There's plenty of question marks as UConn players report for preseason camp tomorrow. However, the safety position is not among them.

UConn returns Andrew Adams, who has started 19 games over the last three seasons, and Obi Melifonwu, who has started 23 games in the last two seasons. Adams was ranked second and Melifonwu fourth in total tackles a season ago. Reserve safety and special teams dynamo Junior Lee is also back.

UConn football coach Bob Diaco did not pull any punches when I asked him about starting safety tandem at American Athletic Conference media day.

"Tell me who is better tandem of safeties in the conference, tell me a better one?" Diaco said. "They played 800/900 plays so they are veterans, those two guys go into every single game expecting to dominate their individual matchups and be in disbelief when they have bad moments, it is good to have that kind of swagger, that kind of energy."

Perhaps the only things standing in the way of Adams and Melifonwu being touted as an elite safety tandem is improved play in pass coverage by Melifonwu. He is an intriguing prospect with size (listed at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds on UConn's roster), speed and intelligence. With two seasons as a starter under his belt, there's no reason he can't make strides defending the passing game.

Adams loves the potential of the secondary which includes the stating quartet from the latter stages of the season.
"I am very excited to see what our secondary can do," Adams said. "We worked hard in the offseason and in the spring on our pass defense. Jhavon is becoming a great player, he is becoming a great leader. Jamar Summers has some games under his belt last year so I am excited to see what he is going to do and Obi plays right next to me, I am excited to see what he is going to do. He is a freak athletically, he can run out of the gym, he is so fast and I have taken some extra time in the film room to study with him. I am just excited to see what we are all going to do as a group.

"We definitely know each other very well now, he knows what I am going to do before I do it and I am pretty sure he know what I am going to do before I do it. That definitely helps us, we have each other's back on the field.

"We are excited that we can improve. We have a lot of returning starters, we have grown as a defense, the chemistry has grown in the spring and over the summer we have worked on our defense. "

If there is any uncertainty surrounding the secondary it would center around who will be the No. 3 and 4 cornerbacks. It was a role filled by Summers last season before Byron Jones' season-ending injury.

"Brice McAllister got some snaps last year, he is a good player, he is coming along really well, we have Javon Hadley, I like Hadley, he is small but he is feisty. he will stick his nose in on the run and he is not afraid of anybody so I like where we are at (with) the corner position."

McAllister, Hadley and converted John Green got a bit of a baptism of fire a season ago and the game experience they were able to get a season ago could start paying dividends this season.

With an almost entirely new coaching staff it was hard to predict what the player rotation was going to look like.

However, if I were to come up with a list of players who I thought would have larger roles I would start with receiver Brian Lemelle, cornerback Javon Hadley and offensive guard Kyle Schafenacker.

Lemelle had a 10-yard catch, his longest of the season in last week's loss to East Carolina. Now it could be Hadley's time to shine.

Hadley played in five games as a true freshman and finished with seven tackles (three coming against Cincinnati). But even after the summer departures of Tyree Clark and David Stevenson, he did not get onto field in the first seven games as true freshman Jamar Summers and converted receiver John Green moved ahead of him.

However, following the season-ending shoulder injury suffered by Byron Jones, Summers is expected to go from being a nickel corner or spelling one of the two starters to earning a starting spot as well while Hadley is pushing Green to be the third cornerback.

"He is a trained corner so he works his game and he has done it for a long time," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "He hasn't done it here in college football so as a young guy at least there is a volume of practice reps and time that he has been at that position. He is a tough guy, he is a gritty tough guy, he is competitive. What he might lack at this point in his career in size, overall speed he makes up for toughness. He has some fundamental base in playing the position. We are excited about him. He is in competition with John Green so we will see who ends up claiming that first and second down corner spot for the game."

Diaco also had good things to say about true freshman Brice McAllister, who moved from tailback to corner during preseason camp. He is expected to get onto the field now that Jones is no longer in the mix.

"Brice McAllister has never played the position and it is probably at times going to look like that in games but there is only one way to solve it and that is for him to play in games," Diaco said. "We don't have any other options and we don't want any other options and we are excited about Brice, we think Brice is going to be a great corner, we believe it is his best position and his most natural position. He was a very productive tailback throughout his life but he possesses a few traits that separate him at he next level of athleticism on the perimeter. Almost all the great corners could play tailback but not all the great tailbacks could play corner. It is that much harder, you have to be that much of a higher level athlete to play corner because it is all reaction. Brice possesses those traits and he is going to be a work in progress. I am excited to see all five of those guys play."