Uncertainty surrounds three UConn commits at Milford Academy

It should not come as a shock the the frequency of calls to the Milford Academy football office concerning UConn commits Jordan Fuchs, Chasz Wright and Jamar Summers have picked up since UConn cut loose head coach Paul Pasqualoni and offensive line coach George DeLeone.

"As soon as they fired Coach Pasqualoni the phone’s been ringing off the hook, they smell blood," Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick said after a 45-32 loss to the Yale junior varsity team on Sunday. "I feel bad for those guys (Pasqualoni and DeLeone), I like those guys but they never got it going."

Jordan Fuchs' father was cited as a source by multiple recruiting analysts who reported that Fuchs, a tight end who was a Division I recruit in both football and basketball at Christ the King, had decommitted from UConn.

Fuchs, who recently returned to Milford Academy after a few weeks away from the school and football program, chose his words carefully when addressing his college recruitment.

"Coach P (Pasqualoni) sent me here and he is not at UConn anymore so I don’t know what is going to happen with that," Fuchs said. "I like UConn but I don’t know. I know Coach Weist, I like him, he is a good guy and what he is trying to do but there is that possibility that he might not be there and they could bring in a new guy and he could bring in a whole bunch of guys with him so I don’t really know, I am protecting myself and keeping my options open.

"I am just seeing how this plays out because I am kind of a tricky situation."

Summers, a cornerback out of Orange, N.J., is the UConn commit who gave an emphatic "yes" when I asked if he still intends to enroll at UConn in January.

His family has a history with DeLeone as DeLeone tried to recruit Jamar's brother out of high school.

"I was disappointed, those are two guys who looked at me, saw me and evaluated me at their camp, they saw potential in me so I was disappointed," Summers said.

"I am looking forward to the competition level, the big lights, the different competition levels that are going to be coming after me."

Wright, a 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive tackle from Woodbridge, Va., admitted he is opening up his recruitment.

"Coach P is a very nice coach and I have been able to sit down and talk to him 1 on 1, my parents sat down and talked to him," Wright said. "We have had him in our hearts since I committed to UConn but it is nothing that is going to hinder me so I have to keep rolling with the punches

"The door is really open for everything because my mind is not really committed to one school right now but UConn is still at the top of my list, I haven’t put them on the back burner, I still have ties with Coach (Mike) Foley so I am not really learning towards anything right now."

Chaplick said he talks to Foley, UConn's offensive line coach every week and that UConn will take in a Milford Academy game. Since UConn has the week off between the Central Florida and Louisville games, I would expect them to make the trip to see Milford Academy play at the Army JV team on Nov. 3.

The big day, however, comes later in the month as Milford Academy runs what is now called a fall practice but is basically a combine for college coaches the Monday after Thanksgiving. If Fuchs, Summers and Wright perform as well as Chaplick expects them to then it is likely that the interest in them among FBS programs will increase dramatically.

As for the experience of playing at Milford Academy, all three seem to thriving there.

"It has been fun, it has been a new experience in my life, a new chapter in my life being that I didn’t qualify for the scholarship but know I got my head right," Summers said. "I got a bunch of guys who are hungry for scholarships who want to go to I-A and I-AA schools."

Said Wright, "It was a very good experience, especially coming out of high school especially when you think you’ve learned everything in terms of the concept of football and you come here, you are surrounded by a lot of top quality coaches you can learn a lot. I have learned a lot as far as being here as a player, as a student in the classroom, a student of the game and an all-around better man."

Fuchs tells a funny story about his reaction when UConn recruiting coordinator Jon Wholley informed him where he would be headed for prep school.

"They told me in March there was a chance I would come here and also a chance I would come straight (to UConn) in June and they told me at the last minute, I was ready for both. I knew this would be a good situation for me because I could still play without losing any eligibility for college so even if I wanted to redshirt I could so I basically would still have those four years.

"When Coach Wholley told me where I was going, I Googled it and asked him where it was and I re-Googled it five times because I didn’t know where it was. Once I got there it wasn’t that bad and I am still adjusting to that."

