Thursday, July 30, 2015

31 UConn players earn All-AAC academic honors

The American Athletic Conference announced that 235 student-athletes made the conference's all-academic team during the 2014-15.

A total of 31 UConn football players were on the list including linebacker, team captain Marquise Vann, starting receiver Deshon Foxx, starting offensive linemen Alex Mateas and Andreas Knappe, safety Obi Melifonwu, kicker Bobby Puyol and punter Justin Wain.

Here's the list:
Joseph Bivona, Alec Bloom, Kyle Bockeloh, John-Luke Bogue, Jeremy Claflin, Chris DeBerry, Deshon Foxx, Alex Gallaer, Steve Hashemi, Thomas Hopkins, Andreas Knappe, Dominick Manco, Ellis Marder, Sean Marinan, Josh Marriner, Alex Mateas, Obi Melifonwu, Adam Mueller, Daniel Oak, Andrew Paluch, Bryan Paull, Angelo Pruitt, Bobby Puyol, Will Rishell, Kyle Schafenacker, Bryant Shirreffs, Jason Thompson, Anthony Tully, Marquise Vann, Justin Wain, William Weyrauch

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

UConn's Crozier to miss season; TE Williams to transfer in

There is some news to report on the UConn football team beginning with some bad news as projected starting center Ryan Crozier will miss the upcoming season due to a lower-body injury.

Crozier started the last three games of the season at left offensive guard but was being moved to center to replace the graduated Alex Mateas. Although he has never played a game at center, he was one of 63 players named to the Rimington Trophy watch list.

Crozier played as a true freshman so he will use the 2015 season to redshirt and have three seasons of eligibility remaining. Dan Oak, who redshired last season, was one of the early candidates to replace Mateas so perhaps he will move into the starting role.

The news wasn't all bad as UConn added former Northern Iowa tight end Billy Williams as a transfer.
The 6-foot-3 Williams is a native of Knoxville, Tenn. who had two catches for 94 yards as a freshman in 2014. He is currently enrolled in summer school but will need to sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

Thursday, July 02, 2015

Former UConn TE McQuillan eligible for NFL Supplemental Draft

Former UConn tight end Sean McQuillan is one of nine players eligible for next week's NFL supplemental draft according to a tweet from Michael Signora, NFL Vice President for Football Communications.

McQuilan joined receiver Deshon Foxx, currently in camp with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie free agent as the only skill position players to start every game for the Huskies during the 2014 season.

He was being talked up by UConn coach Bob Diaco as having a key role in the upcoming season. However, McQuillan was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct after an alleged fight with his roommate. McQuillan finished up with the classes he needed to graduate and then the university declined to admit him for graduate school ending his run with the football program.

The 6-foot-3, 239 pound McQuillan caught 41 passes over the last two seasons and he had the only touchdown in UConn's spring game.

Clemson OT Isaiah Battle, West Georgia DE Darius Caldwell, Houston DE Eric Eiland, Kansas DB Kevin Short, West Georgia DT Dalvon Stuckey, North Carolina Central receiver Adrian Wilkins join McQuillan as players eligible for the supplemental draft.
The supplemental draft is set for July 9. Teans forfeit the pick for each player they select so a first-round pick will result in a team losing its first-round selection in the upcoming draft. Ten players have been taken in the supplemental draft from 2002-11 but quarterback Terrelle Pryor, selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round in 2011, is the last player to be selected in the supplemental draft.