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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some quotes I thought people would enjoy reading.

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

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

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

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

There are certain defensive players who just have a knack for being around the ball and UConn junior cornerback Jamar Summers certainly is one of those guys.

Last year his interception return followed by Bobby Puyol's extra point provided the only points for the Huskies in a win over Tulane and he was back at it on Saturday.

Navy was driving and in position to restore its two-touchdown lead in the third quarter when the Navy right guard Evan Martin ran right by 325-pound senior defensive tackle Mikal Myers in order to get to the second level of the UConn defense. Myers, who usually attracts at least one blocker on every play, was more than happy to have a clean shot at Chris High as he got the ball. Sean Marinan and Cam Stapleton quickly converged and the ball popped free from the Navy fullback. Summers failed to corral the ball on his first attempt but finally scooped it up and was credited with an 86-yard return for a touchdown.

"Just make a play, whatever it takes," Summer said after the 28-24 loss to Navy. "Coach calls this team to fight for every inch and it is an opportunity to change the game.

"I thought the play was going to be called dead but I didn't hear a whistle so I took the opportunity, picked it up took it to the house."

I did some checking and Summers is in some pretty select company.

First, it was the longest defensive touchdown by a UConn player since Darius Butler returned a fumble 86 yards for a score against Army back in 2005. It is also tied for the fourth longest defensive touchdown in program history. He is also one of 13 UConn players with more than one career defensive touchdowns. The list includes current NFL players Dwayne Gratz, Byron Jones and Darius Butler, former NFL CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson and former NFL linebacker Scott Lutrus.

When you factor in Summers' 67-yard interception return against Tulane, he joins North Haven's Jeff DeLucia as well as former NFL draft picks Lawrence Wilson and Yawin Smallwood as the only Huskies with two defensive scores of at least 50 yards. He needs one more defensive score to tie the UConn career record set by DeLucia from 1997-99 and matched by Gratz, a current Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back, with a touchdown during the 2009, 2010 and 2012 seasons.

Here is the list of the longest defensive TDs in UConn history
100 Paul Carney fumble vs. Massachusetts 1935
100 Dave Korponai interception vs. Rhode Island 1962
93 Pheno Tombari interception vs. Wesleyan 1928
86 Darius Butler fumble vs. Army 2005
86 Jamar Summers fumble vs. Navy 2016
84 Len Posner interception vs. Coast Guard 1936
80 James Rankin interception vs. Brown 1936
77 Louis Waggoner interception vs. Buffalo 1997
76 Bob Strickland interception vs. Middlebury 1945
74 Jeff DeLucia fumble Buffalo 1997
72 Cliff Hill fumble Buffalo 2001
72 Jeff Thomas interception vs. Boston University  1879
70 Jeff DeLucia fumble vs. UMass 1999
70 Byron Jones interception vs. South Florida 2014
69 Bob Donnelly interception vs.  Rutgers 1940
67 Jamar Summers interception vs. Tulane 11-7-2015
64 Yawin Smallwood fumble vs. Vanderbilt 2011

UConn junior cornerback Jamar Summers was among the players named to the watch list for the Bednarik Award which is presented annually to the nation's best defensive player.

Summers led UConn with eight interceptions and 11 passes defended as a sophomore. He also had 39 tackles for the Huskies.

Summers did not have an interception in the first four games of the season (of course two of those games were against triple option offenses) but had at least one interception in seven of the last nine games. His 67-yard interception return was the only touchdown in a 7-3 win over Tulane, he picked off two passes in a 31-13 win over East Carolina and also had one in the upset of Houston.

Here's a link to the players on the watch lists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards

This kicks off the release of watch lists for most of the awards as the Mackey Award (tight ends) and Rimington Trophy (center) will be announced tomorrow, kickers and punters will get their day with the release of the Groza and Guy watch lists on Thursday and the last of the watch lists released this week will be the Nagurski and Outland lists on Friday.

While no UConn players made it onto either the Associated Press or Football Writers Association of America All-American teams, cornerback Jamar Summers' impressive sophomore season did earn himself a spot on the Pro Football Focus All-American squad.

The PFF site assigns grades by grading film on every play and as I mentioned earlier, they said Summers had the best grade for any cornerback in the nation since week 5. On Monday the PFF All-American team was posted and Summers made it on the second team.

