Alec Bloom eager to celebrate more touchdowns as a senior at UConn

In Tommy Hopkins' first season as a starter he was arguably the most consistently effective offensive lineman during UConn's march to a bowl game.

Naturally, expectations were high coming in the 2016 season but Hopkins never really had a chance to build on his solid 2015 campaign. However, Hopkins was injured while helping clear the path for former teammate Ron Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown run in the 2016 season opener. Hopkins missed the next four games. After averaging less than 105 rushing yards per game during his absence, The Huskies ran for 188 yards and had 412 yards of total offense in his first game back as the Huskies picked up their lone conference win in 2016 by beating Cincinnati 20-9. In the next game UConn had a season high 306 passing yards but Hopkins suffered a season-ending injury in the loss to South Florida.

Hopkins was held out of spring drills as well but now he is healthy and eager to get the work as preseason camp got underway today.

"It was really tough," Hopkins said. "It was disappointing going back out there and having it happen again, it was like there was no way this could happen to me. The athletic trainers did a great job on the rehab but it was disappointing. I still tried to help out as much as I could watching film. If I see something, I see a good play I will let them know."

With a new coaching staff in place, Hopkins knows nothing is set in stone. These next couple of weeks will be a key time for him to prove he belongs in the starting lineup.

"I am focused on camp right now, going out there," said Hopkins, who ironically was cleared to practice shortly after spring practice came to an end.

"I think we have a pretty exciting group, I think we will be pretty good and I am excited to see and excited to work in camp, see it all come together."

FORTT OPENING SOME EYES
Senior linebacker Junior Joseph started rattling off names of under the radar defensive players ready to make an impact and it didn't take long for him to mention true freshman defensive Omar Fortt.

Fortt, a former star at St. Luke's, enrolled at UConn for the spring semester allowing him to partake in spring drills. He took advantage of that time and saw time with the first team defense.

"I was coming out, being physically, take no prisoners and with everybody nurturing me, it gave me confidence with everybody around me telling me how well I was playing," Fortt said. "Summer ball, I am going to try to ball out as much as I can. I have a great guy in front of me in Tre Bell and I'm following him."

Senior cornerback Jamar Summers was also a mid-year enrollee who got on the field right away. He said he won't be surprised if Fortt does the same thing this season.

"That is my guy, Omar he came in mid year like I did and he definitely accepted the challenge," Summers said. "It is a transition from high school to college, he handled it well and he has been excelling. I am looking forward to see him during training camp compete and I'm willing coach him in whatever he needs help with. He is like me, competitive, goofy at times but he is willing to put the work in.

"The hard part about it is the academic side, from scheduling from the classes to doing the work, time management is a big thing in college but athletically, it is probably the best position you can put yourself in coming in mid year and getting a head start on everything as a freshman and seeing what needs to be done and how to handle things of that nature. It worked to his benefit, he is a step ahead of the freshman class that (just) came in."

Fortt had three tackles including a tackle for loss in the spring game and now he is looking to use his experience during spring practice to carve out a role on the 2017 UConn team.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY
 Alec Bloom was far away from San Francisco when he saw a report in early May that he was among undrafted players trying out for the San Francisco 49ers.

"I was about to take a final and I said this is definitely not true since I was sitting in class," Bloom said with a laugh. "I got a call and said I will take care of it when I get out because I am not out there."

It would not be a surprise to see Bloom in training camp in 2018 in fact it would be more surprising if that is not the case.

UConn's new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee came in from Auburn and in the last two seasons tight ends caught a grand total of two passes compared to 76 catches out of tight ends or players from other positions lining up at tight end. Bloom said it will be up to him, fellow rising seniors Tommy Myers and the other tight ends to earn their role in the new look UConn offense.

"We get out of it as much as we put into it," Bloom said. "If we show them in practice we are an asset to the offense, we are going to get more chances. Football is like life, if you put out more, you are going to get more chances and we are ready to show what we've got."

LOFTY PRAISE
My main story off media day was focused on the fact that quarterback David Pindell and linebacker Santana Sterling's final game as junior college players happened to be against each other.

As is rather typical, I wrote way too long on the story so I wasn't able to fit all of UConn coach Randy Edsall's thoughts on the two of them into the piece.

Here are some quotes I thought people would enjoy reading.