Business as usual for UConn despite coaching upheaval

With national signing day in the books, it's a pretty good time to look back on what could have been.

When you factor in the departure of one coordinator and readjustment of duties of another, the bitter taste of  a second straight 5-7 season and never-ending rumors regarding conference realignment, this could have been the most frustrating recruiting year in recent memory.

However, at first glance that simply doesn't seem to the case. UConn's recruiting class has drawn praise from those who devote their time to judging such things. I can't sit here and tell you that players A, B and C are going to become the next Trevardo Williams, Sio Moore and Ryan Griffin but what I can say is that the Huskies seemed to secure commitments from the players it pursued the hardest. Case in point is that 12 of the 24 players who committed to UConn attended camp with the Huskies.

UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni was quick to credit the way new offensive coordinator T.J. Weist and running backs coach/special teams coordinator Kermit Buggs were able to get down to business shortly after being hired.

"When Kermit came in and got right out recruiting, T.J. got in and got us going, it kind of gave us a little energy coming down the stretch, coming down the final turn," Pasqualoni said. "I think it kind of helped us with the guys that they knew and fortunately Kermit Buggs knows the East coast. He was a high school coach in Virginia, he was at Penn State for eight years so this is not his first rodeo. He knows a lot of people up and down the coast."

Pasqualoni addressed the hiring of Weist as offensive coordinator and decision to promote Hank Hughes to defensive coordinator.

"He (Weist) is a tremendous human being, he is a high-energy guy and has an extensive background in football," Pasqualoni said, "I looked for somebody who had the responsibility of being a coordinator, how he put a package together and a guy who the kids would respond to on the field, in the meeting room and we like what we are doing offensively. We kind of like the marriage of what they are doing in Cincinnati (using) a lot of tight ends which is very important. You know how good that tight end they had so it made a lot of sense. We knew it would be a very good fit and give us a chance to get a guy in who can help us be productive and run the offense.

"The systems are similar. T.J. was very attractive to me because there is the blend, there is no ego there of ‘this is mine, that is yours.’ There is a marriage there of putting the thing together and that was pretty exciting and a guy that everyone on the staff can work with and feel great about. What we are trying to do is try to utilize the players that we’ve got and that is the key."

Pasqualoni said he "talked to a lot of people" for the defensive coordinator gig when Don Brown left to take the same job at Boston College.

"Hank has done this, he has an extensive background, knows the demands," Pasqualoni said. "I like to have coaches I can work with. Hank is a guy who since I have been here for two years is terrific. We can work together and develop what’s best. Don was that way and I wanted to make sure that we didn’t reinvent the wheel. If we bring somebody (new) in, we have to change everything. The kids are comfortable with we are doing, I wanted to be fair to the players on both sides of the ball, I wanted to be fair to the program so Hank was a natural candidate. Matt Cersosimo (who moved from receivers coach to working with the cornerbacks) was a natural, he played corner, he played defensive back, has an excellent background. He is a high-energy coach with a strong background and that made a lot of sense so it just kind of fit together."

One the subject turned to the new coaches on staff, I asked Pasqualoni if he felt a change at offensive coordinator was necessary considering the incredible struggles of the Huskies' offense in the last couple of seasons.

"One of the things that hurt us a year ago was the number of turnovers that we had," Pasqualoni said. "We were minus 12 and it is hard in close games to win some of those games and the reality of the deal was when we didn’t turn the ball over we did pretty good. Was it necessary? It gives us a chance to start again and have a fresh start, get moving and everybody understands what we are doing, everybody is on board and are working hard."

There is not a person in the coaching profession Pasqualoni has more respect and admiration for that his former offensive coordinator George DeLeone who is now working exclusively with the offensive line while Weist is now calling plays.

"The thing about George is there is no greater professional in this business," Pasqualoni said. "There is no one that works harder, has more knowledge or greater character than George so George is one tremendous human being, he really is."

