During their first few days as enrolled students at UConn there was some playful banter exchanged by former Windsor High School defensive end Cole Ormsby and Tim Boyle, a member of three state championship teams as a quarterback at Xavier High.

Not only where they the only two UConn football signees playing in the Hall of Fame Classic Military Bowl but since Ormsby and Boyle were on opposing teams in Saturday's all-star game at Rentschler Field, there was the potential for a vicious on-field reunion between the future college teammates.

"He is very athletic and has a very good offensive line," Ormsby said after his Marines squad fell to Boyle's National Guard team 15-14. "We talked about it at UConn about the game and I said 'if I have a chance I am going to hit you.' I am not going to be that guy to try to take out his legs, I am not that but I am going to hit him up top and make him feel it."

Ormsby, who finished with a pair of tackles, did get one hit on Boyle but it came after the ball was in the air. Still, it didn't take long for Boyle to realize that he'd better keep an eye on his fellow future Husky.

"Cole is a really good athlete and I kind of underestimated him coming into the game, he surprised me," Boyle said. "We couldn't block him so I had to let go and force some throws. He did a good job and he is somebody you want on your team and I am glad he is (going to be at UConn)."

Despite winning offensive MVP honors for the winning National Guard squad, Boyle admitted it was hardly the best performance of his life. He was 14 of 28 for 102 yards. He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass on a perfectly thrown fade to New London's Sam Miranda. He was intercepted twice, once it was as a result of a pass going through the hands of a receiver and the other when he fired a throw off his back foot while under heavy pressure. He also had  14-yard touchdown run on a beautifully-designed play when he faked the pitch and raced nearly untouched down the right sideline on a naked bootleg.

"I went into this game knowing this was going to be my last high school game," Boyle said. "I had that mindset throughout the game and I wanted to go out with a bang, What better way to do it than at an all-star game with some people you don't know? I am happy with what happened. It wasn't the prettiest win but I am 4-0 (at Rentschler) and it is a nice launching pad going into UConn.".

Boyle, Ormsby and the rest of the incoming freshman class arrived in Storrs on Tuesday to start taking summer classes and take part in UConn's conditioning program.

"I've been there since Tuesday, back and forth, it has been fun," Boyle said. "It has been a rush, I have been busy 24/7 and I am glad I am busy 24/7. Football is my life, I love playing it all day every day. 

"I am very excited, I like the new offensive coordinator (T.J. Weist) a lot, the quarterback situation is not pronounced, all six guys going in are fair game. I know Chandler (Whitmer) is the starter going in and the I am going in trying to learn the offense, I am trying to get my feet wet, get into the locker room and work my way into college so I am not a little freshman anymore."

While much has been made of Boyle being one of three quarterbacks in the freshman class, no position was addressed more than the defensive end/outside linebacker spot. The last couple of weeks players like Junior Joseph, Cameron Stapleton, Sha'ki Holines and Ormsby all had a chance to strut their stuff in high school all-star games.

"We have some good players from Massachusetts, from Pennsylvania, from Maryland and the older players are helping us out," Ormsby said.

"I am ready to represent my town well, represent my family."

While former Xavier High quarterback Tim Boyle and Windsor defensive end Cole Ormsby took a break from getting acclimated to life up at UConn by taking part in the Hall of Fame Classic Military Bowl at Rentschler Field, the first player from the Class of 2014 to commit to UConn was also in attendance,

Logan Marchi was on the sidelines of the victorious National Guard squad along with a few of his St. Paul teammates and his high school coach (Jude Kelly).

"I want to play, it is exciting,": Marchi said. "It is fun to watch the competition and how they get fired up and seeing the passion for the game, it gives me goosebumps.

"I can't wait to get started. I am pushing the season right now trying to get my school ready for our season 

and being able to continue football onto the next level is pretty exciting."

Marchi was drawing interest from college recruiters after an outstanding junior season at St. Paul before ending the recruiting process earlier this month by committing to UConn. He admits that he feels like a load has been taken off his shoulders now that he no longer has to worry about impressing college coaches with the hopes of landing at their school.

