It's already been well documented that yesterday's scrimmage was not the best of days for the UConn offense. However, it wasn't all doom and gloom,

There were a couple of connections from quarterback Bryant Shirreffs to Noel Thomas that were something to behold. While the jury is still out whether the offensive line will enable UConn's running game to take off, after watching one practice and yesterday's combination of practice/scrimmage, it is looking like UConn has found its starting quarterback in Shirreffs and No. 1 receiver in Thomas.

The first time the two hooked up was a thing of beauty as Shirreffs threw a sideline out to Thomas who not only made the catch but showed off his athleticism by getting a foot down.

"It was a well placed ball and he placed it only where I could have it," Thomas said. "I just made sure I got the foot down and got the catch. I actually remember the last practice the receivers working on sideline catches, Coach (David) Corley making sure we get a foot down."

Based on the reaction by UConn head coach Bob Diaco and offensive coordinator Frank Verducci, yesterday was not the first time Thomas came up with a key catch.

When I asked Diaco about the lift that early catch by Thomas gave a struggling offense he thanked me multiple times for asking about Thomas.

"This guy has kind of reinvented himself," Diaco said. "He has always been a special talent and now this guy comes with a purpose to work  every day. He is putting the preparation to have a special year, a breakout year I would say. If he continues to work the way he has been working, he will have a special year."

Verducci has also been impressed not only with Thomas' emergence but the amount of work Shirreffs and Thomas have put in together.

"We are looking for Noel to be that kind of player, a guy that when the chips are down, whenever we need to get a jump start 'let's find a way to get the ball to Noel and see what he can do,'" Verducci said. "He has the kind of potential. He has had a great camp. Tremendous. The hard work that they have put in this summer is extremely evident and it shows up the most in the timing aspect where Bryant will hit that third step, boom get the ball out and Noel is out of his break. It is a credit to them, all the work they have done in the offseason to get to that point. Thank goodness it is showing in their productivity."

According to Neill Ostrout of the Manchester Journal Inquirer Shirreffs finished 10 of 18 for 108 yards while the other four quarterbacks were 7 of 17 for 111 yards.

The two completions to Thomas were among the highlights for Shirreffs.

"Noel and I have gotten really close lately, we are together all the time but with Noel I have learned he can make plays," Shirreffs said. "You saw it today, we have been working on that play for a while and it finally paid off."

If you factor in a drop on a perfectly thrown third down pass Shirreffs would have completed more than 60 percent of his passes working against the No. 1 defense, a unit that could very well be a top 25 or 30 ranked squad this season. Still, only managing one offensive touchdown left Shirreffs feeling like there's plenty of work yet to be done.

"We just need to learn from today, see what we didn't do as well and improve on it,' Shirreffs said. "It is the first time we got out here with referees and simulated a game so you are going to have some mistakes. I had some mistakes so you have to go to the film, see what I did wrong and not do it again. It is good to look forward and now that positive things are going to come the more you worry about what is going wrong and looking back, the more you are going to be stagnant.

"What I liked about today is in my group, I don't know about the other groups, but my group nobody really panicked. We had a couple of slow drives in the beginning but then we got things going there at the end."

While some of the freshmen are already making an impact led by Tyraiq Beals, some of the busiest receivers on Saturday were the most experienced ones as junior Brian Lemelle continues to work with the starters and classmate Dhameer Bradley was the most targeted receiver.

With the graduation of Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx, leadership at the receiver position is falling to Thomas, Bradley and Lemelle.

"I feel like me, Dhameer Bradley, Brian Lemelle, we have the most experience at receiver on the team and we are definitely taking ownership and trying to get everybody up to speed," Thomas said. "We have talented young guys so we want them to play so we try to help them out as much as we can because we definitely learned a lot from Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx."

Lemelle showed plenty of promise as a true freshman but seemed to be a little bit of a forgotten guy a season ago. Now he is set to make an impact as a receiver and on special teams as he could see time returning both kickoffs and punts.

"He certainly has a swagger, he plays like it too," Thomas said of Lemelle. "He plays with a chip on his shoulder and he is going to be good."

It is hard not to notice what Beals has been doing in camp.

While much has been made of Diaco targeting tall receivers, in the two practices I have been to it has been the 6-foot Beals, the shortest of the four true freshman scholarship receivers who has been seeing to most time with the first or second teams. He also had a nice catch near the sideline.

