Former UConn quarterback Dan Orlovsky passed for a game-high 153 yards (completing 8 of 12 passes) in last night's preseason game against Oakland as the former Shelton High star continues his bid to be the top backup to Matthew Stafford with the Detroit Lions.

It marked the highest yardage total Orlovsky has thrown for since the 2011 regular-season finale as he threw for 264 yards for the Indianapolis Colts in a 19-13 loss to Jacksonville.

On Friday night Orlovsky came into the game in the second quarter after Stafford threw a pair of touchdown passes. He missed his first two throws but only threw two more incomplete passes the rest of the way. He had back to back completions of 23 and 34 yards on his second drive which ended with a field goal. On the next possession he completed passes of 36 and 15 yards to engineer a touchdown scoring drive to give the Lions a 23-10 lead.

Oakland rallied for the 27-26 with former UConn stars Sio Moore and Tyvon Branch finished with four and three tackles respectively for the Raiders. Branch would leave the game with an ankle injury.

In other action on Friday night former UConn star Kendall Reyes forced a fumble in the San Diego Chargers' 41-14 loss to Seattle. In the same game Donald Brown ran four times for 16 yards, caught two passes for 13 yards and had a 26-yard kickoff return for the Chargers. Also, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who is fighting for a starting spot in Tennessee, got the start at cornerback and had a tackle for a loss late in the second quarter in a 31-24 loss to New Orleans.

The NFL is holding a rookie symposium to try to help the next wave of promising prospects make the often difficult transition from college life.

Something tells me the first-year players with the San Diego Chargers don't need to head at a week-long group of seminars but merely spend some time with third-year defensive end Kendall Reyes.

If ever there was a visual of a professional athlete who "gets it", the festivities on the playing fields outside the Boys and Girls Club of Nashua yesterday during the second annual R.E.Y.E.S (Re-engaging Youth through Exercise and Sport) Family Field Day would certainly do the trick. Reyes was not merely the face of the event but he was at the forefront of every activity, engaging with the people who turned out, posing for photos and acting like anything but the resident NFL star. Of all the people who turned out for the event, it's highly unlikely any of them enjoyed themselves more than Reyes himself.

Reyes joins Donald Brown (now his teammate in San Diego) and Darius Butler as the only UConn products to be taken in the top 50 picks in the NFL Draft. He is the first kid from Nashua, N.H. to play in the NFL since linebacker Kole Ayi played a total of 12 games with St. Louis and New England during the 2001 and 2002 seasons and the first one to be drafted since tackle Herb Wester went in the fifth round of the 1988 draft. But there is so much more to Reyes than being the Big Man on Campus.

Even though he has started 20 regular-season games during his first two NFL seasons, including all 16 during the 2013 season, Reyes has not forgotten his roots.

Before he was attracting college recruiters to his games at Nashua North High School or playing a pivotal role in UConn playing in its first BCS bowl game, he was like one of the more than 200 kids who turned out on Saturday. The Nashua Boys and Girls Club was once his sanctuary, a place where he not only became a better athlete but a more well-rounded person as well.

"I spent a good amount of years mostly from fourth to sixth grade when my family needed me here," Reyes said. "The Boys and Girls Club, they had my back and our entire family's back. That is where I spent the bulk of my years here, they were very pivotal years growing up."

So when it came time for Reyes to organize an event in his hometown, it was only natural that the Boys and Girls Club and Nashua Police Athletic League would be at the forefront of the feel-good event. So shortly after the San Diego Chargers wrapped up mini-camp, Reyes was "on the first thing smoking out of San Diego, I hoped on the field flight I could and I came out.

"Giving back, that is just part of who I am. It is just the fact that I actually get to do it. I can get everybody together to do something for the community out in Nashua and basically all of Southern New Hampshire. Basically it is a blessing and I am so glad I get to do it, working with all of these people who are willing to give up some time and make sure these kids have a great time. That is what it is about at the end of the day, that this kids have a truly great experience that they can go and remember and help them in any facet of their lives."

