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Previewing the potential depth chart
The depth chart for the Sept. 5 opener at Ohio will be released on Sunday, but, for the most part, the Runway has been able to piece it together through practice observations and Edsall's comments over the last few weeks. Here's what to expect to see on Sunday.
QB
Zach Frazer
Cody Endres
Michael Box
Johnny McEntee
Casey Turner
Chip sez: Expect Frazer to be the guy all season, with Edsall providing a relatively long leash. Barring injury, or several disastrous performances in a row, I don't expect we'll see anyone else starting. The battle for backup should be competitive between Endres and Box.
RB
Jordan Todman
Andre Dixon
Robbie Frey
Meme Wylie
Chip sez: Todman's carries for the season will lie somewhere between the 47 he received last season and the 367 Donald Brown got. We know Todman has big-play capability, we'll find out how he is as an every-down back soon. Expect to see Dixon and Frey to spell Todman a little more often to keep legs fresh.
FB
Anthony Sherman
Anthony Davis
Chip sez: No surprises here. The Sherminator is a legit weapon as a receiver out of the backfield. Plus, gotta love a Yankees' fan with a Boston accent...Jaw-bah throws wicked haaahd.
WR
Dwayne Difton
Kashif Moore
Michael Smith
Isiah Moore
Marcus Easley
Brad Kanuch
Michael Lang
Gerrard Sheppard
Malik Generett
Chip sez: Lots of young talent, easily interchangeable. Difton is the class of the bunch, the Moores, Smith and Easley should all have plenty of catches. Lang, Sheppard and Generett have potential, but are still raw.
TE
Ryan Griffin
John Delahunt
Chip sez: Griffin is a huge target, and should receive plenty of work from Frazer.
LT
Dan Ryan
Adam Masters
LG
Mathieu Olivier
Alex LaMagdelaine
C
Moe Petrus
Gary Bardzak
Ben Chapman
RG
Zach Hurd
Erik Kuraczea
RT
Mike Hicks
Mike Ryan
Chip sez: Losing Jimmy Bennett hurts. While there's experience with the starters (only Sir Mathieu Olivier has never started a game before), the backups are still somewhat green.
DEFENSE
DE
Lindsey Witten
Mike Cox
DE
Jesse Joseph
Trevardo Williams
A.J. Portee
Chip sez: Losing Cody Brown and Julius Williams (to the NFL) and Marcus Campbell (to grades) weakens the position. It's tough to replace the combination of strength and speed those three brought every game. Witten is capable, but Cox has battled knee injuries and the three on the other side have yet to play a game.
DT
Twyon Martin
Alex Polito
DT
Kendall Reyes
Brandon Dillon
Chip sez: Solid four-man rotation here.
MLB
Greg Lloyd
Greg Robinson
SLB
Scott Lutrus
Jory Johnson
WLB
Lawrence Wilson
Sio Moore
Chip sez: Quality, but not quantity.
CB
Jasper Howard
Dwayne Gratz
CB
Robert McClain
Blidi Wreh-Wilson
FS
Robert Vaughn
Kijuan Dabney
SS
Jonathan Jean-Louis
Jerome Junior
Chip sez: Recent shuffle in the secondary sends Dabney back from linebacker. Jean-Louis and Junior in a battle at strong safety, and could be an 'OR' on the official depth chart.
SPECIAL TEAMS
KOR
Todman
Frey
PR
Howard
K
Teggart
P
Cullen
QB
Zach Frazer
Cody Endres
Michael Box
Johnny McEntee
Casey Turner
Chip sez: Expect Frazer to be the guy all season, with Edsall providing a relatively long leash. Barring injury, or several disastrous performances in a row, I don't expect we'll see anyone else starting. The battle for backup should be competitive between Endres and Box.
RB
Jordan Todman
Andre Dixon
Robbie Frey
Meme Wylie
Chip sez: Todman's carries for the season will lie somewhere between the 47 he received last season and the 367 Donald Brown got. We know Todman has big-play capability, we'll find out how he is as an every-down back soon. Expect to see Dixon and Frey to spell Todman a little more often to keep legs fresh.
