Regardless of the outcome and the level of his performance Chandler Whitmer has always been about as much of a stand-up guy as any media member will ever deal with.

He always was able to put on a brave face even after the most demoralizing of losses but not today.

He quietly made his way into the Yankee Stadium interview room with a bag of ice on his right hand, a baseball cap pulled down over his water-logged eyes after throwing two costly interceptions in a 35-21 loss to Army.

Whitmer's first interception would be turned into the second touchdown scored by Army enabling the struggling Black Knights to take command before many of the 27,453 in attendance at UConn's first game at Yankee Stadium could even get comfortable in their seats. His second interception, however, was the back breaker.

Only six yards stood between UConn and a game-tying touchdown in the final minute. Whitmer dropped back, surveyed the field and then fired a pass towards the end zone.
Chris Carnegie, who intercepted Whitmer's pass in the first quarter, snared the ball and raced 99 yards for the game-clinching score.

"I made a stupid decision, one I'd like back," said Whitmer, who became the fifth UConn player with 5,000 career passing yards during the game. "As a redshirt senior you can't do that. It really hurt my team. I will try not to let that happen again. I was trying to make a play, trying to be too heroic and you can't make those mistakes."

There was plenty of blame to go around. There was certainly some disarray coming from the UConn sideline on the final drive. Young players were lining up in the wrong spot and there was anything but a sense of calm. Then on the aforementioned play young receivers Noel Thomas and Thomas Lucas were about a yard apart allowing Carnegie to aggressively jump the route because Lucas and Thomas made it too easy for them to be covered.

While Whitmer's post-game demeanor made it clear that he was taking on a bulk of the blame, the reality is that UConn's inability to slow down Army's triple-option offense and five of its first seven drives accounting for fewer than 30 yards played just as big of roles in a loss that guaranteed that UConn would post its fourth straight losing season for the first time in 29 years.

"We win as a team, we lose as a team," said UConn receiver Deshon Foxx, who led the Huskies with six catches and 54 receiving yards. "It is not just his fault. There were a lot of plays that we left on the field and a lot of plays that we made that we should have been able to stop. You can't pin it on one person. I know Chandler, he is very competitive and I know he is going to place it on himself but it wasn't just his fault, it was everybody's fault. It was a team effort, we gave up too many big plays and we didn't make enough."

There's been plenty made of the large number of freshmen and sophomores making an impact at UConn this season but seniors Deshon Foxx and Chandler Whitmer aren't allowing their younger teammates to have all the fun.

Foxx has moved around quite a bit during his four seasons as he tries to carve out his niche. He certainly has done that this year as he has become UConn's big-play producer.

Foxx is the only player at the Football Bowl Subdivision level to have his team's longest, run, reception and special-teams return thanks to his 68-yard scoring run against Central Florida, 88-yard TD catch against East Carolina and 72-yard punt return for a score against Stony Brook. He is also the only FBS player with a run, catch and return of at least 60 yards.

Foxx followed up his 120-yard receiving game against East Carolina by running for 102 yards against UCF. Going back to 1970 D.J. Hernandez is the only other Husky with a 100-yard rushing and receiving game. However, Hernandez accomplished the feat in a span of three seasons running for 130 yards in a Nov. 11, 2006 game against Pittsburgh and going for 103 receiving yards in an Oct. 4, 2008 game against North Carolina.

My curiosity got the better of me so I looked up how many players have both a 100-yard rushing and receiving game this season and Foxx is one of nine. Wyoming's Brian Hill actually did it in the same game with 281 rushing yards and 106 receiving yards in Saturday's game against Fresno State. USC's Javorius Allen, Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon, Paul James of Rutgers, California's Daniel Lasco, Elijah McGuire of Louisiana Lafayette, Josh Robinson of Mississippi State and Temple's Jahad Thomas also accomplished the feat.

While Foxx has shown the ability to break loose for huge plays, Whitmer's improvement needs to be measured over the long haul.

Whitmer needs 139 yards against Army tomorrow to become the fifth UConn quarterback with 5,000 career passing yards. However, there are UConn fans who will remember Whitmer more for his propensity for throwing interceptions. Whitmer came into the season having thrown multiple interceptions six times in 16 career games.

It hasn't gotten too much attention but after having nine TD passes and 16 interceptions as a sophomore and having one more pick that TD a season ago, Whitmer has nine touchdown strikes against just four interceptions this season.

He is currently on a streak of 48 passes without an interception, his fourth longest streak while at UConn. In fact he has thrown one interception in his last 95 passing attempts. The numbers show that he is playing at a higher level than even during his previous best interception-free streak even though he did not have his favorite target Geremy Davis on the field for much of that span. Based on what Bob Diaco said on his radio show last night, it doesn't sound like Davis has made much progress in terms of getting his injured ankle ready for game action as he will once again be a game-time decision.

During the 2012 season he threw 79 passes in games against Temple and Syracuse and had another run of 70 passes without an interception during the 2012 season. He opened the 2014 season by throwing 68 passes without an interception (a streak that extends to 72 in a row if you go back to the Buffalo game in 2013). Yet, his passing rating on his current streak is higher than the previous ones thanks in large part to four TD passes on 48 attempts and an average of 14 yards per completion.


79 STRAIGHT (OCT, 13, 2012-OCT. 19, 2012)
Temple   22-39 293 2-0
Syracuse 23-40 296 1-0
               45-79 589 3-0 307.50

72 STRAIGHT (SEPT. 28. 2013-SEPT. 13, 2014)
Buffalo            1-4 -4 0-0
BYU               8-17 113 0-0
Stony Brook 12-27 142 1-0
Boise State   14-24 198 2-0
                     35-72 449 3-0 341.76

70 STRAIGHT (SEPT, 22, 2012-OCT. 6, 2012) W. Michigan   26-41 283 3-0
Buffalo           15-22 227 1-0
Rutgers            4-7    39 0-0
                     45-70 549 4-0 287.37

48 STRAIGHT (OCT. 23, 2014-PRESENT)
E. Carolina       13-23 224 2-0
Central Florida 13-25 142 2-0
                         26-48 366 4-0 353.63

47 STRAIGHT (SEPT. 27, 2014-OCT. 23, 2014)
Temple             8-17 141 1-0
Tulane             17-24 141 0-0
E. Carolina       5-6   79 0-0
                      30-47 361 1-0 268.75

Jhavon Williams and the rest of UConn's young cornerbacks will be tested
for rest of season after loss of senior Byron Jones due to shoulder injury

Anybody who has ever crossed paths with UConn senior cornerback and team captain Byron Jones probably wouldn't be stunned to hear of his selfless actions on Thursday night.

Jones had received the horrible news that a shoulder injury, that has been reported as a torn labrum by NFL Draft analyst Tony Pauline, he suffered on Thursday night ended his UConn career. It would have been easy for the four-year starter whose 38 career starts is the most of any active Huskies to stand in the corner and fell sorry for himself. However. that is not how Jones is wired so he got up, spoke to his teammates and reassured them that he was going to be fine and that they should move forward.

