Senior cornerback Byron Jones is one of two UConn players expected to be
in attendance at next week's American Athletic Conference media day

After taking the last two weeks off, I figured I would attempt to recap what I missed.

Let's start with the hiring of Darrell Perkins at Old Dominion.

Perkins spent the last four seasons at UConn coaching the safeties last season after spending the previous three seasons coaching all the defensive backs.Perkins will coach the cornerbacks at Old Dominion while former UConn assistant Kermit Buggs will coach the safeties. Also, former graduate assistant Jordan Orlovsky has been named as a grad assistant at Old Dominion.

It looks like every coach from last year's team except offensive coordinator T.J. Weist, the interim coach for the final eight games has found a landing spot.

Paul Pasqualoni: Defensive Line coach Chicago Bears
George DeLeone: Assistant Offensive Line coach Cleveland Browns
Shane Day: Assistant Offensive Line coach/offensive quality control Washington Redskins
Mike Foley: Offensive Line coach UConn
Hank Hughes: Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers coach Cincinnati
Kermit Buggs: Safeties coach Old Dominion
Shane Fogarty: Offensive Coordinator Colby
Darrell Perkins: Cornerbacks coach Old Dominion
Jonathan Wholley: Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers coach Fordham

Also, former UConn grad assistant Michael Digman has been hired as the quarterbacks coach at Central Connecticut and Doug Shearer is a grad assistant at North Carolina State.

LEE COMMITS TO UCONN
UConn received a commitment from Chris Lee, a tight end out of Severna Park. The 6-foot-7 Lee is also a member of the basketball team which reached the Maryland 4A quarterfinals. Lee's best game as a junior might have come against South River when he had four catches for 50 yards including a 15-yard touchdown. He finished with 18 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns. His 14.5 yard per catch average was second on the 5-5 Severna Park team among players with at least 10 receptions. He also averaged 8.8 points per game for the basketball team.

DAVIS, JONES HEADING TO AAC MEDIA DAY
The American Athletic Conference recently released the list of players expected to take part in next week's AAC media day and receiver Geremy Davis and cornerback Byron Jones were the UConn players on the list. Media day is set for July 29 and will be held in Newport, R.I.

BROWN, PHILLIPS ON BC ROSTER
Boston College posted its 2014 roster and as expected some familiar names are on the list as former UConn safety Ty-Meer Brown and receiver Shakim Phillips will play for the Eagles. Brown will wear No. 5 and Phillips No. 11. Former Norwich Free Academy star Marcus Outlow, a freshman running back, was given No. 7.

DELAHUNT CONTINUES TO DELIVER; MILESTONE FOR TAYLOR
Former UConn tight end John Delahunt had a 23-yard catch leading to a field goal as the expansion Ottawa Redblacks won their first Canadian Football League game on Friday.

Ottawa, playing its first home game in franchise history, defeated Toronto 18-17 on Friday. Delahunt, who plays fullback, has four catches for 55 yards in three games this season.

Larry Taylor's 145 kickoff return yards was one of the few bright spots in Montreal's 41-5 loss to the BC Lions on Saturday. Taylor went over the 5,000 yard mark in career kickoff returns. He is fourth on the CFL career list with 236 career kickoff returns and needs 283 yards to move into the No.. 5 spot in career kickoff return yards.

There are multiple reports that Paul Pasqualoni, who posted a 10-18 record in 2 1/2 seasons as UConn's head coach, has landed the gig as the linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears.

Before being hired at UConn, Pasqualoni spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL as he worked with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

Pasqualoni will have plenty to work with with the Bears led by perennial Pro Bowl LB Lance Briggs, last year's leading tackler James Anderson and talented young players like Jon Bostic and Kasheem Greene (who Pasqualoni coached against when Greene starred at Rutgers). Former UConn linebacker Lawrence Wilson could also be one of the linebackers Pasqualoni will work with.

The Bears finished 30th out of 32 teams in total defense, surrendering an average of 394.6 yards per game while ranking last in rushing defense and yards per rush.

DORSEY HONORED BY PFWA
John Dorsey, one of the greatest players in UConn history, was named the 2013 Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association.