"The calls, having to portray yourself to impress coaches, it takes a load off," Marchi said. "You know where you are playing, you know where you are going and you can focus on other things to get there, to get yourself better and it is definitely takes a load off.

"I always told my parents that I wanted to be as far away as possible but the fact that I have been here since I was about 7 at camps, I have seen the stadium a thousand times, I have seen the campus a thousand times, it was already kind of like home. I came here, I knew the coaches 'hey Logan what's up.' You just felt welcomed here and I grew up with it so I might as well continue to play with it.".

So where does he want to improve before he arrives at UConn?

"Definitely the mental part of the game because you can never stop learning, you can never perfect a drop back, there is always going to be a flaw in it but offensively if you now what the defense is doing there 

is no way they can stop you," Marchi said. "I want to improve mentally, disguises, coverages, my O-line assignments and everything."

Marchi was able to see one of the quarterbacks he will be competing against when he arrives in Storrs.

Boyle was 14 of 28 passing with 102 yards with one touchdown passes and two interceptions and also had a 14-yard scoring run in the game to earn offensive MVP honors for the National Guard squad. So what was Marchi's impressions of Boyle?

"I have seen him play and he has real strong arm, he can make some throws into spaces, he is a good kid, 

a good athlete, a smart kid too and I look forward to working with him," Marchi said.

Former UConn tight end John Delahunt had one reception for seven yards as he made his Canadian Football League regular-season debut for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' 39-34 loss to Toronto Friday night.

Also, Larry Taylor returned five kickoffs for 98 yards and added 81 yards on six punt returns in Calgary's 44-32 win over British Columbia.

Justin Noye, a dual threat quarterback at East High in Rochester, NY., is the latest Class of 2014 prospect to commit to UConn.

Noye, a 6-foot-1, 185 pounder, is also a standout sprinter in high school who some recruiting databases list as a receiver. Rutgers and Temple are among the others teams who offered Noye.

I don't have statistics on Noye from his junior season but he did have scoring runs of 77 and 80 yards and his best individual game might have come in a 50-35 loss to Hilton Central when he ran 17 times for 190 yards and three touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes.

Two members of UConn's freshman class will get a chance to step onto the field they will call home for the next four or five years on Saturday.

Tim Boyle, a quarterback out of Xavier High, and former Windsor High defensive end Cole Ormsby are set to take part in the Hall of Fame Classic Military Bowl on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Rentschler Field.

Boyle will play for the National Guard squad while Ormsby is a member of the Marines squad.

An intriguing story is how former rivals from Xavier and Hillhouse are now teaming up for the all-star game.

The Canadian Football League begins its regular season tonight when Montreal plays Winnipeg.

Four UConn products are on opening day rosters as Martin Bedard is a long snapper with Montreal, John Delahunt a fullback with Hamilton, Larry Taylor a receiver and return specialist with Calgary and Julius Williams a defensive end with British Columbia.

ESPN announced that it would be televising 60 CFL games beginning with a doubleheader tomorrow with three of former Huskies in action when Hamilton plays Toronto at 7 p.m. followed by Calgary meeting British Columbia at 10 p.m. Both games will air on ESPN3.

On a day when the UConn's current group of incoming freshmen arrive on campus the Huskies added a name to its list of commitments in the Class of 2014.

Luke Carrezola, a tight end from Langhorne, Pa., announced on his Twitter account that he has committed to UConn.

The 6-foot-3, 243-pound Carrezola also had a scholarship offer from Temple. According to the Max Preps database he had five catches for 76 yards and 47 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and a team-leading 10.5 tackles for loss as a junior at Neshaminy High School.

He joins St. Paul quarterback Logan Marchi as the first players from the Class of 2014 to commit to UConn.

Before Sha'ki Holines recorded his first high tackle he longed to play in the Chowder Bowl which annually pits graduating seniors from Central Massachusetts against those from the western part of the state.

Well, the UConn signee didn't waste much time making an impact as he made a crushing hit behind the line of scrimmage on the first play of last night's game in Leominster, Mass.

On the first series the 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end who will arrive at UConn on Tuesday, had two tackles for loss and a quarterback pressure. By my count he finished with six tackles (three behind the line of scrimmage) and a pair of quarterback pressures.