FB
Anthony Sherman
Anthony Davis
Chip sez: No surprises here. The Sherminator is a legit weapon as a receiver out of the backfield. Plus, gotta love a Yankees' fan with a Boston accent...Jaw-bah throws wicked haaahd.
WR
Dwayne Difton
Kashif Moore
Michael Smith
Isiah Moore
Marcus Easley
Brad Kanuch
Michael Lang
Gerrard Sheppard
Malik Generett
Chip sez: Lots of young talent, easily interchangeable. Difton is the class of the bunch, the Moores, Smith and Easley should all have plenty of catches. Lang, Sheppard and Generett have potential, but are still raw.
TE
Ryan Griffin
John Delahunt
Chip sez: Griffin is a huge target, and should receive plenty of work from Frazer.
LT
Dan Ryan
Adam Masters
LG
Mathieu Olivier
Alex LaMagdelaine
C
Moe Petrus
Gary Bardzak
Ben Chapman
RG
Zach Hurd
Erik Kuraczea
RT
Mike Hicks
Mike Ryan
Chip sez: Losing Jimmy Bennett hurts. While there's experience with the starters (only Sir Mathieu Olivier has never started a game before), the backups are still somewhat green.
DEFENSE
DE
Lindsey Witten
Mike Cox
DE
Jesse Joseph
Trevardo Williams
A.J. Portee
Chip sez: Losing Cody Brown and Julius Williams (to the NFL) and Marcus Campbell (to grades) weakens the position. It's tough to replace the combination of strength and speed those three brought every game. Witten is capable, but Cox has battled knee injuries and the three on the other side have yet to play a game.
DT
Twyon Martin
Alex Polito
DT
Kendall Reyes
Brandon Dillon
Chip sez: Solid four-man rotation here.
MLB
Greg Lloyd
Greg Robinson
SLB
Scott Lutrus
Jory Johnson
WLB
Lawrence Wilson
Sio Moore
Chip sez: Quality, but not quantity.
CB
Jasper Howard
Dwayne Gratz
CB
Robert McClain
Blidi Wreh-Wilson
FS
Robert Vaughn
Kijuan Dabney
SS
Jonathan Jean-Louis
Jerome Junior
Chip sez: Recent shuffle in the secondary sends Dabney back from linebacker. Jean-Louis and Junior in a battle at strong safety, and could be an 'OR' on the official depth chart.
SPECIAL TEAMS
KOR
Todman
Frey
PR
Howard
K
Teggart
P
Cullen
posted by Chip Malafronte at
10:50 AM
5 Comments:
Chip,
How accurate is the Kentucky Hammer on those longer FGs? Will Edsall use him more or is Teggart's leg good enough to be full time, every chance kicker?
Also, speaking of Desi, they should put him at free safety, he seems like he likes to lay a licking on those kick returners once in a while. (Tongue firmly implanted in cheeck).
Good call, Gary. I meant to ask Edsall that very question Tuesday and forgot. It seems Desi has been kicking them long in practice, and pretty accurately. I think he will be the long guy (50-plus yards).
This may sound crazy but I like UConn's total roster better than last year's, especially on offense. I liked Frazer a lot in the Louisville & Rutgers games before he got hurt and if we have even one decent reciever, that's one more than last year.
If Jasper can replace Darius at all (and Butler missed a few games), then the D will be fine. I love the LBs.
Yea, it's August and I'm optimistic but UConn was a mediocre passing game away from 10 wins last year in my opinion (they would've beaten Rutgers & USF and given WVU a game into the 4th quarter).
Good preview. I notice that Marcus Aiken is not on the lists for WR or FS/SS. Do you think he won't see any significant time at either position?
Anonymous,
I think Aiken will be redshirted. He's only been a free safety for a few days now, and there's enough depth at receiver that, if and when he moves back there, they won't burn his eligibility.
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