A pair of UConn offensive linemen have been signed an undrafted rookie free agents by NFL teams. Just think about that statement for a bit while pondering the well-documented offensive line struggles at UConn in recent years.

Andreas Knappe was signed by the Atlanta Falcons shortly after the NFL draft came to an end. Today came word that after bringing in more than 50 players for tryouts, Richard Levy was one of three tryout players signed as free agents by San Francisco.

Levy was the starting left tackle as a sophomore and junior but with the emergence of redshirt freshman Matthew Peart, he moved to guard as he started all 37 games between 2014-16. I haven't heard whether Levy was playing tackle or guard for the 49ers.

I took over the day to day coverage of UConn football in 2013 and don't recall a rookie offensive lineman being on the 90-man roster of an NFL team during that time. I did some checking and it looks like the last time that happened was in 2012 when Moe Petrus was signed by Tampa Bay and Mike Ryan by Cincinnati.

By my count, 11 players on UConn's 2014 team - a roster that former coach Bob Diaco managed to squeeze one whole win against a Football Bowl Subdivision team - have taken part or will take part in NFL training camps (not including tryouts at rookie camps).

S Andrew Adams: Started 13 games and had 46 tackles as a rookie with New York Giants
DT Kenton Adeyemi: Signed as free agent in 2016 by Chicago and then Cleveland
WR Geremy Davis: Former sixth-round pick by New York Giants had two catches in 10 games in 2016, now on Los Angeles Chargers' roster
WR Deshon Foxx: Current on New York Jets roster, previously with Seattle
CB John Green: Signed as free agent by Tennessee Titans
DB Byron Jones: Starting safety for Dallas Cowboys who had 88 tackles in second NFL season
OT Andreas Knappe: Currently on Atlanta's 90-man roster
OT Richard Levy: Currently on San Francisco's 90-man roster
DL B.J. McBryde: Spent team either on the roster or practice squad with Philadelphia, Green Bay and San Franisco
S Obi Melifonwu: Second-round pick of Oakland Raiders
WR Noel Thomas: Signed as a free agent by Detroit

Also, defensive lineman Mikal Myers (Baltimore), kicker Bobby Puyol (Baltimore) and cornerback Jhavon Williams (New Orleans) got looks in rookie camp as did Reuben Frank with Detroit in 2015 while a talented group of seniors, who were freshmen on the 2014 team, figure to add to that list in 2018.

It's not very often when you click on the list of offensive leaders on the NCAA database and see a player from UConn near the top of the list.

Yet, two weeks into the season Noel Thomas is tied for third among FBS players with 20 receptions. That reception total, if it came at the end of the season, would have ranked in the top five at UConn in six of the last eight seasons. Off the subject, it should be noted that Bryant Shirreffs is third nationally with a completion percentage of 79.6.

As I mentioned in the story I wrote on Thomas for today's Register, there are 96 FBS players with at least 10 catches this season and Thomas is the only one to account for 50 percent of his team's receptions.

It got me to wondering where his numbers through two games would rank in UConn history. According to my research, Thomas broke Mark Didio's record of 16 catches through two games which was set in 1989 and matched two years later. Some of my research came back in 2013 when Shakim Phillips got off to a blistering start so I can't recall if I went back to the pre-Mark Didio days but the only player in the top 10 on UConn's season receiving mark is Keith Hugger, who had 57 receptions during the 1981 season so my apologies if he should be on this list.

Noel Thomas     2016 20-186
Mark Didio         1989 16-283
Mark Didio         1991 16-208
Shakim Phillips  2013 15-255
Alex Davis         1991 14-244       
O'Neil Wilson    2002 14-147
Geremy Davis    2014 13-209
Terence Jeffers   2007 12-121
Carl Bond           1997 11-240
John Fitzsimmons 98  11-203
Keron Henry      2004 11-183
Shaun Feldeisen 2002 11-171
Dak Newton       1996 10-240
Jason Williams   2004 10-200
Geremy Davis    2013 10-154

I certainly do not expect Thomas to end the season averaging 10 catches per game. There were some encouraging signs in the fourth quarter against Navy as sophomore receivers Hergy Mayala and Aaron McLean combined for 80 yards on four catches. I didn't have the space to include Thomas' thoughts on the development of the younger UConn receivers but here's what he said.

"It definitely is big for those guys," Thomas said. "The play Aaron made, I wasn't even on the field so that was a hell of a play by him. Hergy, (five catches) for 68 (yards) I believe, that is his career high and it is just going to get better from here. Aaron had two plays in the game (counting a memorable block) and both were highlights so that is awesome. It is huge because it shows the selflessness to go out there in the game and make a block then to not play until the last drive and come up big, that is awesome to see."

As I mentioned in today's story, Thomas also became the 18th UConn receiver with 100 career catches during the fourth quarter of the loss to Navy but just the sixth to accomplish the feat during the FBS era (Keron Henry and Shaun Feldeisen hit triple digits but played some of their career before UConn made the jump).

RECEPTIONS
239 Mark Didio 88-91
200 Alex Davis 89-92
186 Glenn Antrum 85-88
173 John Fitzsimmons 96-00
165 Geremy Davis 11-14
161 David Dunn 85-87  
159 Brian Kozlowski 89-92
145 Carl Bond 95-98
126 Kashif Moore 08-11
118 Jason Williams 02-05
116 Ryan Griffin 09-12
113 Tory Taylor 95-98
111 Keron Henry 01-04
107 Shaun Feldeisen 00-03
104 Michael Smith 08-10, 12
103 Keith Hugger 79-82
103 Noel Thomas 13-present101 Scott Sweitzer 84-87

Matt Walsh believes the UConn camp, which kicks off on Friday, will not be his last but he plans on practicing like it will be the last organized football he will take part in.

The Madison native and former Hand High star has had an interesting run at UConn. A tackling machine in high school, Walsh began his collegiate career at fullback before moving over the linebacker.

Coming into the 2015 season playing behind leading tackler Marquise Vann, Walsh worked himself into a position to earn starts against Army, Missouri and Navy. Now a senior, there is a sense of finality as this will be his last camp at UConn.