"I knew after the game and I was pretty devastated because he was a leader in the (locker) room but he is also a leader on the field," said redshirt sophomore cornerback John Green, one of the players expected to see a larger role with Jones out for the remainder of the season. "I was pretty devastated, the whole room was devastated, the coaches were devastated. It was a blessing in disguise for Byron, he is going to have a good future.

"He addressed the team, the coaches addressed the team and he is still leading in the meeting room, he hasn't left us."

His teammates were appreciative that Jones stepped up to speak with the team during what had to be an incredibly difficult time for him.

"Byron has done a great job of leading those guys and help bring them along, help them grow and he will continue to do that from the sideline,' UConn senior quarterback Chandler Whitmer said. "He can't necessarily be out there physically with them but I think those kids have learned, have stepped up and will continue to get better each game.

"He is one of our captains and there is a reason. He is a great kid, he is positive and he works hard. It is tough to see but I know he has a bright future and he is excited about that."

Jones' message to the team was to continue to play with the same intensity as he tried to bring to the field.

"Byron definitely is a leader," junior safety Andrew Adams said. "I definitely feel for Byron and we know his UConn career is over. We try to play each game just thinking about him and thinking about what Byron wants us to do. I know Byron wants us to play hard, play 100 percent. We want to give all of our effort because we know if Byron was out there, he'd be giving all the effort. "

As for the other injuries, UConn coach Bob Diaco was expecting senior receiver Geremy Davis to practice today and despite being knocked out of the East Carolina game with an ankle injury, he seems likely to play against Central Florida on Saturday. Diaco also said that tailback Arkeel Newsome is 100 percent and said he suffered a lower-leg ailment while walking around on campus. He said that he did not expect offensive tackle Dalton Gifford to be able to play again this season but was hopeful that reserve safety Ellis Marder could return to the field at some point this season.

Following Jones' injury there obviously had to be some adjustments on the depth chart. Jamar Summers is listed as a starter across from Jhavon Williams while Green and sophomore Javon Hadley (who hasn't played this season after appearing in five games as a true freshman) are fighting it for the nickel corner slot True freshman Brice McAllister makes his first appearance on the depth chart as the primary backup to Williams. The only other change to the depth chart was at tailback. Recently all four players (Arkeel Newsome, Ron Johnson, Max DeLorenzo and Josh Marriner) were listed as the starters but this week is the first time Johnson and Newsome are listed as the co-starters.

It is wise not to read too much into any production during the garbage time portion of football games.

As was the case with Tim Boyle's impressive drive late in the Boise State, Deshon Foxx's impressive work running the read option in the closing minutes of yesterday's loss to Temple was done against second-string defenders and a conservative defensive game plan. Still, with an offense that has done little except to prove it can consistently hand the other team glorious scoring opportunities, perhaps UConn has something new to bring to the table.

Foxx has been quietly seeing some time at quarterback in practice since one final concussion ended Casey Cochran's playing career with the Huskies.

It was the way I thought UConn would end up going because I specifically looked for walk-on Will Rishell, who has been listed as the No. 3 quarterback since Cochran stopped playing, to take some snaps in pregame warmups (we aren't allowed into practice once preseason camp ends) and have yet to see it. I didn't even see Rishell among the Huskies who made the trip to South Florida earlier this month. I speculated that Kamal Abrams, a productive high school quarterback, could be the guy but a couple of weeks ago the word was that Deshon Foxx was the one who would be the Huskies' emergency quarterback moving forward.

When Bob Diaco met with the media the day after announcing that Cochran's playing career was over I asked him if Abrams or another player was being groomed to be an emergency quarterback.

"Not any that I am interested in saying" was Diaco's guarded response.

It wasn't an emergency that resulted in Foxx lining up in the shotgun on UConn's final offensive possession yesterday. He handed off to Ron Johnson on the first three times and five times during a nine-play drive.

For those wondering, Foxx said he played quarterback at Brookville High School in Lynchburg, Virginia although his team operated in a spread offense.

On Saturday Foxx ran the ball three times including a 26-yard effort, the Huskies' longest run since Lyle McCombs rumbled for 38 yards against Southern Methodist on Nov. 16. Likely just to give future opponents something else to have to prepare for, the UConn staff had Foxx throw the ball and he completed a 4-yard pass to Noel Thomas.

"It is the end of the game, you don't want to risk anything happening to your two quarterbacks," Foxx said. "I have been doing it here or there.

Foxx, who did not catch a pass in the game, isn't sure if he will get future opportunities to play quarterback but he does offer the dimension of a running threat at the quarterback position which is something the Huskies haven't had since Scott McCummings was used as the quarterback in the wildcat formation a couple years ago.

"If they feel like it will help the offense," Foxx said. "I know they will do whatever for our team to win they will do whatever they have to do."

Diaco made it clear after the Temple game that not only is Foxx viewed as a potential option at quarterback, but he will not just be a running threat if called upon again in live game action.

"Foxx is a quarterback," Diaco said. "He can throw too, he can throw down the field. He can throw the intermediate (routes), he can throw the ball shallow, he can move with the ball and throw on the run and we have a whole package of plays for him, runs and passes."

A trace of a smile came across Foxx's face when he was asked if he could throw the ball down the field.

"I can do a little something, maybe one day we will see," Foxx said.If nothing else, that final drive enabled UConn to finish a game with more than 100 rushing yards for the first time this season.

Max DeLorenzo ran eight times for 31 yards on the opening drive of the game while freshman Arkeel Newsome took a pass from Whitmer 74 yards for the Huskies' only offensive touchdown and the team's longest offensive play since Shakim Phillips' 75-yard touchdown reception in a Sept. 14, 2013 loss to Maryland.

"That was definitely cool," Foxx said of the former Ansonia High star's first collegiate touchdown. "I was very happy that he was able to get the touchdown especially as a freshman to show what he could do. He got into the open field, he made a couple people miss and he was in the end zone quick. That is another weapon we have.

"He doesn't complain, he doesn't say anything. Whatever you tell him to do, he does it to the best of his ability. I am proud of him and happy to have him on our team."

Before the game when I was on the air with WTIC's Bob Joyce I said that there may not be a series in the country that has as many bizarre happenings as the annual UConn/South Florida tilts.

Well, the game certainly lived up to that statement but not a heck of a lot else.

UConn went almost two entire quarters of play between pass attempts and the Huskies did not complete its first pass until its final drive of the third quarter. Yet, if the Huskies had come up with an onsides kick late in the fourth quarter the Huskies might have walked out of Raymond James Stadium with one of the most unlikely of victories in recent memory. Even after the game UConn coach Bob Diaco almost seemed amazed that the Huskies were in striking range late.

"We have a chance to win the game at the end after all that, we didn't convert a third down (in the game) and we had nine penalties, a turnover sets up a score right at the beginning and we have a chance at the very end to win the game at the very end so there are a lot of encouraging issues so right out of the chute it was 14-0."

I'll have more on this subject in my follow-up story that will be running in Sunday's paper but Diaco said he wanted to limit the negative plays and with UConn constantly backed up within the shadow of its goal line (UConn started five drives within its own 15), he was willing to run conservative dive plays rather than risk a sack or turnover. As a result UConn had eight passing yards in the first three quarters.

ESPN reported that backup quarterback Tim Boyle was unavailable to play but Diaco said that was not the case.

