UConn looks to put road struggles behind them

The results and numbers have not been pretty in UConn's first three road games.

It started with a 41-12 loss at Buffalo in Paul Pasqualoni's final game as UConn's head coach. Humbling defeats to Cincinnati and Central Florida followed.

Heading into today's game at Southern Methodist UConn has surrendered an average of 33 points per game in three road games and the Huskies are facing the No. 1 passing offense in the American Athletic Conference and SMU senior quarterback Garrett Gilbert is first nationally in total offense per game.

"We just haven't played well," UConn senior offensive lineman Steve Greene said. "We haven't come out and executed like we are capable of really all year. We have another chance to come out and get this thing rolling."

UConn knows it will be challenged by a potent SMU passing attack.

"It is a big opportunity," UConn sophomore safety Andew Adams said. "We don't look in the past, we are always moving forward and I feel like we are to step up to the challenge. As a defense we haven't been a good tackling team on the road so Coach (Hank) Hughes emphasized tackling this past weekend so if we minimize our missed tackles I feel like we will be OK on the road."

UConn interim coach T.J. Weist hasn't had the easiest matchups since he became head coach especially when it came to defending the opposing quarterbacks. Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, Central Florida's Blake Bortles, Brendon Kay of Cincinnati and now SMU's Gilbert are all players with the capability to playing football professionally.

"You watch them move up and down the field, they throw the ball all across the field, down the field and every which way there is to throw the ball and he (Gilbert) does a good job of managing that," Weist said. "He does a good job of tempo, you can see him moving fast, you can see him getting lined up and spreading the ball vertically, horizontally to multiple receivers, they have three of the best receivers in the league, two of the best receivers in the country."

UConn players look back to 2010 game at Michigan

With UConn ready to host Michigan on Saturday night in what could be the most high-profile home game in program history, it seems like a perfect time to look back on UConn's 2010 game to Michigan.

Although he did not start in the game, senior defensive tackle and captain Shamar Stephen made one of his two tackles on UConn’s first defensive series.

“That was the first time I ever played in a game so it was definitely a great experience for me,” Stephen said. “I remember it was a pretty fast tempo, getting into it was a little different and as the game wore on, I adjusted and started making the plays.

“It was definitely nerve wracking at first but once you make that first hit, it all goes away and you are into the game. I was more focused on my assignments. I just didn’t want to mess up in my first game but it was pretty crazy.”

Stephen was one of six current Huskies to play in the 30-10 loss to Michigan in the 2010 season opener. Jesse Joseph started at defensive end and made four tackles, Cole Wagner had a 66-yard punt, Chad Christen averaged 65.3 yards on three kickoffs while Martin Hyppolite and Taylor Mack also played in the game.

Many of the current seniors were on the travel squad for UConn’s lone trip to Michigan Stadium.

“It was a fantastic experience,” UConn senior offensive tackle Kevin Friend said. “I was a redshirt freshman and I have never seen a stadium like that before and just to see it, looking up at it and seeing that it was full it was awesome. Just feeling what the team felt in the locker room and how everyone came together before the game and psyched everybody up. It was an awesome experience.”

Fellow senior offensive lineman Steve Greene also has mostly positive memories of the trip to Michigan.

“I remember it was a big place and we were in the game and we had a chance to win it too,” Greene said.
“It is one of the most famous arenas in college football so obviously it is a great experience.”

New faces dominate story lines in Newport

As I walked into Fort Hale State Park in Newport, R.I. on the eve of the inaugural American Athletic Conference football media day about the only familiar site was the scene of watching the lobsters being cooked at the annual clam bake.

Looking around at the coaches, the only holdovers from last year's media day was Louisville's Charlie Strong, Kyle Flood of Rutgers and Paul Pasqualoni of UConn. The three other teams who played in the Big East a season ago feature new coaches as Tommy Tuberville now coaches Cincinnati, Willlie Taggart is the new coach at South Florida and Matt Rhule took over at Temple when Steve Addazio left to take the job at Boston College.

It really hit home how much things have changed in just one year's time seeing players and coaches from Houston, SMU, Memphis and Central Florida walking around. Tomorrow morning it will become even more of a reality when the predicted order of finish is announced. It will be interesting to see where the teams coming in from Conference USA will figure into the balloting. I am not one of the media members who gets a vote but if I did get to cast a vote, I would say that Central Florida is the best of those four teams. I might even be tempted to put UCF into the third spot behind Louisville and Cincinnati and just ahead of Rutgers. It will also be interesting to see where UConn falls in the predicted order of finish. Coming off back to back 5-7 seasons, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Huskies fall somewhere between 6-8.