"I want to leave everything on the field," Walsh said at Tuesday's American Athletic Conference football media day in Newport, R.I. "I want to play in a sense where I have no doubt and no regret that this is going to be my last camp. I feel like this is not going to be my last camp because I expect so much out of myself this season that I am going to be able to continue my career and everybody feels the same way on this team."

Walsh and Junior Joseph enter camp as the starting inside linebackers. However, the presence of Florida State transfer E.J. Levenberry will make things interesting as the Huskies have at least inside linebackers worthy of earning starting spots. When Walsh made the move from offense to defense, nobody was more helpful to him than Vann even though eventually it cost the two-year captain playing time. Walsh plans to take a similar team-first philosophy when it comes to helping Levenberry and other teammates reach their potential.

"I have never been the spiteful kind of guy or anything like that," said Walsh, coming off a 47-tackle season. "I always try to be welcoming and I am always going to help out everybody because the best guy is essentially going to play, I am trying to help everybody be the best player along with myself so it doesn't really matter who is playing, I am just excited for everybody to be playing together."

Despite the loss of five starters, Walsh has high expectations for the UConn defense.

"We feel like there is no reason why we can't be the best defense UConn has ever had," Walsh said.
When UConn coach Bob Diaco was asked about the most intriguing position battles, he quickly mentioned the outside linebacker spot previously played by Graham Stewart. Vontae Diggs and Omaine Stephens, who have a combined 28 career tackles at UConn, start camp as the top options at that spot.

"We feel very confident that there are a lot of different guys that can play that position and get the job done," Walsh said. "I am just really excited to see it all come together in camp."

While being invited to AAC media day by Diaco does not mean Walsh (or fellow Newport attendees Andreas Knappe, Obi Melifonwu and Noel Thomas) will be named captains, it does give an indication that they are faces of the program and the type of people Diaco feels comfortable representing the team.

In the last five seasons, the only Connecticut native to be named a team captain is current Dallas Cowboys safety Byron Jones. If Thomas and Walsh both get the call, it would be the first time two in-state products were named team captains since 2010 when Waterford's Zach Hurd and Brookfield's Scott Lutrus received that prestigious honor.

Whether or not he is a captain, Walsh has embraced the role of local football star who thrives at UConn both on and off the field.

"I feel like I had such a big family coming to the University of Connecticut before I even got here just from all the towns around me and all the guys who were able to follow me throughout high school and that support," Walsh said. "When I came to UConn, I almost branched out and make my family so much bigger to where everywhere I go, I feel like I know somebody and I am comfortable talking to everybody."

Diaco mentioned how much Walsh has changed for the better since he arrived. So what has helped Walsh mature as a player and person?

"Dedication and sacrifice, the past two years I kind of put all my eggs in the basket of football," Walsh said. "I am going to give it all I've got to where the investment is going to be something I've never done before so that is why I expect to have great success from it. I've always believed that you get what you put in so that was the philosophy I've embraced over the last few years."

Camp kicks off on Friday with the first media availability coming next week. For seniors like Walsh and Thomas, there is a sense of anticipation as the start of camp quickly approaches.

"You feel the energy in the locker room, everybody is really looking forward to putting pads on and excited to be playing again and making plays together," Walsh said. "That is why we came here for, that is kind of the love of the game that everybody has shown so everybody is excited to get out there."

Thomas is coming off an outstanding season with 54 catches and 719 yards. Dating back to the 2005 season, the only UConn player with more catches and yards in a season is current New York Giants WR Geremy Davis who caught 71 passes for 1,085 yards during the 2013 season.

"I am so ready," Thomas said. "I just want to play football, we have been lifting, running all this time and I want it to change to football."

Thomas is surrounded by a talented but young group of receivers. The 12 receivers on the roster feature seven true or redshirt freshmen, three sophomores, Thomas and fellow senior Brian Lemelle.

"They got their feet wet, they needed that year of experience and they know what to expect now," Thomas said of Tyraiq Beals, Hergy Mayala and Aaron McLean who combined for 35 catches as true freshmen. "They have been working hard and their confidence level is off the (charts) and I am excited to see Brian Lemelle this season too."

Thomas' numbers could have been even more impressive if he had caught a pass in the loss to Marshall in the St. Petersburg Bowl. After the game Thomas took to social media and vowed that would never happen again.

"That was in the heat of the moment," Thomas said. "I am a receiver and nobody wants to have a catchless game but things happen and I am looking forward, I am going to do whatever I can to help the team."

Just in case UConn junior receiver Noel Thomas forgets certain details about his first football-related trip to Florida, the words "no excuses" etched into his right arm usually brings Thomas on a trip down memory lane.

That was the motto of the Norwalk Jaguars used en route to playing in the national championships back in 2004 and it is one of three tattoos Thomas has which serves as a reminder of just how big a role football plays in the life of UConn's leading receiver.
"We had shirts made (saying 'no excuses,'" Thomas said. "Football is everything to me so I felt the need to get that.
He also has a football in the middle of the most noticeable tattoo on his arm and above that are the words "whatever you do, work out from the bottom of your heart" and what I believe in."
Even now 11 years later, the lessons and mottos from the journey to the Pop Warner nationals still sticks with him.
Thomas even recalls the details of the 8-7 loss to Tustin Black Cobras, a game that sent the Black Cobras to the Tomlin Division title game and the Jaguars into a consolation contest.
A 2-yard run gave Norwalk a 7-0 lead. The Jaguars went for the non-kicking conversion which was worth a point. When Tustin scored in the second half, the two points awarded for kicking the PAT was the winning margin.
Thomas rattled off the names of his teammates on that Jaguars team, a squad coached by his father, with no problem at all.

He brings many of those lessons with him to this day. Thomas has emerged as the Huskies' go-to player with 54 catches and 719 receiving yards as a senior. Still, Thomas knows there is a higher level for him to strive for,
"I knew there was room for improvement but I think I am going to a pretty good job but I just want to make sure I finish strong and keep the ball rolling for next year," Thomas said.
If he needs any additional motivation, the aforementioned tattoos tend to do the trick.
"When I feel like I am making excuses and I am going to do that to myself, I look at it and try to push myself," Thomas said.