"He is a really a special freshman," Verducci said. "He has come in and acclimated really well, great personality, a very smart young man and I am confident he will put himself in the mix to be a contributor."

Beals had one game as a senior at East Orange (N.J.) Campus HS with 16 catches for 218 yards and another with 13 catches for 259 yards and six TDs so he knows something about catching the ball.

"I know Beals made a great play on the sideline today but every single freshman receiver has really thoroughly impressed me," Shirreffs said. "They came in during the summer and worked their tails off with us in the weight room, Coach Balis really gets after up in the weight room and with conditioning. They all handled it like true champions so to have them on the field and involved in the offense is definitely an honor."

Speaking of youth, I find it interesting that four of the five players on the second-team offensive line are guys either in their first or second year with the program as sophomore Steve Hashemi is at one guard, sophomore Trey Rutherford is at a tackle, redshirt freshman Dan Oak is the center and true freshman Matthew Peart is at tackle. The lone veteran is redshirt junior Kyle Bockeloh.

I was surprised not to see Ron Johnson out there more at tailback but perhaps it was just a chance to see how the other three guys look since it looks like Johnson has put himself in position to have a key role this season . Also, I thought the tight ends would be featured more. They were targeted early and often in the 7 on 7 drill right before the start of the scrimmage but not very busy in the passing game once the scrimmage started.

Now that the drama surrounding the naming of a starting quarterback is out of the way, it is a perfect time to focus on some other hotly-contested battles for starting positions at UConn.

TAILBACK: Max DeLorenzo is the returnee with the most experience but I will go on the record as saying that I expect Josh Marriner to be UConn's leading rusher this season. I am very interested to see how true freshmen Arkeel Newsome and Ron Johnson are utilized. Springing a game-breaking player like Newsome on teams for 6-10 snaps a game could add some much-needed juice to the offense.

Brian Lemelle (84) and Dhameer Bradley (1) are in the mix
to be the No. 3 wide receiver for UConn during 2014 season

NO. 3 WIDE RECEIVER: I do not expect UConn to use the three-receiver sets as much this year as a season ago simply because UConn coach Bob Diaco is going to use more multiple tight end formations. Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx are unquestionably the top two receivers. Thomas Lucas has been getting plenty of love in the preseason. Brian Lemelle, Dhameer Bradley and Noel Thomas, who had 16, 13 and five catches respectively as true freshmen, will be in the mix. I haven't heard much about Kamal Abrams but wouldn't be surprised to see him in the rotation.
DEFENSIVE END: There's been plenty of buzz surrounding Reuben Frank, whether he lines up as a defensive end or outside linebacker on the right side, but no position appears to be more competitive than the defensive end on the other side of the ball as B.J. McBryde and Kenton Adeyemi appear to be running neck and neck. Adeyemi has run out with the first unit in the last two practices the media was able to attend but Diaco raved about McBryde when I asked about the competition between the two of them after a recent practice.

Both Adeyemi and McBride had sacks during the spring game and figure prominently in UConn's defensive line rotation regardless of which one ends up drawing the starting position.

NO. 2 CORNERBACK: Byron Jones is unquestionably UConn's top corner. Jhavon Williams received plenty of work as a nickel corner a season ago and he figured to be a starting CB this year. However, true freshman Jamar Summers has been opening eyes since he arrived on campus in January. He finished tied for third on the team with five tackles in the spring game and with Williams less than 100 percent early in camp, Summers was seeing plenty of first-team work. Javon Hadley is another talented youngster with the capability to push for playing time.

KICK RETURNER: Diaco said that Foxx will be the primary punt returner and will be handling kickoffs as well. Now the question is who will go back with Foxx on kickoff returns. Diaco said that Bradley, Lemelle and all the tailbacks are in the mix for that position. Unfortunately, I did not see UConn work on shagging kickoffs during the media access portion of practice so can't offer too much insight into who has been getting most of the work back there.

ANOTHER MAJOR AWARD FOR JENNINGS?
The Arena Football League will hand out its individual awards tomorrow in Cleveland and among the candidates for the Rookie of the Year has to be former UConn star Teddy Jennings.