"He could have played," Diaco said. "He is cleared to play. He is hobbled with a lower-leg, I am not going to call it a lower-leg injury but a lower-leg pain but he was cleared for participation but it wouldn't have been prudent to (play him) under those circumstances."

There weren't too many positive but after recording 15 tackles for loss in the first three games, the Huskies had 10 against USF. Marquise Vann, who had a team-high 14 tackles, had 2 1/2 of them and Junior Joseph (who left the game for a bit after a violent collision before coming back) added two stops behind the line. Wilbert Lee had four tackles on punt returns and another on a kickoff return which was as impressive a special-teams effort I have seen in a while for a cover guy. Arkeel Newsome flashed some of his tremendous potential with 22 yards on three carries in the third quarter. He finished with 30 yards on four carries and his 7.5 yard per carry is the most for a Connecticut running back with more than one carry since Lyle McCombs ran 20 times for 164 yards in last year's USF game.

Geremy Davis makes one of his seven catches in 2012 loss to South Florida

There are so many numbers associated with the UConn/South Florida series that simply defy explanation including the fact that the team finishing with the most yards of total offense have LOST the last seven meetings between the teams.

There is another one which truly blows my mind and that is the fact just nine players on UConn's current roster played for the Huskies the last time UConn played at Raymond James Stadium.

Perhaps that wouldn't be so noteworthy if that most recent game at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers occurred four or five years ago but it took place just 22 1/2 months ago.

Five players started for UConn in the 13-6 loss as quarterback Chandler Whitmer threw for 284 yards, receiver Geremy Davis led the Huskies with seven receptions and 98 yards, Gus Cruz started at right guard, Reuben Frank (now a starting linebacker/defensive end) got the start at fullback while cornerback Byron Jones led the Huskies with nine tackles.

Jefferson Ashiru, Brandon Steg (one of 10 Florida natives on this year's UConn team), Julian Campenni and B.J. McBryde also saw time in the game. Six players who saw action in the game could have been members of this year's team but aren't for one reason or another. Defensive end Angelo Pruitt made the difficult decision to give up football due to injury, Shakim Phillips and Ty-Meer Brown are playing their final season of eligibility at Boston College, Lyle McCombs is at Rhode Island, Tebucky Jones plays at Fordham while Scott McCummings isn't playing. Other than Jones' departure, the rest of the moves came after Bob Diaco was hired at UConn.

By comparison, there are 21 players who took part in the game for South Florida who are still on the Bulls' roster (although standout receiver Andre Davis is not expected to play). USF's entire starting offensive line in the 2012 game could all start tonight.

Among the other USF players who played notable roles in the game two years ago are receiver Deonte Welch (team-high five catches in '12 game), tight end Sean Price (three catches for 45 yards), linebackers Tashon Whitehust (eight tackles, sack and fumble recovery), Reshard Cliett (six tackles) and Elkino Watson (interception).

It should be pointed out that South Florida played 52 people in the 2012 game compared to 35 by the Huskies. I don't expect that to be the case tonight. In UConn's most recent game the participation report listed 56 players and that did not include Steve Hashemi, who has been seeing time on the field goal unit while USF also played 56 players per the Bulls' participation report.

Diaco alluded to the fact that he was using the first three games as a developmental period resulting in a large number of players getting into the game. When I asked Diaco whether the playing rotation would be streamlined now that UConn has hit the conference portion of the schedule, he didn't exactly provide too much clarity on his plans.

"This whole year is built like that," Diaco said. "We can't do anything to compromise our development, we can't do anything to compromise our ability to get better. We need to get better as a team, we get better as a team every week, we get better as a team at the end of the season and that has to happen, that will happen but I also don't just want to hit you with coach speak, this is a very important game. This is a conference game and the energy needs to be different today than it has been and that is my expectation that the team is going to grow into that mode to understand they better turn the screw another half crank because four you, for your seniors this is an important moment, your personal goals are out in front of us and what you want to achieve out of the season is still all present so let's see that extra heartbeat."

UCONN RECRUITS SET TO SQUARE OFF
A pair of future Huskies will be going head to head while UConn is playing South Florida.

 John Robinson's Dwight Morrow will travel to meet Ben Hartwick's Mahwah squad.

Dwight Morrow opened the season with a 32-6 win over Cliffside Park while Mahwah's season began with a 48-0 win over Fort Lee.

The schools have enjoyed some barn burners in recent years as Mahwah won 34-28 two years ago and  Mahwah won 21-14 in overtime last season.

FORMER HUSKIES DELIVER
It wasn't too long ago when there was speculation that former UConn defensive back Robert McClain's role as the Atlanta Falcons' nickel corner was in peril. Well, that seems like ancient history now especially after he had a team-high seven tackles in Atlanta's 56-14 win over Tampa Bay.

There weren't many highlights for the Buccaneers but Danny Lansanah not only recorded four solo tackles including one tackle for loss but also returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown.

Casey Cochran, who made the difficult decision to give up his playing career after suffering one too many concussions, wasn't among the UConn players brought into Tuesday's press conference but his teammates had plenty to say about the loss of the team's starting quarterback.

"He's been a guy who has given it 100 percent," UConn senior cornerback Byron Jones said. "We are 100 percent behind his decision. You use it as motivation because anything can be your last play."

Cochran already had the respect of his teammates but seeing the professional manner in which Cochran addressed the team on Monday to make his decision official only made him go up in their estimation.

"It is tough to see a guy up there who has been around football for so long and probably didn't think for one second, this is going to be my last game to go down like that," Jones said. "It is just one of those unfortunate moments, people get inured and don't come back. We will 100 percent support his decision, no doubt about it.

"He is a very high-quality person, a leader and a person who does everything at 100 percent. He is definitely going to be missed with the football team but he is still going to be a part of us in a coaching capacity."

Fellow team captain Marquise Vann echoed Jones' sentiments.

"You just see a very strong person," Vann said. "He was strong with it, very confident. He wasn't crying, he was very excited tat he was going in a new direction with his life. We are all backing him and he is still going to be around. It wasn't a hard time, it was an exciting time for Casey because we saw how great of a man he was, how great of a leader he was so."

Chandler Whitmer is now UConn's No. 1 quarterback, a position he held for the entire 2012 season and first four games last season. He's also had multiple concussions including ones in the final two games of the 2012 season so he knew there was a chance that Cochran may have some tough decisions to make.

"It was a possibility," Whitmer said. "He's had concussions before and that is not something you fool around with. It is tough because you work your whole life, you put everything you have into it to get to this point and play the game and it kind of gets taken from you like that, it is pretty eye opening. It makes you realize that you never know when it could be your last time so enjoy every day, every moment that you get, go out and give it your best effort."

3, one in high school, back in Louisville and Cincinnati games. I remember one of them was after a throw at Louisville, U got hit and bang bang and the other was on a trick play out at Cincinnati, I was lined up at receiver, a double pass.

Trust the staff for their opinions. You can't play scared or think of things like that, you have to play until it is done.

We feel for him but we are excited for his future and he is still around helping us out, being the same guy. He is going to help me out, me and Tim and we are excited about it.