I've covered my share of football games over the last couple of decades but I can't recall a situation like the one on UConn's first offensive series in Saturday's loss at Temple.

It's not unusual for personnel to be shuffled in and out but UConn used 16 different players on its first three offensive plays. Think about that for a second. The Huskies used the same five offensive linemen while Arkeel Newsome and Noel Thomas were also in there for each of the first three plays meaning that nine different players saw time at the other four positions on the first three offensive snaps.

It started with a normal look with Newsome in at tailback, Trey Rutherford at fullback, Alec Bloom at tight end and receivers Thomas and Tyraiq Beals along with Tim Boyle. Then Rutherford, Boyle and Beals checked out and in came tight end Chris Lee, jack of all trades Garrett Anderson and running back Max DeLorenzo. Anderson, who came to UConn as a quarterback and would see some snaps there during the game, was flanked out at receiver as Thomas was at QB in the wildcat formation. Then Boyle and Beals were back, receiver Hergy Mayala checked in as did linebacker Luke Carrezola, who was used as a fullback and even caught a pass in the game.

"We had two of our best players out, outside of Noel and Arkeel, the starting quarterback and not having him and a great, great player in Tommy Myers, he is a big loss," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "We needed to use a lot of different things to try to create some production and it didn't work."

No it didn't but it did keep us in the press box engaged as we had to keep tabs on who was in and who was out.

The biggest surprise to me was the use of Thomas at quarterback. I didn't see that when I was at Tuesday's practice. I did recall offensive coordinator Frank Verducci summoning Carrezola over to the field that the first-team offense was practicing on so while seeing him in on offense wasn't shocking but was a bit surprising especially on the second offensive play.

UConn picked up nine first downs in the game. Four came on receptions from Thomas, one off a Newsome run, another time Boyle ran for a first down. As the game wore on, Newsome's play count was limited since he was taking a real pounding so Josh Marriner came in and had two catches resulting in first down. So who was responsible for the other first down? Carrezola, of course.

"Since Tommy went down they asked me to do it," Carrezola said. "In practice, I just try to give it my best shot. I just go over there whenever they need me, whenever they call my name. I just wanted to practice as hard as possible and when they call my name, I just come running."

Carrezola drew praise from Diaco and his teammates for how he adjusted to seeing some offensive snaps on offense while playing a key role on defense.

"We were just thinking about a guy who could do the job and not have his defensive role diminished, be able to absorb both and he was the top name to try to do some of that blocking, kick-out stuff," Diaco said. "He had a beautiful catch on third down for a first down. I don't know how much more of that we will utilize moving forward but I was pleased with Luke all week, he is a great teammate."

The highest praise might have come from Boyle.

"Luke is a special kid," Boyle said. "He is going to be a hell of a player down the road, he is right now. I'll be watching him on Sunday one day. He reminds me of J.J. Watt a little bit just his physical attributes and the way he can play fullback, learn the offense in three days and perform as well as he did."

The Temple game was not the first time I saw Thomas play quarterback. I covered the St. Luke's/Hopkins game when Thomas was a senior in 2012. He went 8 of 15 for 110 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception. Thomas added 133 yards on nine carries in a 32-13 St. Luke's win.

On Saturday, Thomas carried the ball for seven yards on the second offensive play.

"I wish it lasted longer," Thomas said of his time at quarterback. "I think I did all right, I was comfortable back there. I definitely had enough reps in practice."

While Myers won't be back for UConn's bowl game, the feeling is that Shirreffs should be able to play by then so that might cut back on Thomas' use at quarterback. Then again, in a bowl game, there is plenty of preparation time and with nothing really riding on the game, teams can be a bit creative in their play calling so stay tuned.

At the first practice the media was allowed to watch during preseason camp one of the first things I noticed was true freshman Tyraiq Beals already seeing some first-team reps in only the sixth practice. While the UConn coaches are wisely protecting the redshirt seasons for some of the other true freshmen who quickly worked their way into the two-deep rotation (offensive tackle Matt Peart, defensive lineman David Ryslik are at the top of the list), there has been no such strategy with Beals.

After catching three passes in each of the last two games, Beals saved his best effort - to date - for Saturday's game against Navy. Beals was targeted eight times (counting the 15-yard screen pass on the opening drive that was credited as a running play although it certainly looked like a forward pass when I watched a replay of the game).

Beals finished with a team-high six catches for 63 yards including a 39-yard touchdown reception, the first of his career. When the 15-yard "run" is added, he grabbed seven of the eight passes thrown his way and the lone exception was a pass a few yards away from him which he had no chance of even getting a finger on.

Just out of curiosity I did some checking and he is the first true freshman to lead UConn in catches in a game since Terence Jeffers and Brad Kanuch were among four players with a team-high two catches in 21-7 win over Army on Oct. 14, 2006. I have to do some more research to see where he fits nationally since Beals just misses being listed among the NCAA's leaders but it looks like he is 11th is catches per game for true freshmen at the FBS level and tied for eighth in overall catches. Taking it one step further, since 2002 no UConn true freshman has more catches or receiving yards through the first four games than Beals.

Here is the list
Player            POS Year      Season     1st 4 games
Terry Caulley RB 2002       25-205-1     9-59-0
Jason Williams WR 2002    23-354-3     9-104-1
Brandon Young WR 2002   22-269-3     6-53-1
Terence Jeffers WR 2006    17-200-2     1-2-0
Brian Lemelle WR 2013      16-177-2     0-0-0
Brandon McLean WR 2004 14-132-2     2-16-0
Brad Kanuch WR 2006       13-288-1      2-68-0
Tyraiq Beals WR 2015        13-132-1  13-132-1Dhameer Bradley WR 2013 13-119-1     2-6-0
Michael Smith WR 2008      12-137-0    5-49-0
Arkeel Newsome RB 2014   11-155-2    2-14-0
Beals was among the players requested to come in for interviews after the Navy game. However, since Bob Diaco's arrival, getting to talk to true freshmen is a hit or miss proposition with more misses than hits. It is kind of like Christmas morning but instead of seeing presents under the tree, you see a true freshman coming in to meet with the media. It happened last season a couple of times with Arkeel Newsome and Ron Johnson and figure at some point we will get to talk to Beals but I'm not sure exactly when that is going to be.