Jennings led all rookies with 11 sacks during his rookie season with the Philadelphia Soul as he was a first team AFL pick at defensive end. I can't say I follow the Arena Football League enough to come up with a complete list of the top candidates but the only other player to earn first team honors was Portland defensive back Varmah Sonie, who had nine interceptions and led all first-year players with 86 tackles. Orlando receiver Greg Carr was a second team selection and he finished sixth in the league with 113 catches and 1,435 yards. Another player to consider is A.J. Cruz as the former Brown star led the league in kickoff return average, was sixth in punt returns and also returned a missed field goal 58 yards for a score.

True freshmen receivers Brian Lemelle (84) and Dhameer Bradley (1)
each had touchdown catches in 28-17 win over Rutgers

With catches in six of the last seven games true freshman receiver Dhameer Bradley has quietly made an impact at UConn.

Well, there was nothing quiet about his performance yesterday. Starting for an injured Shakim Phillips, Bradley was targeted on the Huskies' fourth offensive play. Although he failed to come up with the slightly low throw from Casey Cochran, there was no hesitation from Cochran four plays later when he connected with Bradley for an 18-yard touchdown reception.

With the Huskies clinging to a four-point lead in the fourth quarter and facing a key 3rd and 9, Cochran connected with Bradley again. This one went for a career-long 19 yards for Bradley as UConn was add the insurance touchdown on a TD pass to fellow true freshman Brian Lemelle.

Bradley was targeted six times and came up with three catches for 41 yards. Bradley had a reception on three of the Huskies' four scoring drives. He also was asked to throw blocks on a multitude of bubble screens thrown to teammate Deshon Foxx as UConn took advantage of Rutgers rolling their coverage to the other side of the field where leading receiver Geremy Davis was lining up..

"Dhameer has always been a tough player," UConn interim coach T.J. Weist said. "He is still a freshman but he stepped up and has been a good football player because he is tough. He is one of our best blockers, I think he is a better blocker than Geremy – at times. When you find a receiver like him who will block as hard as he does, without a lot of experience, to me that is a tough football player. He came in the spring and worked really hard. He kept it all together, showed great maturity and did a great job."

When Phillips was limited to seven snaps because of an ankle injury which would also sideline him for the Rutgers game, Bradley had a chance to see the field for most of the game against Temple. Bradley was targeted four times and had two catches for 18 yards in a 28-21 win.

"I had to step up for Shak Phillips," Bradley said. "He comes in and makes a lot of plays and I had to step in and make plays like he does. Last week he got hurt and I pretty much had started that game, he played seven plays and I had to step in. I knew after that I had to come in and to do what I did.It felt good."

Bradley was eager to atone for his earlier drop and was thrilled to get the chance to get the Huskies on the board. His TD catch marked the first time this season UConn scored a touchdown on its opening possession.

"Coach Weist always says that you move to the next play when something bad happens, I just moved onto the next play and made it happen," Bradley said.

UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist said that senior offensive lineman Tyler Bullock and sophomore defensive back David Stevenson have been reinstated after both were suspended indefinitely.

"We got Tyler Bullock back so he is off his suspension so he will give us some added depth," Weist said on a Thursday conference call. "It was more he and Warde making the decision of what is best for them both, going through the legal process. We said it was an indefinite suspension, we knew it was going to be at least one game with him not having a prior record and not having done anything wrong before we took that into consideration."

Stevenson's return could help fill the void if Taylor Mack misses another game which is looking more likely as Weist said Mack is doubtful and that there could be some nerve damage with his shoulder injury. Linebacker Graham Stewart is also doubtful while linebacker Ryan Donohue could be back this week. Weist said he is still in a wait and see scenario with WR Shakim Phillips and Brian Lemelle.

"We have to see what happens with Lemelle," Weist said. He practiced yesterday but no contact. He is questionable.

"(Phillips) practiced yesterday but not necessarily full speed and still day by day. A lot of injuries you can put a timeline on, this one takes a week, this one takes a month but this one is anywhere from a week to two months because you just don’t know how severe it is. Ryan (Donohue) is back and he is probable, he practiced yesterday it wasn’t contact but he did practice. Graham Stewart is doubtful. He practiced some but didn’t have a full practice. Taylor Mack is doubtful, still hasn’t practiced yet and still hasn’t showed enough strength to come back. (He has) some nerves in the shoulder, it hard to come back from, I think he will play but I have to see in practice. Some of the guys who I thought were probable (last week) didn’t make it (back)."