When the inaugural event was held last year Stellos Stadium was the site but this year Reyes and the other event organizers decided to hold it at the Boys and Girls Club. So on the fields at Grand Avenue there was an obstacle course, dunking tank, 3 on 3 basketball games and a variety of other events set up.

"It's great," Reyes said. "I would say the first year was definitely the learning curve so you learn from that and I brought it back second year. I wanted it to do it here at the Boys and Girls Club of Nashua, it is a great location and it is easier for us to set everything up. The turnout is great, we have a bunch of food for everyone, the kids are having a blast and I am going out and playing games with them. I really couldn't ask for anything better."

This weekend was all about giving back and reconnecting with people who helped Reyes become the first player from Nashua to start an NFL game since Greg Landry in 1984. In about a month he will be back in San Diego looking to become a more consistently effective player in his third season with the Chargers.

"We put some good things together, we have some solid players and now we have to figure it out," said Reyes, who has 62 tackles and 10.5 sacks in his first two NFL seasons. "We have a solid team so it is just being consistent and things are looking good for us in 2014. You learn so much in this game, every year you learn more about the game, learn more about yourself. It is always adapting and molding to the game. Adaptability and ability to stay healthy, that is a huge part of it, taking care of your body and mentally staying with it is all a huge part of it."

He has a familiar face on board as the Chargers signed Brown, the only UConn player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, in the offseason. When Reyes was a freshman Brown enjoyed a record-setting season with the Huskies as he ran for 2,083 yards and 18 touchdowns. While he's not going to reach those numbers this season with the Chargers, it didn't take long for Brown and Reyes to take trips down memory lane.

"Don's out there, we have gone golfing a few times and he is a solid dude," Reyes said. "I always looked up to him and now that he is on our locker room I still look up to him, the type of leadership he has, he is an excellent teammate and he always puts his team first and I always admired him."

Reyes admits his delight at seeing the ever expanding number of his former UConn teammates making it into the NFL.

"We all still chat it up and get together whenever we play against each other, it is awesome," Reyes said. "There are so many of us that are in the league now. Back at UConn we would also talk about the league and now we are there so it is dreams coming true. So many guys that made it and so many guys that are about to come on up, we have done some good things and clearly there is talent in Connecticut."

The most recent additions are defensive tackle Shamar Stephen and linebacker Yawin Smallwood, taken in the seventh round of last month's draft by Minnesota and Atlanta respectively.

"I was excited to see them drafted. I hit them up to tell them I was proud of them and now it is starts," Reyes said.

Byron Jones, who will be a senior cornerback on the 2014 UConn squad, figures to be up next as he was rated as one of the top five senior prospects at his position by one NFL draft analyst.

"He was a freak athlete since the day he showed up," Reyes said. "He is doing his thing and as long as he continues to work hard and continue to get better he is going to be a solid player."

Reyes admits that when he comes back into New England, he tends to gravitate to Nashua rather than head back to UConn but he said he has been getting positive progress reports on how things are progressing up new head coach Bob Diaco.

"I am not going to lie it is pretty tough getting back there," Reyes said. "I live year round in San Diego, I have a huge commitment here in New Hampshire. I go back when I can but it is pretty tough going back. I have heard a lot of good things about the coaching staff, even some of the former players I am in contact with, they love the (staff) and the changes."

Finally, I would have been remiss had I not asked Reyes for his reaction to the death of San Diego sports icon Tony Gwynn, who lost his battle with cancer last week.

"It is not news you want to hear," Reyes said.  "I can definitely empathize with his son Tony Gwynn Jr. and his family (Reyes' father Gerard passed away in February at the age of 49). I was at an event with him but I never got too close. The whole Chargers' organization we went down to the stadium and visited his statue so the community loved him."

With a wave of cuts on the horizon it is now or never for the former UConn stars who are fighting to make it onto the regular-season roster.