The good news is the others had no problems talking about Beals. There was plenty to talk about especially when he caught a touchdown on the same drive that he was absolutely lit up by Navy LB Daniel Gonzalez.

"He is a talented player and a tough guy," Diaco said. "He is everything you would want him to be as a youngster. He has to get bigger, stronger and faster."

Here's what Newsome, who was targeted a team-high 11 times, said about Beals.

"I was so happy for him. He has a really bright future, he is a really talented kid," Newsome said. "It is not all talent because he is working (hard)."

For those wondering, here is what I came up with for targeted passes (including the Beals "run" and two plays wiped out due to penalty

Arkeel Newsome     11 targets (5 catches for 51 yards)
Noel Thomas             9 targets (5 catches for 78 yards and almost came down with the pass on a flea flicker on first series)
Tyraiq Beals              8 targets (6 catches for 63 yards, TD; 1 run for 15 yards with screen)
Tommy Myers          2 targets  (1 catch for 6 yards, TD)
Alec Bloom              1 target    (1 catch for 11 yards)
Hergy Mayala           1 target    (catch wiped out due to a holding penalty)
Aaron McLean          1 target  (1 catch for 10 yards)
Thomas Lucas           1 target  (no catches)
Max DeLorenzo        1 target (no catches)

We already knew they were would be least one different starter in Saturday's Army game as defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi has been suspended for the first half after being ejected for fighting late in the season-opening win over Villanova. As expected, Mikal Myers worked with the starters for most of Tuesday's and Wednesday's practices.

However, there are a couple of other positions where we could see a change as Dan Oak was in there at center with the first team for the second half of Tuesday's practice and all of Wednesday's practice and Matt Walsh saw the majority of the first-team snaps at the weak-side linebacker spot ahead of two-time captain and last year's leading tackler Marquise Vann at yesterday's practice after seeing lots of time ahead of Vann on Tuesday as well. That was pretty much the reason why I headed up to practice yesterday because I didn't want to overreact from what I saw on Tuesday. But with Oak and Walsh also working as starters on Wednesday, I'd have to think there is a decent chance that is how it will shake out on Saturday.

The situations are different as starting center Brendan Vechery did not practice. Vann was out there and I thought it was interesting that when linebackers coach Vincent Brown summoned the MIKE or middle linebackers, Vann came over along with starter Junior Joseph and Jon Hicks, listed as the second-string MLB on the depth chart. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but if Vann were going to start at WLB, I don't know why he'd be getting time as a reserve middle linebacker unless he was being prepared to serve as an option at the MLB and WLB positions. Vann saw the majority of the snaps at WLB against Villanova but Walsh was usually in there for a snap or two every series. It is obviously a situation which bears watching but not one coming out of nowhere. When UConn coach Bob Diaco was asked about UConn's most competitive positional battles at American Athletic Conference media day, he dropped a bombshell that Walsh is pushing Vann for the starting WLB spot.

"It is going to be great competition for the WILL linebacker between Marquise Vann and Matt Walsh," Diaco said at the time. "Matt Walsh has been a guy to be in the conversation. The best guys are going to play for as long as they can be the best guy, if we are at the same position and the game is 75 plays and you only better than me for 45 of them the art form is identifying that as a coach and bringing you in on the 46th play."

I would have liked to ask head coach Bob Diaco about these developments but I was told he was unavailable. However, Wednesday's practice is the one where the assistant coaches are available so I did speak to offensive coordinator Frank Verducci and defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter.

When I spoke with Poindexter, I addressed the challenge of defending Army's triple-option offense, the advantage of having most of the players back from last year's Army game and what he expects to see out of Myers and the other defensive linemen who will fill in for Fatukasi. Then came time for the question about Walsh. The wording was "Is Walsh the starter now?" just so there would be no room for interpretation. This is not Poindexter's first rodeo and he deftly sidestepped the question.

"We are taking him in and out, Matt is doing a nice job but we have a lot of starters, 14/15 guys that we think we can play in knowing we can only play with 11 but we plug different guys in at different times," Poindexter said.

When Walsh was getting so much time with the starters on Tuesday I thought it might be a case of the converted fullback needing more time against the triple-option offense (run by UConn's "look" team) than a veteran like Vann. Here's what Poindexter had to say about that.

"Obviously this is going to be different being on this side of the ball but he did a great job this week preparing so we have to see what he is going to get done," Poindexter said. "He has done everything we have asked for and probably exceeded our expectations. We had heard he was a great high school linebacker and I think that is his natural position and he is doing a great job."

Poindexter is not the only one impressed by Walsh's rapid development.

"He is getting better week," UConn senior safety Andrew Adams said. "You can tell he is becoming more football savvy and more football intelligent so I just look forward to see him make plays this year. There is no drop off when Matt comes into the game and everybody knows that."

Vechery was in full pads but Oak saw the time not only with the first team but also the second team at yesterday's practice. While Verducci wasn't going to blurt out the reason why Vechery (who drew rave reviews for his play against Villanova from Diaco at Tuesday's press conference) was on the sidelines for the last practice and a half, he did address the issue as much as he could.

"You are going to have guys get a bug or the flu or whatever or bust a chin strap and the philosophy here is literally next man up," Verducci said. "For Danny to come in, it isn't really surprising, it is a credit to him but I am not surprised that he did as well as he did. You would really never have noticed that was the next-man center unless somebody had told you. We functioned very well, we had one bad snap and that was it.

"He is a career center but he hasn't really played here yet at this level. I would be excited for him, if he got a chance to play I would be very happy for him. His strengths are more intangible than tangible. He loves football, he understands the position extremely well, he is completely invested in the program so guys like that, you hope to see him have some success."

