It's been a long road to get to this point for former UConn offensive lineman Jimmy Bennett but tomorrow at 2 p.m. he can take a major step towards helping his draft status when he suits up for the Medal of Honor Bowl being played in Charleston, S.C.

Bennett started the last 24 games at left tackle for UConn and was in Storrs for six seasons due to a series of injuries. He will wear No. 77 and play for the National Team which is being coached by former NFL head coach Chan Gailey. Don't believe the game is on television up here but according to the game's official site, a radio broadcast is available on Sports Radio 1450 AM

On Wednesday I got UConn offensive line coach Mike Foley's take on Bennett's appearance in the game and his pro prospects.

"I think it great," Foley said. "I have so much respect for Jimmy, here is a guy who came in and was probably the most highly recruited lineman we’ve had since I was here. He was going to start as a redshirt freshman and blows his knee out, misses that whole year. He comes back, gets back into the next year and he is going to start, breaks his thumb in pre-game warm-ups. They cast it up, he is ready to go and on the 25th play gets the other knee. A year later, he gets back, he is still getting through it and is still rehabbing, we get him back on the field and on a Thursday practice he turned and hurt his knee again. It was one thing after another and in the last two years he was able to stay relatively healthy but he couldn’t lift through the (2012) season and had the operation at the end. This is the first year he made it through completely healthy clean and not getting hurt. It says a lot about him and his character to do that. I am real excited for him and see how he does."

Bennett and fellow former UConn offensive lineman Steve Greene is among a group of prospects working out in the Pittsburgh area with the hopes of improving their draft status. Although I haven't heard of Greene being invited to an all-star game yet, Foley thinks he could get a look from the pro scouts.

"I think people are looking at him, he will get a good look," Foley said. "You never know, same with Kevin a lot of people were looking at Kevin after his junior year and he had two concussions, an ankle sprain but all three of those kids are great kids."

Getting the Defensive Player of the Week honor from the American Athletic Conference wasn't the only accolade for UConn junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood.

Smallwood was named the College Football Performance Award's National Defensive Performer of the Week and the Linebacker Performer of the Week after recording eight tackles, scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 59-yard interception with 4:20 left and registering a sack on the final drive in UConn's 28-21 win over Temple. Smallwood went over the 100-tackle mark for the second straight season and more importantly, helped the Huskies snap a 10-game losing streak.

Also, senior defensive end Tim Willman was one of eight defensive linemen given honorable mention recognition after recording two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

In other news, none of the players who missed Saturday's game are listed on the two-deep chart for the Rutgers game although interim coach T.J. Weist said he hopes to have OT Kevin Friend, CB Jhavon Williams and WR John Green back.

Also, Rutgers has made a switch at quarterback as Chas Dodd will start in place of Gary Nova.

This is not how Kevin Friend envisioned his final year at UConn was going to play out.

The veteran offensive tackle has been a mainstay on the line during his sophomore and junior seasons but even before his senior campaign got underway he found himself in the unfamiliar role of reluctant spectator.

Friend suffered a concussion late in preseason camp which forced him to miss the season opener against Towson. Cleared to play against Maryland, Friend made his first start of the season but fell awkwardly to the ground when he was pushed by a Maryland defender. Friend suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter of that game. He came back in for a couple of plays but then missed the rest of that contest as well as the Michigan and Buffalo games.

Finally, Friend was able to start and play the entire game against South Florida. However, he won't be remembered for the crushing blocks which helped to spring Lyle McCombs for a career-high 164 yards or his rock-solid effort in pass protection but his inability to corral the ball on the first quarter strip sack which turned into South Florida's only touchdown of the game.

Still,though all of his trials and tribulations, Friend has maintained a positive attitude.

"It definitely felt good to get back on that field," Friend said. "I haven’t played, I had a couple of snaps against Maryland but that was it. It has been kind of frustrating this season, I haven’t been about to be out on the field with my teammates and contribute in the game. I thought I played pretty well, there are obviously things watching film where I could have done (better) but just getting back into football will help me but overall I think I played a physical game and did a pretty good job."

And what about that fateful play when he failed to jump on the fumble by Tim Boyle

"We don’t really work on hand drills and I wasn’t really expecting it," Friend said. "My gloves, they are not like receivers’ gloves so I went to grab the ball and as soon as I got it in my right hand, somebody pushed me to that side and and I lost it, it popped right out. That was the biggest play of the game. I guess I have to work on (falling) on the ball better

"That play is not something I want to experience ever again, having the ball to where we could at least punt the ball, at least we would have had the ball to punt it if I had gotten it, it did a whole 180 and for them to put points on the board it was kind of heartbreaking."