Dorsey's personnel moves in his first season as the general manager (including trading for former UConn fullback Anthony Sherman) helped the Chiefs go from a 2-14 squad during the 2012 season to finishing 11-5 and reaching the playoffs this season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Former UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni has his flaws but being a stand-up guy is certainly not one of them.

When coaches get fired from their jobs as Pasqualoni did today, they tend to go into hibernation and avoid the media at all costs. However, Pasqualoni agreed to do a conference call with the media about an hour and a half ago and by the sounds of things, he was handing what must have been a brutal day for him pretty well.

Here are his thoughts.

"I didn’t not really (expect to be fired) as a coach you always know that there is a chance that things can happen but I didn’t necessarily anticipate it," Pasqualoni said.

"My next move is to be around my family and my kids and just enjoy my family. You have to wait and see what happens. I am not the kind of guy who is going out to look for jobs or apply for jobs, the next job has always came. It is the middle of the season so we will see what happens."

After being informed by AD Warde Manuel that he was being let go, Pasqualoni addressed the UConn players one last time before leaving campus.

"I told them I enjoyed very much the opportunity to coach them, appreciated their commitment to the program and a commitment to doing things the right way in the classroom and off the field, on the field and the tremendous effort that they have given," Pasqualoni said. "We had some really good Saturdays, we didn’t have enough good Saturdays but that does not diminish the enjoyment and pleasure I had with being with them."

The players definitely appreciated that he took the time to say goodbye in person.

"It gave us some closure and it is nice to have somebody before they leave come and wish us the best of luck in a personal manner," said junior cornerback Byron Jones.

Here is what junior receiver Geremy Davis had to say.

"He talked to team, he said if you need anything call. He was loyal to us. We are going to respect the guy for what he did, the environment that he tried to build and you can respect the man."

Pasqualoni knows this UConn team is much better than its 0-4 record.

"I just think that the kids were fine. This year when you look at the teams we played, regardless of what conference they are in, Towson I-AA program, we have faced some very good teams this year. The four Saturdays (actually a Thursday and three Saturdays) that we had, we were not able to play well enough or be good enough on those four Saturdays against some very good teams. I thought the kids have effort, I thought we tried, we made some critical errors and we turned the ball over, made a mistake that really cost us and that was really what cost us this year.

"I really would have loved the opportunity to get over the hump, I was looking forward to having a great plan for the South Florida game, we were going to make some changes and try to get this thing back on the road, get some players who were out get back and healthy and get ready for the conference season. I sure would have loved the opportunity to take a good shot at the rest of the season and try to get the thing going in the right direction but it didn’t work out that way."

One of the changes Pasqualoni said he was planning to make was inserting true freshman Tim Boyle as the starting quarterback which is the way interim coach T.J. Weist could go.

"I am used to having success in football so for me disappointing for me that I wasn’t able (to get) the number of wins that you needed to collect but at the same time I feel good about the kids we brought in.

"I hope that they do well. I told them before I left that get ready to play, South Florida has good players, you can beat them and the coaches have a great plan. I thought we had a . Just go 100 miles an hour going, win this game and take them one game at a time. I’ll be rooting for those guys.

"I love football. I may go down and coach the South Windsor eighth grade team. I don’t know if they need a coach. I will see what opportunities develop. I have football in my blood, I love it, we’ll just kind of see what happens."

Pasqualoni said this will be the first in-season weekend that he won't be preparing for a game since 1964.

"I don’t know., It will be a little different. This will be the first high school weekend since I was in high school that I am not playing or worrying about a football game, probably since 1964, that is a long time ago. It will be different."

Pasqualoni wished the remaining UConn coaches well as they try to turn the frustrating season around.

"They are great guys,we worked hard this is not from a lack of effort I promise you and I think the defensive staff will continue to work hard and the T.J. will do the best he can do, you have to get another coach in there because now he is shorthanded and he needs coaches to recruit, coaches to coach and I told him when I left if I can help you I am down the street, just give me a call."