"I was dreaming about that since last night," Holines said after the game. "I couldn’t wait to get out here. I have been dreaming about playing in this game since I was a freshman, I have been watching it every year and I finally got my chance to play in it and it was over."

Perhaps Holines' most impressive play came when he rushed the passer from his right defensive end position. He was double teamed and when the play went away from him, it looked as if he would just have to get ready for the next play. Holines had other ideas. While the two Central Mass. players blocking him gave up on the play, Holines raced across the field and was able to be one of a host of players to force the runner out of bounds. Although he did not get credited a tackle on the play, the relentlessness he displayed certainly caught my attention.

"I like to play with a high motor so I never take myself out of a play, keep it going all the time and never give up," Holines said..

Holines originally committed to UMass but once he saw the UConn facilities and was offered a scholarship he made the decision to decommit from UMass and become a Husky.

"Once I saw the facility I feel in love with that and I felt that was probably the way to get me out and go to the next level," Holines said

"We have some good defensive players coming in, good quarterbacks and hopefully we can get some good recruits in next year so hopefully we can win the (American Athletic) conference championship.

"I think this group, with a couple of years together can by junior year, sophomore year we can make some things happen."

Holines couldn't have picked a better way to wrap up his high school career. Not only did the Western Massacusetts team end a nine-year losing streak to the Central Mass. squad but his team posted a shutout in a 13-0 win.

"It was a big victory, we didn’t get one of these in probably in 10 years and to end my season with one was like getting a Super Bowl," Holines said.

Holines also played another 20 plays as a blocking tight end and threw a key block leading to the first touchdown but he said the UConn staff views him as a defensive end. He would love to follow in the footsteps of E.J. Norris, who earned plenty of playing time at defensive end as a true freshman at UConn in 2012.

"When I get there in the summer I am going to work out, use the facility to my best advantage to try to get as good as I can be so I can play my freshman year," Holines said.

After making the trip to Pennsylvania for the Big 33 Classic and heading to practice for the Empire Challenge, I completed my trips to out of state high school all-star football games tonight when I saw UConn incoming freshman Sha'ki Holines put on a show at the Chowder Bowl in Leominster, Mass.

By my count Holines had six tackles, three tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback pressures as the Western Massachusetts squad defeated the Central Massachusetts team 13-0.

I will have much more on his performance including posting a video of his first tackle of the game at some point on Saturday.

The American Athletic Conference released the start times for some games this fall and included on the list is the Aug. 29 season opener against Towson which will start at 7:30 p.m. and air on ESPN3. Also the Sept. 14 game against Maryland will also kick off at 7:30 p.m.

Former UConn cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson was signed by the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday.

Wreh-Wilson, taken by Tennessee in the third round in April's NFL draft, signed a four-year contract worth $2.16 million according to the Tennessean. With his signing, all five Huskies taken in the 2013 draft have signed their rookie contracts.

Wreh-Wilson was a two-time captain at UConn who had 181 tackles and eight interceptions in his collegiate career.

Pretty much from the time UConn put the wraps on its incoming freshman class there was one player whose story intrigued me more than any of the others.

Foley Fatukasi saw his life turned upside down due to Hurricane Sandy crushing his family's home. I read a few of the story from the New York papers about how he has not only overcome the circumstances but handled everything with incredible grace. So with Fatukasi one of the three UConn signees playing in the Empire Challenge tonight, I decided to make a detour on my way back from covering the Big 33 Classic in Hershey, Pa. so I could talk to Fatukasi after Sunday's practice. It was well worth the extra driving time in my opnion. I wrote a story on Fatukasi's trials and tribulations for today's edition of the New Haven Register.

Fatukasi is a tremendously likeable kid. A bunch of New York All-Stars walked by me as I stood on the sidelines shooting videos and he was the only one who made it a point to say hello. After the practice he was an engaging interview and if he emerges into a key player during his UConn career the media will be thrilled because he is a great quote.

Fatukasi is the first football player from Beach Channel High School to head straight to a BCS program and with the school scheduled to close in 2014, that is a distinction that likely will not be matched.