I know they say the most important statistic is the final score but there were some other numbers that are somewhat troubling after UConn picked up its first win of the season.

First, UConn was outgained 109-29 in the fourth quarter and showed the inability to put away Stony Brook . The Huskies ran 10 offensive plays in Stony Brook territory in the second half and yet the only points came on a Deshon Foxx punt return and the ensuing extra point by Bobby Puyol. With plenty of opportunities to put away the FCS team coming off a 13-7 loss to Bryant, the Huskies were left to hold on after a 14-play, 88-yard touchdown-scoring drive brought the Seawolves within three points late in the game. The Seawolves got the ball one last time down three points but four straight incompletions ended any hopes of either forcing overtime or rallying for the improbable victory.

I haven't watched the replay of the game yet but there were so many missed opportunities, throws just a matter of inches from being completed, some costly drops and other throws that were just missed.

Another number to chew on is that UConn attempted 36 running plays (not including a kneel down at the end of the game) and 13 came from Chandler Whitmer. Whitmer, to put it nicely, is not known for his prowess as a runner and even he found it humorous when I asked him the last time he led his team in rushing attempts.

"I don't know, wasn't my plan," Whitmer said with a laugh. "I don't think I've ever done that, it is not my style to be honest but we will look at film and see what we can do."

Whitmer also had a clever response when asked about one of his runs in which he took a huge hit.

"To be honest, that is my old JUCO teammate (Max Martinez) so I was going to give him a little (highlight)," Whitmer joked after the game. "I wanted to put a move on him but I did it a little too late. I have to take care of my body because we are low on QBs."

Yes they are. Casey Cochran was out with a reported concussion and Diaco was not ready to offer an update on his status for next week's game against Boise just yet. Whitmer played the entire game at quarterback and Tim Boyle, who the Huskies would prefer to redshirt, was the only other quarterback to take snaps before the game in 11 on 11 drills.

The good news about Whitmer is he did not take unnecessary sacks or force throws into double coverage which is something he has been known to do. It is obvious that he has been instructed to tuck the ball and go if the protection is breaking down. As for the rest of the running game, Arkeel Newsome and Max DeLorenzo had runs of 22 and 18 yards and the other 21 runs by the tailbacks netted just 13 yards.

Diaco was in no mood to put all of this on the often maligned offensive line.

"You may have your story written already to bash the offensive line, I don't think it is fair," Diaco said. "They had the box packed with all kind of people which created opportunities in the passing game which we exploited some and could have exploited a bunch more. It is feast or famine and you create a situation where the running is very tough sledding. If you go back and watch the tape, you are going to see a lot more points left on the field that didn't go up on the board that we had an opportunity to make and we just didn't make."

The secondary continues to have issues playing the ball when it is in the air. UConn's defensive backs were in good positions most of the time to make plays only to react slowly when the ball is in the air resulting in some completions that simply should not have happened.

The good news is that it is always easier to make corrections coming off a win than following a loss.

As for the positives, the special teams were exactly that. Other than a shanked punt wiped out by a Stony Brook penalty, Justin Wain had a very good game. Bobby Puyol hit a pair of field goals and three touchbacks on five kickoffs. Arkeel Newsome, who moved into a starting role on kickoff returns, continues to look dangerous and Foxx's 72-yard punt return for a TD was a thing of beauty.

The defensive line, even playing without the injured Angelo Pruitt, made their presence felt early and often as defensive linemen had five of the team's nine tackles for loss led by Mikal Myers and Julian Campenni, who combined for 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage..I was also impressed with what I saw from true freshman Luke Carrezola who was out there a ton, especially in the second half and did a solid job maintaining his position against running plays.

Geremy Davis still continues to make tough catches across the middle and also caught a touchdown pass on a sweet pitch and catch from Whitmer, his former roommate.

I also think it is encouraging that despite the heavy substitution pattern, I believe UConn only has two pre-snap penalty in the first two games and I liked how UConn began to get more aggressive in the passing attack as the game wore on and although it resulted in a loss, I liked seeing Arkeel Newsome get the ball on the screen again and would love to see the screen game utilized more moving forward.

As for the injury situation, Diaco said he chose not to bring Josh Marriner back after he was shaken up on a Newsome kickoff return but Marriner could have gone back in and that Pruitt and offensive tackle Andreas Knappe could have played but were held out for precautionary reasons. Knappe, who also missed the season opener, could practice without restriction on Tuesday and could be in line to play for the first time this season when the Huskies host Boise.

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/"

The major news to come out of a Monday press conference that ranges somewhere from the bizarre to the surreal was that Casey Cochran, who led UConn to all of its three wins a season ago, has been named the Huskies' starting quarterback while former starter Chandler Whitmer will be featured in the offensive game plan on a weekly basis.

However, it would be a mistake to downplay the importance of Tim Boyle's role in the quarterback derby at UConn. With all due respect to Cochran and Whitmer, Boyle is the most physically gifted of the trio. It was Boyle who ascended to become UConn's starting quarterback in game No. 5 after Whitmer and the Huskies began the season with four straight losses. When Boyle was pulled in favor of Cochran after he started four games, all UConn losses, I remember hearing rumblings from a pretty reliable source that Boyle was at least pondering his future with the Huskies. A call to his former high school coach (Xavier's Sean Marinan) quelled those rumors.

I've gone on a couple of radio shows to discuss the prospects of the 2014 Huskies and naturally the quarterback situation was a popular topic of conversation. I predicted that either Cochran or Boyle would win the starting job. It wasn't due to any insight I gained from watching practice because I did not see one 11 on 11 or 7 on 7 drill due to the limited amount of practice time the media was allowed to watch but simply that if the quarterback competition was going to as close as I expected it to be, why would Bob Diaco and his staff use this year to develop a senior like Whitmer when they could build the offense around a player with two more seasons of eligibility after this year? The other concern I mentioned was whether one of the sophomores would exit stage right if the other one was named the No. 1 quarterback.

Well, Boyle certainly said all the right things during the press conference.

"I am extremely happy," Boyle said. "I appreciate Coach Diaco and the coaches doing what they are doing with me but my role this year is to help Chandler and Casey prepare for games, continue to push them to improve their games so they can perform on Saturdays. I have my role this year and I am 100 percent willing to do it. I have learned that getting mental reps is a huge part of the development in a football player. I think seeing things in practice and from the sideline and hearing the play call in the headphones, seeing that the defense does to prepare for it is going to help me prepare for it mentally. Like Coach said I am going to be ready to play games this year, it is not like I am going to take a year off. I am going to be studying BYU film in a couple of hours with the quarterbacks and I am going to be ready to go but my job this year is going to be to push these guys to their best levels."

If that proves to be the case, the quarterback situation played out perfectly as UConn will be able to bring back both Cochran and Boyle next season with Boyle having three more seasons of eligibility and Cochran would have two years left. Also, North Carolina State transfer Bryant Shirreffs, who has to sit out this season due to NCAA regulations, would have three seasons remaining while highly-touted high school quarterback Tyler Davis will be in the mix as well.

Here is what Diaco said about Boyle's role.