Rutgers coach Kyle Flood and Louisville's Charlie Strong are the only active American Athletic Conference head coaches who squared off against the Paul Pasqualoni coached UConn squads so I asked both of them for their reaction to Pasqualoni's firing on today's AAC conference call.

"Paul Pasqualoni is somebody I looked up to at a very early stage in my career as a high school and college coach in the New York/New Jersey area as a coach at Syracuse and Coach P really set the standard for what a college coach’s relationship should be with the high school coaches," Flood said. "He is a very well respected figure in New York and New Jersey and that is because of the genuineness of the relationships that he has built over time and I think all of us as younger coaches hopefully some day the high school coaches will feel about us the way I know they feel about Paul Pasqualoni."

Strong was on the wrong end of Pasqualoni's signature victory at UConn, a 23-20 Huskies' road win over Louisville a season ago.

"He is an outstanding coach and I know he will do well wherever he ends up," Strong said. "He has an outstanding staff and just what they where able to accomplish and I have no doubt they will be able to bounce back because it is all about getting the players behind you."

Southern Methodist coach June Jones also reacted to today's news.

"I am a little bit surprised, that is a guy who knows football as well as any guy I have ever sat around and talked to," Jones said. "To not be given a chance , the opportunity to build the program in this day and age it is kind of shocking. I don’t understand the dynamics of that whole situation up there but I know that Paul is a great football man, a good guy and  and sometimes life isn’t far."

One Internet site lists UConn's Paul Pasqualoni as the No. 1 college football coach on the hot seat and others are taking to referring to Pasqualoni is the past tense and openly throwing out names of possible successors.

However, for Pasqualoni he did not approach this Sunday any different that he did a week ago when the Huskies nearly knocked off national power Michigan.

"I am a very optimistic person," Pasqualoni said on a conference call with the media on Sunday afternoon. "A week ago we are a couple plays away from beating one of the top teams in the country so my attitude and my feeling is the same, it is not different this Sunday that it was last Sunday so I am looking to improve and get the team, get the thing straightened out and get the guys going, get into winning some games. I do this because I love it, I do this because I have passion for the game and the people you are associated with and everything that goes along with it. It hasn’t changed for me ever."

Pasqualoni said that he is not contemplating making changes to his coaching staff and with no game until Oct. 12, he is planning to spend more time focusing on his team than on South Florida.

"I think what they need is to focus on what they are doing and what their job is and making sure that what they are doing is 100 percent before making sure of the other phase of the game," Pasqualoni said. "That will be the lecture if that is the lecture.

"We played very poorly for the get go yesterday for the third play of the game on we didn’t play very well. The ball ends up on the 8 yard line, then we have the pass interference call on the hold, we have the missed alignment , missed tackle on the touchdown. We come back and get a field goal but we don’t really play very well on either side of the ball. We give up a long pass to get another one in and offensively we didn’t have any production. Coming out in the second half when we really needed it we didn’t get anything really done at all offensively. We just did not play in that game really well at all. We didn’t cover kicks well, we didn’t cover punts well so there are a lot of area that need to be addressed."

Pasqualoni said he has not had a conversation with UConn director of athletics concerning his future at UConn. He also knows that as the losses pile up so does the discontent among the UConn fan base on the job he has done in the last 2 1/3 seasons.

"I understand the nature of this game," Pasqualoni said. "I understand the nature of fans and people, everybody has their opinion and are free to express their opinion but that doesn’t discourage me. I understand it is part of it. I have been in this for a long time in a lot of places and it all goes with the territory. It is my job to do the best we can do here, utilize the personnel and trying to move the program forward. That is my job and that is what I am going to do. It doesn’t really discourage me

Pasqualoni said that some of the mistakes that cost UConn in its first four games are of the repeat variety which is obviously not a great sign.

"The strip of the ball on the first (pass) play is a protection issue, that is kind of a repeat of a protection deal," Pasqualoni said. "A missed alignment on defense on the goal line is kind of a repeat of that and some of it is certainly a repeat. Other things, one of the touchdown passes is on a freshman cornerback and I asked him to play press coverage on the guy so they couldn’t throw a hitch on first down so they went on top and he got beat up top. Some of it is young guys in the game. We have a lot of those young guys in the game so it is kind of a combination of a lot of things."