I tweeted yesterday that I thought the offense looked as sharp as I have seen it since the record-breaking showing in the 2013 season finale against Memphis, Of course, I saw no practices during the 2014 season, one full practice during spring practice and then this was my sixth practice/scrimmage I attended since the start of preseason camp. With all of that being said, the offense was really clicking. It is not a shocking revelation to report that junior receiver Noel Thomas was in the middle of much of it. He had one catch down the sideline where he thought he got one foot in while the defensive back signaled that he was out of bounds. He asked me if it was a good catch but I was looking at the work being done on the other field at the time. Then he had the play of the day. Bryant Shirreffs groaned when he threw a pass to the left corner of the end zone figuring he overthrew it but Thomas reached up, grabbed the ball and looked like he got both feet in bounds despite very tight coverage. Freshmen receivers Tyraiq Beals and Aaron McLean had strong practices with McLean getting praise from coaches for a block he threw which is rare for any true freshman receiver to block well enough this early in the season to get called out for that in a positive manner.

I thought the offense looked significantly better than it did on Tuesday and I am not alone.

"If you had come yesterday, you wouldn't have felt that way," Verducci said with a laugh, "but today they responded and that was encouraging."

Verducci also had an interesting comment when I mentioned how calm Shirreffs looks in the pocket since that was not what I saw in what little amount of spring practice I was able to see.

"That is part of his growth process," Verducci said. "If you remember back to the spring game, he was super excitable in the spring game. I saw him have two cups of coffee (Thursday) morning and I said 'hey, that's the last thing you need.' But he had control of himself, he was poised and it was great progress on his part."

As for the defense, the first drill I saw was a wrap-up tackling drill which is understandable considering how many tackles UConn missed against Villanova. These days you can't just come in and level your teammates in practice so this was a time for the players to get reminded of the proper form and it seemed to go pretty well. It was fascinating seeing how much more comfortable the defensive players seem when UConn's "look" team did its best to run Army's offense. There was tremendous progress even since Tuesday. There were plenty of tackles behind the line of scrimmage and safety Obi Melifonwu had an interception. Andrew Adams seemingly was everywhere during the practice and I liked what I saw from defensive ends Luke Carrezola, Kenton Adeymi and Cole Ormsby. It looked to me like this was one rather productive practice.

1965 TEAM TO BE HONORED
UConn announced that the 1965 team will be recognized at Saturday's game. It is the first UConn team to beat Yale (the Huskies were 0-16 against the Bulldogs before a season-opening 13-6 win.

UConn finished 3-6 during that season, The players and coaches who make it back will be on field during the first media timeout of the game. Head coach Rick Forzano and assistant coach Dan Sekanovich are among those expected to be in attendance.

It's already been well documented that yesterday's scrimmage was not the best of days for the UConn offense. However, it wasn't all doom and gloom,

There were a couple of connections from quarterback Bryant Shirreffs to Noel Thomas that were something to behold. While the jury is still out whether the offensive line will enable UConn's running game to take off, after watching one practice and yesterday's combination of practice/scrimmage, it is looking like UConn has found its starting quarterback in Shirreffs and No. 1 receiver in Thomas.

The first time the two hooked up was a thing of beauty as Shirreffs threw a sideline out to Thomas who not only made the catch but showed off his athleticism by getting a foot down.

"It was a well placed ball and he placed it only where I could have it," Thomas said. "I just made sure I got the foot down and got the catch. I actually remember the last practice the receivers working on sideline catches, Coach (David) Corley making sure we get a foot down."

Based on the reaction by UConn head coach Bob Diaco and offensive coordinator Frank Verducci, yesterday was not the first time Thomas came up with a key catch.

When I asked Diaco about the lift that early catch by Thomas gave a struggling offense he thanked me multiple times for asking about Thomas.

"This guy has kind of reinvented himself," Diaco said. "He has always been a special talent and now this guy comes with a purpose to work  every day. He is putting the preparation to have a special year, a breakout year I would say. If he continues to work the way he has been working, he will have a special year."

Verducci has also been impressed not only with Thomas' emergence but the amount of work Shirreffs and Thomas have put in together.

"We are looking for Noel to be that kind of player, a guy that when the chips are down, whenever we need to get a jump start 'let's find a way to get the ball to Noel and see what he can do,'" Verducci said. "He has the kind of potential. He has had a great camp. Tremendous. The hard work that they have put in this summer is extremely evident and it shows up the most in the timing aspect where Bryant will hit that third step, boom get the ball out and Noel is out of his break. It is a credit to them, all the work they have done in the offseason to get to that point. Thank goodness it is showing in their productivity."

According to Neill Ostrout of the Manchester Journal Inquirer Shirreffs finished 10 of 18 for 108 yards while the other four quarterbacks were 7 of 17 for 111 yards.

The two completions to Thomas were among the highlights for Shirreffs.

"Noel and I have gotten really close lately, we are together all the time but with Noel I have learned he can make plays," Shirreffs said. "You saw it today, we have been working on that play for a while and it finally paid off."

If you factor in a drop on a perfectly thrown third down pass Shirreffs would have completed more than 60 percent of his passes working against the No. 1 defense, a unit that could very well be a top 25 or 30 ranked squad this season. Still, only managing one offensive touchdown left Shirreffs feeling like there's plenty of work yet to be done.

"We just need to learn from today, see what we didn't do as well and improve on it,' Shirreffs said. "It is the first time we got out here with referees and simulated a game so you are going to have some mistakes. I had some mistakes so you have to go to the film, see what I did wrong and not do it again. It is good to look forward and now that positive things are going to come the more you worry about what is going wrong and looking back, the more you are going to be stagnant.

"What I liked about today is in my group, I don't know about the other groups, but my group nobody really panicked. We had a couple of slow drives in the beginning but then we got things going there at the end."

While some of the freshmen are already making an impact led by Tyraiq Beals, some of the busiest receivers on Saturday were the most experienced ones as junior Brian Lemelle continues to work with the starters and classmate Dhameer Bradley was the most targeted receiver.

With the graduation of Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx, leadership at the receiver position is falling to Thomas, Bradley and Lemelle.