"I am very excited. I never thought I was going to go D-I and if I was I never thought it was going to be UConn and I am running with it," Fatukasi said..

Fatukasi and the rest of the Beach Channel students had to take a bus into Brooklyn to go to classes at Franklin D. Lane High School and he expressed appreciation to the bus company who arranged the daily 20-25 minute bus rides.

"Our school has stayed pretty tight because we have a great school culture and we stayed together. Everybody tried to look forward and say ‘we are going to get through this’ because after the storm we all saw each other and said ‘hey, I am glad you are OK.’"

Dwayne Gratz became the latest UConn product to sign his rookie NFL contract.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced that Gratz and fellow rookie defensive back Johnathan Cyprien were signed by the team.

There have been reports that both Gratz and Cyprien could be opening-game starters for Jacksonville.

Gratz started 41 career games at UConn and recorded 189 tackles and eight interceptions. He was the first of the five former Huskies selected in April's NFL draft.

Former UConn running back Andre Dixon was cut by the CFL's British Columbia Lions on Sunday.

Dixon was signed by the Lions last month but caught up in the numbers game at running back for British Columbia. Dixon ran for 1,958 yards and caught 37 passes for the Huskies from 2007-09. He went to training camp with the New York Giants in 2010 and had a stint with the UFL's Hartford Colonials during that same year.

Terence Jeffers-Harris, who played at UConn and had 61 catches during the 2006 and 2007 seasons before transferring to Vanderbilt (but never playing for the Commodores), was also released by Calgary on Sunday.

There was quite amount of buzz generated (much of it in this blog) when Christ the King two-sport star Jordan Fuchs committed to UConn.

Fuchs is an intriguing prospect as some believe he could have played Division I college basketball and if he develops he could become a top-notch receiving option as a tight end. It is Fuchs' desire to fulfill that potential which led him to delay his enrollment at UConn until January. He will attend Milford Academy in the fall and play for the Falcons before coming to Storrs.

Fuchs is currently preparing to play for the New York squad in the Empire Challenge tomorrow night and I caught up with Fuchs after Sunday's practice at Hofstra.

“Obviously I want to go to school (at UConn) but it is benefiting me that I get this experience because I only played two years so I get more experience,” said Fuchs, who caught 52 passes for 866 yards over the last two seasons at Christ the King. “I need to get to bigger, faster and stronger (before) I come in in January and get started.

"Over the past few months I have been training really hard. I have been watching a lot of football and talking to my trainer and I have been picking up things pretty fast.”

He could have company in Milford as fellow UConn commit Jamar Summers may follow the same path.

Summers, a defensive back from Orange, N.J., never signed with UConn as he was dealing with NCAA clearinghouse issues. He recently attained the SAT score he needed to become eligible to play at UConn as a freshman. However, according to his high school football coach UConn is still in a wait and see pattern.

Orange (N.J.) High coach Randy Daniel said the UConn staff wants to see his final grades before making a decision. Final exams are starting this week so a decision could be made one way or the other by the end of the month.

Yawin Smallwood, who led UConn with 120 tackles as a sophomore, was one of 41 linebackers named to the College Football Performance Awards Defensive Watch List.

Smallwood had 10 tackles or more in six games during the 2012 season and he had five games with multiple tackles for loss as he had 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage including four quarterback sacks.

Smallwood is the only Husky named to the Offensive or Defensive Watch lists.

Stratford's Tyler Matakevich, a rising sophomore linebacker at Temple, also made the list after recording 101 tackles as a freshman.

Perhaps the best part of having three UConn signees competing in the Big 33 Classic is that is has allowed receiver Brian Lemelle, defensive end Junior Joseph and linebacker Chris Britton to get more familiar with each other before they head up to campus in 11 days to enroll in summer school.

Lemelle and Joseph will be rooming together at UConn, Britton and Joseph have the talent to add a couple of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball and it camaraderie between the two was rather evident and it's hard to ignore the benefits of Lemelle and Britton both attending high school in the city of Harrisburg.