So where does Pasqualoni go from here?

"A week ago I envisioned beating Michigan," Pasqualoni said. "You get ready to play every single week, you do the best you can do. We just went up to Buffalo and did not play well from the beginning, we just couldn’t get any kind of momentum going and they have a good solid football team. They had a week of, they had a couple of weeks to get ready for us and utilized every minute of it and did a good job."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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."

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."

Perhaps the only thing more challenging than a struggling 0-2 facing Michigan is a struggling 0-2 team facing Michigan after a less than stellar performance against Akron.

Akron, which hadn't defeated a Big Ten team since the late 1890s, had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds in what would go down as one of the most monumental upsets in recent memory.

On his weekly press conference which was streamed like on Michigan's official site, Michigan coach Brady Hoke was asked about the response he expects from his team following the Akron game.

"If I knew that …," Hoke said. "The only thing I can say is we went out and practiced yesterday with shoulder pads and helmets which they usually don’t. They were very, very I wouldn’t say excited but they were glad to be back on the field. I was excited."

UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni knows the Michigan coaches will have the complete attention of their players coming off the near upset.

"Obviously Michigan can’t be sky high every week," Pasqualoni said on the weekly American Athletic Conference call. "They just came off a real big game (a win over Notre Dame) and I am sure Akron was able to spend a lot of time on them. Michigan will be ready to play, I promise you that."

So does Pasqualoni think Michigan will have another game where they take a team lightly?

"No, they just had that," Pasqualoni said. "They just had a close one and I am sure their coaches are telling them it’s too close for comfort so let’s get focused on this, let’s dial it in and let’s go so I think it’s not because it is us but it is because it is the next opponent and they will do a good job of being ready to play."

There are no changes on UConn's two-deep chart which was posted just about 30 minutes ago.

The ABC announcing team will be Sean McDonough on play by play, former Ohio State and Detroit Lions linebacker Chris Spielman on color commentary and Shannon Spake is the sideline reporter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A year ago UConn linebacker Ryan Donohue could barely sleep heading into the game at Maryland. As a former Terrapin Donohue wanted nothing more than to leave Byrd Stadium with a victory over his former team.

This year Donohue admits he is much more emotionally composed heading into the game against Maryland.

"I think playing them helped me get the  butterflies out," Donohue said. "It definitely helps that we are playing here this year rather than playing there."

Donohue's main focus this week is to help the UConn defense put forth a better showing than they did in the season-opening loss to Towson,

"I think the team has responded real well," Donohue said. "I lot of teams might not have liked that (having a bye week) but we got a lot of corrections done and I think we are going to ready for this one."

So what was the most troubling aspect of the defense's effort against Towson?

"Probably the fact that we gave up so many rushing yards," Donohue said. "Our defense (prides) itself in being able to stop the run game and a lot of big plays that could have been corrected from one or two corrections and that is why the bye week really helped us because we are going to fix those."

On Thursday's conference call with the media, UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni gave his thoughts on the play of Donohue and fellow outside linebacker Graham Stewart.

"I would say that I love their effort;" Pasqualoni said. "I love their motors; I love their toughness and those two guys are football players there is no question but baptism under fire first game, a lot of adjustments need to be made. Our linebackers including Yawin will all improve from an adjustment standpoint when we play more football. I really like their approach, I love their intensity. They have to get used to being with each other, communicating with each other and making the appropriate adjustments because they are kind of tied on a string, when one moved the others have to move so that is something that takes a little bit of playing together."

The biggest news to emerge from the conference call was that sophomore defensive end E.J. Norris has been moved to tight end.

Although he only had two tackles (both against Buffalo), Norris showed real promise as a speed pass rusher as a true freshman. He was expected to be one of the players to help fill the void left by Trevardo Williams' graduation. However, Julian Campenni's continued development allowed UConn to keep Tim Willman outside at defensive end rather than needing him at defensive tackle. With Willman, Jesse Joseph and Angelo Pruitt (another player who has the ability to play inside but is seeing time exclusively at defensive end) and Reuben Frank's quick adjustment from fullback to defensive end combined with the lack of experienced candidates behind Sean McQuillan and Spencer Parker led to Norris' position move.

