Kamal Abrams, seen celebrating after a touchdown
in the spring game, was deeply impacted by death
of his close friend Rashaad Lewis last month

Even now when he thinks back UConn receiver Kamal Abrams can't believe that his close friend Rashaad Lewis will not be among his circle of friends he hangs out with on future trips back home.

Last month Abrams got word that 20-year-old Lewis was stabbed in an altercation and became the first homicide in Dover, Delaware this year.

Abrams left UConn for a brief period so he could return home for Lewis' funeral.

When he returned, he was still in mourning but rather than wallow in despair, he used the memory of Lewis and the good times the two shared to help him become a better person and better football player.

"I was most definitely ready to come back. I couldn't just give up because of the fight he had for his life," Abrams said. "I admired that and it still sticks with me to this day. I have to continue to fight for my goals and dreams, live through him, not take anything for granted and cherish these moments with my teammates in my college career. I only have two seasons left so I am going to try to make the most of everything I can.

We grew up together, he was a close friend of mine, my dad knew his dad and when I was home, we always hung out. I've always had a close spot in my heart for him so when he passed it really hit me."

Abrams was given permission to take whatever time he needed in order to be there for not only his own family but that of Lewis as well.

"I felt like I did (help Lewis' family) and they helped me a lot," Abrams said. "It was a reality check but for the most part being around family is always a good thing, it kept my spirits high and I am pretty sure I kept their spirits high. The only thing I can do is pray for him and let his family know that he will always hold a special spot in my heart for him.

"This is my first time dealing with stuff like this. I lost grandparents but somebody that so close to my age and somebody I would see when I was home, it was really devastating and to this day I still can't believe that he passed."

KNAPPE PROGRESSING
After missing the season opener due to a lower-leg injury, offensive tackle Andreas Knappe is getting closer to returning to the field for the Huskies.

"He is getting closer," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "He is going to do more in practice, more push and pull kind of activities. Most of his activities up to this point have been mental and has been without resistance so we will add controlled resistance today to his work load."

NEWSOME IMPRESSING

Diaco liked what he saw from former Ansonia High star Arkeel Newsome, the all-time leading rusher in Connecticut high school football history and could see expanded roles for both Newsome and fellow true freshman Ron Johnson.

"They are coming on, I am pleased with that group," Diaco said. "Arkeel played 10 plays, some plays go in as runs and change while they are in the course of the play but Arkeel showed everything we were talking about a few weeks ago. He's got a burst, he hits everything at full speed, he doesn't decelerate to cut or move, he has good vision and he has excellent contact bounce, whether it be inertia or general power to run through tackles. He is an impressive back, he needs to get the ball more and he will."

Diaco said he intends to continue platooning players for the next two weeks and by the time the Huskies open American Athletic Conference play with a game at South Florida that he will settle on a more streamlined substitution pattern on both offense and defense.

Josh Marriner and the other UConn freshmen running backs were
involved in the running and passing game in season-opening loss

While the way quarterbacks Casey Cochran and Chandler Whitmer were utilized in last night's game against BYU continues to be a popular topic of conversation, I was more concerned with who was getting the ball thrown to them.

The first thing that caught my eye is that freshmen running backs Arkeel Newsome, Josh Marriner and Ron Johnson had receptions of 18, 17 and 11 yards respectively. So what you may say but a season ago you would have to go to the 11th game of the season to document three catches of at least 10 yards by the running backs and the 49 receiving yards by the backs tops any number the Huskies put forth a season ago.

"It is an important piece," Diaco said. "As a (former) defensive coordinator and (former) linebacker, those guys are hard to cover."

As for overall targets, I went through last night's tape and here is what I came up with (this includes plays wiped out due to penalty)

Player               Targets     Catches

Geremy Davis     13            7

Deshon Foxx        9            2

Sean McQuillan    6            3

Kamal Abrams     5            3

Noel Thomas       4            2

Dhameer Bradley 4            1

Alec Bloom          2            2

Thomas Lucas      2           0

Ron Johnson        2            1

Jazzmar Clax       1            1

Josh Marriner      1            1

Tommy Myers     1            1

Arkeel Newsome 1           1

Although UConn's tailbacks only combined for 84 yards on 24 carries, Diaco liked what he saw from them. The play calling was slanted more to the pass game (52 to 27 if you count the four sacks as pass plays even though they go down as running plays). Much of that has to do with getting down 14-0 early.

He had good things to say about both true freshmen Arkeel Newsome, who he said uses all of his body mass as a runner as he is at optimal speed when he has the ball in his hands. He said Johnson also impressed him but in a different way. Newsome added a 34-yard kickoff return and he looked like the most explosive of the three players sent back on kickoffs.