Weist said they made more game-type practices this week as he followed up on his vow to open up the competition at receiver and tight end following the issues with dropped passes last week. Weist said that freshman receiver Dhameer Bradley and Noel Thomas looked good and could have larger roles in the offense while E.J. Norris could see more time at tight end.

It hasn't been the easiest of starts to Brian Lemelle's freshman season at UConn.

One of the most highly-touted members of this year's freshman class won the punt return job during preseason camp but in his first game disaster struck. UConn had just scored to pull within eight points of Towson and forced a punt. Lemelle muffed a punt that was recovered by Towson. Just six plays later Towson put the game away.

The next time out Lemelle was understandably cautious as he let multiple catchable punts hit the turf costing UConn field position.

UConn could count on Nick Williams, currently on the Washington Redskins practice squad, to make big plays in the punt-return game. However, UConn ranks 113th out of 123 teams in punt returns this season and the Huskies have managed just 22 punt return yards

Lemelle said he has made strides in that department and is hoping to come up with a spark on special teams for the Huskies today.

"I think I am moving forward," Lemelle said. "The team is moving forward, it happened and I think them doing that (supporting him) helped me get prepared and more comfortable."

Lemelle, the all-time leading receiver in Pennsylvania high school football history, credited T.J. Weist for helping him decide to come to UConn. Now Weist is the interim head coach and he mentioned the possibilities of some younger receivers like Lemelle having a bigger role as the season moves along.

"I liked having Coach (Paul) Pasqualoni there but he’s changed things up a little bit and I like what he is doing with it, hopefully we can move forward from here," Lemelle said. "Things are a lot more energetic and guys seems like they really want to practice, that is a lot faster pace and we are getting after it.

"I think it is tough at time. I never changed coaches in high school and I guess it takes some adjusting. I think the off week did help, we realize what Coach (Weist) is trying to do and what the game plan is and having him coach the rest of the season."

Lemelle vows to be ready if he sees more time on the field with the UConn offense.

"If that is what they ask me to do, I think I will be ready," Lemelle said. "Coach Weist has helped me a lot, the schemes of defense and how to read defenses. Coach (Mike) Digman also as a receiver coach is showing me tricks of the trade as a receiver and how to get leverage on a DB. They have been showing me a lot of things."

UConn made it official that offensive coordinator T.J. Weist has been named the interim head coach following the firing of Paul Pasqualoni.

Weist is in his first season as UConn's offensive coordinator and receivers coach. He said he was unsure of how he's going to handle all his duties. I would think he would have a hard time running the team while still being the receivers coach but we'll have to see how that plays out.

"We have to talk about how we are going to replace those two coaches whether it is within the staff, within our program or outside of our program, I will sit down with our guys and look at the options," Weist said. "I have to be realistic about being the head coach and the responsibilities that I have. I want to put my focus on being the head coach and this team and that has to be my focus first and I will go there whether I will be the coordinator, call the plays, coach the receivers I don’t have that answer yet."

Weist was one of the major reasons why receiver Brian Lemelle, one of the most high-profile recruits in this current true freshman class, came to UConn. Now he is the guy running the show recruiting wise (although linebackers coach Jonathan Wholley became the recruiting coordinator earlier this year).

Both Weist and AD Warde Manuel said all verbal commitments will be honored but of course that won't stop opposing teams from going hard after the UConn commits to see if they can get them to flip.

"Right now we are honoring the commitments that we have," Weist said. "We are going to call them and make sure they know there is stability, we want the players we are recruiting to know there is stability and understand the direction of the program and that will be a big focus for us in recruiting. How are we going to handle them in recruiting and their questions, we aren’t going to ignore it and we are going to reach out the them and keep recruiting. Right now this is my job. What happens in December is up to Warde, this is my job and this team is my focus and nothing else. I agree with him when he said the bottom line is to win, I don’t disagree with it. If we want to lead this program then we have to win, we have to do it in a style and manner with character and the things from us, I understand what he wants and I think our recruits need to understand that."

While part of me questions the promotion of an offensive coordinator of an offense ranked dead last among 123 FBS teams in rushing offense and near the bottom in sacks allowed and total offense, I know that the UConn receivers swear by Weist.