"I feel like me, Dhameer Bradley, Brian Lemelle, we have the most experience at receiver on the team and we are definitely taking ownership and trying to get everybody up to speed," Thomas said. "We have talented young guys so we want them to play so we try to help them out as much as we can because we definitely learned a lot from Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx."

Lemelle showed plenty of promise as a true freshman but seemed to be a little bit of a forgotten guy a season ago. Now he is set to make an impact as a receiver and on special teams as he could see time returning both kickoffs and punts.

"He certainly has a swagger, he plays like it too," Thomas said of Lemelle. "He plays with a chip on his shoulder and he is going to be good."

It is hard not to notice what Beals has been doing in camp.

While much has been made of Diaco targeting tall receivers, in the two practices I have been to it has been the 6-foot Beals, the shortest of the four true freshman scholarship receivers who has been seeing to most time with the first or second teams. He also had a nice catch near the sideline.

"He is a really a special freshman," Verducci said. "He has come in and acclimated really well, great personality, a very smart young man and I am confident he will put himself in the mix to be a contributor."

Beals had one game as a senior at East Orange (N.J.) Campus HS with 16 catches for 218 yards and another with 13 catches for 259 yards and six TDs so he knows something about catching the ball.

"I know Beals made a great play on the sideline today but every single freshman receiver has really thoroughly impressed me," Shirreffs said. "They came in during the summer and worked their tails off with us in the weight room, Coach Balis really gets after up in the weight room and with conditioning. They all handled it like true champions so to have them on the field and involved in the offense is definitely an honor."

Speaking of youth, I find it interesting that four of the five players on the second-team offensive line are guys either in their first or second year with the program as sophomore Steve Hashemi is at one guard, sophomore Trey Rutherford is at a tackle, redshirt freshman Dan Oak is the center and true freshman Matthew Peart is at tackle. The lone veteran is redshirt junior Kyle Bockeloh.

I was surprised not to see Ron Johnson out there more at tailback but perhaps it was just a chance to see how the other three guys look since it looks like Johnson has put himself in position to have a key role this season . Also, I thought the tight ends would be featured more. They were targeted early and often in the 7 on 7 drill right before the start of the scrimmage but not very busy in the passing game once the scrimmage started.

Offensive coordinator Frank Verducci summed up what transpired at today's scrimmage perfectly when he said "it wasn't pretty."

I'm not sure much more should be said so this will go down as shortest blog post of my career.

OK, maybe not.

I wasn't down at field level until the very end when the third and fourth stringers were going head to head but it felt like many of the inexperienced offensive players' eyes were as big as saucers with this being the first Rentschler Field experience in key roles for many of them. It was also the first time in camp that referees were on the field and there were also some NFL scouts in attendance so it was a brave new world for many of them.

Before the first snap there was a false start in the middle of the offensive line where the Huskies are very young. Still, had Dhameer Bradley secured a perfectly-throw pass by Bryant Shirreffs on third down the drive would have continued. An interception by Andrew Adams ended the next drive and later on Tim Boyle's pass bounced off Josh Marriner's hands resulting in a pick 6 by redshirt freshman safety Anthony Watkins. One of the first promising drives was short circuited by back to back delay of game penalties and a sack by Cole Ormsby.

"Any time that happens it is not going to work out." UConn coach Bob Diaco said of setting the tone with a penalty on the first offensive play. "It is hard enough to move the football and get the field flipped, let alone shoot yourself in the foot, the next man in offense comes down the field, makes a high red zone penetration and then penalty, penalty, sack and before they did anything they were on the 42 (after getting to the 23)."

There was some good news.

Shirreffs and Noel Thomas hooked up on a couple of gorgeous connections. The first one was a perfectly throw sideline out (perhaps the toughest throw for a quarterback) with Thomas' ability to secure the football and get one foot down bearing just a passing resemblance to Geremy Davis. True freshman Tyraiq Beals continues to work with the second-team offense (as he did in Wednesday's practice) and he had one impressive catch. He is also in the mix for work as a punt returner. Marriner had a string of solid runs on that aforementioned drive to the 23 before the offense self destructed and Max DeLorenzo had the offense's lone TD in the scrimmage.

Beals, second-string left tackle Matthew Peart, second-string defensive tackle David Ryslik and tight ends Chris Lee and Zordan Holman are among the true freshmen in line to not only play right away but be on the two-deep chart heading into the Villanova game.

Defensively Junior Joseph (more on his in the next day or two) looks ready to become a major factor at middle linebacker, Graham Stewart had a sack and defensive tackles Julian Campenni and Foley Fatukasi wreaked havoc.

With No. 1 holder Blake Feagles no longer a member of the team, quarterbacks Tim Boyle and Garrett Anderson got work as holders on field goal attempts before the start of the scrimmage. The most noteworthy part of that part of practice is how players like Luke Carrezola, Javon Hadley and John Robinson nearly had blocked field goals.

Dhameer Bradley and Deshon Foxx were targeted 17 times against ECU.

Not that UConn fans want to ponder life without Geremy Davis but with the prolific senior receiver being knocked out of Thursday's loss to East Carolina in the first half with an ankle injury opportunity knocked for some of the Huskies' young receivers.

Fellow senior Deshon Foxx did finished with four catches for 120 yards including an 88-yard touchdown (the seventh longest offensive play in UConn history) to become the first Husky with multiple 100-yard receiving games in consecutive seasons since John Fitzsimmons accomplished the feat in the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Still, UConn's freshmen and sophomore skill position players were targeted 12 times in the second half. While these numbers are very unofficial as a handful of pass plays in the official box scores do not list an intended receiver but the East Carolina game marks the first time this season that underclassmen were target more and caught more passes than the junior and senior classes.

Foxx led the team with nine targets against the Pirates but sophomore Dhameer Bradley was targeted eight times (one more target than he saw in the first four games combined), sophomore Noel Thomas matched his season high with four targets. Freshman Thomas Lucas was targeted a season high three times (as was freshman tailback Josh Marriner) while sophomore Brian Lemelle was targeting for just the third time this season.

