Taylor Mack set to return, Ty-Meer Brown iffy for UConn

It was a case of some good news and some bad news for UConn's injury-riddled secondary.

On a conference call earlier today UConn interim head coach T.J. Weist said that cornerback Taylor Mack, who has missed the last four games with a shoulder injury, has looked good in practice and could return to the starting lineup. However, starting safety Ty-Meer Brown was knocked out of practice yesterday after a head-to-head collision and he status for Friday's game against Louisville is up in the air.

Here's what Weist had to say about Mack, linebacker Graham Stewart and Brown.

"He (Mack) has a good week of practice, really they (Mack and Stewart) both had good weeks of practice. More than likely we are going to start Taylor Mack at corner. He has done a good job in practice, he has had really good practices. He has been physical and shown the ability to have contact, initiate contact. He has done a good job. He will split time with Jhavon (Williams) and we will see how practice goes today and see (come) game time how both of them (perform) because we are in nickel a lot so we will probably end up playing four/five DBs based on their personnel.

"Graham has done a better job each week. He is such a high-effort guy and a couple of hits he makes when he bangs up that leg or bangs up that ankle but he’s been fine. He has been full speed and he has done a good job and we expect more out of him this game.

"Ty-Meer Brown had an injury yesterday, we are still evaluating a little head-to-head collision in practice. He is getting checked out right now so there is no real update on him. We have to wait and see what is going to happen with the results. We are not sure if it was just a neck stinger. He was healthy this morning we just have to see how much contact he can have."

I also asked Weist for an update on offensive guard Gus Cruz who has missed the last two games due to a cardiac issue. Cruz will miss his third straight game but Weist is hoping he could return at some point this season.

"We are not sure," Weist said. "We are still in the same place we have been. I am not really at liberty to say if it is hereditary or what the cause of it but when you start talking about cardiac issues. He is responding to some treatment that he has been getting. It is more week to week for him. We hope and pray it is not the end of the season for him but we have to take it week by week and he is out this week. There have been some issues with him in the past that have led up to this with his shortness of breath so every week we look at him and say ‘OK, how much can you work out? How much do you feel normal with it? We are gradually bringing him back to see how much he can handle. As of this week he is still not playing but I am not going to count him out for the rest of the season just yet."