"He brings fire to that position," junior receiver Geremy Davis said. "He played that position, he is a fundamental guy and he is going to bring that to a team as a whole He brings fire and he is a player’s coach so we are going to show his mentality."

When this group of incoming freshman headed to UConn perhaps only former Xavier High quarterback Tim Boyle generated more buzz that record-breaking wide receiver Brian Lemelle.

Lemelle, who caught more passes and had more receiving yards during his days at Bishop McDevitt High than any other player in Pennsylvania high school football history, wasted little time making his presence felt during preseason camp.

He quickly earned quality reps at wide receiver and emerged as UConn's primary punt returner due to his game-breaking potential and sure hands.

However, with just over three minutes left to go in his first collegiate game Lemelle's world turned upside down.

UConn had pulled within one score of Towson after Shakim Phillips' second TD catch of the game and Chandler Whitmer's two-point conversion pass to Spencer Parker. The Huskies forced a three-and-out on Towson's ensuing offensive possession and all Lemelle had to do was corral a punt and the Huskies would be 68 yards from potentially tying the game. However, with Towson players quickly approaching, Lemelle dropped the ball. The Tigers recovered the ball and six plays later Terrance West iced the 33-18 Towson win with a 5-yard TD run.

Obviously Lemelle was devastated following the game and even nearly two weeks later it was clear the pain had not fully subsided.

"I took it personally, and it hurt a lot," Lemelle said.. "They were all there for me, telling me to shake it off and it is a play, keep your head up and keep on moving and it is one play and you have to learn from it.

"I am working extra hard and know it is not going to happen again.

"Right after the game I really didn’t want to deal with a lot of things. My parents were up there and they said they could see in my face."

Lemelle is not the first play to mishandle a punt. His predecessor at UConn Nick Williams has done the same thing as did former UConn special-team dynamo Larry Taylor. Even Wes Welker, perhaps the most sure-handed player in the NFL, let a punt slip through his fingers during last week's Denver/Baltimore game.

The first time Maryland punts on Saturday, Lemelle is expected to be the player waiting for the ball to arrive. The bigger question is whether Lemelle can work his way into the rotation at receiver. With a knee injury expected to sideline Kamal Abrams for a few more weeks, it was redshirt freshman John Green and not Lemelle who moved into the two-deep chart but Lemelle could see some snaps at receiver as a true freshman.

"It is going well," Lemelle said. "It is just like high school coming in as a freshman you have to work your way up, you have to work from the bottom and work your way up the ladder."

When UConn released its depth chart for the season-opening game against Towson yesterday and former Hand High star Matt Walsh was listed as the starting fullback, I decided to take a look back and see who was the last true freshman to be listed as a starter heading into the season.

As it turns out, the answer is a pretty familiar name as current redshirt senior Jesse Joseph was listed as the No. 1 defensive end (ahead of fellow true freshman Trevardo Williams) back in 2009.

Walsh moved by redshirt freshman Jazzmar Clax to claim the No. 1 fullback job. With the uncertainty surrounding the health of starting tight end Sean McQuillan and the Huskies likely to use three wide receivers more often than not, there could be a chance for a significant number of snaps for Walsh, the 2012 New Haven Register State Football Most Valuable Player on Thursday night.

I spoke with Walsh during UConn's media day about his quest to carve out immediate playing time as a freshman.

"Physically I feel like I am capable of keeping up with everybody here at this level, it is just learning and it takes time," Walsh said. "I feel like I am coming along well and I am working hard trying to get on the field anyway I can

"I am not saying I can start and I don’t know where I will be but I am going to do all I can to make sure I can get on the field any way I can. Jazzmar Clax is a great fullback, a great athlete."

The only other true freshman in the two-deep on either offense or defense is guard Kyle Schafenacker although receiver Brian Lemelle is listed as the No. 1 punt returner. Last year the only true freshman on the two-deep for offense or defense was Kyle Bockeloh, who was listed as the backup center. Three years ago Jefferson Ashiru, Mike Osiecki (who has retired due to multiple concussions) and Marquise Vann all made the two-deep as reserve linebackers.

One statistic of note regarding the depth chart is that there are more upperclassmen in the two-deep heading into the season opener than there were at this point last season. There are 17 juniors or seniors listed as starters and another eight as second stringers on the 2013 depth chart. Back in 2012 there were 13 starters and 10 reserves who were on the two deep for offense and defense.