"He (Pindell) has this quality about him where he is very cool under pressure," Edsall said. "Watching him on film and observing some things, I don't know if I've ever see a guy get the ball out of his hands so quickly. The other thing, I am jealous of him because I think he is 3.5 percent body fat but he is a good kid who has good talent. I go out watch and observe a lot of times and by doing that, I think you find out a lot about a lot of things. It seems to me like people have already started to gravitate towards him, Santana is a guy who I thought had a knack for making plays and being around the ball quite a bit.

"They are good quality kids. They don't say a lot, they just work and those is my kind of guys."

Edsall said the first five practices will be about getting all the players a chance to showcase what they can do. The first scrimmage of preseason camp will be on Thursday and after that he is hoping to have an idea of who should be playing with the first and second teams. Don't look for a depth chart to be posted probably until the Sunday before the Aug. 31 season opener although Edsall is hopeful that his coaches have a pretty good idea of the first and second units well before that.

Finally, I caught up with running backs Arkeel Newsome and Jason Thompson so look for a story on them in tomorrow's paper.

There may not be a team on UConn's schedule with more history than the South Florida team visiting Rentschler Field on Saturday afternoon.

Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome is in the midst of an
impressive three-game run as a rusher, receiver
and kickoff return specialist for the Huskies

Who could forget the pure elation when Dave Teggart's 52-yard field goal with 17 seconds left was dead, solid perfect to give the Huskies the 19-16 victory, a share of the 2010 Big East title and a most improbable spot in the Fiesta Bowl. It was a day when UConn players, coaches and most of all fans could scream from the roof tops that they had arrived. The journey from solid I-AA team to BCS bowl participant was anything but an overnight one but the feeling was that this was just the start of something great.

Instead, a series of events transpired after the 48-20 loss to Oklahoma that sent the program reeling. Randy Edsall exited stage left to take the job at Maryland and the even though many of the decision makers were on the way out as well, the move was made to bring Paul Pasqualoni in to take the program to the next level. In retrospect it was the wrong man at the wrong time. Pasqualoni is one class act but also a decade removed from his last winning season as a collegiate head coach.

Fans and boosters scratched their heads at the hire and some did significantly more than that. The Huskies were actually in contention for bowl eligibility going into the 2011 season finale thanks to another win over USF but a loss to Cincinnati doomed the Huskies to a 5-7 record.

A 13-6 loss at USF in the 2012 season was the final nail in a four-game losing streak as the Huskies would once again finish with a losing season despite having five seniors taken between the third and sixth rounds in the 2013 NFL draft.

Foley Fatukasi is one of the rising stars on defense for UConn

It seems hard to fathom that USF's most recent trip to East Hartford came just two years ago and the Bulls took the field against a program in the state of disarray. UConn AD Warde Manuel had seen enough when a 41-12 loss at Buffalo, a school he used to work at, dropped the Huskies to 0-4. With an extra week to prepare for the start of the conference season, Manuel fired Pasqualoni and veteran assistant coach George DeLeone. Although the Huskies didn't give up an offensive touchdown in a 13-10 loss to USF, the feeling was UConn's program was years away from being relevant again even with the efforts of the energetic interim head coach T.J. Weist and a group of players who despite the chaos around them continued to fight the good fight. The Huskies would lose five more in a row to fall to 0-9 before ending the season with three wins a row.

Manuel aimed high and landed highly-respected Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco.

It took a while but Diaco's impact on the program is hard to miss. The Huskies are sitting at 3-3 after a convincing 40-13 win over Central Florida. UConn lost by three at Missouri and was within four points of Navy late in the second quarter, something that would likely never have occurred a season or even two seasons ago. Then the Huskies went on the road and was tied with BYU 10-10 heading into the fourth quarter before falling by 17. Suddenly there is a sense that this team has a chance to play in a bowl - not in five years but in December.

Quirky might be the most accurate word to describe Diaco, a man who perpetually acts like he is on his 12th cup of coffee. One of the most bizarre scenes in his brief tenure with the Huskies came in last year's 17-14 loss at USF. UConn attempted to pass the ball four times in the first quarter and the results were a holding call, an intentional grounding penalty and another call for an illegal block. The other attempted pass resulted in Chandler Whitmer being sacked. USF recovered to set up the game's first touchdown.

A few months earlier Diaco was surrounded by local media at American Athletic Conference media day and said he it gave him the best chance to win he would run the ball on every single play. Everybody within ear shot laughed except Diaco. Sure enough, playing in horrendous weather and not believing his team could drop back and pass without disastrous results, he had the Huskies run the ball on every single play in the second quarter. UConn ran the ball 13 straight times. Six of the 10 passes came in the final two drives as the Huskies' valiant rally fell short.

