With the cardiac issue preventing starting right guard Gus Cruz from making the trip to Cincinnati for Saturday's game, one of the more promising offensive line prospects on the UConn roster got to make his first career start.

Sophomore Tyler Samra had his moments but he was also replaced a couple of times by senior Tyler Bullock, who is listed as the starter for Saturday's game against Central Florida. Still, Samra knows that the experience of going up against one of the best defenses in the American Athletic Conference can only be a helpful situation moving forward.

"Going into your first college start you are a little nervous, you have some nervous jitters but after the first play happened it was smooth sailing from there," Samra said. "I definitely learned (the) strength, speed (of the game) and the difference between that and practice. I got a bunch of pretty good feelings of what to expect whether it is this year or next year..

"Getting a little experience was great, even my freshman year going into the UMass game which a lot of people thought I should have redshirted but I respected the coaches’ decisions and I learned a lot from going into that game. I think everything has a positive outlook on it."

With four starting offensive linemen for the UCF game being seniors, Samra is one of the younger linemen who figures to shoulder the load in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He certainly has a good pedigree as he played for a Don Bosco Prep team which won national championships in 2009 and 2011.

"One thing my high school coach taught us is whatever you can do, just be a winner and that is what I try to bring to this program, whatever I do just go and do things with great effort, great energy and all great things will happen," Samra said.

"I have never dealt with (an 0-6 start) but things happen, you can’t keep your head down at that point. You have to keep being positive and good things will happen."

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.

UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist just spent about 45 minutes answering a variety of questions with the local media on a variety of subjects.

Pretty high up on the list was his decision - at the request of the players - to allow music to be played at the beginning of practice to get the team in the right frame of mind.

"I sat down with some of the seniors and team captains  and I wanted to get their input of what changes they think can help us in this transition and can help us to win games," Weist said. "One thing they said is they’d like to have some music. It is kind of a new thing around the country that people are doing and when players see those things, they see other teams with music, they all watch the videos there are videos everywhere of teams practicing and they get excited about it so we added some music early in practice during the (team) stretch just to get the practice started out right. We really don’t want to have music during practice necessarily but just to get them started out. It is my music. It is like the weight room, in the weight room you have different days for the country guys, for the rock and roll guys, rhythm and blues and everything so we started out and I made it easy, it is my music to start and I was going to allow the players to pick out some clean versions of some of the music out there so that is what we’ve got.

"I focused on some of the music that other teams play in stadiums, whether it is Back in Black or Enter the Sandman. I have no idea about some of the latest hits so I let some of the players pick that, I couldn’t name any of them. I try not to go back too far to the 70s. I don’t know how long there are going to let me keep the music going on my terms because they don’t recognize any of it. I want to teach them musicology, I want to teach them the evolution of music. I want to get them motivated for practice so I don’t want to make it a learning session but they appreciate it and I will mix it up every day throw in some country and throw in some rock and roll, throw in some opera, punk and dance music or whatever gets these guys motivated. Heck, half the time I have to make it the instrumental because we have some people out at practice and I can’t hear those words they are saying but the worst part is they play the instrumental (version) and the players sing it anyways."

It might not come as a shock that the most popular topic for discussion centered around the quarterback position with freshman Tim Boyle set to make his first career start on Oct. 12 against South Florida.

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"He has done a good job," Weist said. "He has shown good maturity in handling the offense, he is handling the scheme and making decisions throwing the ball, handling everything with the run game and all the calls that we have, every day he gets better and every day he is going to have to improve and take steps improving until we get to game time and really find out how much pressure he can handle, instinctually how he can lead this team, drive us down the field and keep drives alive and make smart decisions so that is what we are looking for out of Tim, smart decisions, efficiency, let him play with maturity and handle the offense and he is on his way to doing those things

"We are not married to any player on this roster, a starter, we evaluate them every single game. I would say this for Tim and any young player that we play we are going to be patient, obviously the quarterback position is a different position. If I had to play a true freshman, there has to be some patience, they has to be a period where he makes some mistakes where our last starting quarterback, our last starting wide receiver or our last anybody that a freshman replaced, they are going to make some mistakes and you were patient with the other guy at times so we will be patient with him. I treat him like most of the players and you have to go out there and perform, our goal is to win and you need to do the things to help us win. If he goes out and doesn’t perform the way we want that we are going to keep him in the game and stick with him no matter what. We have to do what is best for the team at any position. We are going to give him time but we have to win."

