Quarterback Struggles

UConn’s passing game versus Pitt struggled on Saturday–Big Time. Tyler Lorenzen started the game, went 4-for-21 and threw two interceptions. In comes Zach Frazer.  He couldn’t do any worse than Lorenzen, right? Ummm…think again. Frazer tossed three picks in just four attempts–one of which was returned for a touchdown.How bad have the UConn quarterbacks been this year? Just take a look at this:

- Between Frazer and Lorenzen, there were five interceptions Saturday. They’ve thrown four touchdown passes all year.

- Lorenzen leads the team in passing with 820 yards.

- Anthony Sherman, a 250-pound fullback, is the team’s leading receiver.

- The Hartford Courant’s Jeff Jacobs slipped me a note that said Darius Butler to start at QB versus Pitt and I believed it.

Brown vs. McCoy…Get your popcorn ready!

                       

 

Saturday’s match-up between UConn and Pittsburgh pits (no pun intended) two teams plagued by inconsistency all year. Pittsburgh lost to Bowling Green and gave up 54 points!!! to Rutgers while UConn, the only team in the nation besides Oklahoma to defeat 10-2 Cincinnati, lost headscratchers to Rutgers and South Florida. My guess for Saturday is as good as yours. One things for sure, however. A national audience will be treated to a show by two of the premier running backs in the country–Pitt’s LeSean McCoy and UConn’s Donald Brown. Both figure to declare for the 2009 NFL Draft, and both figure to go pretty high. Here’s where they rank among the top running back prospects:

1A. Chris “Beanie” Wells, Ohio State

1B. McCoy

3.Knowshon Moreno, Georgia

4. Brown

5. DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma

What now for Andre Dixon?

Andre Dixon’s season has come to an all-too-fitting end.

Dixon, the team’s leading rusher and Co-MVP in 2007, was suspended indefinitely yesterday after he was arrested for a DUI early Tuesday morning. The big question: Where does he go from here? Let’s look at the possibilities.

Scenario A: Donald Brown goes to the NFL (which he should). In this case, Dixon figures to be the starter next season. As much as coach Randy Edsall loves freshman Jordan Todman, I think he’s well-aware that Todman–at 180 pounds–is not ready to handle the starting role by himself. This is the best scenario for Dixon.

Scenario B: Brown returns. In this case, Dixon will have a hard time getting on the field. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Edsall kicked him off the team. This is his second suspension and between Brown, Todman and Robbie Frey, the Huskies won’t need much help in the backfield. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dixon was forced to transfer (or pull a Cornell Brockington and enter the NFL Draft).

Scenario C: Brown goes to the NFL, and for whatever reason, Edsall has enough faith in Todman and Frey to either kick Dixon off the team or leave him relegated to the same lame role that he plays on the kick return team now. Somehow, I wouldn’t be surprised at this either. Dixon is as in the doghouse as anyone can be.

The Prediction: Scenario A. I’m an optimist. Dixon can still contribute to UConn football in a big way. Let’s not forget–a year ago at this time, Dixon was the best player on the team.

UConn Football Look-a-likes

No wonder why UConn football SID Mike Enright doesn’t know any of the players’ names (he said Hey, Terry to a person who was NOT defensive back Terrence Baltimore today).  Rest easy Mike, it’s tough to tell some of the players apart–many look strikingly like each other.  Let’s check out the first installment of UConn football look-a-likes:

Donald Brown and DJ Hernandez look exactly alike.  If one wasn’t awesome and the other didn’t suck, it would be very difficult for coaches to tell the two apart. 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Jean-Louis and Gary Wilburn

God Bless you if you know who either of these players are.  Jonathan Jean-Louis (or JJ, as he’s known in the football circle) was actually competing for a starting safety job last spring before Dahna Deleston was moved from outside linebacker back to his original strong safety spot.  Wilburn, who came to UConn with best friend Kelmetrus “Meme” Wylie (the 5th string running back), was never really expected to compete for a job in the secondary, but when Darius Butler went down last, he and Robert “Reggie” McClain III were sharing time as Butler’s replacement.  That’s all off-topic though.  The point is they look exactly alike.

Brown getting some recognition…

Donald Brown, who is leading the nation in rushing at a clip of 156.5 yards per game, was selected as one of 15 finalists for the Maxwell award, which is like a cheap knock-off of the Heisman trophy. 

Whatever, though–he’ll take it. 

The 14 other nominees:  Sam Bradford, So., QB, Oklahoma; Darryl Clark, Sr., QB, Penn State,  Michael Crabtree, So., WR, Texas Tech; Chase Daniel, Sr., QB, Missouri, Shonn Greene, Jr., RB, Iowa; Graham Harrell, Sr., QB, Texas Tech; Jeremy Maclin, So., WR, Missouri,  Colt McCoy, Jr, QB, Texas; LeSean McCoy, So., RB, Pittsburgh; Knowshon Moreno, So., RB, Georgia; Javon Ringer, Sr., RB, Michigan State; Zac Robinson, JR., QB, Oklahoma State; Mark Sanchez, Jr., QB, USC; Tim Tebow, Jr., QB, Florida.