Luke Carrezola is one of four sophomores to start on defense for UConn

Last year Diaco pressed so many young players into action and this season there have been seven sophomore starting on offense, another four on defense. The true freshman receivers are coming on and so are so many of the second-year players. First-year starter Tommy Hopkins looks like a keeper at guard, cornerback Jamar Summer is one of the team's most talented players. Linebacker Junior Joseph and pass rushers Luke Carrezola and Cole Ormsby have tremendous potential while Foley Fatukasi has a chance to become an unblockable force on the defensive line. Arkeel Newsome has emerged into an impactful player as a runner, receiver and kickoff return and tight ends Tommy Myers and Alec Bloom don't get a ton of balls thrown their way but the ones that do come usually result in a big play. NC State transfer Bryant Shirreffs has the looks of being a difference maker at quarterback, something the Huskies have lacked in recent years.

Another bizarre move by Diaco was the creation of a trophy for the self-proclaimed "rivalry" with Central Florida, which had no clue about this so-called rivalry. Diaco was the butt of plenty of one-liners on social media and in various papers around the country. However, I have to admit that after seeing the UConn team celebrating with the trophy after the victory over UCF and posing for photos with it before leaving the field that there was a method to Diaco's madness. Say what you want about this trophy and rivalry but the players bought 100 percent in and really they are the only ones who really matter.

Is this team ready to come away with the three more victories needed to receive a bowl invitation? It's hard to say but this is not a question that was even being posed either last season or two years ago.

Stay tuned because there's a chance that this young head coach has a plan that has the program moving in the right direction. A win on Saturday would be a major step in Diaco's master plan.

It seems like a lifetime ago since the Bob Diaco era at UConn kicked off with a 35-10 loss to Brigham Young.

One aspect of that game that caught my attention was how often the tight ends were involved in the passing game as Sean McQuillan, Tommy Myers and Alec Bloom were targeted a total of nine times resulting in six catches. Through the first three games of the season UConn quarterbacks threw passes in the direction of the tight ends 15 times resulting in 10 completions. However, UConn also gave up 15 sacks and 29 tackles for loss.

With little other choice, the UConn coaching staff used the tight ends primarily as blockers as they were targeted on pass plays just five times in the next four games. However, considering how well the offensive line played against East Carolina, the coaches decided to reintroduce the tight ends into the passing equation once again.

According to the play by play, tight ends were targeted five times and the results were a season-high four catches for McQuillan and the first catch for Myers since the season opener.

"The offensive line has been great, progressing each and every week and the tight ends can be a little more involved in the passing game and don't have to stay in quite as much," McQuillan said. "It is nice to be versatile, get back to those things and get back to running some more routes than we have in the past.

"It is all about getting the win and whether that means I have to block on 90 percent of the plays or run routes 90 percent of the time, it doesn't matter, it is all about the game plan and what is going to help us win."

UConn gave up 24 sacks in the first six games of the season and countless other times the quarterbacks were able to avoid the pass rush to either get back to the line of scrimmage or get a yard or two. In the last two games there were just three sacks surrendered and most of the runs by the quarterbacks were of the designed variety.

"I think things are starting to click," senior center Alex Mateas said. Nothing really big has changed, they are starting to work and the coaches are doing a great job."

Left tackle Richard Levy believes having one game in 25 days gave the line a chance to tighten up some things.

"During the bye weeks we had a lot of (coaching) of what we are going to do and we put those bye weeks into action,' Levy said. "It is a great feeling because it shows how much we have matured."

Dhameer Bradley and Deshon Foxx were targeted 17 times against ECU.

Not that UConn fans want to ponder life without Geremy Davis but with the prolific senior receiver being knocked out of Thursday's loss to East Carolina in the first half with an ankle injury opportunity knocked for some of the Huskies' young receivers.

Fellow senior Deshon Foxx did finished with four catches for 120 yards including an 88-yard touchdown (the seventh longest offensive play in UConn history) to become the first Husky with multiple 100-yard receiving games in consecutive seasons since John Fitzsimmons accomplished the feat in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Still, UConn's freshmen and sophomore skill position players were targeted 12 times in the second half. While these numbers are very unofficial as a handful of pass plays in the official box scores do not list an intended receiver but the East Carolina game marks the first time this season that underclassmen were target more and caught more passes than the junior and senior classes.