Running back Jordan Todman continues to make a statement that he belongs by ripping off a scintillating 63-yard TD run as part of an eight-carry, 105-yard rushing performance in the Jaguars' 31-24 loss to Philadelphia.

With injuries limiting the preseason work of the Jaguars' top running backs, Todman has had plenty of chances to show what he is capable of and he is making the best of his situation. He is currently ranks third with 163 rushing yards in the preseason.

"Any opportunity I get, my goal is to score and make a big play," Todman said in a post on the Jaguars official site. "I’m definitely trying to take advantage of every opportunity. I leave it on the field every day.”

In the same game rookie cornerback Dwayne Gratz intercepted his second pass of the preseason which ties him with three other players for the preseason lead.

As for other UConn products in action:

Donald Brown rushed five times for 35 yards and Darius Butler had two tackles in the Indianapolis Colts' 27-6 win over Cleveland

Danny Lansanah had three tackles in the New York Jets' 24-21 overtime win over the New York Giants.

Nick Williams had two catches for 19 yards during the final scoring drive in Washington's 30-7 win over Buffalo.

Blidi Wreh-Wilson had a tackle and pass breakup in Tennessee's 27-16 win over Atlanta. Robert McClain had solo tackles for the Falcons.

Kendall Reyes had a pair of solo tackles in San Diego's 24-7 win over Arizona.

Four more former Huskies could be in action when New Orleans plays Houston as Lawrence Wilson is a linebacker with the Saints and linebacker Trevardo Williams, tight end Ryan Griffin and receiver Michael Smith play for the Texans.

Also, up North former UConn TE John Delahunt had one catch for 18 yards as the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated Winnipeg 37-14.

Kendall Reyes records one of his two tackles in Thursday's preseason game

Three former UConn players had multiple tackles as this week's NFL preseason schedule began with four games.

Cornerback Robert McClain had three solo tackles in Atlanta's 27-23 loss to Baltimore.

Lawrence Wilson had two solo tackles including a tackle for a loss as the Chicago Bears defeated San Diego 33-28. In the same game Kendall Reyes also had a pair of solo tackles for the Chargers.

There are four more games tonight with the chance of seeing a former Husky in each of the games.

Marcus Easley looks to build on a seven-catch performance in his preseason debut when the Buffalo Bills plays Minnesota.

Dan Orlovsky is a reserve quarterback with Tampa Bay which plays at New England tonight. Orlovsky did not get into the preseason opener so it will be interesting to see how the quarterback snaps are distributed.

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith going up against his former team is the top story line in the KC/San Francisco game but it will also be the second game with the Chiefs for  former UConn fullback Anthony Sherman.

Last but certainly not least, Sio Moore and Tyvon Branch lead Oakland against New Orleans.

While the NFL's preseason schedule began last week with Dallas beating Miami in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, tonight will be the first chance for former UConn players to get in on the act.

It begins when Tampa Bay hosts Baltimore at 7:30 p.m. with Dan Orlovsky among the Buccaneer quarterbacks.

Cornerback Robert McClain, one of the most surprising performers during the 2012 season, and the Atlanta Falcons will host Cincinnati at 8 p.m. in a game being televised live by ESPN.

At the same time a pair of members from the 2012 UConn team will be on opposing teams as receiver/return specialist Nick Williams of the Washington Redskins could cross paths with cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson of the Tennessee Titans.

Defensive lineman Kendall Reyes and the San Diego Chargers will play Seattle at 10 p.m. and the game can be seen on the NFL Network beginning at 11 p.m.

Darius Butler is the first of the three former UConn players to have a chance of seeing action in the NFL playoffs when the Indianapolis Colts play at Baltimore tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Butler, a cornerback, was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in 2009. After playing two seasons with the Patriots, he spent last year with the Carolina Panthers before being let go on Aug. 31. Butler was signed by Indianapolis on Sep. 25 and played 11 games for the Colts. Butler has 31 tackles and four interceptions for the Colts. Indianapolis also has two former Huskies on injured reserve. Running back Donald Brown ran for 417 yards in 10 games while linebacker Scott Lutrus was put on the IR in the preseason. Former UConn stars Kashif Moore and Greg Lloyd also spent time on Indianapolis' practice squad this season.