Michigan's Jourdan Lewis and Desmond King of Iowa, the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, were the first team cornerbacks while Summers joined Northwestern's Nick VanHoose on the second team. Summers was not only the only player from the American Athletic Conference to be named to either the first or second team on offense, defense or special teams but he was the only player from the Group of Five programs to be named to either the first or second team on defense.

Summers had seven interceptions, which ties him with Robert Vaughn for the most of any UConn player since the Huskies made the move to FBS. He had at least one interception in six of seven games during one stretch. UConn had a 4-2 record when Summers had an interception and a 2-4 mark when he didn't. Summers also led the team with 10 pass breakups and had 37 tackles.

Foley Fatukasi is part of a talented group of sophomore defenders

I don't recall whether I wrote this or said it to the people silly enough to put me on their radio show but I can recall making the declaration that UConn's defense would only go as far as the talented sophomore class would take it.

Well, all the sophomores did in last week's victory over previously undefeated Houston was to combine for three sacks, an interception, fumble recovery and 14 total tackles in the 20-17 win over the Cougars.

Luke Carrezola had a pair of sacks, Foley Fatukasi had a sack and forced a fumble, Cameron Stapleton recovered a fumble and Jamar Summers came up with the game-clinching interception.

When I asked UConn coach Bob Diaco about it, he merely said it was a case of the seniors on the defense led by captains Julian Campenni, Andrew Adams and Marquise Vann putting them in the right spots and making the proper calls for them to make the key plays. Perhaps that is the case but some credit should be given to these playmakers.

Thankfully I got better responses from Carrezola, who has a team-leading six sacks and 9 1/2 tackles for loss this season and Campenni when I asked them about it after Tuesday's practice.

"That is what we have been doing all season," Carrezola said. "I think we have been growing. All of those guys have been playing fantastic. We all know it doesn't matter where you are on the depth chat, you only have one mission to beat and shut down whoever we play."

There are four sophomore starters on defense and two more listed as backups in the most recent two-deep chart. The number would be even bigger if not for Cole Ormsby suffering a season-ending injury forcing him to miss the last three games.
It is hard to overlook the fact that the sophomores are averaging about four more tackles in the last four games than in the first seven contests. Leading the way is Carrezola and Summers who have four sacks and four interceptions during the current three-game winning streak.

"They have been working real hard and it is nice seeing guys like that really perform because you know you are going to leave the program off in good hands," Campenni said. "I am glad they are exceeding expectations and we knew that was what they could do, we know that was their potential."

It's been six years since a UConn player had five interceptions in a season. This year sophomore cornerback Jamar Summers did it in a month.

Summers, who did not have an interception in his first 11 games, got on the board in the 2014 season finale against SMU. Then after failing to pick off a pass in the first four games this season, he has at least one interception in four of the last five games. How impressive of a run is Summers on? Well, no FBS players had more interceptions in the month of October than Summers' five.

"Whatever it takes the team out to win," said Summers, who had two interceptions in last week's win over East Carolina and narrowly missed a third. "Once you get one, you definitely get the urge and the taste in your mouth for another one."

So what or who does Summers credit for his recent run of interceptions?

"I just have to throw it back and say the receivers on my team help me out," Summer said. "Thomas Lucas, Noel Thomas, Hergy Mayala all those guys help me in my preparation of my game."

NEWSOME WINS GOLDEN HELMET AWARD
Despite rushing for a career-high 179 yards and tallying 244 all-purpose yards, sophomore running back Arkeel Newsome did not win any individual honors from the American Athletic Conference. He did, however, get named the weekly winner of the New England Football Writers' Association's Golden Helmet award.

Newsome's 1,318 all-purpose yards are the most for a UConn player since Lyle McCombs' 1,323 in 2012. Newsome not only leads the Huskies with 591 rushing yards, he is second on the team with 34 receptions and 386 receiving yards.

LEE COULD BE BACK AT QB FOR TULANE
Watching some of last week's Tulane/Memphis game, it was hard not to appreciate the story of quarterback Jordy Joseph, who filled in for an injured Tanner Lee.

Joseph was a walk-on who was intending to be a graduate assistant on the Tulane coaching staff when he was given the opportunity to return as a player. Joseph told Tulane coach Curtis Johnson that he couldn't afford another season as a non-scholarship player and that was when Johnson informed Joseph not to worry since he was coming back as a scholarship player.