Friend's consistent presence on the right side has been sorely missed. Xavier Hemingway and Dalton Gifford both had chances to fill in for him but they are both still very raw.

"I thought it was great he was able to get the full game under his belt, it was kind of like a preseason game for him in a sense," UConn offensive line coach Mike Foley said. "He got a concussion during camp, came back during camp finally for the Maryland game. He played eight plays and he is out again with the high-ankle (sprain). He came back, I thought he played a real solid game. There are some things that he is going to continue to work on but he is physical, he is starting to move better. He is a tough kid, he is physically tough and mentally tough. He doesn’t say a heck of a lot, he is a quiet guy but he has really worked hard to make himself a better player.

"He is a guy I remember when he was a redshirt freshman, we had a tackle go down and he had to go in the game against Rutgers. On the road you don't have a lot of guys, he gets hurt and he sprains an ankle and basically the trainer said he is going to be out and he said ‘I am ready to go.’ He went back out there and that just shows you the toughness, he was back on the field when we won the (Big East) championship down at South Florida Mike Ryan was hurt and he couldn’t go, a redshirt freshman and they have some very good people on the defensive line and he didn’t flinch. I have great faith in Kevin and I am happy for him. Hopefully he has gotten over the injury thing and he can move forward because it is a big plus to our offensive line."

It felt just like old times for Friend and the veteran members of the offensive line as Foley was back coaching the line following the firing of offensive line coach George DeLeone. UConn, which came into the game ranking last in the country in rushing yards per game, ran for a season-high 207 yards which is 42 more net rushing yards than the team had in the first four games of the season.

"I think Coach Foley is really emphasizing just being physical," Friend said. "We have schemes where we have a person but if he is not there, just hit somebody, be physical and if you make a mistake do it 100 miles an hour. A lot of times plays are not going to be perfect and if you hit someone, maybe the other guy overran the ball where Lyle can cut it back and make a big play like he did. I really like how we can play physical even if it is the wrong person, you can still turn that play into a positive."

Foley was an incredibly successful offensive line coach under Randy Edsall as the Huskies annually had one of the best rushing offenses in the country every season. However, when Paul Pasqualoni was hired he brought in George DeLeone to run the offense and take over the offensive line coaching duties. Foley moved to work with the tight ends.

In his first game back working with the offensive line Foley said there wasn't too much that he changed. He said there was only a couple of new plays which was brought out because he thought they would be successful against USF.

"There is one new play that we ran that we didn’t run before, a second play in our book that we didn’t run much," Foley said. "It is really an emphasis on what we did because those plays would be good against South Florida and you try to match up the run game.

"I liked the way they responded. I think they all have great respect for Coach DeLeone, it was a tough situation and it probably did help, particularly the older guys I have worked with them before so they had a feel for what I was like as a position coach so it is just the way it is, unfortunately it happened but I think they responded well."

Of course the strip sack is the one play most casual observers will recall from that game. At first glance it looked simply like left tackle was beaten off the edge and was responsible for giving up a defensive touchdown for the second week in a row. Foley said that is not the case.

"We gave up three sacks, I thought we had pretty good protection," Foley said. "The big run, Lyle’s run the receivers did a real good job, the offensive line did a good job and got him to the second level and the receivers did a great job blocking down the field. Protection is the same thing, it takes all 11 guys, the quarterback has to get the ball out of his hands, receivers have to get open, you can’t cut guys free out front, the back if he has a pickup has to make it. To me we gave up three sacks but two real sacks, the one that people wouldn’t think that was a big play and a couple of people had their hands in that one. Jimmy got his depth, turned his shoulders a little bit early, then you look at it and you have a young quarterback he is supposed to be at nine yards and he is at 12 and Jimmy pushes the guy by, that happens but you can’t let that one play take you down. We responded on the next series and Lyle has a big run. It is unfortunate but we have to recover that fumble, we have to chase that guy down and make them line up again."

Finally, Foley did answer a question I had about the offensive line and that is where Paul Nwokeji was when Friend was unable to play. I remember during preseason camp Nwokeji getting some first team reps at right tackle but DeLeone went to Hemingway and Gifford when Friend was unable to play.