Warde Manuel mum on coaching staff changes

Shortly before the start of the UConn/Louisville women's basketball game at the XL Center last night I caught up with UConn director of athletics Warde Manuel.

Considering the news that broke earlier in the day that George DeLeone was relinquishing his offensive coordinator position, it wasn't too hard to figure out what was the first subject broached with him. However, Manuel declined to comment on either the move of DeLeone to associate head coach while remaining the offensive line coach and the departure of defensive coordinator Don Brown to Boston College.


"I don't want to comment on that until we have our coordinators," Manuel said. "I’ll comment when we have hire our coordinators."

I was able to ask Manuel about a conversation I heard he had with the team shortly after the end of the regular season. I had heard that he lit into the team telling them to get with the program or head for the exits and that head coach Paul Pasqualoni has his full support.

Manuel said he did meet with the team but the conversation did not transpire the way I described above.

"I talked to them but it wasn’t because I felt like I needed to stand up for the coaches and I think they knew that," Manuel said. "It wasn’t a question about that but it was making sure they understood that we need to continue to work, we need to continue to get better and depending on their effort, the coaches’ effort, everybody in the room’s effort including mine that we have to put ourselves in the right position to do the right things and be prepared to have success."

Coming off back to back losing seasons, I was curious if he viewed this upcoming season even more pivotal than normal.

"Every game and everything we do is designed and should be designed to win and have success and when we don’t have a winning record we have to work even harder, work smarter and put ourselves in position in the right positions to do the right things to make success happen," Manuel said. "Every season is important and when you don’t win whether it is one season, two seasons you have to get down to the work and make things happen."

Since I periodically see reports out of Michigan with Michigan AD Dave Brandon continuing to hope that next year's UConn/Michigan game gets moved out of Rentschler Field and into a larger stadium, I asked Manuel for his take on the subject.

"It hasn’t been raised by their AD and I am not changing my perspective," Manuel said.

Finally, he spoke about having eight members of the 2012 squad playing in postseason all-star games as Nick Williams returned a pair of kickoffs for 37 yards in the Casino Del Sol College All-Star Classic last week, Jory Johnson and Ryan Griffin are playing in the Raycom College Football All-Star Classic on Saturday while Sio Moore will be playing in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday as well. On Jan. 26 the trio of Dwayne Gratz, Trevardo Williams and Blidi Wreh-Wilson are taking part in the Senior Bowl and Michael Smith compete in the Texas vs. The Nation event on Feb. 2.

"That I love, it always wonderful when any of our guys go and to have eight is a real testament to talent we have on the squad and the potential that we continue to have," Manuel said. "We just have to fulfill the potential that we have because we have talent and we have a lot of guys with ability, a lot of high quality, high character kids. They’ve been through a lot and never stopped playing for UConn and their teammates. It is a testament of who they are and how they were raised, how they carried themselves and I will always be proud of this senior class."

DeLeone no longer UConn's offensive coordinator

George DeLeone will no longer serve as UConn's offensive coordinator but has added the title of associate head coach and will continue to work with UConn's offensive line as was first reported by Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant.

DeLeone released a statement through UConn regarding the change in responsibilities.

“I continue to be excited about the direction of our offensive and I look forward to continue to work with the offensive line – a position group that I have been passionate about my entire coaching career. The new role of Associate Head Coach is a new part of my job that I am eager to take on.”

UConn finished 110th out of 120 FBS teams in total offense and was 117th in rushing offense during the 2012 season, DeLeone's second at the helm of UConn's offense.

There are reports that T.J. Weist, a former receivers coach at Cincinnati who called the plays for the Bearcats in the Belk Bowl victory over Duke, will be named UConn's new offensive coordinator.

With DeLeone's move, UConn will have two new coordinators as Don Brown resigned at UConn's defensive coordinator to take the same position at Boston College. UConn also lost running backs/special teams coach Clayton White returned to his alma mater to coach the safeties and be the co-special teams coordinator at North Carolina State.