As for the Huskies, they will be represented by quarterback Chandler Whitmer, offensive guard Steve Greene and defensive back Byron Jones at tomorrow's media day festivities.

Smallwood a preseason All-American

UConn rising junior linebacker Yawin Smallwood was named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele.

Smallwood led UConn with 120 tackles during the 2012 season. He had six double-digit tackle games as a sophomore including back to back 14-tackle efforts against North Carolina State and Maryland. Smallwood also had four sacks, forced two fumbles, 15 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.

Smallwood, running back Lyle McCombs and cornerback Byron Jones were all named to the American Athletic Conference preseason first team, offensive tackle Jimmy Bennett and kick Chad Christen were third-pick pick while offensive guard Steve Greene, linebacker Graham Stewart and punter Cole Wagner were fourth-team selections.

Offensive line looks to rebound after forgettable 2012 season

The 2012 season was not the best of times for UConn's offensive line.

UConn was 100th nationally in sacks allowed and 117th in rushing offense a combination that resulted in a disappointing 5-7 final record despite ranking ninth in total defense.

Six offensive linemen who started games last season are back so obviously optimism is high among the returnees as they look to reestablish the line as a dominant unit.


"I think we are going to go up," said senior guard Steve Greene. "I know I am not going to stand for it and all the other guys are with me, we are not going to be the weak point of this team. We are going to be the driving force behind this team that helps us win the game.

It was awful. There is no other word that says it. When you can’t run the ball it makes you so one dimensional and teams can virtually just tee off on you and it makes everything else a lot harder. When you can run the ball you can control the game and that is what we need to be back to. That is what we’ve been preaching and what we’ve been working. We are going to run the football and be successful at it."

Running the ball has been a trademark of recent UConn squads which made what happened last season tough to swallow for players and fans alike.

"It was a collaboration of everything, it wasn’t everybody all the time it was one person having a breakdown," Greene said. "On offense you need 11 guys functioning together or it is not going to work. Right now I feel like we are on that page, we are working real well and you are going to see some results.

"The standard has been set. We know what needs to get done. Really there is nothing left to do but to do it. I know it is a corny saying but that is what it comes down to."

The only returning starter gone is right guard Adam Masters who missed the last three games of the season with an ankle injury. 

"We lose Masters who is a special dude, he is tough to replace but he (got injured) early," Greene said. "Gus (Cruz) came out and got a lot of time so you can say we return the five guys we finished the season with which is going to be huge for us."

A bonus is the return of starting left tackle Jimmy Bennett for a sixth season of eligibility.


"Jimmy is one of my best friends, a great kid and the sky is the limit for him," Greene said. "It is good to see him finally play a full year of football last year and it is going to be good to see what he can do in his second year back. I am excited, we are all excited. We have been working well in the spring without Jimmy and when we gets inserted back into the lineup, I feel like it can only go up."

Bennett has shoulder surgery in December forcing him to miss the entire spring camp. In his place Xavier Hemingway and Dalton Gifford have had an opportunity to take first-team reps at left tackle.

"Jimmy is my right arm, I guess my left arm since he plays on my left side," Greene said. "Me and Jimmy have such a good chemistry out there, we don’t even have to make calls to know what each other is doing. It is huge for them to step in and get this time. I honestly felt they have been doing a great job. Honestly I was a little skeptical coming into the spring having X (Hemingway) on my left, a guy who hasn’t had much experience but he has done a great job. He got hurt, he is down right now and Gifford has stepped up and he has done a great job too."

Not only will Bennett be out of the lineup and Hemingway is iffy as well, but Alex Mateas (who started the first four games at center during the 2012 season) at has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. At the last open practice Tyler Bullock was at center with Cruz and Greene at guard,  Kevin Friend and Gifford at tackle on the first team. The second team featured Kyle Bockeloh at center, Zach Rugg and Tyler Samra at guard with Paul Nwokeji and Richard Levy at tackle.

Parking lots will open at Rentschler Field tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. with gates set to open at 10:30 a.m. for the spring game which will start at noon. In the wake of the events in Boston security could be tighter than normal. UConn put out a reminder that  that personal bags are not allowed to be brought into events at Rentschler other than bags containing personal medical supplies.