"With some nagging injuries here and there through this fall camp, it has slowed his competitive portion and with that, he is going to prepare for the games and help the team prepare to win games. We would expect him to go in and perform at a winning level - and we have no doubt he would do that. But, all in all, if we can, we are going to protect him. He is a four-to-play-three (in terms of eligibility), so that will give us an opportunity to create separation in terms of years between he and other guys. If is possible, I say that with great clarity, we will make every effort to do that. If it's not possible, we will not hesitate and he's going to be ready and be diligent in his preparation to get that done."

Some other thoughts and items from yesterday's practice that I didn't get into previous blogs.

First, while it is impressive to hear that both Cochran and Whitmer completed nearly 65 percent of their passes during this competition, I have to wonder what that says about the quality of the pass defense since those numbers occurred in drills against the defense. I have no idea how many of these completions were against the first, second or third team defenses but for every pass completed by the UConn offense, that is one pass not broken up by the defense.

For the second straight practice I was able to attend, true freshmen Ryan Crozier and Trey Rutherford continue to work with the second team offensive line at guard.  Redshirt freshman Thomas Hopkins continued to be the second-string left tackle. Redshirt freshmen Tommy Myers at tight end and Thomas Lucas at receiver continue to look like they will play significant roles while I would be surprised if redshirt freshman Josh Marriner is not the Huskies' leading rusher this season while I have long said that of the true freshmen, I predict tight end Alec Bloom would have the biggest impact early on. Of course Arkeel Newsome, who is the all-time leading rusher in Connecticut high school football history, is a true freshman with an exciting future while every time I looked over to see the offensive drills yesterday I saw fellow true freshman Ron Johnson with the ball tucked under his arm. On the defensive side of the ball, redshirt freshman Foley Fatukasi has been with the second unit at defensive tackle at every practice I have seen while redshirt freshmen Cam Stapleton, Cole Ormsby and Junior Joseph were working with the second team defense at linebacker. It has been reported multiple times that true freshman Jamar Summers is pushing for a major role at cornerback. In other words, there will be plenty of youth on display during the 2014 season.

It was a rather interesting day at UConn to say the least.

The initial impression I got was that no players would be available even though this was the day we were expecting Bob Diaco to announce who is going to be the starting quarterback.

Then came the process of removing the podium from the defensive meeting room inside the Burton Family Football Complex and replacing it with a table. Five chairs were then brought in which made the media wonder if this was going to be the day when the team captains were named. Instead, the chairs were for all four scholarship quarterbacks and Diaco. I've covered my share of competitive quarterback battles but have never seen a coach bring in every scholarship quarterback to announce the starter. It was original, that is for sure.

It didn't take long for Diaco to cut to the chase and announce that redshirt sophomore Casey Cochran was going to be the No. 1 quarterback, senior Chandler Whitmer was going to see time in games and Tim Boyle would likely be redshirted.

Diaco told the quarterbacks of his intentions earlier on Monday before announcing the news to the media early in the evening.

"It is great news and it feels even better to hear it around these guys," Cochran said. "We are working as hard as we can. I am glad that Chandler is going to come in and play as hard as he can, we are going to work together in terms of being able to putting points on the board and winning games this year. I have a different life now, a different lifestyle and it feels amazing."

As Cochran mentioned, the plan is for both Cochran and Whitmer to see action in games. Diaco didn't have a preset scenario where Whitmer, who started 16 games over the previous two seasons, would get a certain amount of plays or get onto the field in particular situations.

In practice Diaco said the repetitions with the starting offense will likely be closer to a 51/49 percent breakdown than the maximum 85/15 allotment of snaps.

Whitmer, who was benched after starting the first four games of the season, has admitted that he lost some of the joy he used to get from playing football and with his degree in hand, he could have walked away from the sport. Instead, one phone conversation with Diaco changed it all. Diaco told Whitmer if he could handle being in a situation where he worked with the scout team and didn't get a snap during games he was welcome to come back. If he was only thinking on returning to be the Huskies' starting quarterback, there would be no need to return.

Whitmer vowed that "I did not come back to be the starting quarterback at UConn."

Diaco raved about Whitmer's maturity.
"Every day since he has repaired, rebuilt and gained back the respect of his teammates," Diaco said. "He didn't have to gain back our respect, he got it through his actions, through his behaviors and through his work."

Whitmer sat at a table with fellow quarterbacks Cochran, Tim Boyle and Bryant Shirreffs and said he is ready for whatever role Diaco, offensive coordinator Mike Cummings and quarterbacks coach Don Patterson has in store for him.

"I wanted to come back, set the record straight and not leave UConn the way things ended last year," Whitmer said. "I wanted to change my attitude. I grew as a man and I credit Coach Diaco for having me come back and just the way he changed this whole group, this environment. He has increased the love and it has made it easy for me to be a better teammate."

Diaco said it was nearly a dead heat between Cochran and Whitmer (Boyle was slowed by what appeared to be a lower body injury as he started today's practice riding a stationary bike.

Cochran led UConn to a season-ending three game winning streak culminating when also threw for a single-game program record 461 yards in the regular-season finale against Memphis.

However, with a new head coach in Diaco, new offensive coordinator in Mike Cummings and new quarterbacks coach in Don Patterson Cochran had to earn the job all over again.

The first step was doing the work in the weight room. Diaco said Cochran weighed in at 247 pounds at one point which predictably did not go over well with the new regime. He worked diligently to get down to under 220 pounds and showed enough during the preseason camp that he was named the team's starting quarterback on Monday.

There's a chance that today is the day when one of the biggest questions surrounding the 2014 UConn football team is answered and the starting quarterback is announced.

It certainly fits the time frame of when UConn coach Bob Diaco said he wanted to have a No. 1 quarterback named but since it is looking as if there will be no players made available to the media after today's practice, we will have to see if the wait will go on for a few more days before the quarterback pecking order is announced.

Just looking at the numbers and you would think that Casey Cochran would be the guy. He threw for more yards, was the only one with more touchdowns than interceptions and had the most completions, attempts and highest quarterback rating. However, it didn't sound like new football coach Bob Diaco, who places a premium of physical fitness, was too pleased when Cochran reportedly was pushing 250 pounds at one point.

Chandler Whitmer has the most experience of the three quarterbacks after starting all 12 games during the 2012 season. He also had the best numbers at the spring game as he completed 19 of 26 passes for a game-high 163 yards and had the only touchdown pass. He was also on the receiving end of three of the four sacks in the game which has been an issue in the past as well.

Tim Boyle is probably the most physically gifted of the three. Unlike Cochran and Whitmer, he has prototypical size (he's listed at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds on UConn's official roster). But he completed just 44.4 percent of his passes a season ago and threw eight interceptions versus no touchdown passes.

Let's look at what each of them brings to the table.

Boyle can make all the throws and while he is not known for his running ability, he does have more of an ability to make plays with his legs than his other two competitors. He had an issue feeling the pass rush during his four-game stint as UConn's starter and the forgettable touchdown to interception ratio was already mentioned. He is also the only one of the three not to have used up his redshirt season meaning that if the UConn coaching staff thinks he has a bright future, which is something Diaco has said in the past, they could use this season as a developmental year. If they believe Boyle is not going to have wandering eyes and look to leave that could be a good move.