It was never in the script for Joseph (with one rushing attempt for minus three yards and one completed pass for one yard to his credit) to be starting for the Green Wave.

Joseph got off to a solid start as Tulane threw a scare into Memphis before finishing 10 of 24 for 131 yards  and running four times for 24 yards, it is sounding like Lee will be back as the starting quarterback for Saturday's game.

Jamar Summers has had plenty of reasons to smile with his recent play

In recent years it has not been a regular occurrence to see UConn players ranked among the national leaders whether it was for a season, a month or even a week.

However, thanks to the www.cfbstats.com site having a variety of breakdowns including a month by month one, I can let you know that UConn sophomores Arkeel Newsome and Jamar Summers ranked first among FBS players in receiving yards for a running back and interceptions respectively during the month of October.

UConn's Arkeel Newsome ranked in the top 10 in five different categories
in month of October and led all FBS running backs in receiving yards

It should be noted that UConn did play five games in the month so that helped give both Newsome and Summers an extra game or two to pile up stats but I thought it was still rather noteworthy.

Newsome led all FBS receivers with 282 receiving yards and his 23 catches were third among running backs during the month.

Newsome was second in all-purpose yards (996) and third in all-purpose yards per game (199.2) while ranking 22nd in yards from scrimmage per game and 10th in total yards from scrimmage. He also was tied for 21st with an average of 28 yards per kickoff return.

Summers had five interceptions which is the most by any FBS player in October and he joined Alabama's Eddie Jackson and Iowa's Desmond King as the only FBS players to average an interception a game during the month.

Summers, who came into the month with one career interception, has an interception total in the month of October that would have been good enough to lead the team every year since Robert Vaughn's seven picks in 2007 although Vaughn did have five interceptions during the 2009 season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cole Ormsby and his fellow sophomores have combined for 71 tackles,
10.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in the first three games of the season

If there is one trend that I have been noticing in UConn's first three games of the season is how much an impact the Huskies are getting from their sophomore class.

I expected tailbacks Ron Johnson and Arkeel Newsome, tight ends Tommy Myers and Alec Bloom and quarterback Bryant Shirreffs to be productive on the offensive side of the ball. But I'm not sure that I was anticipating that of the 13 Huskies to have tackles for loss this season, six of them would be sophomores.

Luke Carrezola and Folorunso Fatukasi lead the way with 4 and 3 TFLs respectively. Cam Stapleton had two stops behind the line, both coming in last week's spirited defensive effort against Missouri. Junior Joseph (UConn's leading tackler), Jamar Summers and Cole Ormsby each had 1/2 of a tackle for a loss.

"It is great to know that we have everybody in our class (is contributing) and we are going to keep building," Stapleton said. "We remember when we came in as freshmen, we weren't playing to now  we are on the field and making plays, it just feels great to know that the people in your class are going to be there in your senior year. Going to class, eating together and we build that brotherhood, she has been so strong and it has definitely kept it together."


My curiosity got the better of me so I did some checking. I simply did not have enough time to go through every FBS team but did look at the teams ranked in the top 25 in total defense and here are the results.

TACKLES BY SOPHOMORE CLASS
(Percentage excludes offensive players and kickers/punters)
North Carolina State     69/123 56.1
Ohio State                     98/209 46.9
Washington                   90/195 46.2
Vanderbilt                     91/199 45.7
Northwestern                79/194 40.7
UConn                          71/177 40.1

TACKLES FOR LOSS BY SOPHOMORE CLASS
(Percentage excludes offensive players and kickers/punters)
 North Carolina State     9.5/17 55.9
Ohio State                     10/20   50.0
Northwestern                 9.5/18 52.8
UConn                         10.5/22 47.7

TOTAL TACKLES FOR LOSS BY SOPHOMORE CLASS
Missouri                      10.5
UConn                         10.5
Boston College            10.0
Ohio State                    10.0

TOTAL SACKS BY SOPHOMORE CLASS
Ohio State                    6.5
UConn                          4.0
Vanderbilt                     4.0

On Luke Carrezola's first play of the season, the sophomore from Langhorne, Pa. dropped into coverage. On his first third down play he did as he was coached and held his position so Villanova quarterback John Robertson couldn't take advantage of his over aggressiveness to scamper for a first down.