Weist was quick to point out that many of the interceptions previous starting quarterback Chandler Whitmer threw including the one returned for a touchdown in the loss to Buffalo were not his fault and that Whitmer will see normal reps as the No. 2 quarterback.

He also said he is not planning any changes to the starting offensive line and hopes to have starting right tackle Kevin Friend back for the USF game. Weist said the entire offensive line plays better when Friend is out there.

More on the injury situations. fullback Jazzmar Clax is out there practicing and Weist likes what he sees out of him and receiver Kamal Abrams, who was hurt warming up for the Towson game, has also been back at practice.

When asked about other young players who could see bigger roles now that he is calling the shots, he mentioned freshman wide receivers Brian Lemelle and Dhameer Bradley and offensive guard Tyler Samra, who moves up in the rotation following the suspension of Tyler Bullock.

Bullock was arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence and failed sobriety tests according to the police report. While not mentioning Bullock by name, there was no question who he was referring to when he mentioned "the events that happened yesterday."

"We have a lot of things that are happening around us that we have to deal with obviously with some of the events that happened yesterday and that is part of it," Weist said. "Players have to realize that every decision they make is for the best of the team, they are representing the university, representing the athletic department, the football program, representing every former player who has played here, representing their families and our families as coaches. We are stressing the point that all of their decisions have an impact on this team on and off the field."

Weist said he is still contemplating whether to bring in another coach since UConn is down a pair of coaches right now following the firing of Paul Pasqualoni and George DeLeone but he is not considering pilfering a coach who currently has a job. He complimented the graduate assistants for stepping in and helping with the day to day coaching. He has liked what he has seen in the first three practices.

"It has been a great four days," Weist said. "It has been exciting, I think our players have responded well, we have had three spirited practices. We are getting back to work. There is nothing magic about it, get back to work, refocused on one purpose of this team coming together as a team to win football games and especially to focus on being South Florida, our next (opponent). I think we made good progress and have had good practices."

UConn senior offensive lineman Tyler Bullock has been suspended indefinitely after his arrest for driving under the influence.According to the UConn police, Bullock was stopped early Thursday morning and failed a sobriety test.

According to the police report "Tyler Bullock was the operator of a vehicle which was stopped on Celeron Square Drive for failing to drive right while on Huntinglodge Road. The officer suspected Bullock of being under the influence of drugs/alchol. Bullock was subjected to a series of field sobriety tests, which he failed."

Bullock was charged with failure to drive right and operation while under the influence and needed to post a $500 bond.

Bullock started eight games at center during the 2012 season and was seeing some early time as the No. 1 center during preseason camp before being injured. Alex Mateas took over the starting role and did not relinquish it.

In the last couple of weeks Bullock was being worked into the mix at right guard, spelling starter Gus Cruz.

With UConn looking to improve the play of its offensive line, this is obviously not exactly the best start in that process as Bulock is a player who could have been inserted as a starter at multiple positions on the line.

The 2012 season was not the best of times for UConn's offensive line.

UConn was 100th nationally in sacks allowed and 117th in rushing offense a combination that resulted in a disappointing 5-7 final record despite ranking ninth in total defense.

Six offensive linemen who started games last season are back so obviously optimism is high among the returnees as they look to reestablish the line as a dominant unit.


"I think we are going to go up," said senior guard Steve Greene. "I know I am not going to stand for it and all the other guys are with me, we are not going to be the weak point of this team. We are going to be the driving force behind this team that helps us win the game.

It was awful. There is no other word that says it. When you can’t run the ball it makes you so one dimensional and teams can virtually just tee off on you and it makes everything else a lot harder. When you can run the ball you can control the game and that is what we need to be back to. That is what we’ve been preaching and what we’ve been working. We are going to run the football and be successful at it."