Cochran is an outstanding student-athlete as he was a member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic team a season ago and he studies football at a high level as well. He led UConn to three straight wins to end the season including a dominating performance in the season finale when he passed for a program single-game record of 461 yards. The problem is Diaco has said many times that nothing that happened last year - good or bad - will determine playing time this season as his current staff is making evaluations based solely on what they see.

Whitmer provides experience which is something this team doesn't have very much of on the offensive side of the ball. He finished in the top 10 on UConn's single season list in passing yards, attempts and completions during the 2012 season and it is easy to forget that he threw for 349 yards in the loss to Maryland a season ago. He has also shown incredible toughness as he hung in the pocket as long as he could before delivering the ball. He tends to be the biggest risk taker among the three quarterbacks which has led to some big plays but also some costly turnovers. Diaco said he values ball security over any other attribute in his quarterback so if Whitmer gets the call, he must have excelled in that area during camp and Diaco certainly seems to like what Whitmer brings to the table based on what he has said to us. The question I would have is if the quarterback competition is as close as Diaco said it has been, wouldn't it make more sense to go with a younger quarterback like Boyle or Cochran so UConn can benefit from this season's experience rather than hand the keys of the offense to a player on his final season of eligibility? Of course, Diaco has said on multiple occasions that he is planning to use more than one quarterback this season so perhaps that is his way of developing one of the younger quarterbacks while letting Whitmer get the bulk of the work.

In my opinion, I think UConn's ability to win or lose games won't fluctuate regardless of who takes the bulk of snaps and that is why I haven't done a heck of a lot with the quarterback position in my coverage of preseason camp but it is going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out and not just during the season opening BYU game but over the course of the season.

Bob Diaco, with Tim Boyle during the spting game, said
ball security is a top priority for UConn's quarterbacks

Like it or not, the quarterback position is treated just a little bit differently by the media.

When you look at the 2014 UConn team, especially the offensive group, the quarterback position might be the spot where the Huskies are in the best shape as Chandler Whitmer, Tim Boyle and Casey Cochran return after each starting four games last season. The trio combined to throw for 2,810 yards, the highest total for a UConn team since 2009 and 10th highest mark in program history.

There are significantly more questions surrounding the offensive line and tailback positions with inexperienced and untested players being thrust into key roles as well as curiosity surrounding how much of an impact the young receivers and tight ends are going to have this season. Still, as UConn prepares to open preseason camp tomorrow, all eyes - at least outside of the program - will be on the quarterback position.

UConn coach Bob Diaco said that previous performance is irrelevant (the efforts during spring practice under the watch of his staff notwithstanding) and the starting quarterback will be determined by what transpires in the next couple of weeks. He was also quick to shoot down the notion that Cochran, who led the Huskies to all three of its wins a season ago, and Whitmer, who quarterbacked UConn to five wins during the 2012 season, are ahead of Boyle in the quarterback derby.

"I would say that it is not accurate in that we are going to have an open competition for the next two weeks," Diaco said.

He also said he intends to use more than one quarterback during games which is sort of curious since all three have similar skill sets. None of the three will be playing their way onto the field as a result of their running ability so I don't really get the purpose of using more than one quarterback but then again, my opinion doesn't really matter in the process of determining the quarterback pecking order.

What does matter to Diaco is ball security.

A season ago UConn opponents scored 39 offensive touchdowns and exactly 1/3 of those drives began in UConn territory. One of the most frightening statistics associated with the 2013 Huskies is that opponents started 25 drives in UConn territory including seven in the red zone while UConn was given that glorious field position just 12 times inside the 50 and three times inside the 25. Those numbers do not even take into account the six non-offensive touchdowns scored by UConn opponents last season.

"If they don't take care of the ball they are not going to play," Diaco said. "(If they turn it over) in practice, you are not going to see them in the games. If they do it in the game, they are coming out, they are not going back in. You can't turn the football over. I'll hand it to the back 55 times, I am serious and then we will have a chance. If you turn the football over, you have no chance."

Cochran had the highest passing rating (141.7), completion percentage (63.4) and touchdown/interception ratio (11/4) of the trio so heading into camp I would consider him the favorite to earn the starting nod but as Diaco said, nothing is predetermined. In my opinion, however, I would think the odds are stacked against Whitmer. Considering that Boyle and Cochran both have three seasons of eligibility and Whitmer is a senior, I would think that Whitmer would have to be head and shoulders ahead of his competition to earn the starting gig since it would make more sense for the staff to work on developing Boyle and Cochran and there is no better way of doing that than seeing what they can do in game situations. Also, if Cochran is the No. 1 guy, I would be in favor of trying to use this season to redshirt Boyle. UConn burned Boyle's redshirt a season ago somewhat foolishly. When they made the switch from Whitmer to Boyle heading into South Florida game it was known that games against the best three teams in the league (Central Florida, Cincinnati and Louisville) were coming up in rabid succession. They pretty much threw Boyle into the deep end with a month of preseason camp experience and another month of practice work in the regular season under his belt. If they were going to make a move, they could have gone to Cochran then and protected Boyle's redshirt status.

Finally, since we will only be privy to the first 20 minutes of the practices that the media is allowed to attend, we likely will see little if any of the progress the three quarterbacks are making when they lead to first-team offense against the No. 1 defense in 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 situations. What I do know is that Diaco plans on naming a starting quarterback in two weeks when the Huskies break camp.

Stay tuned.

While there's plenty of work yet to be done before UConn opens up the 2014 season against Brigham Young, it is looking like the coaching staff has a pretty good idea who are the building blocks on the offensive line.

At the first practice I attended, the No. 1 line consisted of (from left to right) tackle Richard Levy, guard Kyle Schafenacker, center Alex Mateas, guard Bryan Paull and tackle Dalton Gifford. After nearly a week and a half off due to spring break and more importantly, that much down time for the staff to break down the performance of that line, four of the five players were in the first O-line group sent out at yesterday's practice.

Levy and Gfford remained the left and right tackles and Mateas (who is impressing head coach Bob Diaco with his leadership) was the starting center. Paull moved from right guard to left guard while Tyler Samra moved in at the right guard spot. Again, this is very much subject to change with 10 more spring practices to go before the Apr. 12 spring game.

Gus Cruz, who started five games in each of the last two years at right guard, is still relegated to riding the stationary bike at practice. If he is able to return to the field after seeing his 2013 season cut short due to cardiac issues, it could provide a huge lift to a young offensive line.

Also in the "for what it is worth department" Casey Cochran was the first QB I saw in the offensive reps although the QBs seem to be getting a similar amount of reps and the brief time I was able to watch, I saw plenty of formations with both a fullback and tight end which was a rarity a season ago whether it was Paul Pasqualoni coaching the team or T.J. Weist assuming control of the team. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. UConn has an overflow of talented receivers so if the Huskies opt to use a tailback, fullback and tight end, that means only two receivers can be out on the field. The trio of Geremy Davis, Shakim Phillips and Deshon Foxx figure to be among the best playmakers on the 2014 UConn team so that would mean that either the fullback or tight end position would get fewer snaps if Diaco and offensive coordinator Mike Cummings opts to use more three-receiver sets. Davis has looked rock solid in blocking drills so that could also figure into things down the road when the Huskies determine how to best use their receivers, tight ends and fullbacks as  big receivers like Davis (6-3, 216 pounds) and Phillips (6-3, 206) could help in the running game as well as given the No. 1 quarterback big targets on the outside.