For my thoughts on the talents of the trio:

Lemelle has all the makings of being an impact player as a slot receiver. He is quick, has outstanding hands and there's no questioning his credentials as no Pennsylvania high school football player has caught more passes or has more receiving yards than Lemelle. He looked pretty comfortable shagging punts in the pre-game warmups and if not for the presence of the electrifying Pittsburgh commit Tyler Boyd (who returned the opening kickoff for a TD, had three touchdowns on offense and threw a 68-yard TD pass to Lemelle) he might have been used more as a kickoff returner rather than being an up man. He did go back to field punts but did not have a return. You have to give Lemelle's mom some credit for the interesting way she supported her son. She had "Lemelle squad" t-shirts made which were worn by several fans at the game.

Britton was a force both on defense and special teams. While there were restrictions of how much blitzing could be done. Britton was able to get into the backfield a couple of times and looked comfortable dropping into coverage. He played on kickoff return, kickoff coverage and punt coverage. He's a pretty intriguing prospect who was primarily a basketball player growing up. He was talked into playing football as a junior but injuries cost him part of that season so his senior season is the only full football campaign he has played.

While Lemelle and Joseph said they are heading to UConn on June 25, Britton's arrival date is still to be determined. After the game when I asked him when he was going to Storrs he said 'I'm supposed to talk to (UConn defensive coordinator) Hank Hughes tonight."

Joseph didn't record as many tackles as Britton (unofficially I had Britton with four and Joseph with two) but his ability to bring pressure off the edge was pretty impressive. It will be interesting to see how the Huskies use him. He is listed in the Big 33 Classic program as standing 6-2 and weighing 235 and he was listed at 6-1, 243 on the UConn release sent out on national signing day. I asked him whether he would be a linebacker or defensive end and he said he was told he would be a hybrid.

As for the game itself, it's been a few years since I attended one of these football all-star games but this was a first-class operation especially before the game. Not only did they have a national guard unit present colors but cheerleaders held an enormous flag at midfield similar to what you might see at the Super Bowl and a helicopter did a flyover. The national anthem singer was former Big 33 cheerleader Marialana Merrick and she did an outstanding job. When the players were introduced, each of them had a "buddy" and the kids were reveling in being able to meet these football players.

Logan Marchi, who passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior at St. Paul, becomes the first member of the Class of 2014 to commit to UConn.

Marchi announced his intentions on his personal Twitter page. It marks the third straight year that a top in-state quarterback prospect committed to UConn joining Casey Cochran, who will be a redshirt freshman, and incoming freshman Tim Boyle.

I've already heard the "how many quarterbacks do they need" refrain but the fact remains that coaches can't just ignore a position even if three quarterbacks were signed the year before. Nobody knows how Boyle, Richard Lagow and Kivon Taylor are going to develop at the college level. Having too many quality quarterbacks is a problem any program would like to have. I haven't seen Marchi play but the fact that fellow Northeast BCS programs were going after him is a pretty good indication of his potential as a prospect. It would surprise me if any more quarterbacks are brought in since there would be six quarterbacks on scholarship when Marchi is a freshman at UConn.

St. Paul opens the 2013 season with a game at Derby on September 13.

Seven of the 23 recruits who signed with UConn in February will be taking part in high school all-star games over the next five days.

It begins tomorrow when quarterback Richard Lagow, who threw for nearly 2,000 yards as a senior at Plano (Tex.) High, plays for the East squad in the North Texas East/West Classic at 7:30 p.m.at Pennington Field in Bedford, Tex.

Three future Huskies (linebacker Chris Britton, defensive end Junior Joseph and receiver Brian Lemelle) will be suiting up for the Pennsylvania squad playing in the Big 33 Classic at HersheyPark Stadium tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

The game will air live on NFL Network. Britton will wear No. 33, Joseph will wear No. 45 while Lemelle will wear No. 7.

Defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi, receiver/tight end Jordan Fuchs and defensive end Cameron Stapleton will play for the New York squad in the Empire Challenge on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium.. The game will air live on MSG Varsity. Fatukasi, Fuchs and Stapleton will wear numbers 93, 88 and 20 respectively for those of you who may get that station.