Norris caught 20 passes and averaged 22 yards per reception as a senior at Archbishop Carroll in 2011.

Also, looking at the roster I see the addition of a couple more Cheshire products. Jonathan Hryniewicz, a senior receiver who transferred in from Central Connecticut, and sophomore running back William Weyrauch, who originally enrolled at Stonehill.

When UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni spoke at the August meeting of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday morning, he admitted that the identity of his third UConn squad is still yet to be determined.

He did, however, make sure to pat some of his players on the back for the way they have come back from offseason surgeries.

"Every year’s time is unique and it is different," Pasqualoni said. "We are trying to find out what our identity is because it is a completely new year, a completely new season. I am not sure what our identity is right now. We are not going to find out what our identity is until we get into that stadium, we have another team in there who comes across the line of scrimmage and hits us right in the face and we will see how we react to that. I like what I see so far. I think we have to determine who are the guys.

"We have 10 guys since last season who had to go through some sort of surgery and not just kind of casual kind of surgery but (serious) surgery. That is a lot of guys who were out from last winter, through the spring, were cleared in June and are practicing now. Shamar Stephen, who is going to be outstanding, Jesse Joseph, who was granted another year of eligibility coming back from his Achilles, Graham Stewart has major surgery on his pectoral muscle, E.J. Norris has a shoulder (surgery), Chad Christen had a big operation on his groin and he is doing really well. He stayed in Storrs every day this summer, went to rehab and training every single day. The guy didn’t have a summer, he had no summer and that is (a sign) of the determination he’s got. (Martin) Hyppolite, he was in that car accident and broke his hip. He hasn’t missed a snap in preseason. Jon Hicks coming back from major knee surgery has done it and is practicing in 4½ months and I have never seen it done at any level of football, that is how hard he is working. He had no summer; he was with Bob Howard and our training staff every single day, Omaine Stephens another shoulder. These guys have got a strong, strong inner will."

For those scoring at home, he mentioned eight of the 10 and he would later mention Jimmy Bennett as well."

Pasqualoni told the story of a coach who had a player who expressed a desire to become a great player and took him to the beach. The coach and player walked out to the water until it was up to their necks and then pushed the player's head under the water and held it there for an extended period of time. When he allowed the player to get his head above water he asked him what he was thinking about and the player said "breathing." Then he stated that to be a great player that you have to want to succeed about as much as you long to breathe. He said he sees that level of passion among some members of the 2013 squad.

"The core of the guys we have, I get that feeling with some of these guys that is now hard we are working," Pasqualoni said. "We are awfully proud of them. Ten of them are going to be ready to go next Thursday against Towson."

Pasqualoni had some fun during his 18-minute speech. After being introduced he said :"I am happy to be here and honestly I am happy to be anywhere after two 5-7 seasons."

The biggest roar he got from the packed room came when he mentioned the importance of coaches' wives at this time of the year when their husbands aren't around a heck of a lot.

"Your wife is your best friend," Pasqualoni said. "One of the coaches says to me ‘your wife is not your best friend, the dog is your best friend.’. I said 'I promise you, your wife is your best friend’. He said  ‘Coach, try this, lock the dog and your wife in the garage. Come back three hours later and see which one is happy to see you.’"

He also told the story of a recent call from former linebacker Sio Moore, who has been known to be a tad bit exuberant regarding most things especially football.

"Sio called me the other day and said ‘Coach, guys have gotten hurt and I am in the starting position and I am doing everything I can possibly do to be a starter as a rookie with the Oakland Raiders,’" Pasqualoni said. "Sio can get a little carried away with all that Raider garb on and I said just don’t be painting your face like those nuts in the end zone." 

UConn is slated to scrimmage this afternoon and there is an outside chance that the two-deep chart for the Towson game could be finalized tomorrow. However, with camp not breaking until Friday, it is more likely that UConn will not release its depth chart until we get closer Aug. 29 when the Huskies open the season against Towson.