The other two UConn products on playoff teams will have to wait a week to get onto the field.

Donald Thomas, an offensive guard who played in all 16 games and started seven games, is another player who benefited from a change of scenery. Thomas started 13 games during the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He is in his second season with the Patriots and played a key role in allowing the Patriots to overcome a string of injuries on the offensive line. The Patriots are the second seed in the AFC and will host the highest remaining seed which emerges from this weekend's action on Jan. 13.

Cornerback Robert McClain of the Atlanta Falcons has been one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season. Like Thomas and Butler, he was given an opportunity to play due to injuries to established players.

McClain, who played 16 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2010, was an under the radar offseason signing by the Falcons and he has 61 tackles and an interception this season for Atlanta.

The Falcons are the top seed in the NFC and will host the lowest remaining NFC seed on Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.

Here is a breakdown on how the other UConn products fared this season (not including players on practice squads):

OT Will Beatty, New York Giants: Played 16 games and had 15 starts for Giants
S Tyvon Branch, Oakland: Had 94 tackles and an interception while starting 14 games
WR Marcus Easley: Did not have a reception in three games although he did return two kickoffs for 75 yards
QB Dan Orlovsky, Tampa Bay: Was 4 of 7 for 41 yards in 41-0 loss to New Orleans in only appearance
DT Kendall Reyes, San Diego: Had 28 tackles in 16 games and 3.5 of his 5.5 sacks came in win over New York Jets.
FB Anthony Sherman, Arizona: Played 13 games with four starts. Had no carries but had five receptions for 39 yards
RB Jordan Todman, Jacksonville: Had three rushes for eight yards and one catch for no yards in only game against New York Jets

Just a quick recap of how former UConn stars fared in exhibition games on Thursday night

WR Marcus Easley, Buffalo: Had one catch for 12 yards in 7-6 loss to Washington
DB Robert McClain, Atlanta: Tied for team lead with five solo tackles and six overall tackles and had an interception in 31-17 loss to Baltimore
DT Kendall Reyes, San Diego: Had four total tackles and 1/2 a sack in 21-13 win over Green Bay
OG Donald Thomas, New England: Got start at LG in 7-6 win over New Orleans
LB Lawrence Wilson, New Orleans: Had four total tackles in 7-6 loss to New England.

There will be six more preseason games on Friday although there are reports that former Huskies Will Beatty (New York Giants OT) and Jordan Todman (Minnesota Vikings RB) will be held out because of back and ankle injuries respectively.

In the Canadian Football League Larry Taylor returned eight punts for 88 yards, had 85 yards on four kickoff returns and ran once for 13 yards in Calgary's 31-20 win over Hamilton. Taylor added to his league league in combined return yardage. He has 1,228 yards between kickoff, punt and missed field goal returns and no other CFL player has hit the 1,000-yard mark.

Your weekly edition of Tuesday notes:

• Scott Lutrus' situation hasn't changed. He's still practicing during non-contact drills only and is 50-50 for this week. Lutrus again said he hasn' t experienced any pain or limitations with his range of motion. It's simply the medical staff be cautious with what could turn into a serious injury. Considering the opponent this week, and the fact the Huskies are on bye the following week, don't expect to see Lutrus in the lineup against URI.

• There's not a lot to complain about with UConn's defense. But the Huskies have failed to come through in a couple of 3rd-and-long situations, one of which played a big part in the loss to North Carolina. "It's just execution," Edsall said. "The biggest thing is we have to do a better job as coaches to get those kids to understand that when it's 3rd-and-20, you don't take a 5-yard drop. You get back deeper and make them throw the ball underneath and then you rally to it and make the tackle. We have to do a better job of emphasizing 'know the down and distance'; 'get deeper in your drops'. We've played zone, we brought four, we brought five; we haven't gone to an all-out blitz, but we have to do a better job of coaching them up."