Foxx led the team with nine targets against the Pirates but sophomore Dhameer Bradley was targeted eight times (one more target than he saw in the first four games combined), sophomore Noel Thomas matched his season high with four targets. Freshman Thomas Lucas was targeted a season high three times (as was freshman tailback Josh Marriner) while sophomore Brian Lemelle was targeting for just the third time this season.

Thomas, Lemelle, Lucas, Marriner and freshman tailback Arkeel Newsome combined for 10 catches on 12 targets. Lucas' two catches went for 43 and 37 yards as he became the first UConn player with two catches of at least 35 yards in the same game since Nick Williams had catches of 49 and 64 yards against Buffalo on Sept. 24, 2011.

"They are going to continue to play more and more," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "They now collectively need to grow up and mature, mature with how they prepare, prepare all week, prepare on the practice field, prepare in the meetings, prepare in their volunteer time and what (time) they spend studying, we just need to take that next step. They are passionate about (football). Here's what you've got, you have four guys, all four of them, they love to compete, they are passionate about football. They like to play football, love to play football. You would like to say that is inherent for everyone, it is not. Those four guys definitely are that way and they are talented. Now what we have to do is hone in on the professionalism as far as what it takes to become a productive player and how to become a good to great player."

Here is my unofficial tally of targets and catches this season broken down by class
                Seniors    Juniors   Soph.   FreshmenBYU          22 9-104  10 5-51  9 4-36  8 6-72
SBROOK  16 7-119    9 3-22  1 1-5    1 1--4
BOISE       16 9-154    4 3-27  8 3-7    8 7-54
USF             5 3-62      1 0-0    2 2-18  1  0-0
TEMPLE   12 8-80      3 1-5    8 3-12  5 2-77
TULANE  14 10-88     1 0-0    6 4-26  3 3-27
ECU           11 5-125    1 1-4  13 7-87  7 6-96
Here is the breakdown by position (not including the passes thrown away due to quarterback hurries since the box scores don't list official receivers and this week's interception which was tipped at the line of scrimmage)

Player                Targets  Catches Yards
Geremy Davis     58          34       436
Deshon Foxx       38         17       296
Dhameer Bradley 25         11        70
Sean McQuillan   16          8         69
Noel Thomas       14          8          97
Kamal Abrams    12          5          43
Thomas Lucas     12          7        115
Arkeel Newsome  9           8        117
Josh Marriner        6           5         35
Jazzmar Clax        4           3         12
Alec Bloom          3           3         40
Brian Lemelle       3           3        13
Ron Johnson         3           1        11
Max DeLorenzo    1           1        17
Tommy Myers      1           1          3
Matt Walsh           1           0          0
A couple of thoughts on the breakdown of targets. First, tight ends and fullbacks were targeted 19 times in the first three games and just six times since. Those numbers are a direct result of the pass protection issues as UConn has needed to keep in additional players to block just to throw the ball. Dhameer Bradley seemed almost like a forgotten piece of  passing offense earlier this season but his 18 targets over the last three games is second only to Davis during that span.

Staying on the subject of receivers, some future Huskies displayed the gift of grab as well over the weekend.

Tyraiq Beals had eight catches for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns in East Orange's 29-21 win over Bloomfield. It was his fourth game with at least two touchdown catches this season and in six games he has 62 catches for 1060 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Also, John Robinson IV caught three passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in Dwight Morrow's 23-20 win over Dumont. It was his fourth TD reception in the last five games while Nazir Williams (4 catches for 78 yards) and Chris Lee (3 catches for 27 yards) also had multiple-catch games.

When Chandler Whitmer made his way to meet with the media on Tuesday afternoon he was fully expecting to have a similar role to the one he filled in the season-opening loss to Brigham Young.

Cochran was expected to start for the second straight game but he was dinged up against BYU and on his weekly radio show which aired on WTIC, UConn coach Bob Diaco revealed that Cochran would miss Saturday's game against Stony Brook due to what Diaco termed an "upper-body injury."

Whitmer could have opted to walk away from UConn at the end of the 2013-14 academic year since he fulfilled his graduation requirements. A heart-to-heart phone conversation with Diaco when the first-year head coach told Whitmer that if he couldn't deal with being the fourth-string scout-team quarterback then don't come back. Diaco wasn't saying that was the role Whitmer would fill but the last thing he needed was a former starter feeling slighted if he didn't earn the starting job.

Whitmer discussed his frame of mind on Tuesday.

"Deep down I just want this program to do well," Whitmer said, "I am excited about everything that this team is doing. To me, being a senior on this team, if we rebuild that is pretty of satisfaction of itself. We want to get to a bowl game, win some games and play well and not focus on so many of the goals but just be focused on the little things."