After speaking at the monthly Middlesex Chamber of Commerce breakfast, UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni provided an update on some of UConn's injured players.

On tight end Sean McQuillan, who suffered a concussion when hit by Taylor Mack in Saturday's practice he said, "we are optimistic. We are going to have to go through the whole procedure and protocol but we are optimistic that he will be OK."

Regarding safety Andrew Adams, who was also injured in Saturday's practice he said (with) Andrew we are kind of getting the evaluation and I am not sure, there are two different scenarios and I don’t know which one it is yet. We are waiting for the swelling to go down."

Pasqualoni also said that defensive end Jesse Joseph "may have a chance of being back before the season starts, we will wait and see."

Of the three starters who could miss the season opener, McQuillan's could be the one whose absence is felt the most because the Huskies were already thin at tight end coming into camp. If McQuillan isn't cleared by next Thursday, the start could go to Spencer Parker or one of the two freshmen (Michael Boland and Tommy Myers) who have been seeing time with either the first or second-team offense during practice. Obi Melifonwu figures to replace Adams at safety and Pasqualoni has called him one of the best athletes he has ever coached with a 4.5 40-yard dash time and 41-inch vertical leap.

Among the highlights from a 17-minute speech to a sold-out ballroom at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell:

Pasqualoni said Casey Cochran is ahead mentally of the three true freshmen quarterbacks in the race for the No. 2 QB spot

He mentioned Shakim Phillips as the top kickoff returner and Brian Lemelle as the top punt return guy.

He continues to rave about former Hand star's Matt Walsh's ability to catch the ball from the fullback position

Pasqualoni was impressed with the return of 10 players who underwent offseason surgery mentioning that running back Martin Hyppolite "hasn't missed a snap" despite breaking his hip in a March automobile accident, kicker Chad Christen being on campus and in treatment "every single day, he did not have a summer" and linebacker Jon Hicks' return from knee surgery in 4 1/2 months which "he has never heard of."

When UConn has had its full complement of defensive linemen senior Tim Willman has been garnering the majority of first-team snaps at right defensive end which happens to be the same position Trevardo Williams held down in recent years en route to seeing the program sacks record.

Willman, who is about 20 pounds heavier than Williams, obviously brings a different dimension that Williams as he lacks the speed and impressive first step that Williams possessed but in the practices I attended in the preseason he was consistently one of the more noticeable defensive players I have seen. He was in the backfield on a regular basis which is something he will be asked to do in his senior season.

"I bring a lot of good run stopping," said Williams, who had three sacks during the 2012 season. "I learned a lot of technique from him so I am trying to play like him but also play my own style."

UConn not only lost Williams but defensive tackle Ryan Wirth from its defensive line. Wirth has been the one player that UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni has consistently mentioned as one of the toughest players that the Huskies need to replace.

With Shamar Stephen healthier than he was at any point last year, Julian Campenni seemingly in position to build on a solid freshman season and Jesse Joseph back after missing the last nine games of last season with a torn Achilles' tendon, the Huskies have a chance to have one of its most physical defensive fronts in recent memory.

"We lost two great players and we miss them a lot but we are picking up right where we left off and we are not missing a beat," Willman said

"That is something we are going to hang our hats on. We are going to play physical, play hard and play UConn defense."

If Graham Stewart wondered whether he made the right decision when he left Florida to transfer to UConn so he could be closer to home they disappeared late last week.

Stewart's sister was getting married on the same day that UConn opened its preseason camp. As passionate as Stewart is about football, he knew that this is one day that football was second on his list of priorities so he missed the opening practice with the blessing of UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni.

“That was tough for me,” Stewart said. “I told her ‘look, I am just not going to be there.’ All jokes aside, I am so happy for my sister. I did miss the first practice which did suck but I am here now and I am not going anywhere.

“It was awesome. You never know how it is going to go until you see you sister or your brother walking down that aisle but it was an emotional, happy time.”

Stewart admits it would have been a tougher scenario if he were still enrolled at Florida,

“Would I have been able to come all the way back if I was in Florida, the chances behind that are probably slim to none,” Stewart said. “It meant a lot for me to be there and be a groomsman and just see my sister being wed.”