However, on the Huskies' second defensive possession, it was time for Carrezola to be unleashed.
With some assistance from blitzing cornerback Jamar Summers, Carrezola stuffed Villanova running back Jarrett McClenton for a four-yard loss. Six plays later he pounced on a fumble caused by Folorunso Fatukasi to bounded towards the sidelines to celebrate with his equally hyped up teammates.

After seeing a promising freshman season cut short by injury, Carrezola had been waiting for this moment. By game's end he had six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries including one resulting in an interception by Andrew Adams in the Huskies' season-opening win.

"I was just so eager to play since it got cut short last season," Carrezola said. "I was so excited for my team and these seniors, I give them everything because that is what they deserve. I got to cut it loose during the game and was able to make plays.

"I have been waiting for that for so long. I have worked very hard to get back. Tonight was a little bit of what I got to show and I think I have a lot more to show and I am excited for the rest of the season."

With Fatukasi recording two sacks, Carrezola and senior Graham Stewart adding one each, the Huskies matched their total for the first four games of the 2014 season. Villanova did graduate two starters off its offensive line and the Wildcats were still working out some of the details from its revamped unit, but the impact of players like Fatukasi and Carrezola was rather evident.

"He works hard, he is unselfish and Luke has a bright future ahead of him," Fatukasi said.

This is going to be an interesting week for the young defensive stars. There won't be much of a chance to rush the passer facing Army's triple-option offense. Last season the Black Knights only attempted three passes in the 35-21 win over UConn at Yankee Stadium. In Friday's loss to Fordham, the two Army quarterbacks attempted 16 passes but that was more of a result of playing from behind which was something Army did not have to do against UConn.

Carrezola will likely be asked to set the edge on the right side of the defense rather than head after the quarterback like he did against Villanova. Meanwhile, Fatukasi will need to sit out the first half after being ejected for fighting late in the Villanova game.

The last couple of the year UConn's defense was spearheaded by the play of grizzled veterans.

However, one look at this year's numbers heading into tonight's American Athletic Conference opener tell a different story. The top five tacklers are players with eligibility remaining at season's end. Taking things one step further, there are seven freshmen who have recorded tackles for the Huskies.

In tonight's game, two freshmen in particular have a chance to shine. Redshirt freshman Cole Ormsby from Windsor has been seeing time at defensive end since Angelo Pruitt has been sidelined. With Pruitt retiring due to his injuries, Ormsby is not only expected to see significant time at defensive end but he is expected to split time with Kenton Adeyemi. The rapid development of true freshman Luke Carrezola is a major reason why Ormsby was able to move to defensive end.

"Last week (Adeyemi and Ormsby) participated at the same rate," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "The outside linebackers, a few of them have a higher threshold of plays and we have three real good ones standing in the line together (ahead of Ormsby). Not that Luke Carrezola has arrived, he is just a true freshman, but he is really going to be an impact player in the future. I have been so impressed with him as a youngster so we want to keep his participation up so when Angelo sustained his lower-leg (injury), it is really nothing sustained, it is something he has genetically but when it got irritated we needed another player there and Cole is the most obvious choice. He works to keep his body size down and now he doesn't need to do that. He is really a big guy, maybe not the tallest guy but he has a real big torso and lower body so he will have a great opportunity to get even bigger than he is right now."

Ormsby recorded a sack in last week's loss to Boise State, one of three the Huskies recorded in the first three games of the season.

"I am excited because I want to prove to everybody that I can do it," Ormsby said during media day. "I am way more prepared with the new coaching staff, Coach (Vincent) Brown, Coach Wolt (Kevin Wolthausen) teaching me everything they know just trying to be disciplined with what they are teaching me.

I am ready for anything. Whatever the team needs me to do. We keep each other in check. I would want somebody telling me if I am messing up or doing bad in practice.

Linebacker Junior Joseph (seven tackles) is the top tackler among the freshmen followed by cornerback Jamar Summers. Ormsby, Fatukasi, Carrezola, Cam Stapleton and Vontae Diggs.

Last year safety Obi Melifonwu finished as the team's second-leading tackler as a redshirt freshman but the next leading tackler among freshmen was wide receiver and special-teams dynamo Noel Thomas.