Brown doesn’t exactly have his hopes up for the prize.  He puts it quite bluntly when he says “No one from UConn will ever win an award like that.  In order to to that, you have to get respect around the country, and we don’t get much respect outside of this building [Burton Complex].”

This is all true.  Brown won’t win the Maxwell.  But if he keeps this up and UConn finishes strong, there’s no reason why he can’t win the Doak Walker award for best running back.

Biggest Game in Program History?

All the players will tell you the same thing.  So does Randy Edsall:  Every game is a big game, blah, blah, blah, blah. 

 I’m not buying it. 

This game will decide whether UConn football takes the next step.  A loss puts the Huskies at 2-2 and the Mountaineers at 3-0.  PapaJohns.Com Bowl here we come.  A win, well, that puts UConn in the drivers seat to earn its first-ever BCS Bowl bid. 

One warning sign though.  This game is HUGE, but Edsall can’t make it out to be too huge.  By, according to Darius Butler, deciding to move the All-Big East cornerback to offense and limit his defensive snaps, Edsall is acting desperate before the game has even started.  If UConn thinks it needs to pull all these wild tricks to beat a team that lost to East Carolina and Colorado, then it’s already lost the game.  The Huskies should trust the formula that’s gotten them this far (Donald Brown), and by all means, if Butler can still contribute on defense as well, there’s nothing wrong with adding a little explosiveness to the offense.

Butler to play just offense?!?!

Randy Edsall surely didn’t mention it–but Darius Butler did. 

The All-Big East cornerback said he would be playing wide receiver “full-time” and not playing much defense in UConn’s crucial Big East match-up with West Virginia.  Read More here.

The Breakdown:

Very, very very bold move by Edsall.  Butler is far and away the team’s best receiver, so from an offensive standpoint, it makes sense.  But he’s also the best open-field tackler UConn has out of all their cornerbacks.  If Edsall does indeed do this, it seems like a move of desperation more than anything.  This WVU team isn’t as good as it was in the past–and Edsall shouldn’t have to pull a stunt like that, it sucks the confidence out of his own squad.

Zach Frazer’s Not feelin’ so hot…

Following UConn’s heart-breaking 12-10 defeat at Rutgers, quarterback Zach Frazer was not allowed to speak with the media because he was feeling “fuzzy.”  

According to wide receiver Kashif Moore, that’s because Frazer suffered a concussion.  Usually, it’s tough to play one week after a concussion, so its likely that we’ll see redshirt freshman Cody Endres on Saturday versus Cincinnati.  

 

Frazer’s been decent, but–as an unbiased observer of spring practice–Endres was the most polished quarterback the Huskies had.  Perhaps this will be a “Tom Brady” type of change for UConn.  Or perhaps it will not make the slightest difference in the Huskies’ anemic passing attack.  We’ll have to see.

1.5 point favorites?!?!?!

 

So I went online to check how much UConn would be favored by against a pathetically bad Rutgers team.  Granted, the game is in Piscataway, but UConn had to be giving at least a touchdown, maybe ten points. 

But no… the Huskies are favored by 1.5 points!!!  When did Robert Smith start setting the college football spreads? 

Let’s just put this in perspective:  Rutgers is 1-5, they lost to Navy and Fresno State and head coach Greg Schiano sounded clinically depressed during Tuesday’s teleconference with the Connecticut media.  He sounded so bad that one member of the CT media–who shall remained unnamed–asked him if he was mentally stable. 

It doesn’t matter who’s playing quarterback for the Huskies–Zach Frazer, Tyler Lorenzen, D.J. Hernandez, Andre Dixon, Darius Butler–it’s all the same.  As Schiano said (as he was fighting back tears):  “No. 34 is good no matter who’s handing the ball to him.  He’s an exceptional player.” 

Schiano is, of course, referring to Donald Brown–the New Jersey high school legend who rushed for 2,021 yards and 27 touchdowns in his senior season at Red Banks Catholic high school and is now making Rutgers pay for not recruiting him. 

 

The bottom line:  Brown will run wild and Schiano will sink into a deeper state of depression.  27-7, UConn.

The Wild Hog hits UConn..

If there’s any good that can be drawn from the UConn-North Carolina “game” (if you want to call it that), it came in two uneventful plays in the second quarter. 

UConn ran a formation that is taking the football world by storm–”the wild hog.” 

Arkansas’ Darren McFadden made if famous last season when he lined up in a shotgun formation as the quarterback alongside speedy tailback Felix Jones.  He either handed the ball to Jones or faked the handoff and ran the ball himself.  Clearly, it’s alot more difficult to stop than it sounds.  Just ask the New England Patriots, who were victimized by the Miami Dolphins’ Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. 

 

 

I’m glad Edsall decided to branch out and try this.  He’s not normally one for new fads (except for that sharp-looking haircut), but given the way UConn’s offense has struggled and the playmakers it has in the running game, this semmed like a no-brainer.  Darius Butler, an option quarterback in high school, is flanked by Donald Brown, and hopefully at times, Andre Dixon.  Putting both Brown and Dixon back there will only add another decoy for the defense to concentrate on.