It didn’t take long after Stewart hit the practice field for him to earn a spot with the starting unit alongside All-American candidate Yawin Smallwood and Ryan Donohue as UConn tries to move on after losing Jory Johnsn and Sio Moore (who combined to start 59 career games) to graduation.

“Being able to sit out last year, watching them and watching film the good thing was I was able to pick up the good traits from both of them,” Stewart said. “They are both guys who can play in the NFL and Sio is excelling (with the Oakland Raiders). I see myself fitting into Sio’s old role but putting my own stamp on the position.“I feel strong being able to pass rush and blitz but at the same time being able to cover a lot of ground.”

As much as Stewart is eager to make impact plays for the revamped UConn defense, he is driven even more by helping UConn shake off the frustration from back to back 5-7 seasons. Winning is nothing new to Stewart as he came out of the highly-successful Xavier program. Stewart joins redshirt freshman defensive end Sean Marinan and true freshman quarterback Tim Boyle to give the Huskies three Xavier graduates on the roster. The strong-armed Boyle has made an immediate impression during the first week of preseason camp.

“We are proud of that,” Stewart said. “We come from a program that is used to winning and we want to win. Sean is my closest friend and Tim is out slinging the ball and looking like Tom Brady which I know he wants to. I have a long extensive history with Tim, I know the type of person Tim is and Tim is the kind of guy who is always in the film room studying and he is a football junkie. He is going to do what it takes to get the job done at the end of the day.”

Watching UConn director of athletics Warde Manuel make his way over towards the UConn football team yesterday, part of me really thought the former Michigan lineman was going to grab some shoulder pads and a helmet to deliver a key hits. While I am sure that would have been Manuel's No. 1 choice, he was more than happy to oblige when UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni asked him to talk to the 2013 squad.

Manuel's speech was energetic and by his standards, relatively brief.

After encouraging the players to make the best use of their time on the practice field to lay down the foundation for a successful season, Manuel came over the spent a few minutes answering our questions.

"It brings back great memories when I was a player," Manuel said. "This is a time for them to really have some fun with it. This is a game we are playing and we want to win. This is a fun time for them. This is what they worked hard (during the) offseason whether it is football, basketball or soccer you name it, it is their time to build the opportunity to build the success we expect and they expect from themselves.

I had fun when I talked to them. Paul has asked me to do that on several occasions and it is unplanned and unscripted and I enjoy it."

So what does Manuel miss the most of being able to line up on the football field?

"I miss hitting people – on the field. I miss the camaraderie, the team, I was in the best shape of my life (during his time at Michigan)., I had the best teammates, great coaches and people around me. That is what I want them to have and I think they do have from our staff and they have great teammates. It is about being a teammate. It is really the only opportunity in life where when you hit the field for 60 minutes you are connected and you success is dependent on the person next to you. There is a clock, an operation and obviously in life you rely in colleagues and teammates across the landscape to do what we do. I miss that camaraderie you have when you play sports."

Manuel said he doesn't view this upcoming season any differently that he did the 2012 campaign.

"Game by game I want us to play hard," Manuel said. "I want us to have success on the field of play. I want the expectation that we are going to go into every game with a game plan to win knowing that we give our all and that success for me looks the same as it does for them.

"Expectations will be high, there is a lot of excitement looking at a new offensive coordinator coming in and a new defensive coordinator who has been here before. There are a lot of changes, there is a great schedule, a great opportunity to play against the best in the country and that is what you want.

"Whether it is first year, second year, third year, fourth year, none of the people who are around me, none of the coaches who are around me go into anything thinking losing (is acceptable). They are driven to have success every time they hit the field. Every year is a big year and I am not going to change my outlook. It is another year for us to prove that we can be successful"

Seeing the progress being made on the basketball practice facility, I asked Manuel for an update on that project..

"The basketball facility is looking great. They are putting in the water main, the frame of the building is up and you can actually envision watching a practice in the two practice facilities and you can see the space that we will have for the offices. It looks great, it is on time, on schedule for where they want it to be."