Junior Joseph had to wait a year before getting into a game at UConn so another couple of series before he was able to make his presence felt was not about to test his patience.

The redshirt freshman reserve linebacker from Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania, in a game being televised live on ESPN, made one of the most memorable defensive plays in UConn's season-opening 35-10 loss to Brigham Young.

The Huskies were also down 21-0 after BYU scored on the previous offensive possession. A first-down completion was about to give BYU the ball in UConn territory yet again and things were about to get ugly. Suddenly Joseph appeared from behind and knocked the ball free from Mitch Mathews. Joseph also came away with his own forced fumble. Six plays and 52 yards later Josh Marriner powered his way into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run and suddenly UConn had a little life.

"I sort of messed up," Joseph said of his signature play. "I let the guy come back inside but I retracted and try to make up for my mistake. I wanted to do something to help the team because at that point we needed something to go our way. I was glad I was able to to that for the team."

Cole Ormsby (No. 57) was one of five UConn freshmen to make a tackle
in Huskies' season-opening 35-10 loss to Brigham Young on Friday

Joseph, who had one solo tackle and three assists and was one of the 17 players to see the field in the opening defensive possession, was one of five freshmen to record tackles for UConn as fellow redshirt freshmen Foley Fatukasi (two solo tackles) and Cameron Stapleton (a share of the Huskies' lone quarterback sack) had moments where they made an impact. Cole Ormsby, also a redshirt freshman, recorded the team's first quarterback hurry while true freshman cornerback Jamar Summers had three tackles.

"I was a little nervous going in but as soon as the first play when I was in," Joseph said. "I was able to settle down and react better to things.

UConn coach Bob Diaco didn't pull any punches when terming the play of the linebackers "performed at a below average to poor level." However, Diaco liked what he saw from Joseph.

"We are pleased," Diaco said. "His participation needs to increase. He has shown a nose for the ball and an aptitude for fitting into the defense. It was not perfect, he has a lot to clean up. We are looking for a Will (weak-side linebacker), (Marquise) Vann needs a backup and that right now is a concern."

Joseph would like to be that player that Diaco could call on to spell Vann, one of the team captains.

"It is a role I have been assigned on the team and whenever a guy needs a break I am glad to fill that role on the team," Joseph said. "It could only be one or two plays in a drive, it doesn't matter I am going to make the best of it."

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.

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.

UConn has a pair of mid-year enrollees who will be able to take part in spring practice as Chris Britton, a linebacker out of Harrisburg, Pa. and Jamar Summers, a cornerback from Orange, N.J. who spent a postgraduate season at Milford Academy are already enrolled.

Both players were recruited by the previous staff but had their enrollments delayed. Britton, who had 125 tackles as a senior at Harrisburg High, chose not to take an postgraduate year while Summers had an outstanding season at Milford Academy and was considered to be one of the Falcons' most consistently effective players by Milford Acdemy coach Bill Chaplick.

"The UConn football team is proud to welcome these two fine young men to our family,” said UConn head football coach Bob Diaco in a statement. “Our veteran players and our coaching staff will immediately begin to help them with the transition to becoming members of the UConn student body and our athletic department’s culture."

I caught up with Summers when Milford Academy played the Yale JV team in West Haven in October. He was the only one of the three UConn players who headed to Milford Academy who honored his commitment following the firing of Paul Pasqualoni and George DeLeone. Offensive tackle Chasz Wright is headed to Penn State while tight end Jordan Fuchs is going to Indiana.

"It has been fun, it has been a new experience in my life, a new chapter in my life being that I didn’t qualify for the scholarship (out of high school)," Summers said back in October. "I got my head right, I got a bunch of guys who are hungry for scholarships who want to go to I-A and I-AA schools.

"I am looking forward to the competition level, the big lights, the different competition level."

I also went to see Summers play as a senior at Orange (N.J.) High the night before UConn played at Rutgers back in 2012. It was there I was able to chat with his brother Alvin Bowen, a fifth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2008 NFL draft who ad an interception and fumble recovery with Calgary of the CFL during the 2013 season.

What was interesting was that Bowen got to know DeLeone when he was being recruited as a high school star but Summers, Bowen and their family remained firm with UConn throughout the process.

