Byron Jones still remembers that mid-October, 2009 weekend as if it happened yesterday.

Jones, now a captain and star cornerback at UConn, was taking in his first UConn football game and his eyes were transfixed on this undersized but mercurial cornerback wearing jersey No. 6.

"I remember looking at him and thinking 'that guy is small.'" Jones said. "At the time Marcus Aiken, I went to high school with him, and I said 'Marcus, who is that small guy over there?' He said 'that's our starting corner.' I said 'he's starting? He plays?' Then he had that game where I think he had a strip fumble in the red zone and so many tackles. I was blown away by his performance. He was a guy with a small body but a big heart. I remember going home and getting a call from one of my friends that he passed away and it took my heart right out."

That player with a small body but big heart was Jasper Howard, a Miami native who had 11 tackles with a forced fumble and fumble recovery in win over Louisville. Just after midnight Howard was stabbed during an altercation outside the Student Union and he succumbed to his injuries.

In the last year there has been an effort, spearheaded by UConn fan Lisa Lowry, to erect a statue of Howard at Rentschler Field and last week it was announced that a secure giving fund was set up by the UConn Foundation to raise the necessary amount of money to make the memorial to Howard become a reality.

"That is awesome," Jones said. "I know a lot of people out there are really fighting hard for it and it was a long battle. Unfortunately I wasn't there at the time and I am sure he was a great person and a great teammate."

While none of current UConn players took the field alongside Howard, his former teammates have been among the most vocal supporters of the project. Hearing current NFL players pushing so hard to remember their fallen teammate is something that has moved the members of the current UConn squad.

"I didn't have the privilege to meet Jasper Howard but everything I hear about him is he was a very stand-up guy, everybody loved him and I feel honored that we are able to celebrate his life,' UConn senior receiver Deshon Foxx said. "When you have so many people who cared about you like that, they will do anything to get a statue up for you, you must be something special."

Jones certainly echoes the same sentiments.

"Those are guys are great character and that is a huge part of who Jasper Howard was, he was a great person and the kind of person that his teammates didn't forget about," Jones said. "Just because of the person he was, the type of impact that he had, .people have moved on from UConn are in the NFL and are still fighting to have this memorial."

Post practice updates...

• The injuries to Lindsey Witten and Mike Hicks aren't believed to be serious. Edsall expects them both to be back by Saturday. Receiver Kashif Moore didn't practice as a precaution with a tweaked hamstring. Erik Kuraczea is back at practice after having "his bell rung" last week.

• Kijuan Dabney was hurt during a blitz drill Wednesday. His status is unknown, pending more examinations, but in the meantime David Kenney has been moved up from defensive back to back-up Husky position. He'll remain there as long as Dabney is out.

• Michael Smith's grandmother passed, and he left campus to attend her funeral.

• Linebacker Jerome Williams suffered a burst appendix earlier in the summer, and underwent a difficult surgery that was touch and go. He is slowly working his way back, and will be limited much of this fall.

• Those who were at practice got to see how exciting a player Dwayne Difton really is; the rest of you will be pleasantly surprised this season. Difton evoked images of Donald Brown by stiff-arming Jasper Howard to the turf on one play. Howard got up and drilled Difton, who was already out of bounds, with Difton laughing at his "big brother". Howard has taken Difton, a fellow south Floridian, under his wing, and the two have become close. "It's the same thing Darius Butler did with me," Howard said. "I want to make him feel at home." Still, the pair like to go at it in practices. Howard has been impressed with Difton's ability. "Whatever he was, 4-star, 5-star, he's living up to the billing," Howard said. "He's doing a tremendous job."

• I, for one, keep forgetting Howard isn't a captain. He's such a natural leader, and has really been working with many of the younger players, not just Difton. He also wants to keep the UConn cornerback tradition of heading to the NFL alive. Bigger and stronger this fall, Howard also seems faster. "I can't slack off," Howard said, speaking about leadership as well as pro aspirations. "Tyvon did it, Darius did it. It's up to me and Reggie."

• There was a full referee crew on hand for today's practice, and if I didn't know better I swear the umpire was Tom Morello, the guitarist from Rage Against the Machine. Could have been his twin brother.


Bulls, err...Huskies on parade?



• Michael Box and Cody Endres got more action this afternoon simply because it was the second session of the day, so Zach Frazer got a bit of a break. Both looked good, Box in particular. He seems to be a heady player with lots of potential.

• Netflixed Iron Maiden: Flight 666 last night (which I watched by myself...the wife isn't as enamoured with 80s metal as I am). Great documentary. Iron Maiden is truly a global band, drawing crowds in excess of 100,000 for concerts in places like India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Columbia. In Brazil and Argentina, the band is revered as true rock gods. They were greeted by tens of thousands of fans both at the airport and hotel...incredible. The coolest part is lead singer Bruce Dickinson is also a commercial airline pilot, and personally flies the group and their entire road crew and equipment on a customized 757, known as Ed Force One. Worth watching if you're into that kind of thing. If not, I'll stop now.

Two .... minutes....to touch down...