August 13, 2007
UConn coach Randy Edsall doesn't expect to make a decision any time soon when it comes to who will be the starting quarterback for the season opener Sept. 1 at Duke.
Sophomore Dennis Brown and junior college transfer Tyler Lorenzen are competing for the spot, with freshman Cody Endres a long shot.
"If there's a time when we can make a decision, we'll make a decision," Edsall said Saturday. "Whether that's next week or it's the week before [the first game] or whatever, that's when it will be. There's no hurry to it. There's a lot of evaluation that has to take place and I want to make sure that we're giving it the justice that it deserves."Lorenzen and Brown have split time with the first-team offense in the first week of camp, with Endres, Zach Frazer and walk-on Matt Vollono also getting snaps. Frazer, a transfer from Notre Dame, can practice with the team but must sit out the season.
"I've seen some things I liked and I've seen some things that I know that we're going to improve upon," Edsall said. "The amount that we put in, I've been pleased that they've been able to handle a lot of that. But again, the sharpness and the crispness isn't down yet. You don't expect it to be right now. It will get there once we get through all this and we go back and really kind of go over it again."
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Edsall Takes Defense To Task, Says No Job Safe
Coach Randy Edsall's rising voice bit through the early morning air like a stick of dynamite detonating on the hilltop practice field.
After the defense failed to complete a mundane drill, Edsall lobbed an angry warning at the unit for its effort the first hour of practice Saturday.
Senior defensive tackle Dan Davis, one of six captains, fully understood Edsall's anger.
"One thing we try to do is that we don't want it to get to the point where the coaches are the ones pointing it out to us," Davis said. "We want to be able to police and govern ourselves before they get to us. One thing we have to try to do as captains and leaders is govern ourselves. The coaches shouldn't have to tell us we're not pulling our weight. It shouldn't get to that point. That's a wake-up call for us."
Listening to the coach call out the defense for a lackadaisical effort stung Davis, an animated and vocal leader.
"Guys came out this morning and it was a little bit of a change of scenery," Davis said. "It was the earliest we've had practice all camp. We started off a little slow today. But it's no excuse for letting it get to that point. That burns me. We put a lot of work into being where we are right now. When we don't come out here and practice up to our capabilities and Coach sees that, that hurts me. We have a lot of goals going into the season. We want to be a championship team, and to do that we have to be consistent and perfect every day."
Edsall's message after the first of two practices Saturday was that no job is safe.
"I didn't think the intensity was as good this morning as I would have liked," Edsall said. "This was the first time that we've come out for a double session in the morning so the schedule was a little bit different. But I didn't think they came out with the kind of intensity and emotion and enthusiasm that you need to play defense. They've been doing it. Today wasn't as good.
"The good thing is, if there's guys that aren't performing up to the standards that we expect of them, I think we have depth now that we can just take a guy and put him down with the second team and move somebody up in front of him. There's guys here that can step in and take over, and maybe in years past we weren't able to do that, but now we're able to do that, and then they might have a tough time getting their job back."
Davis said that, other than Saturday's effort, the defense has made strides each day since camp opened Monday.
Davis is one of five returning starters from a defense that was sixth in the Big East and 82nd in the country last year. The Huskies finished 4-8 and allowed 358.1 yards a game.
"We had a little bit of inconsistency during the week, but it was just some very small setbacks," Davis said. "All in all, I think we're making huge strides. I think we're more of a focused team. We're not making as many mistakes as we did before. We've just got to keep that focus and keep improving as we get through the preseason."
Davis was an onlooker for most of the practice. Edsall said Davis will sit out one practice on two-session days. He missed all of spring practice recovering from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
"I'm feeling fine right now," he said. "The training staff is taking good care of me after every practice. I'm stretching and doing the things I need to do to be ready for when the season comes. I'm taking everything in stride and just trying to be healthy and take real good care of my leg."
Rest For Brown
Sophomore running back Donald Brown also watched much of practice from the sideline, sporting a sleeve on his right leg.
"We just wanted to give him some time off," Edsall said. "He's had a little thing with his leg, nothing serious. Just bumps and stuff. It gives me a chance to give those other four tailbacks a lot of work and see some of those young guys."
Tight end Martin Bedard also sat out the morning practice with what was termed as bumps and bruises. ... Walk-on David Cornell, a tight end from Peru, Mass., left the team.
Edsall Pleased With Newcomers
One positive Edsall pointed to Saturday was the play of the 23 scholarship freshmen in camp.
"To just single any of them out would be a disservice to any of them," Edsall said. "I've been pleased with the whole group. I think all of them have the ability to do things. We'll see how it plays out, I think there's going to be some guys that will be able to make a contribution this year. ... We've thrown a lot at them. We'll see how they react to scrimmage situations and get a better feel for it, but overall I've been very pleased with the whole freshman group."