Running the ball has been a trademark of recent UConn squads which made what happened last season tough to swallow for players and fans alike.

"It was a collaboration of everything, it wasn’t everybody all the time it was one person having a breakdown," Greene said. "On offense you need 11 guys functioning together or it is not going to work. Right now I feel like we are on that page, we are working real well and you are going to see some results.

"The standard has been set. We know what needs to get done. Really there is nothing left to do but to do it. I know it is a corny saying but that is what it comes down to."

The only returning starter gone is right guard Adam Masters who missed the last three games of the season with an ankle injury. 

"We lose Masters who is a special dude, he is tough to replace but he (got injured) early," Greene said. "Gus (Cruz) came out and got a lot of time so you can say we return the five guys we finished the season with which is going to be huge for us."

A bonus is the return of starting left tackle Jimmy Bennett for a sixth season of eligibility.


"Jimmy is one of my best friends, a great kid and the sky is the limit for him," Greene said. "It is good to see him finally play a full year of football last year and it is going to be good to see what he can do in his second year back. I am excited, we are all excited. We have been working well in the spring without Jimmy and when we gets inserted back into the lineup, I feel like it can only go up."

Bennett has shoulder surgery in December forcing him to miss the entire spring camp. In his place Xavier Hemingway and Dalton Gifford have had an opportunity to take first-team reps at left tackle.

"Jimmy is my right arm, I guess my left arm since he plays on my left side," Greene said. "Me and Jimmy have such a good chemistry out there, we don’t even have to make calls to know what each other is doing. It is huge for them to step in and get this time. I honestly felt they have been doing a great job. Honestly I was a little skeptical coming into the spring having X (Hemingway) on my left, a guy who hasn’t had much experience but he has done a great job. He got hurt, he is down right now and Gifford has stepped up and he has done a great job too."

Not only will Bennett be out of the lineup and Hemingway is iffy as well, but Alex Mateas (who started the first four games at center during the 2012 season) at has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. At the last open practice Tyler Bullock was at center with Cruz and Greene at guard,  Kevin Friend and Gifford at tackle on the first team. The second team featured Kyle Bockeloh at center, Zach Rugg and Tyler Samra at guard with Paul Nwokeji and Richard Levy at tackle.

Parking lots will open at Rentschler Field tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. with gates set to open at 10:30 a.m. for the spring game which will start at noon. In the wake of the events in Boston security could be tighter than normal. UConn put out a reminder that  that personal bags are not allowed to be brought into events at Rentschler other than bags containing personal medical supplies.

UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni and offensive coordinator George DeLeone spoke at the National Football Foundation New Haven Chapter's dinner on Thursday night and after wrapping up my work following UConn women's basketball practice, I headed down to New Haven just in time for the speaking portion of the event.

Afterwards I caught up with Pasqualoni and DeLeone to catch up on some things since there hasn't been any access since a conference call with Pasqualoni on Saturday.

High up on the list of things I was interested in was the progress that new starting guard Gus Cruz was making stepping in for senior and team captain Adam Masters.


"He’s good, he is practicing full speed and he has had a pretty good week of practice," Pasqualoni said. "He doesn’t have the experience but Gus is a pretty athlete, he moves pretty good but he just doesn’t have that high level of experience because Adam had all those games under his belt but I am very encouraged, he is enthusiastic for it and he has passion for football. He just needs experience and that it why we are playing him."

DeLeone, who also coaches the offensive line, also talked about Cruz move from reserve to starter.

"They like to say the most popular person on the football team is the backup quarterback but also I say that being a backup guard is a pretty good job too," DeLeone said. "Now he is in the heat of the battle and he has to raise his expectation level. He is making progress and I am hoping down the road he can play up to a starter’s level for us."

Pasqualoni said it will be a straight move of inserting Cruz at the right guard spot Masters manned so there won't be a case of shifting Steve Greene to right guard and putting Cruz in at left guard. Rather than mixing things up too much, Greene will start at left guard and Cruz moves in at right guard.

I asked Pasqualoni which of the offensive linemen has picked up the leadership void lost by Masters' absence and Greene was the first player he mentioned.