• The defensive calls were no different on those big third down plays. UConn has never played a prevent defense, Edsall said. "First of all, I don't know what a prevent defense is," he said. "I have no idea what a prevent defense it. All I know is, all the calls we made in the first three quarters, we were making the same calls in the fourth quarter." UConn has been in its nickel package making the same calls.

• Cody Endres graded his performance Saturday as "average, maybe a little better than average." His biggest problem was trouble with reads early, but "that got better as the game went on." Edsall concurred, saying he needs to be a little more precise with his short passes. Edsall also addressed the lack of deep balls. "Everyone wants to see you chuck it and all that stuff," he said. "But the farther you throw it, the harder it is to complete it. It's not so much about about throwing deep, it's about throwing effective. If you throw effective, you create more opportunities. Yeah, we want the ball to go down the field, but there might be teams that take that away by the way they play." He also mentioned one play against Baylor that went down field, a completion called back because of an illegal formation penalty.

• Edsall said there are 68 guys competing to make the travel roster, either on offense, defense or special teams. "I've never had that luxury with so many guys," Edsall said. "Part of it is guys understanding the importance of special teams."

• Erik Kuraczea said the offensive line was very happy with it's performance against Baylor, and that it didn't think it would be as easy to create space and opportunities against the Bears. "It makes you realize how good (UConn defensive tackles) Kendall (Reyes) and Twyon (Martin) really are," Kuraczea said. "Going up against them in practice every day tells me how good they are compared to other defensive tackles."

• Kuraczea and Mike Ryan worked their way into the rotation at Baylor, and Edsall said he'll keep it the same this week. The plan is every third series will go to the young linemen.

• Andre Dixon on the offensive line, "Coach Foley is an amazing coach, but those guys really busted their humps in the weight room and during drills. They went out and did the work. You saw guys like Hurd, Dan Ryan, Mike Hicks, Olivier and Moe amping themselves up . It was a huge challenge in Waco, and they were up to it."

• Where were you when Donald Brown scored his first NFL touchdown last night in the Colts slim victory over the Dolphins? It seemed to have caught some of the Huskies off-guard. Edsall said the game was on in his bedroom, but he was sound asleep "face down in the pillow". His son came in and woke him up just in time for the groggy coach to see the replay. Andre Dixon was watching the game, but happened to be in the bathroom when Brown scored. But, he said he didn't waste any time sending Donny a text message (no word on whether Dixon sent it from the throne. Let's hope he waited).

• File this in the category "things you won't see anywhere on the planet aside from a football training table". In the UConn football dining room today, sitting on each table in a lovely plastic frame, was advice on how to make the best of "the training table experience". One section was devoted the best ways to avoid hunger. Another provided tips on how to prevent weight loss. And don't we all need help keeping those excess pounds on? Among the ingenious tips...eat, play a game of billiards in the lounge, then come back for seconds. (I, for one, never would have thought of that). It also suggested peanut butter and jelly as an alternative to "a meat sandwich". (Such as bacon, which you might find in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich). Another novel concept was to purchase food at a local store and then stow it in your room, preferably in a refrigerator. I can make copies for anyone looking to balloon up like Kevin Federline. As the great Thornton Melon, CEO of Tall and Fat Stores once said, "if you want to look thin, you hang out with fat people."

Hi there. Are you a large person? Pleasantly plump? A little on the hefty side, perhaps? Well, let's face it: Are you FAT? When you go jogging, do you leave pot-holes? When you make love, do you have to give directions? At the zoo, do the elephants throw YOU peanuts? Do you look at a menu and say 'OK'? The UConn training table can help you keep that rotund figure.

Hope to see you on the live chat Thursday at 2 p.m.