Special honor for former UConn star

Former UConn defensive back Darius Butler will have his number retired by Coral Springs Charter tomorrow.

"He's just had a tremendous impact on this school," Charter athletic director Mike Higgins told the Sun Sentinel. "He's given back in so many ways; we felt it was the right thing to do."

Butler played at UConn from 2005-08 and was a four-year starter who had 10 interceptions. He was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. After playing 29 games and starting eight times in two seasons, he was cut by New England. Butler played the 2011 season with Carolina and has been with the Indianapolis Colts for the last two seasons. 

This season Butler had 18 tackles and two interceptions. In 18 games with the Colts he has six interceptions and three defensive touchdowns.

Indianapolis is off this week which will allow Butler to be in attendance when his number is retired. His brother Denzel is a senior receiver/defensive back on this year's Coral Springs Charter squad and he has 24 catches for 313 yards and three touchdowns to go with three interceptions with 7-1 Coral Springs Charter.

Todman has big night for Jaguars

With a wave of cuts on the horizon it is now or never for the former UConn stars who are fighting to make it onto the regular-season roster.

Running back Jordan Todman continues to make a statement that he belongs by ripping off a scintillating 63-yard TD run as part of an eight-carry, 105-yard rushing performance in the Jaguars' 31-24 loss to Philadelphia.

With injuries limiting the preseason work of the Jaguars' top running backs, Todman has had plenty of chances to show what he is capable of and he is making the best of his situation. He is currently ranks third with 163 rushing yards in the preseason.

"Any opportunity I get, my goal is to score and make a big play," Todman said in a post on the Jaguars official site. "I’m definitely trying to take advantage of every opportunity. I leave it on the field every day.”

In the same game rookie cornerback Dwayne Gratz intercepted his second pass of the preseason which ties him with three other players for the preseason lead.

As for other UConn products in action:

Donald Brown rushed five times for 35 yards and Darius Butler had two tackles in the Indianapolis Colts' 27-6 win over Cleveland

Danny Lansanah had three tackles in the New York Jets' 24-21 overtime win over the New York Giants.

Nick Williams had two catches for 19 yards during the final scoring drive in Washington's 30-7 win over Buffalo.

Blidi Wreh-Wilson had a tackle and pass breakup in Tennessee's 27-16 win over Atlanta. Robert McClain had solo tackles for the Falcons.

Kendall Reyes had a pair of solo tackles in San Diego's 24-7 win over Arizona.

Four more former Huskies could be in action when New Orleans plays Houston as Lawrence Wilson is a linebacker with the Saints and linebacker Trevardo Williams, tight end Ryan Griffin and receiver Michael Smith play for the Texans.

Also, up North former UConn TE John Delahunt had one catch for 18 yards as the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated Winnipeg 37-14.

Big game for Marcus Easley

Former UConn WR Marcus Easley hauled in seven passes for 94 yards in the Buffalo Bills' 44-20 win over Indianapolis. He also had a 21-yard kickoff return.

For the Colts, Darius Butler had two tackles including one tackle for a loss and Donald Brown ran three times for 10 yards and caught a 22-yard pass

Former UConn OL finds a home with Colts

It's been a pretty lucrative offseason for some former UConn stars and other state products.

                                                                                       (Associated Press photo)
Former UConn offensive lineman Donald Thomas will go from protecting
future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady to doing the same for Andrew Luck

Robert McClain earned a bonus of $269,000 for his play with the Atlanta Falcons while Darius Butler was re-signed by Indianapolis.

Former Norwich Free Academy star Matt Shaughnessy and Windsor's Terrance Knighton signed with Arizona and Denver respectively. Shaughnessy signed for one year and Knighton for two years so bigger pay days could be ahead.

However, nobody did better for themselves during this free-agency period than former UConn offensive lineman Donald Thomas.