During the time he spent with the media at Tuesday's American Athletic Conference UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni wasted little time whenever he was asked the No. 1 priority for the Huskies during preseason camp.

Time after time Pasqualoni said that the Huskies need to take better care of the ball as turnovers cost UConn multiple games in the previous two seasons.

"I think there is a tremendous urgency to improve this year, we have to improve things like taking care of the ball, playing smart and not giving up a play here and there at an inopportune time on defense," Pasqualoni said. "We have been great on defense but we have also given up a play here or there on defense and we haven’t been good enough on offense to overcome those things. There is urgency to get those things done and if we get those things done the improvement will be there."

Starting quarterback Chandler Whitmer also said that cutting down on turnovers is something he needs to improve on. As a sophomore Whitmer had a ratio of nine touchdown passes and 16 interceptions.

With the return of six offensive linemen who started games for UConn in 2012, the top two receivers and leading rusher, all the pieces are in place for the Huskies to be an improved offensive unit. Whitmer knows he has to do his part and that begins with bringing a more mature approach to the quarterback position. That process shifts into high gear on Friday when UConn holds its first preseason practice.

“I’m very competitive,” Whitmer said. “I like to win games and sometimes that got me in trouble. I am trying to do too much. I am trying to make plays when they aren’t there. I am forcing things or whatever it was or I put too much on my shoulders.”

Whitmer had more games with multiple interceptions than he had with no interceptions. Whitmer knows that he needs to change that. Not only does he want to avoid putting the UConn defense in tough spots with costly turnovers but also wants to engineer more time-consuming drives to give the defensive stalwarts a chance to catch their breath on the sidelines.

“That is something I am trying to back off of, taking a sack and not trying to force things,” Whitmer said. “Punting is OK. Live to play another down and field position is big. That is something I am really focusing on this year, I am getting back and watching tape. I’m trying to improve on different things.

“It is tough to hold yourself back. It is a competitive game and your adrenaline gets going but that is part of the quarterback play. Part of being a good quarterback is being smart as well and not trying to do too much. It is something I have to improve on and I have known that since last year. It has already been in my nature (to be aggressive) but I am trying to be able to protect the ball and be smart.”

Just the trace of a smile appeared on Byron Jones' face as he contemplated the odyssey he will embark on in his third year as a starter in the UConn secondary.

Jones has been a playmaker at safety since earning a starting position as a redshirt freshman back in 2011. He even got to dabble a bit as a cornerback when starter Blidi Wreh-Wilson missed four games. Now he will get a more extended turn as a corner as the coaches made the decision to have him change positions following the graduation of Wreh-Wilson and Gratz.

"I was a corner in high school my junior year and I moved to safety my senior year so I didn’t get a lot of time there," Jones said. "Before that I was a quarterback so I didn’t play defense until my junior year. I still have a little bit of experience from freshman year playing corner and I’ll try to use that to carry over to the position this year."

Jones has been one of the most productive on the nationally-ranked UConn defense in the last two seasons. As a freshman he made 51 tackles and had two of the Huskies' 18 interceptions. He was third on the 2012 UConn team with 88 tackles so he will bring a physicality to the position. He is also an elite athlete as UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said the only player he coached with a better vertical leap than Jones was former Syracuse receiver Rob Moore who posted three 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his 10 years in the NFL.

With the loss of six senior starters Jones is being asked to take on a larger leadership role as well.

"It is a position that I am happy to take and I have no problem with it so I am excited to get going," Jones said.

Jones believes he will benefit from being on the field with Gratz and Wreh-Wilson in the last two seasons as he saw how the two players, who were taken in the third round in April's NFL draft by Jacksonville and Tennessee respectively, not only played the cornerback position but also were able to shake off any lingering issues when they gave up a big play.

"Those guys were tough, physically tough, mentally tough, those guys didn’t break for anything," Jones said. "Corner, you are out there by yourself, you have your own island and you have to protect that island or else. That is one of the things I like about the position. There is a lot I need to do to be a good corner to put my name in the same sentence as Blidi and Gratz I have a lot to learn. I am excited for the work that is ahead of me."

The first steps will be taken tomorrow as UConn holds its first preseason practice.