Willman has big shoes to fill

When UConn has had its full complement of defensive linemen senior Tim Willman has been garnering the majority of first-team snaps at right defensive end which happens to be the same position Trevardo Williams held down in recent years en route to seeing the program sacks record.

Willman, who is about 20 pounds heavier than Williams, obviously brings a different dimension that Williams as he lacks the speed and impressive first step that Williams possessed but in the practices I attended in the preseason he was consistently one of the more noticeable defensive players I have seen. He was in the backfield on a regular basis which is something he will be asked to do in his senior season.

"I bring a lot of good run stopping," said Williams, who had three sacks during the 2012 season. "I learned a lot of technique from him so I am trying to play like him but also play my own style."

UConn not only lost Williams but defensive tackle Ryan Wirth from its defensive line. Wirth has been the one player that UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni has consistently mentioned as one of the toughest players that the Huskies need to replace.

With Shamar Stephen healthier than he was at any point last year, Julian Campenni seemingly in position to build on a solid freshman season and Jesse Joseph back after missing the last nine games of last season with a torn Achilles' tendon, the Huskies have a chance to have one of its most physical defensive fronts in recent memory.

"We lost two great players and we miss them a lot but we are picking up right where we left off and we are not missing a beat," Willman said

"That is something we are going to hang our hats on. We are going to play physical, play hard and play UConn defense."

Pasqualoni reflects on spring practice

I had an opportunity to catch up with Paul Pasqualoni after the football team was honored alongside the Huskies' men's and women's basketball programs at the annual "Husky Day" at the State Capitol.

Even though the offense failed to score a touchdown in the regular portion of the spring game, Pasqualoni said he is encouraged with what he saw from his team during the spring.


"We had quite a few guys make significant progress during the spring," Pasqualoni said. "The spring game is more about fundamentals and technique than its about anything else. I am pleased with the progress the offensive line has made, they are a cohesive unit, they are kind of intact 90 percent (back) from last year. I am pleased with the progress our two older wide receivers (Geremy Davis and Shakim Phillips) made watching the film. I think Deshon Foxx is making some progress as a wide receiver, pleased with the progress with the guys up front on defense. Young guys inside Julian Campenni, Mykal Myers, I think Andreas Knappe is making some excellent progress, Tim Willman made progress, the corners on the outside Jhavon Williams, Taylor Mack so I am happy with the effort and fundamentals, the level of focus which are all great signs going into August."

So is he concerned after UConn needed to rely on a pair of Bobby Puyol field goals during the normal portion of the spring game?

"That is just a matter of a little thing here and a little thing there but I thought the offense came up with some good plays and moved the ball down the field," Pasqualoni said. "I thought Chandler (Whitmer) did a good job of hitting the open receiver, took them down and all of that is a positive.

"We cut down what we did, we had controlled scrimmage for most of the game so those things are going to happen in that situation. We had too many guys rehabbing or injured, we didn’t have enough offensive linemen, we didn’t have enough linebackers for two units. You need six linebackers and we had five healthy for the scrimmage and I don’t know how you do that. Everybody will be fine, when the kids get back on campus in June I expect all the kids to be full go."

The player with the longest recovery process figures to be running back Martin Hyppolite who continues to rehab after being a passenger in a car involved in a fatal accident.

Pasqualoni was optimistic that when the team holds its first fall practice on Aug. 1 that center Alex Mateas will be part of the squad. Mateas was suspended indefinitely for the final week of spring practice for what was called a violation of team rules.

"That’s a team policy issue and that will be addressed at the end of the semester," Pasqualoni said.

When I asked him if he believed Mateas will be there for the start of fall camp, he said that he did.

Pasqualoni addressed the crowd at the Husky Day event and here's some of what he had to say.

"Growing up as a young kid in the state I don’t think I ever envisioned the mighty Michigan Wolverines ever coming into East Hartford to play UConn, what a tremendous, tremendous (honor).

"I am a little bit tired, the players are a little bit tired of the results we’ve had for the past two years; we are tired of it and our guys will acknowledge it, we have talked about it. What I can tell you is this – this team is being built the right way, the way the fans and the people in the great state of Connecticut would want it done with hard-working, high-character guys with tremendous, tremendous integrity looking forward very much to August 1 when we came back and have our first day and we get ready for the season opening on Aug. 28 at the Rent against Towson. We are committed to doing this the right way and bringing you the type of team I know you want, an exciting team, a team that is going to play great on defense and be exciting on offense, win games and represent the state of Connecticut and I-A football the way we all want."

Offensive linemen Jimmy Bennett and Steve Greene, defensive linemen Tim Willman and Shamar Stephen and kicker Chad Christen were among the UConn players there for the Husky Day ceremony.

Upset win sets stage for Saturday's regular-season finale

Just where the upset of nationally-ranked Louisville will go down in UConn folklore figures to be determined by just what happens in Saturday's regular-season finale.

If UConn wraps up the regular season with a win over Cincinnati, the Huskies will have secured a bowl bid which is something that seemed like a virtual impossibility following a loss at South Florida on Nov. 3 and that will make what transpired in Louisville all the more important. A loss to the Bearcats, especially a lopsided one, and it will be merely a footnote in a second-straight losing season.

“What it did for us is it makes this one (against Cincinnati) the most meaningful game we’ve played,” UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “The next game you play is always the most important one because it is the next game but obviously it is a game where we could become bowl eligible. It is the last game the seniors will play here at the Rent (Rentschler Field) so that Louisville game put us in position to have a pretty exciting game.”

Pasqualoni said that Christen was given the special teams’ game ball while the offensive game ball went to sophomore tailback Lyle McCombs, who ran for 133 yards. In a rare gesture, Pasqualoni said that the entire defensive unit was awarded the defensive game ball.

“It was very clear on the film how many guys (on defense) contributed to the win,” Pasqualoni said. “It started with doing a very good job on run defense, constantly putting them in second down and third down and longs where you kind of knew it was going to be a drop back type of thing instead of a play-action type of pass. They threw the ball 65 times in the game and that required us to use a lot of people. Guys like Julian Campenni came in and got a sack. B.J. McBryde came in and did a good job in the pass rush. Tim Willman came in and did a good job with the pass rush and Kenton Adeyemi came in and gave us a couple of rushes. I thought the guys inside did a good job of trying to keep (Louisville quarterback) Teddy Bridgewater in the pocket. It was an overall good team win. Obviously Blidi (Wreh-Wilson’s) play at the end was just a huge play to make that interception in the end zone.”