Thomas, Lemelle, Lucas, Marriner and freshman tailback Arkeel Newsome combined for 10 catches on 12 targets. Lucas' two catches went for 43 and 37 yards as he became the first UConn player with two catches of at least 35 yards in the same game since Nick Williams had catches of 49 and 64 yards against Buffalo on Sept. 24, 2011.

"They are going to continue to play more and more," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "They now collectively need to grow up and mature, mature with how they prepare, prepare all week, prepare on the practice field, prepare in the meetings, prepare in their volunteer time and what (time) they spend studying, we just need to take that next step. They are passionate about (football). Here's what you've got, you have four guys, all four of them, they love to compete, they are passionate about football. They like to play football, love to play football. You would like to say that is inherent for everyone, it is not. Those four guys definitely are that way and they are talented. Now what we have to do is hone in on the professionalism as far as what it takes to become a productive player and how to become a good to great player."

Here is my unofficial tally of targets and catches this season broken down by class
                Seniors    Juniors   Soph.   FreshmenBYU          22 9-104  10 5-51  9 4-36  8 6-72
SBROOK  16 7-119    9 3-22  1 1-5    1 1--4
BOISE       16 9-154    4 3-27  8 3-7    8 7-54
USF             5 3-62      1 0-0    2 2-18  1  0-0
TEMPLE   12 8-80      3 1-5    8 3-12  5 2-77
TULANE  14 10-88     1 0-0    6 4-26  3 3-27
ECU           11 5-125    1 1-4  13 7-87  7 6-96
Here is the breakdown by position (not including the passes thrown away due to quarterback hurries since the box scores don't list official receivers and this week's interception which was tipped at the line of scrimmage)

Player                Targets  Catches Yards
Geremy Davis     58          34       436
Deshon Foxx       38         17       296
Dhameer Bradley 25         11        70
Sean McQuillan   16          8         69
Noel Thomas       14          8          97
Kamal Abrams    12          5          43
Thomas Lucas     12          7        115
Arkeel Newsome  9           8        117
Josh Marriner        6           5         35
Jazzmar Clax        4           3         12
Alec Bloom          3           3         40
Brian Lemelle       3           3        13
Ron Johnson         3           1        11
Max DeLorenzo    1           1        17
Tommy Myers      1           1          3
Matt Walsh           1           0          0
A couple of thoughts on the breakdown of targets. First, tight ends and fullbacks were targeted 19 times in the first three games and just six times since. Those numbers are a direct result of the pass protection issues as UConn has needed to keep in additional players to block just to throw the ball. Dhameer Bradley seemed almost like a forgotten piece of  passing offense earlier this season but his 18 targets over the last three games is second only to Davis during that span.

Staying on the subject of receivers, some future Huskies displayed the gift of grab as well over the weekend.

Tyraiq Beals had eight catches for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns in East Orange's 29-21 win over Bloomfield. It was his fourth game with at least two touchdown catches this season and in six games he has 62 catches for 1060 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Also, John Robinson IV caught three passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in Dwight Morrow's 23-20 win over Dumont. It was his fourth TD reception in the last five games while Nazir Williams (4 catches for 78 yards) and Chris Lee (3 catches for 27 yards) also had multiple-catch games.

Casey Cochran was one of 13 state products to play in UConn's opener

As I mentioned in the days leading up to Friday's season opener, there was going to be a chance for local products to shine at Rentschler Field.

I went back through the online box scores dating back to 2006 to see how many Connecticut players took part in the season opener. I would have gone back further but the 2005 box did not include a player participation list and this is just the third time that at least 10 Connecticut natives played in the Huskies' opener as 10 players saw snaps in 2008 and 2006. 

According to the participation chart, 13 Connecticut players got into the game

Here is the breakdown

DT Kenton Adeyemi (Wethersfield): Had three tackles

QB Casey Cochran (Monroe): Started and was 17 of 31 passing for 171 yards with an interception

TB Max DeLorenzo (Berlin): Started and finished with a team-high 38 rushing yards

DB Chris DeBerry (Torrington): Saw time on special teams

CB Byron Jones (New Britain): Started and had five tackles

DL Sean Marinan (Higganum): Saw time on special teams

TE Sean McQuillan (Glastonbury): Started and had 33 yards on three receptions

TE Tommy Myers (Coventry): Had a three-yard catch

TB Arkeel Newsome (Ansonia): Ran three times for 10 yards, caught an 18-yard pass and had 49 yards on kickoff returns

LB/DE Cole Ormsby (Windsor): Had a solo tackle

LB Graham Stewart (Durham): Started, tied for the team lead with 11 tackles and forced a fumble

WR Noel Thomas (Norwalk): Had two catches for 18 yards and made a special-teams tackle

FB Matt Walsh (Madison): Saw time at fullback and the field goal, extra point, kickoff return, punt return and punt coverage teams as he recorded one tackle.

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."

Former St. Luke's star Noel Thomas is one of 11 Connecticut natives
on UConn football team's two-deep chart which was released on Thursday

A quick look at UConn's two-deep chart and there are no lack of local boy makes good stories out there.

The emergence of Casey Cochran as the No. 1 quarterback, Max DeLorenzo as potentially being the top running option, Sean McQuillan the top guy at tight end, Graham Stewart primed for a big season at linebacker and Byron Jones being named as a team captain and emerging as an NFL prospect at cornerback have been reported on in the past and they will continue to dominate the headlines. However, there are some other state natives flying a bit under the radar.

Defensively, Windsor's Cole Ormsby is pushing for quality playing time at the hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end position. Ormsby learned his lessons well a season ago when he knew he was going to be redshirted.

"I worked as hard as I could and tried to be ready," Ormsby said. "I am ready for anything and whatever the team needs me to do.

"I am excited because I want to prove to everybody that I can do it. I am way more prepared with the new coaching staff,"

Well, he is ready to go now. While UConn coach Bob Diaco said Ormsby has the flexibility to be an asset either on the outside or inside, Ormsby said he has worked almost exclusively on the outside.