"Steve Greene has been awfully good in the communication aspect of the offensive line," Pasqualoni said. "He has really been good. Tyler Bullock is trying hard to get in there as a center and be a vocal guy and give some leadership. They all in their own way are working pretty hard at it, they really are. I like what their approach."

From an injury standpoint, Pasqualoni said sophomore fullback Mike Osiecki is still unable to practice due to a concussion which forced him to miss the last two games but everybody else he was expecting to be back at practice has been able to go.

Finally, the Graduation Success Rates (GSR) were released today and the football team came in at 69, one point above the national average. Although the numbers should be credited more to the work during the Randy Edsall regime, Pasqualoni was still thrilled to hear that they came in above the national average.

"That is important," Pasqualoni said. "I’d be disappointed if we weren’t. All the years at Syracuse, we were up there very high and one year we won it. My expectations of the kids off the campus, in the classroom are as high as my expectations are for them on the field. You can do both, you can be a good student and you can be a great football player. That has always been our philosophy."

Beginning with the start of fall camp there might not be another position on the UConn team more hotly contested than center.

After Moe Petrus was the unquestioned guy in the middle of the line in recent years, Penn State transfer Alex Mateas and Tyler Bullock were running neck and neck.

Mateas earned the No. 1 spot on the depth chart at the start of fall drills and remained there until yesterday when Tyler Bullock was named the starting center.

It's been an interesting competition because early on in camp I noticed that Bullock was seeing plenty of time with the first team offensive line before he was slowed by injury. Mateas started the first four games before he got hurt in the loss at Western Michigan.

Mateas, although he was in pads the following week when UConn hosted Buffalo, was held out of the game. He was back for the Rutgers game but it was Bullock who earned his second straight start and figures to start again when the Huskies host Temple on Saturday.


“During preseason camp there was a lot of competition for that spot,” Bullock said. “You sign up to come here and play and that is what we both wanted to do. Obviously the injury had a huge impact on my outcome at the start of the season. That is just the way the game is. Guys will go down and you have to pick up the pieces and go in for that offensive position. We have nothing against each other, we are teammates. I’ll help him and he will help me, we give each other advice. That is pretty much how that is going so far.”

Matteas, a redshirt sophomore, began his career at Penn State before opting to transfer. He started the first four games before injuring his ankle in a loss at Western Michigan. Mateas was in uniform against Buffalo but was held out with the hopes that the extra week of rest would help him get closer to 100 percent. He got some time in last week’s loss to Rutgers. Even though he is healthy enough to return to a starting role, Mateas doesn’t not blame the coaching staff for keeping Bullock in the starting lineup for UConn’s game with Temple on Saturday.

“It has been a close battle between me and Tyler Bullock,” Mateas said. “At that point in time the coaches decided that he was healthy and he’s been practicing pretty well. I think they made the right decision because he did have a very good game (against Rutgers).

"On Saturday against Rutgers I did get a couple snaps. It definitely could have gone a little better. I didn’t change anything in my preparation. It is not what I expect from myself and definitely not what the coaches expect. I have some work to do to get back but me and Bullock will be fighting for the spot I hope a little longer.”

Interestingly enough, it was the process of recovering from an injury which ultimately resulted in Mateas leaving Penn State for UConn.

“It was just a difference of opinion on some treatment,” Mateas said. “It wasn’t anything that was extremely horrible in terms of the injury but I felt like it was the best decision and it looks like it has turned out pretty well for me. I am very happy with where I am but it is time to get back in there a little bit, get healthy and start fighting again.”

Obviously much has changed since Mateas left Penn State. Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno resigned under pressure shortly before his death because of the handling of the sexual abuse allegations against his former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday. The NCAA came down hard on Penn State for their handling of a Sandusky situation. Connecticut natives Silas Redd and Khairi Fortt were among the players who transferred.

"I've definitely been in touch with a couple of the guys I was really close with," Mateas said. "It is tough for them to talk about it even with me even though we are good buddies but it is just something tough to talk about. I think the players who decide to transfer or players who decide to stay on the team or stay at school, most of the guys are happy with their decision. They are slowly getting over it and getting over it in the right way so I think it is good."