Whitmer also addressed the two-quarterback system that would have been utilized again if Cochran were able to play.

"It is a little different, it takes some getting used to but knowing your role helps you prepare for what you are going to experience and knowing specifically I am going in for the red zone and putting a little more focus on their red-zone defense and that helps me focus on what I need to do well and what they doing," Whitmer said.

"We did some good things, we went down and scored on the first one. We want to be better in the red zone, that is clear but when you go back and watch the film, it was a few little things that we missed. It is part of it and when you are playing from behind you go for it on fourth down. We saw a lot of things we can take advantage of in the future and that is the biggest thing for this game."

UConn went into camp last season with what looked like a surplus of quarterbacks with Cochran and Whitmer joined by Scott McCummings and incoming freshmen Boyle, Richard Lagow and Kivon Taylor as well as walk-on Michael Ecke. McCummings didn't return, Lagow and Taylor both transferred and Ecke is also no longer a member of the team. Mike DiMauro of The Day of New London reported that Cochran suffered a concussion and that is the third one since arriving at UConn. If he is sidelined for multiple weeks that could put UConn in a precarious situation if something where to happen to either Whitmer or Boyle. That's a lot of ifs to be sure but you do have to wonder if Diaco and his staff would get an emergency quarterback like receiver Kamal Abrams, who was a productive quarterback in high school, prepared just to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Whitmer also addressed one of the most impressive of the eight completions he had as true freshman tight end Alec Bloom went down to the ground to pluck a Whitmer pass that was maybe an inch or two from hitting the ground. The play was close enough that the officials took an extra look at it after confirming it as a good catch.

"That was a big play, third down we needed a play," Whitmer said, "I scrambled out and he made a nice catch, went down and got it. That was a big conversion and for your first college catch, that is not a bad one to have."

I'm going to admit that Bloom is one of the true freshmen I have been touting for some time. He towers over the other tight ends and seems to have the size, speed and hands to develop into a Ryan Griffin like player. Whitmer threw passes to Griffin, now in his second season with the NFL's Houston Texans, and I asked him if Bloom has the potential to become that type of player.

"If he puts on some weight, works hard in the weight room with Coach (Matt) Balis, I think he can be a legitimate big-time tight end," Whitmer said. "We have seen the potential. I think he has a good head on his shoulder and he works hard. If he can put all of that together, he is going to be a good player/"

When I asked first-year coach Bob Diaco about his impressions of the true freshmen at American Athletic Conference football media day on Tuesday his response was a rather abrupt "they all look like true freshmen."

Well, at least couple of those new kids has caught his eye.

Diaco was asked whether they had enough depth at tight end after redshirt freshman Quinn Thompson (the leading receiver with five catches in the spring game) left the program and is no longer enrolled at UConn, he had nothing but good things to say about former St. Joseph High of Trumbull star Steve Hashemi. The 6-foot-6, 262-pound Hashemi was the first player to commit to UConn after Diaco was hired and he has been impressive enough that redshirt freshman Michael Boland was shifted to defensive end.

"Alec Bloom, we are taking a look at (as a tight end)," Diaco said. "I have to watch the tape but to me it looked pretty good today (with) Steve Hashemi at tight end so we are excited about those guys. We moved Michael Boland out of there, back to the position that he came here to play and he is very excited about it.We feel good about the tight end position. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing how Steve did today but if he is able to be functioning there, (we would be) walking off the bus (with four) pretty good-looking guys."

As I mentioned when the roster was first posted, I was surprised to see Hashemi, an offensive tackle for the Cadets, listed as a tight end.

Diaco said that was not the original plan but it seems pretty evident that if given his choice between undersized h-back types at tight end or a sixth offensive lineman at the position, he would choose the latter.

"We see him, even still as an offensive linemen," Diaco said. "I have explained how we roll. I explained how we want to do our business, we want to create formations that can overwhelm the defense at the point of attack so that wouldn't be off base to take a young athletic offensive tackle that probably wouldn't be able to participate at offensive tackle and see if he can do some tight end jobs that look a little like offensive tackle jobs in a tight end jersey."

He also said that true freshmen offensive linemen Ryan Crozier, Daniel Oak and Trey Rutherford "don't look out of place."

Speaking of offensive linemen, Gus Cruz was out there with the first team at guard when I was allowed to watch practice. It was the first time he's been out there, I believe, since he was shut down after five games a season ago due to a cardiac issue.