UConn already lost one recruit who spent the fall semester at Milford Academy when tight end Jordan Fuchs flipped to Rutgers. With Milford Academy hosting its 25th annual combine recently with a host of Division I coaches coming to the New Berlin, N.Y. campus to check out the Falcons' players, there was some concern that UConn commits Jamar Summers and Chasz Wright could be plucked away by another school.

However, when I spoke to Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick last night he said that both Summers, a cornerback from Orange, N.J., and Wright, an offensive tackle from Woodbridge, Va., are firmly committed to UConn and both intend to be enrolled when the spring semester at UConn begins on Jan. 21.

UConn has to feel fortunate that Fuchs is the only committed player to slip away so far and with the process of naming of head coach heating up, if the Huskies only lose one committed recruit during the months without a full-time head coach that would be an enormous boost to the program.

It should not come as a shock the the frequency of calls to the Milford Academy football office concerning UConn commits Jordan Fuchs, Chasz Wright and Jamar Summers have picked up since UConn cut loose head coach Paul Pasqualoni and offensive line coach George DeLeone.

"As soon as they fired Coach Pasqualoni the phone’s been ringing off the hook, they smell blood," Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick said after a 45-32 loss to the Yale junior varsity team on Sunday. "I feel bad for those guys (Pasqualoni and DeLeone), I like those guys but they never got it going."

Jordan Fuchs' father was cited as a source by multiple recruiting analysts who reported that Fuchs, a tight end who was a Division I recruit in both football and basketball at Christ the King, had decommitted from UConn.

Fuchs, who recently returned to Milford Academy after a few weeks away from the school and football program, chose his words carefully when addressing his college recruitment.

"Coach P (Pasqualoni) sent me here and he is not at UConn anymore so I don’t know what is going to happen with that," Fuchs said. "I like UConn but I don’t know. I know Coach Weist, I like him, he is a good guy and what he is trying to do but there is that possibility that he might not be there and they could bring in a new guy and he could bring in a whole bunch of guys with him so I don’t really know, I am protecting myself and keeping my options open.

"I am just seeing how this plays out because I am kind of a tricky situation."

Summers, a cornerback out of Orange, N.J., is the UConn commit who gave an emphatic "yes" when I asked if he still intends to enroll at UConn in January.

His family has a history with DeLeone as DeLeone tried to recruit Jamar's brother out of high school.

"I was disappointed, those are two guys who looked at me, saw me and evaluated me at their camp, they saw potential in me so I was disappointed," Summers said.

"I am looking forward to the competition level, the big lights, the different competition levels that are going to be coming after me."

Wright, a 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive tackle from Woodbridge, Va., admitted he is opening up his recruitment.

"Coach P is a very nice coach and I have been able to sit down and talk to him 1 on 1, my parents sat down and talked to him," Wright said. "We have had him in our hearts since I committed to UConn but it is nothing that is going to hinder me so I have to keep rolling with the punches

"The door is really open for everything because my mind is not really committed to one school right now but UConn is still at the top of my list, I haven’t put them on the back burner, I still have ties with Coach (Mike) Foley so I am not really learning towards anything right now."

Chaplick said he talks to Foley, UConn's offensive line coach every week and that UConn will take in a Milford Academy game. Since UConn has the week off between the Central Florida and Louisville games, I would expect them to make the trip to see Milford Academy play at the Army JV team on Nov. 3.

The big day, however, comes later in the month as Milford Academy runs what is now called a fall practice but is basically a combine for college coaches the Monday after Thanksgiving. If Fuchs, Summers and Wright perform as well as Chaplick expects them to then it is likely that the interest in them among FBS programs will increase dramatically.

As for the experience of playing at Milford Academy, all three seem to thriving there.

"It has been fun, it has been a new experience in my life, a new chapter in my life being that I didn’t qualify for the scholarship but know I got my head right," Summers said. "I got a bunch of guys who are hungry for scholarships who want to go to I-A and I-AA schools."

Said Wright, "It was a very good experience, especially coming out of high school especially when you think you’ve learned everything in terms of the concept of football and you come here, you are surrounded by a lot of top quality coaches you can learn a lot. I have learned a lot as far as being here as a player, as a student in the classroom, a student of the game and an all-around better man."