Moving over to the offense, tight end Tommy Myers has been a fixture at UConn sporting events as long as he can remember since his father Norman played for the UConn football team in the early 1980s and his mother Peggy was one of the stars of Hall of Fame Geno Auriemma's first women's basketball teams at UConn.

Like Ormsby, Myers was redshirted a season ago but is now No. 2 at tight end.

If there is such a thing as a player born to play football at UConn, Myers could certainly fit the bill.

"I remember coming to these games when they were at Memorial Stadium and just always wanted to play UConn football and it feels natural," Myers said. "I kind of fell into the position of tight end because growing up I always wanted to play quarterback or receiver like everybody does but I think I fell into the tight end spot just by size and ability."

He displayed some of that ability in the spring game when he one of four players to catch at least four passes. Noel Thomas was also on the list of prolific pass catches in the game. As a freshman he was best known as a gunner on the punt coverage teams as he displayed a knack for downing Cole Wagner punts inside the 5.

Diaco said Thomas has made tremendous growth as a player and a person in the last several months and he has put himself into the rotation at receiver.

"I just want to help the team win and anything I can do in a positive way," Thomas said.

So what has Thomas been doing to get ready for his sophomore season?

"I've been running a lot, working out with Coach (Matt) Balis (UConn's strength and conditioning coach, he is an amazing guy, and I just want to make sure I catch everything that is thrown to me."

There are 11 state natives on UConn's two deep chart while others like Tim Boyle, Arkeel Newsome, Steve Hashemi aren't on the two-deep but could see action this season. Here is the list of Nutmeg State natives on the depth chart

Kenton Adeyemi (Wethersfield), No. 2 defensive tackle
Chase Briley (Hartford), No. 2 kicker and No. 2 punter
Casey Cochran (Monroe), starting quarterback
Max DeLorenzo (Berlin), starting tailback
Byron Jones (New Britain), starting cornerback
Cole Ormsby (Windsor), No. 2 defensive end
Sean McQuillan (Glastonbury), starting tight end
Tommy Myers (Coventry), No. 2 tight end
Graham Stewart (Durham), starting linebacker
Noel Thomas (Norwalk), Co-No. 2 receiver
Matt Walsh (Madison), No. 2 fullback

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.

UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist said that senior offensive lineman Tyler Bullock and sophomore defensive back David Stevenson have been reinstated after both were suspended indefinitely.

"We got Tyler Bullock back so he is off his suspension so he will give us some added depth," Weist said on a Thursday conference call. "It was more he and Warde making the decision of what is best for them both, going through the legal process. We said it was an indefinite suspension, we knew it was going to be at least one game with him not having a prior record and not having done anything wrong before we took that into consideration."

Stevenson's return could help fill the void if Taylor Mack misses another game which is looking more likely as Weist said Mack is doubtful and that there could be some nerve damage with his shoulder injury. Linebacker Graham Stewart is also doubtful while linebacker Ryan Donohue could be back this week. Weist said he is still in a wait and see scenario with WR Shakim Phillips and Brian Lemelle.

"We have to see what happens with Lemelle," Weist said. He practiced yesterday but no contact. He is questionable.

"(Phillips) practiced yesterday but not necessarily full speed and still day by day. A lot of injuries you can put a timeline on, this one takes a week, this one takes a month but this one is anywhere from a week to two months because you just don’t know how severe it is. Ryan (Donohue) is back and he is probable, he practiced yesterday it wasn’t contact but he did practice. Graham Stewart is doubtful. He practiced some but didn’t have a full practice. Taylor Mack is doubtful, still hasn’t practiced yet and still hasn’t showed enough strength to come back. (He has) some nerves in the shoulder, it hard to come back from, I think he will play but I have to see in practice. Some of the guys who I thought were probable (last week) didn’t make it (back)."

Weist said they made more game-type practices this week as he followed up on his vow to open up the competition at receiver and tight end following the issues with dropped passes last week. Weist said that freshman receiver Dhameer Bradley and Noel Thomas looked good and could have larger roles in the offense while E.J. Norris could see more time at tight end.

While I wasn't able to make it out to Kalamazoo for Saturday's game with Western Michigan, I did use this weekend to catch up with UConn commits Matt Walsh and Noel Thomas who each played games in New Haven.


Walsh, who had five tackles to help the visiting Tigers to a 37-19 win over Hillhouse Friday afternoon, caught the eye of UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni as he led Hand to a 34-10 win over New Canaan in the 2011 CIAC Class L championship game which was played at Rentschler Field.

“I will still go up to their games whenever they are home and talk to Coach (George) DeLeone (UConn’s offensive coordinator) a few times a week but I am focusing on this to play the second game in my life in Rentschler Field before I even get up to UConn. That is our goal and if we don't win a state championship it is not a successful season.”

Walsh’s “second game at Rentschler Field” refers to the 2012 Class L championship game in December.
He is no stranger to UConn’s home field as he attending the Huskies’ home games against UMass and North Carolina State and is expecting to be on hand for Saturday’s home game against Buffalo.

“It's a fun atmosphere,” Walsh said. “It kicks in a lot more when you go to a full blown game there.”

Thomas, normally a receiver, was pressed into action at quarterback as starting quarterback Charlie Nelson was sidelined in Saturday's game at Hopkins. Thomas, who took his first snaps at quarterback during Monday’s practice, was 8 of 15 for 110 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception while rushing nine times with 133 yards including a 64-yard touchdown in a 32-13 victory. Thomas spent a large portion of the game on the sidelines when the Storm was on defense so he could work on throwing the ball.

“It was different but when I was younger I always wanted to play quarterback,” Thomas said. “I like having the ball in my hands. I trusted my guys.”

Thomas, who projects as a receiver with the Huskies, is planning to enroll at UConn in January which will allow him to take part in spring practice.

“My last day of school is December 21 and I will be leaving (for UConn) after New Year's,” Thomas said. “I think it will definitely help because when I get affiliated with campus, I start classes Jan. 22 and I get to know my guys, my teammates.”

Thomas hasn’t been to a game at UConn yet this season but he is planning to be there when the Huskies host