"He hurt his elbow and some of that (time with the first and second-team offense) had to do with our depth, he was in the rotation, he is developing as a player right now some of those guys are back," Foley said.

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."

It's looking like cornerback Taylor Mack will be back when UConn hosts South Florida on Saturday. On the weekly American Athletic Conference call interim head coach T.J. Weist said starting right offensive tackle Kevin Friend was able to practice on a limited basis on Sunday and he hopes to get him back as well.

"Friend looks good, he practiced a little the other day," Wesit said. "He is still questionable and once we do get him back, hopefully we get him back for this game, it will solidify that offensive line which is what we need. If you are weak at one spot, it really weakens the whole thing. We’ll see if I can get him out to practice tomorrow, he will still be questionable for us but if I can get him back that would really help our offensive line."

Neither WR Shakim Phillips nor LB Graham Stewart has returned to practice yet and it doesn't sound like Stewart is coming back soon.

"(Shakim) Phillips hasn’t practiced yet, he is still questionable," Weist said. "That hamstring is going on a little longer than we thought. We will take it day by day with him and it would be a bonus if we can get him back.

"He hasn’t been back, he has still been walking around in a boot, we will see if we get him back but I don’t think it is going to be any time soon."

The biggest surprise on the two-deep chart which was released yesterday was seeing Andrew Adams listed as a second-stringer safety. Adams saw plenty of time last season in nickel packages and he was in line to be a starting safety before he injured his shoulder in a blocking drill late in preseason camp. The thought was he would miss about eight games if he was able to come back at all. However. he was out there doing some non-contact drills on Sunday.

"(Adams) is questionable more than anything," Weist said. "He practiced the other day but it was no contact, he was really just getting out there and getting loose. He has come back pretty fast, he has come back pretty strong but he hasn’t really taken that first hit yet. We are not going to depend on him, it would be a bonus if we get him but he did practice some on the non-contact period so we will kind of see and kind of go from there."

So what would Adams' return mean to the secondary which has been pressing freshmen into duty because of injuries.

"It is unbelievable because he is such a good leader and the players respect him," Weist said. "When you’ve got a guy like that who has played a lot of football, the guys back there respect him and he gives you that solid force that you need in the secondary. We have some young guys around him who can so ‘OK, here’s a guy who is going to recognize formations and those things.’ He adds that maturity and experience."

Weist talked about the week in general and it was a week ago today when Paul Pasqualoni was let go as head coach and offensive line George DeLeone was also fired.

"It’s been a tough week for us last week obviously going through some transition, starting out 0-4 and not reaching our expectations," Weist said. "It is always tough to go through change and decide who is going to take over and how they are going to do it. Our players have responded well and they have done a good job from that standpoint. This offseason we had three good practices, we gave our players a little bit of time off. We are looking forward this week to getting back and playing football going up against a good South Florida team that did a good job against Cincinnati. Our guys are excited, it has been tough but our guys are excited to get back to football and really get a fresh start with a different perspective for me as a head coach, our coaching staff and making some changes."

It was also announced that the Oct. 19 game against Cincinnati will start at noon

It's looking more and more like it will be the dreaded "game-time decision" status for UConn's three injured starters.

On a conference call with the media earlier this afternoon, UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said he considers offensive tackle Kevin Friend, wide receiver Shakim Phillips and linebacker Graham Stewart to be questionable which was also how he referred to them on Tuesday.

"We are going to look at them again today," Pasqualoni said. "Kevin is moving around, Shak is moving around, Graham is moving around. As we go out to practice, we are going to look at them today. I would say they are questionable as of this afternoon.

"We have all day Saturday. We have our meetings and all of that so we will get a real good evaluation by Saturday game time."

So if Phillips, who has the most receiving yards through two games as any UConn receiver since 1989, can't do who will replace him?

"John Green will go in," Pasqualoni said, "John did in and did a good job last week. We are working a bunch of people, Dhameer Bradley, Noel Thomas, Thomas Lucas trying to bring him along as well as he is a tall kind of a same type of guy as Shak so we are working those guys and it is just a matter of how much we can get them, how much they can get ready and what they can get ready to do by Saturday."

This is where the departure of Tebucky Jones, coming off a big game in Fordham's win over Temple and Ricky Gutierrez, one of the more impressive receivers during spring ball, hurts the Huskies since the last three receivers Pasqualoni mentioned are true freshmen with Lucas not moving over to offense until late in preseason camp.