Fuchs tells a funny story about his reaction when UConn recruiting coordinator Jon Wholley informed him where he would be headed for prep school.

"They told me in March there was a chance I would come here and also a chance I would come straight (to UConn) in June and they told me at the last minute, I was ready for both. I knew this would be a good situation for me because I could still play without losing any eligibility for college so even if I wanted to redshirt I could so I basically would still have those four years.

"When Coach Wholley told me where I was going, I Googled it and asked him where it was and I re-Googled it five times because I didn’t know where it was. Once I got there it wasn’t that bad and I am still adjusting to that."

On my way to Cincinnati for tomorrow's game I heard from Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick who informed me that UConn commit Jordan Fuchs has returned to school there.

Fuchs, a promising tight end prospect who drew Division I interest in both football and basketball at Christ the King, was a full qualifier but took the postgraduate year at Milford Academy to get a little stronger and benefit from another year of playing football since he only two the sport for two years in high school.

Shortly after Paul Pasqualoni was fired I reached out to Chaplick to try to see if Fuchs and fellow UConn commits Jamar Summers and Chasz Wright were still firmly committed to UConn and that was when he told me Fuchs was no longer enrolled at Milford Academy.

Chaplick has been raving about Wright, an offensive tackle, each time I spoke to him and this morning he couldn't say enough good things about Summers who had two interceptions in the Falcons' last game giving him six this season.

Stats from Milford Academy's second game of the season have been posted.

While there are no numbers to report for offensive tackle Chasz Wright (although Milford Academy did run for 209 yards), the other two UConn commits had impact plays in the 42-20 win over Massachusetts Maritime on Sunday.

Jordan Fuchs, a tight end from Malvern, N.Y., had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown while Jamar Summers, a cornerback from East Orange, N.J., had three tackles including a tackle for a loss.

In two games Fuchs had seven catches for 94 yards while Summers has five total tackles and a fumble recovery.

Wright won't be the only offensive lineman joining the Huskies in 2014 as Timber Creek (N.J.) High's Lamont Bradford committed to UConn.

UConn director of athletics Warde Manuel, a former defensive tackle at Michigan, makes it out to UConn practice whenever he can fit it into his schedule and he has liked what he has seen this summer.

"They are working hard, learning and preparing every day so I am excited with what I see," Manuel said after appearing at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce's August meeting. "I think the student-athletes,  they are all getting tired around this time of practicing against each other and hitting each other but the effort and what the coaches is getting them to learn is all good to see and I am really pleased with what I have seen."

While last year's team was a senior-laden squad, there are quite a few of few freshmen and sophomores in positions to see significant action this season.

"You have to step up," Manuel said. "It is the next player, the next year, the next down and you have to step up and be prepared. I am very excited with what I am seeing. What you hope to see is that talent will take over some of the learning stuff but you still have to learn. There’s no substitute for reps in practice and in games but I am very pleased with what I am seeing and very excited with how we are approaching the season and how everything is coming together."

Manuel is thrilled with the non-conference schedule which kicks off next Thursday against Towson followed by games against Maryland and Michigan before playing the road opener against Buffalo.

"That is the plan," Manuel said. "We don’t go in taking any game lightly and there are some tough opponents who are coming in and that is what our fans want to see but more importantly, that is who our student-athletes want to play against. They want to play against the best and are preparing to do that. Towson is going to be a great start to the season, they had a great season last year and we will move forward with that."

FORK UNION, MILFORD ACADEMY OPEN THIS WEEKEND
In a perfect world Jordan Fuchs, Jamar Summers, Chasz Wright, Jalan Branford and Chris Britton would be up at UConn working alongside the rest of the talented group of true freshmen.

However, there weren't enough scholarship slots for all of them so the plan is for the aforementioned quintet to spend the fall semester at prep schools before enrolling at UConn in January.

The journey begins on Saturday as Fuchs, Summers and Wright are expected to be in uniform when Milford Academy hosts Globe Institute at 4 p.m.

A source close to the situation said that Britton is expected to enroll at Fork Union and the Reading (Pa.) Eagle reported back in June that Branford was heading to Fork Union.

However, in an email to the Register Fork Union postgraduate football coach Col. John Shuman said neither player is currently in camp and therefore won't be playing in Friday's season opener against the Apprentice School.