Diaco also said that the team came through the game in pretty good shape health wise with nothing but the normal bumps and bruises. He said he was happy with what he heard from the training staff including that offensive tackle Andreas Knappe "is getting better."

It took three days to finish transcribing interviews from about 20 players, head coach Bob Diaco and a handful of assistant coaches at UConn football media day and I thought one of the more intriguing items which I have not seen reported elsewhere is how impressive junior receiver Kamal Abrams was during camp.

There's been plenty of discussion about seniors Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx as well as the group of impressive young receivers brought into the program last year led by Thomas Lucas, Brian Lemelle and Noel Thomas. However, both receivers coach Wayne Lineburg and senior quarterback Chandler Whitmer both raved about what they saw from Abrams even though I didn't specifically ask about Abrams in my interview with either one of them.

"Kamal Abrams who has really stepped his game up this summer" is what Whitmer had to say about Abrams. There will be plenty of people pulling for him considering what happened a season ago. Abrams was also opening eyes during the 2013 preseason camp and seemed ready to make an impact. However, he tweaked something in his knee during pre-game warmups in the season opener against Towson. He didn't get into a game until the Huskies played South Florida in the fifth game of the year.

Another player who I have been hearing more and more about is true freshman Luke Carrezola.

Linebackers coach Vincent Brown said that Carrezola and Vontae Diggs, who are among 10 or so true freshmen who could get into Friday's season opener against BYU "have shown that they have a tremendously bright future ahead of them."

Jefferson Ashiru, whose 58 tackles and eight tackle for losses are the most for any returning UConn linebacker, said "I really like Luke Carrezola, he's very energetic, he wants to get better and is working to get better,"

Speaking of true freshmen, it is very impressive that guards Ryan Crozier and Trey Rutherford were working with the second team offensive line midway through camp and ended camp on the two-deep chart.

"They are two guys who have come out, they have very good ability and they have very good tools," UConn offensive line coach Mike Foley said. "It is a matter of them picking up the offense and knowing what to do, they are both smart guys so they have done very well in camp so I am excited about them. They are going to be very good players when it is all said and done but they have to keep working, get them going and gain that experience."

UConn announced it will have a pep rally on Fairfield Way (across from the Husky statue) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. where Diaco will address the crowd.

Also, for those wanting to get brought up to speed on BYU, the Deseret News has posted some video interviews from BYU players and coaches shot after today's practice.

Also, I was finally able to finish up with all the interviews I needed for a story on the three former walk-ons who were given scholarships towards the end of spring practice. Diaco believes it was one of more important team-bonding moments since he arrived and look for the story on the Register's site later today and in tomorrow's paper.

It has not been the easiest of senior seasons for starting right offensive tackle Kevin Friend.

Friend missed the season opener as he recovered from a concussion suffered in practice. He returned the next week against Maryland but injured his ankle after he was pushed to the ground during the first quarter. He attempted to come back in and play but simply couldn't put enough weight on the ankle to play. He missed the last two games as well. However, on a conference call earlier today interim UConn coach T.J. Weist said Friend has been able to practice all week long.

"Kevin has practiced, basically all week and he looks better in terms of being able to go," Weist said. "We are taking it day by day but he has practiced well."

That would be a major boost for the UConn offense as Friend's replacements (Xavier Hemingway and Dalton Gifford) are still a bit raw and have struggled.

When he met with the media on Tuesday Weist discussed the impact that Friend could have on a struggling offense if he were able to return.

"If your starting tackles are out on either end you’ve got problems. We haven’t had the depth, the quality of depth that we need to step up and take their place. Obviously we need that and we can’t go on the waiver wire to get more guys so yes he is very important for us, any offensive line that has movement, that has guys moving around."

Of the players considered to be questionable, WR Kamal Abrams seems to be the most likely to play against South Florida followed by Friend, CB Taylor Mack and WR Shakim Phillips. Don't expect to see either LB Graham Stewart or DB Andrew Adams out there on Saturday.

Weist said that Phillips practiced yesterday and today will be a key day to see how his tender hamstring feels.

"We’ll see how he feels," Weist said. "Taylor Mack practiced and he is still questionable. He looks a little bit better and we will find out at practice today.  Andrew Adams had a little bit of contact yesterday, he is truly questionable coming off of surgery so he is just starting back into contact from that standpoint. Kamal has practiced and he is almost full go for us and he is ready to go. Stewart is not probable, he hasn’t practiced for us."