It was also brought to my attention that UConn signee Sha'ki Holines will be playing in the Chowder Bowl Classic on June 21 in Leominster, Mass. Holines will play for the Western Massachusetts squad.

Also, closer to home UConn incoming freshmen Tim Boyle and Cole Ormsby are among the players expected to play in the Hall of Fame Classic at Rentschler Field on June 29.

Former UConn tight end John Delahunt became the first player from the 2012 Connecticut squad to play in a professional game when he suited up in the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats' preseason opener Thursday night.

Delahunt, listed as a fullback for Hamilton, caught an eight-yard pass in the second quarter as Hamilton jumped out to a 23-10 halftime lead.

Former UConn linebacker Sio Moore signed with the Oakland Raiders today.

Moore was taken by the Raiders in the third round in April's NFL draft and has been drawing plenty of praise during workouts with the team.

The UConn football team posted an Academic Progress Rate score of 958 during the 2011-12 academic year. While the number dropped five points from the mark the Huskies had during the 2010-11 period, it is the best scores for the UConn football program since having scores of 974 in 2004-05 and 963 in 2005-06. It is also the seventh time in eight years that UConn scored 950 or higher.

According to a release put out by UConn, the Huskies' multi-year score was 11 points above the national average for public institutions and the football program is eligible to play in a bowl game.

The biggest news for UConn coming out of the APR report is that the men's basketball program is eligible for the 2014 NCAA tournament after being banned from 2013 tourney for poor APR scores.

Here are the scores over that period
2004-05: 974
2005-06: 963
2006-07: 950
2007-08: 951
2008-09: 949
2009-10: 953
2010-11: 963
2011-12: 958

Former UConn linebacker Greg Lloyd was cut by the Buffalo Bills today after the team signed offensive lineman Doug Legursky.

Lloyd was drafted by Philadelphia in the seventh round of the 2011 draft. He spent time both on the Eagles practice squad and active roster during the 2011 season. He was traded to Indianapolis in August of last year but was cut late in training camp. He was signed by the Bills in November. Lloyd played in Buffalo's games against Miami and the New York Jets in December but did not record a tackle. He played in six preseason games in 2011 and 2012 and had 11 tackles.

Lloyd played in 35 games at UConn from 2007-10, starting 24 times. His best season came as a junior in 2009 when he had 91 tackles.

UConn rising junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood was named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele.

Smallwood led UConn with 120 tackles during the 2012 season. He had six double-digit tackle games as a sophomore including back to back 14-tackle efforts against North Carolina State and Maryland. Smallwood also had four sacks, forced two fumbles, 15 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.

Smallwood, running back Lyle McCombs and cornerback Byron Jones were all named to the American Athletic Conference preseason first team, offensive tackle Jimmy Bennett and kick Chad Christen were third-pick pick while offensive guard Steve Greene, linebacker Graham Stewart and punter Cole Wagner were fourth-team selections.

UConn incoming freshman Tommy Myers won the javelin at the CIAC State Open Track and Field Championships earlier today.

Myers, a Coventry High senior, had a winning throw of 193 feet and 11 inches which was nearly 10 feet better than anybody else in the field.  Myers finished seventh in the shot put with a toss of 50-11 3/4.

Former UConn defensive back Jordan Younger is retiring from the CFL according to a tweet by the Toronto Argonauts.

Jordan Younger has indicated he is going to retire." - #Argos GM Jim Barker during availability today was the tweet from the team's official site.

Younger was one of three players listed as "suspended" by Toronto on Sunday.

Younger played in the CFL for nine seasons including eight with the Argonauts. He had 40 tackles and five interceptions with Toronto during the 2012 season and finished his career with 408 tackles, 19 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. He was a member of Grey Cup winning teams in his first and last season with Toronto.

Also, former UConn defensive end Cody Brown was released by the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday less than three weeks after he was signed. Brown was taken by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft but injured his wrist during the preseason. He played in six preseason games with the Cardinals in 2009 and 2010 before getting released and never appeared in the regular-season NFL game despite getting into camp with the New York Jets and Detroit Lions. He was signed by Calgary in 2012 but was cut by the CFL team.