Thomas, signed a four year contract with $14 million with Indianapolis. It's been quite the ride for Thomas who did not appear in a game in the NFL during the 2010 season and started just one game with the New England Patriots in 2011. However, Thomas opened some eyes with his solid play when injuries led him to start seven games with the New England Patriots last season. Register columnist Chip Malafronte, my predecessor at the UConn football beat writer, spoke to Thomas for his Sunday column.

"It was all a new situation for me. I’ve never been that guy before,” Thomas said  “I feel blessed.

"I was given an opportunity this year and I capitalized on it. I knew I could still play, I just needed a genuine shot. New England gave me that shot. It was a battle for me in training camp just to make the roster.”

Thomas becomes the latest former Husky to join the Colts as Donald Brown, Butler and Scott Lutrus are other former UConn stars on the Colts' active roster. Fellow UConn products Greg Lloyd and Kashif Moore also spent time with the Colts in 2012. Lloyd was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia but did not make the opening-day roster while Moore was picked up by the Colts after Moore was cut by Cincinnati and spent time on the Colts practice squad.

I reached out to the Colts in September thinking that all the former Huskies being signed by the team would make an interesting story and/or blog but the only response I got was "I have not responded to this. Thanks."

Butler, Colts to face Baltimore in playoffs

Darius Butler is the first of the three former UConn players to have a chance of seeing action in the NFL playoffs when the Indianapolis Colts play at Baltimore tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Butler, a cornerback, was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in 2009. After playing two seasons with the Patriots, he spent last year with the Carolina Panthers before being let go on Aug. 31. Butler was signed by Indianapolis on Sep. 25 and played 11 games for the Colts. Butler has 31 tackles and four interceptions for the Colts. Indianapolis also has two former Huskies on injured reserve. Running back Donald Brown ran for 417 yards in 10 games while linebacker Scott Lutrus was put on the IR in the preseason. Former UConn stars Kashif Moore and Greg Lloyd also spent time on Indianapolis' practice squad this season.

The other two UConn products on playoff teams will have to wait a week to get onto the field.

Donald Thomas, an offensive guard who played in all 16 games and started seven games, is another player who benefited from a change of scenery. Thomas started 13 games during the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He is in his second season with the Patriots and played a key role in allowing the Patriots to overcome a string of injuries on the offensive line. The Patriots are the second seed in the AFC and will host the highest remaining seed which emerges from this weekend's action on Jan. 13.

Cornerback Robert McClain of the Atlanta Falcons has been one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season. Like Thomas and Butler, he was given an opportunity to play due to injuries to established players.

McClain, who played 16 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2010, was an under the radar offseason signing by the Falcons and he has 61 tackles and an interception this season for Atlanta.

The Falcons are the top seed in the NFC and will host the lowest remaining NFC seed on Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.

Here is a breakdown on how the other UConn products fared this season (not including players on practice squads):

OT Will Beatty, New York Giants: Played 16 games and had 15 starts for Giants
S Tyvon Branch, Oakland: Had 94 tackles and an interception while starting 14 games
WR Marcus Easley: Did not have a reception in three games although he did return two kickoffs for 75 yards
QB Dan Orlovsky, Tampa Bay: Was 4 of 7 for 41 yards in 41-0 loss to New Orleans in only appearance
DT Kendall Reyes, San Diego: Had 28 tackles in 16 games and 3.5 of his 5.5 sacks came in win over New York Jets.
FB Anthony Sherman, Arizona: Played 13 games with four starts. Had no carries but had five receptions for 39 yards
RB Jordan Todman, Jacksonville: Had three rushes for eight yards and one catch for no yards in only game against New York Jets

Former Husky honored by NFL

Former UConn star Darius Butler of the Indianapolis Colt was named the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble in a 27-10 win over Jacksonville.

Butler, originally drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft by the New England Patriots, was signed by a free agent by Indianapolis in August.

Butler and the Colts just happen to be coming into New England this weekend to play the Patriots.