If interim head coach T.J. Weist has made a decision on who is going to be UConn's starting quarterback against Southern Methodist, he is not ready to announce it just yet.

Chandler Whitmer started the first four games of the season but when Weist was named interim coach following the firing of Paul Pasqualoni, he named true freshman Tim Boyle as the starting quarterback. In four games as a starter Boyle has no touchdowns and eight interceptions. Redshirt freshman Casey Cochran came in late in three of those four games and threw touchdown passes in the last two games.

"We are still evaluating it," Weist said on Monday's American Athletic Conference coaches' call. "We put him (Boyle) down as the starter on the depth chart yesterday. At practice yesterday we reevaluated it and will make my decision tomorrow on who I am going to go with."

I asked him if he split first-team reps three ways when UConn hit the practice field yesterday.

"I wouldn’t say that," Weist said. "I will look at things tomorrow and decide who our starting quarterback is going to be and go from there, open up competition a little bit and see how things shake out."

Since UConn normally doesn't practice on Mondays and we meet with Weist before Tuesday's practice, he either has made his decision but doesn't want to announce it until tomorrow or he wants to sleep on things before announcing the QB.

There are no such quarterback issues at SMU. Senior Garrett Gilbert, the American Athletic Conference's reigning offensive player of the week. He leads all AAC quarterbacks and is seventh nationally in passing yards (3037 in eight games). He is averaging 379.6 passing yards per game and only Oregon State's Sean Mannion and Fresno State's Derek Carr average more passing yards per contest.

"It is impressive that he gets the ball to his weapons," Weist said he has some good weapons obviously, three of the best receivers in the league and two of the best receivers in the country so he spreads the ball around and he is very efficient. He has a very strong arm and he is physical."

UConn released its depth chart for Friday's game against Louisville and the most noteworthy change came at quarterback when redshirt freshman Casey Cochran is listed as the No. 2 QB instead of former starter Chandler Whitmer.

Since freshman Tim Boyle replaced Whitmer as the starting quarterback, Cochran is the only other quarterback to see the field for the Huskies. Cochran was 2 for 3 for 11 yards against Cincinnati and was 7 of 11 for 95 yards including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Brian Lemelle in a loss to Central Florida.

Whitmer started the first four games and passed for 896 yards with five touchdown passes and six interceptions.

Obviously I will have more on this tomorrow when we meet up with UConn interim coach T.J. Weist and selected players on the weekly media interview session.

Also, senior Tyler Bullock is listed as the starting right offensive guard but also as the second stringer at left guard, a spot previous held down by freshman Kyle Schafenacker.

Cornerback Taylor Mack is back in the two-deep but listed as the backup to Jhavon Williams.. Linebacker Graham Stewart is also back on the two-deep chart. Like Mack he began the season as a starter before being sidelined by injury.

Also, more than 30,000 tickets are already out for the next two home games against Louisville on Friday and against Rutgers on Nov. 30.

UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist just spent about 45 minutes answering a variety of questions with the local media on a variety of subjects.

Pretty high up on the list was his decision - at the request of the players - to allow music to be played at the beginning of practice to get the team in the right frame of mind.

"I sat down with some of the seniors and team captains  and I wanted to get their input of what changes they think can help us in this transition and can help us to win games," Weist said. "One thing they said is they’d like to have some music. It is kind of a new thing around the country that people are doing and when players see those things, they see other teams with music, they all watch the videos there are videos everywhere of teams practicing and they get excited about it so we added some music early in practice during the (team) stretch just to get the practice started out right. We really don’t want to have music during practice necessarily but just to get them started out. It is my music. It is like the weight room, in the weight room you have different days for the country guys, for the rock and roll guys, rhythm and blues and everything so we started out and I made it easy, it is my music to start and I was going to allow the players to pick out some clean versions of some of the music out there so that is what we’ve got.

"I focused on some of the music that other teams play in stadiums, whether it is Back in Black or Enter the Sandman. I have no idea about some of the latest hits so I let some of the players pick that, I couldn’t name any of them. I try not to go back too far to the 70s. I don’t know how long there are going to let me keep the music going on my terms because they don’t recognize any of it. I want to teach them musicology, I want to teach them the evolution of music. I want to get them motivated for practice so I don’t want to make it a learning session but they appreciate it and I will mix it up every day throw in some country and throw in some rock and roll, throw in some opera, punk and dance music or whatever gets these guys motivated. Heck, half the time I have to make it the instrumental because we have some people out at practice and I can’t hear those words they are saying but the worst part is they play the instrumental (version) and the players sing it anyways."

It might not come as a shock that the most popular topic for discussion centered around the quarterback position with freshman Tim Boyle set to make his first career start on Oct. 12 against South Florida.

.

"He has done a good job," Weist said. "He has shown good maturity in handling the offense, he is handling the scheme and making decisions throwing the ball, handling everything with the run game and all the calls that we have, every day he gets better and every day he is going to have to improve and take steps improving until we get to game time and really find out how much pressure he can handle, instinctually how he can lead this team, drive us down the field and keep drives alive and make smart decisions so that is what we are looking for out of Tim, smart decisions, efficiency, let him play with maturity and handle the offense and he is on his way to doing those things

"We are not married to any player on this roster, a starter, we evaluate them every single game. I would say this for Tim and any young player that we play we are going to be patient, obviously the quarterback position is a different position. If I had to play a true freshman, there has to be some patience, they has to be a period where he makes some mistakes where our last starting quarterback, our last starting wide receiver or our last anybody that a freshman replaced, they are going to make some mistakes and you were patient with the other guy at times so we will be patient with him. I treat him like most of the players and you have to go out there and perform, our goal is to win and you need to do the things to help us win. If he goes out and doesn’t perform the way we want that we are going to keep him in the game and stick with him no matter what. We have to do what is best for the team at any position. We are going to give him time but we have to win."

Weist was quick to point out that many of the interceptions previous starting quarterback Chandler Whitmer threw including the one returned for a touchdown in the loss to Buffalo were not his fault and that Whitmer will see normal reps as the No. 2 quarterback.

He also said he is not planning any changes to the starting offensive line and hopes to have starting right tackle Kevin Friend back for the USF game. Weist said the entire offensive line plays better when Friend is out there.

More on the injury situations. fullback Jazzmar Clax is out there practicing and Weist likes what he sees out of him and receiver Kamal Abrams, who was hurt warming up for the Towson game, has also been back at practice.

When asked about other young players who could see bigger roles now that he is calling the shots, he mentioned freshman wide receivers Brian Lemelle and Dhameer Bradley and offensive guard Tyler Samra, who moves up in the rotation following the suspension of Tyler Bullock.

Bullock was arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence and failed sobriety tests according to the police report. While not mentioning Bullock by name, there was no question who he was referring to when he mentioned "the events that happened yesterday."

