a lot of rust, a lot of stuff in the footwork that needs to get down so can transition myself better and be a better player."

Pasqualoni likes what he has seen out of McCummings.

"He didn't skip a beat, he is right on schedule," Pasqualoni said. "Obviously he is going to further along in some areas over some others just because of the number of plays he plays but I think he is doing pretty good."

Some other notes and observations from practice. Tyler Bullock, who saw plenty of time as the first-team center in the last practice I attended, had a walking boot on his right foot but Pasqualoni doesn't believe Bullock will miss much more practice time. Hillhouse coach Tom Dyer was among those in attendance. He was hoping to see his former player Rennick Bryan, a promising freshman offensive lineman but Bryan was forced to miss the practice dealing with some minor injuries.

Some players who caught my eye today included freshman safety Obi Melifonwu who followed up a blocked field goal by making some solid plays on defense. Ted Jennings, listed as a defensive end, played various spots on the defensive line and seems to be pretty comfortable playing alongside Ryan Wirth at defensive tackle.

"Our philosophy is we want everybody up front to be able to play every position," Pasqualoni said. "Last year Tywon Martin could play all four, Kendall Reyes could play all four so we pick days when guys just move around to different spots just so if something happens, you have a limited number of guys on the travel squad you've got to be able to play (multiple positions)."

Easily the best catch I have seen in the three practices I have been at was the one-handed stab of a reception by sophomore Deshon Foxx late in today's practice.