If Friend can't go or if hobbled by a high-ankle sprain, Xavier Hemingway and Dalton Gifford are the candidates to step in at right tackle.

"We are optimistic for Kevin but we are working Dalton Gifford and Xavier Hemingway," Pasqualoni said.

Considering how much Hemingway has struggled filling in for Friend in the first two games and Pasqualoni admitting - at least in the Towson game - that he wished he had given him some help I asked Pasqualoni whether it will change the way he utilizes his fullbacks and tight ends in an attempt to keep quarterback Chandler Whitmer protected.

"There are a few things you can do in the protection that can help over there," Pasqualoni said. "It is not always just keeping another guy in, sometimes you can slide the line, you can keep another guy in, you can roll out away from it so we have all of those mechanisms and we are certainly aware of it."

With UConn ready to host Michigan on Saturday night in what could be the most high-profile home game in program history, it seems like a perfect time to look back on UConn's 2010 game to Michigan.

Although he did not start in the game, senior defensive tackle and captain Shamar Stephen made one of his two tackles on UConn’s first defensive series.

“That was the first time I ever played in a game so it was definitely a great experience for me,” Stephen said. “I remember it was a pretty fast tempo, getting into it was a little different and as the game wore on, I adjusted and started making the plays.

“It was definitely nerve wracking at first but once you make that first hit, it all goes away and you are into the game. I was more focused on my assignments. I just didn’t want to mess up in my first game but it was pretty crazy.”

Stephen was one of six current Huskies to play in the 30-10 loss to Michigan in the 2010 season opener. Jesse Joseph started at defensive end and made four tackles, Cole Wagner had a 66-yard punt, Chad Christen averaged 65.3 yards on three kickoffs while Martin Hyppolite and Taylor Mack also played in the game.

Many of the current seniors were on the travel squad for UConn’s lone trip to Michigan Stadium.

“It was a fantastic experience,” UConn senior offensive tackle Kevin Friend said. “I was a redshirt freshman and I have never seen a stadium like that before and just to see it, looking up at it and seeing that it was full it was awesome. Just feeling what the team felt in the locker room and how everyone came together before the game and psyched everybody up. It was an awesome experience.”

Fellow senior offensive lineman Steve Greene also has mostly positive memories of the trip to Michigan.

“I remember it was a big place and we were in the game and we had a chance to win it too,” Greene said.
“It is one of the most famous arenas in college football so obviously it is a great experience.”

Junior receiver Shakim Phillips was pretty confident that his tender hamstring will not keep him out of Saturday's game against No. 15 Michigan while senior offensive tackle Kevin Friend is another of the key players undergoing multiple treatments a day in an attempt to get back on the field.

"I feel good, I am all right. I think I will be (able to play)," said Phillips, who was injured during his 75-yard touchdown reception in the loss to Maryland.."Around like the 20 I felt something. When you are in the game you kind of feel something but there is no way I am going to stop now. I am not going to quit or anything like that so I felt running and tried to push through it. It feels a lot better than it did on Saturday, I am just doing rehab three times a day trying to get to get back as fast as possible.

"It happens and that is just the way the game works. I just have to keep doing treatments and I will be all right. I feel a lot better, I am able to move a lot better. It wasn’t really bad, bad where I couldn’t walk but I did need some help"

If Phillips is frustrated, imagine what Friend is going through. He missed the season-opening loss to Towson due to concussion-like symptoms and was able to get back in the mix only to get knocked out of the game in the first half.

"It is so frustrating," Friend said. "I wish I could be out there because I could help us be better as a team.

"I do what they tell me. I am doing everything I can do to get back and make some plays."

Friend suffered a high-ankle sprain when he was pushed to the ground by a Maryland defender. Friend got up slowly and started to line up when he was pulled from the game. He did return but was pulled from the game again and this time he did not return.

"It was terrible," Friend said. "I was so psyched for the game, the adrenaline is rushing and I was doing pretty good and (it happening) early in the first quarter too I was so frustrated, I felt awful watching my team knowing that they need me out there, It is disappointing, I am a competitor and I want to compete."

UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said he considers Friend, Phillips and starting linebacker Graham Stewart question for the Michigan game.

"They are working hard doing their part for the rehab part," Pasqualoni said. (UConn athletic trainer) Bob Howard is working on them as hard as he can and the kids are working as hard as they can. We’ll have to see how it goes, they are getting a little bit better. They were a little better yesterday and a little better today so we will see how it goes."