"I have to watch the tape, those guys kind of get lost in there but it is great (to have Cruz back)," Diaco said. "I am excited for him and he is excited. He loves football so to be back out there with his teammates running around doing what he loves to do is wonderful, it is a great story."

With last week being my first week of vacation in 2014 I guess it's time to catch up on what I missed during the week off.

The biggest news was that UConn, which had no Class of 2015 commitments, received pledges from four rising high school seniors during the week.

Kevin Murphy, a defensive tackle who had 88 tackles including a team-high six sacks as a junior at East High in West Chester, Pa., was the first one to commit. Next up was 6-foot-4 quarterback Tyler Davis and that was quickly followed by commitments from New Jersey tight end Ben Hartwick and New Hampshire defensive end Phillippe Okounam.

The 6-foot-5 Davis ran and passed for more than 1,000 yards and had a combined total of 27 touchdowns as a junior. Hartwick will add more size to the tight end position at UConn while Okounam is originally from Montreal and plays at St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H.

PAIR OF SIGNEES SHINE IN BIG 33 CLASSIC
Both of UConn's incoming freshmen made an impact for the losing Pennsylvania team in Saturday's Big 33 Classic.

Luke Carrezola, a defensive end/tight end out of Neshaminy, had a pair of quarterback sacks in a game won by Maryland 31-24 in double overtime. Tight end Alex Bloom had two catches for 18 yards and was the intended receiver on the game-ending interception by Rasheed Gillis. Pennsylvania quarterback Mark Pyles, who is headed to Bucknell, spoke highly on Bloom when he discussed the interception after the game when he said "I saw a 6-7 tight end who’s very athletic and catches everything, against a cornerback. I tried to get him to make a play. It’s not his fault. It wasn’t the best ball."

The duo should be on campus in about two weeks.

ANOTHER SACK FOR JENNINGS
Former UConn defensive end Teddy Jennings continued his impressive rookie season with the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul as he had a quarterback sack in yesterday's 57-56 loss to Pittsburgh.

Jennings, who had two solo tackles and an assist against Pittsburgh, has taken over the team lead with five sacks despite missing three of the first 13 games.

DIACO HAS ROLE IN HEARTWARMING FATHER'S DAY STORY
ESPN has a  blog about the strong bond Atlanta Falcons rookie linebacker Prince Shembo has with his father, a connection which was only strengthened when the elder Shembo suffered a brain aneurysm the night before Notre Dame was set to play Michigan State during Shembo's sophomore season. In the blog Shembo mentioned that Diaco, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the time, drove him to the hospital so Shembo could see his father.

BEATTY SET TO RETURN BY TRAINING CAMP
Former UConn offensive tackle Will Beatty is still sidelined after suffering a serious leg injury in the 2013 regular-season finale against Washington. Beatty wasn't able to do anything during organized team activities of OTAs but Giants coach Tom Coughlin has gone on the record as saying that he is hopeful that Beatty can return to the field by the start of training camp.

UConn commits Alec Bloom and Luke Carrezola were among the players named to the Pennsylvania team playing in the prestigious Big 33 Classic which will be played on June 14 at Hershey Park Stadium.

Bloom, a tight end from Ligonier Valley High, had 45 catches and 830 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior while Carrezola, a defensive end/tight end from Neshaminy HS, had 56 tackles, 20 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries.

UConn football commits Alec Bloom and Luke Carrezola were named to the Pennsylvania Football News All-State teams.

Bloom was the first-team tight end in Class AA after catching 45 passes for 830 yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games as a senior at Ligioner Valley.

Luke Carrezola was the first-team tight end in Class AAAA as he helped junior running back D'andre Pollard rush for 2,928 yards and Neshaminy HS run for 4,218 yards in 15 games. Carrezola also had four catches for 45 yards and as a defensive end had 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

Carrezola, who is also in the running for the Mr. Pennsylvania Football large division award, is planning to take an official visit to UConn from Jan. 17-19.

It was a mixed bag for UConn commits in the Mr. Pennsylvania Football voting department.

Neshaminy defensive end/tight end Luke Carrezola is one of 20 candidates in the AAA/AAAA divisions but Ligonier Valley tight end Alec Bloom did not make the cut in the small school division.

Carrezola caught four passes for 45 yards and finished with 53 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks as Neshaminy posted a 13-2 record and advanced to the Pennsylvania AAAA semifinals before losing to eventual champion St. Joseph's Prep.

Bloom had 45 catches for 830 yards and 12 touchdowns in an injury-shortened senior season.