UConn coach Randy Edsall doesn't expect to make a decision any time soon when it comes to who will be the starting quarterback for the season opener Sept. 1 at Duke.
Sophomore Dennis Brown and junior college transfer Tyler Lorenzen are competing for the spot, with freshman Cody Endres a long shot.
"If there's a time when we can make a decision, we'll make a decision," Edsall said Saturday. "Whether that's next week or it's the week before [the first game] or whatever, that's when it will be. There's no hurry to it. There's a lot of evaluation that has to take place and I want to make sure that we're giving it the justice that it deserves."Lorenzen and Brown have split time with the first-team offense in the first week of camp, with Endres, Zach Frazer and walk-on Matt Vollono also getting snaps. Frazer, a transfer from Notre Dame, can practice with the team but must sit out the season.
"I've seen some things I liked and I've seen some things that I know that we're going to improve upon," Edsall said. "The amount that we put in, I've been pleased that they've been able to handle a lot of that. But again, the sharpness and the crispness isn't down yet. You don't expect it to be right now. It will get there once we get through all this and we go back and really kind of go over it again."
===
Edsall Takes Defense To Task, Says No Job Safe
Coach Randy Edsall's rising voice bit through the early morning air like a stick of dynamite detonating on the hilltop practice field.
After the defense failed to complete a mundane drill, Edsall lobbed an angry warning at the unit for its effort the first hour of practice Saturday.
Senior defensive tackle Dan Davis, one of six captains, fully understood Edsall's anger.
"One thing we try to do is that we don't want it to get to the point where the coaches are the ones pointing it out to us," Davis said. "We want to be able to police and govern ourselves before they get to us. One thing we have to try to do as captains and leaders is govern ourselves. The coaches shouldn't have to tell us we're not pulling our weight. It shouldn't get to that point. That's a wake-up call for us."
Listening to the coach call out the defense for a lackadaisical effort stung Davis, an animated and vocal leader.
"Guys came out this morning and it was a little bit of a change of scenery," Davis said. "It was the earliest we've had practice all camp. We started off a little slow today. But it's no excuse for letting it get to that point. That burns me. We put a lot of work into being where we are right now. When we don't come out here and practice up to our capabilities and Coach sees that, that hurts me. We have a lot of goals going into the season. We want to be a championship team, and to do that we have to be consistent and perfect every day."
Edsall's message after the first of two practices Saturday was that no job is safe.
"I didn't think the intensity was as good this morning as I would have liked," Edsall said. "This was the first time that we've come out for a double session in the morning so the schedule was a little bit different. But I didn't think they came out with the kind of intensity and emotion and enthusiasm that you need to play defense. They've been doing it. Today wasn't as good.
"The good thing is, if there's guys that aren't performing up to the standards that we expect of them, I think we have depth now that we can just take a guy and put him down with the second team and move somebody up in front of him. There's guys here that can step in and take over, and maybe in years past we weren't able to do that, but now we're able to do that, and then they might have a tough time getting their job back."
Davis said that, other than Saturday's effort, the defense has made strides each day since camp opened Monday.
Davis is one of five returning starters from a defense that was sixth in the Big East and 82nd in the country last year. The Huskies finished 4-8 and allowed 358.1 yards a game.
"We had a little bit of inconsistency during the week, but it was just some very small setbacks," Davis said. "All in all, I think we're making huge strides. I think we're more of a focused team. We're not making as many mistakes as we did before. We've just got to keep that focus and keep improving as we get through the preseason."
Davis was an onlooker for most of the practice. Edsall said Davis will sit out one practice on two-session days. He missed all of spring practice recovering from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
"I'm feeling fine right now," he said. "The training staff is taking good care of me after every practice. I'm stretching and doing the things I need to do to be ready for when the season comes. I'm taking everything in stride and just trying to be healthy and take real good care of my leg."
Rest For Brown
Sophomore running back Donald Brown also watched much of practice from the sideline, sporting a sleeve on his right leg.
"We just wanted to give him some time off," Edsall said. "He's had a little thing with his leg, nothing serious. Just bumps and stuff. It gives me a chance to give those other four tailbacks a lot of work and see some of those young guys."
Tight end Martin Bedard also sat out the morning practice with what was termed as bumps and bruises. ... Walk-on David Cornell, a tight end from Peru, Mass., left the team.
Edsall Pleased With Newcomers
One positive Edsall pointed to Saturday was the play of the 23 scholarship freshmen in camp.
"To just single any of them out would be a disservice to any of them," Edsall said. "I've been pleased with the whole group. I think all of them have the ability to do things. We'll see how it plays out, I think there's going to be some guys that will be able to make a contribution this year. ... We've thrown a lot at them. We'll see how they react to scrimmage situations and get a better feel for it, but overall I've been very pleased with the whole freshman group."