"We have a lot of things that are happening around us that we have to deal with obviously with some of the events that happened yesterday and that is part of it," Weist said. "Players have to realize that every decision they make is for the best of the team, they are representing the university, representing the athletic department, the football program, representing every former player who has played here, representing their families and our families as coaches. We are stressing the point that all of their decisions have an impact on this team on and off the field."

Weist said he is still contemplating whether to bring in another coach since UConn is down a pair of coaches right now following the firing of Paul Pasqualoni and George DeLeone but he is not considering pilfering a coach who currently has a job. He complimented the graduate assistants for stepping in and helping with the day to day coaching. He has liked what he has seen in the first three practices.

"It has been a great four days," Weist said. "It has been exciting, I think our players have responded well, we have had three spirited practices. We are getting back to work. There is nothing magic about it, get back to work, refocused on one purpose of this team coming together as a team to win football games and especially to focus on being South Florida, our next (opponent). I think we made good progress and have had good practices."

Paul Pasqualoni had one last parting gift on his way out the door as he let slip that plans were in place to have true freshman Tim Boyle, a member of three state championship teams at Xavier High, start at quarterback beginning with the Oct. 12 game against South Florida.

“We had made that decision last week that would be the direction to go in and we tried to fair about everything there,” former UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said on a teleconference Monday night. “We tried to give Timmy some time to develop, give him some time to be on the road and experience the whole thing before we threw him in there so I think would probably be the way T.J. goes, that was something we were going to do.”

The 6-foot-3 Boyle has been working his way up the depth chart since he arrived on campus in June. He quickly established himself as the best of the three true freshmen quarterbacks signed by the Huskies and was seeing time as the No. 3 quarterback when preseason camp started. After the season-opening loss to Towson, Boyle moved into the No. 2 quarterback behind Chandler Whitmer.

When the Huskies were getting blown out by Buffalo, Pasqualoni opted to put in Casey Cochran rather than put Boyle into a no-win situation in his first road game.

In between the Michigan and Buffalo games Boyle discussed his development as a quarterback since he arrived at UConn.

“I worked really hard in this offseason coming in and trying to pick up the offense,” Boyle said. “(UConn quarterbacks) Coach (Shane) Day, Chandler (Whitmer) and the other quarterbacks have done a great job of helping me. I didn’t want to sit on the bench my whole career at UConn so I really worked at the offense. This being my freshman year I didn’t think I was going to be a factor but I have worked hard and I think it has paid off.”

So where has Boyle made the biggest strides since the start of preseason camp?

“I would say recognizing defenses and making reads, my pre-snap reads seeing defenses and trying to slow down a little bit,” Boyle said. “There is a ton I have to change and become better at but at this point in time what I have become better at since my high school career is seeing defenses, trying to adjust and know where I go with the ball.”

Boyle is aware that he is the most high-profile in-state quarterback recruit to sign with UConn since Shelton Dan Orlovsky, the Huskies’ career leader in total offense, passing attempts, completions and passing yards who is now a quarterback with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Just being an in-state guy I think people rely on me a little bit more than other people but I can tell you one thing just being in the meeting room with Chandler, I know the fans are putting a lot of blame on him but he is a tremendous quarterback,” Boyle said. “I wouldn’t sit here and lie to you; if he was bad I would tell you he is bad. He is a really good quarterback, he is very smart and has a really good work ethic and it comes down to execution so we need to do a better job with that.”

Whenever a team is sitting at 0-3 and sitting near the bottom of the NCAA database in most offensive categories there will be questions surrounding the starting quarterback.

Certainly that was the case today as UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni was asked more questions about Chandler Whitmer than any other player beginning with his take on the interception which led to the tying touchdown in Saturday's loss to Michigan.

"The only issue was that it was a tight window and he thought we could get it over the linebacker’s head," Pasqualoni said. "It is kind of the same exact throw as the last play of the game where he fit it in there. The linebacker just had a little bit more depth and really surprised me that he got up in the air with one hand.

"I’d like to see the approach that Chandler took after Geremy’s catch was replayed and taken back. What happens now? So we make this great play and they rule it is a no catch and in a game like that it is a big play. We come back on the sideline, Chandler had a great look and we are calling the next play. They are replaying it and I am saying ‘let’s get ready for the next play.’ I grab Chandler and say ‘OK Chandler this is what we are going to do.’ He has a great look in his eye and we all know what happened. We got to a third down and he made the play. That type of fire, that type of toughness mentally let’s come back and go after it, I’d like to see that every single series is what I would like to see. He knows it and he is working on it. That is what I would like to see out of any quarterback who plays here, to tell you the truth."

After Pasqualoni said all of that I asked him if Whitmer was playing at a good enough level to remain the No. 1 quarterback.

"Chandler’s playing," Pasqualoni said. "When he gets the ball out on time, he is managing the run game well, he gets the ball off quick. We need to run the ball better, we need to protect better, we need to help him too. It is always the quarterback (getting the credit or blame) but it is the supporting cast that helps too so we have to do a better job all the way around."

After the Michigan game Whitmer gave his thoughts on his performance through the first three games of the season.

"I’ve been happy with my decision making so far but the kids they are going to make plays, you have to be as smart as possible and try to protect the ball," Whitmer said. "I am going to try to improve on that and see where I could have done better."

Late in the third quarter UConn was still within striking range when a pair of plays changed the fortunes of both teams.

The first one was just a bizarre one as Taylor Mack fielded a missed 50-yard field goal in the end zone and after hesitating a bit, he took it out onto the field of play and was stopped at the 10. Just for clarification, I called a supervisor of officials who works at local high school and college games to make sure I understood the rule properly and he informed me that if the field goal was missed and not caught in the end zone then UConn would have gotten the ball at the 33. If Mack had taken a knee, the ball would have been placed at the 20 but instead the drive began at the 10.

UConn actually moved to ball out to the 38 before a hurried Whitmer was intercepted by Dexter McDougle who returned the pick 49 yards for a score.

Let's start with the initial play. Mack was merely following directions when he went down to catch the ball so it is hard to fault him for doing just that.

Here's how Mack described the play following the game.

"Coach told me to go back and catch the ball. I looked up and it was me trying to make a play and help the team. I guess if I would have taken a knee it would have been at the 20 and the offense could have gone somewhere else. I was just trying to make plays.

"If it happens and it goes positive you see it as a good highlight if it doesn’t come out then you are answering these types of questions. It just depends on what happens but everybody wants to make plays so you can’t get by trying to play it safe."

Obviously the play calls are much different for a drive starting at the 10 as opposed to one beginning at the 33 so who knows what would have transpired had the Huskies not tried to run the ball out of the end zone.

Paul Pasqualoni said the blame for the interception should be spread between quarterback Chandler Whitmer, the offensive line and receiver Geremy Davis.

"The film told us that we wanted him to sit in there and he sat in there and the protection broke down," Pasqualoni said on a call with the media earlier today. "It was a combination of three things, a combination of the protection, a combination of Chandler trying to get the ball out of his hands before he got blasted and a combination of the route. I think you can divide that one up."

Dexter McDougle, who returned the interception 49 yards for a touchdown, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury later in the game according to multiple reports coming out of Maryland.