More on ‘The Play,’ from East Carolina
There was under a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter of Thursday night’s AAC contest at East Carolina, as the Huskies offense looked at 2nd and 9 from their own 31. QB Chandler Whitmer handed off to true freshman RB Ron Johnson, who headed right, but a lack of a running lane forced him to reverse field and was there ever green grass in front of him, sans one weakside defender.
Enter Whitmer, who sprinted ahead of the play, lowered his shoulder and freed Johnson for a 22-yard run that took UConn into East Carolina territory heading into the fourth. The game was tied, 21-21 and momentum was much on the Huskies side.
The block was most certainly a ‘winning play,’ one that head coach Bob Diaco references the Huskies are in dire need of, week in and week out.
UConn went on to lose 31-21, but their play offensively, the physicality and overall production from the passing game, was much better. Whitmer’s block, epitomized that fact.
“I saw it and I was hyped,” offensive lineman Gus Cruz exclaimed following the loss. “I was really hyped to have him put his body on the line to spring up a few more yards. That tells you the want to and him wanting to win. When you have your quarterback being physical like that, everybody has them [QB’s] as prima donna’s, just dropping back, looking pretty, fixing their hair, but he really put his big man shoes on and took care of business on that play.”
Cruz couldn’t help but continue to admire the effort.
“That’s something we see everyday with Chandler, fans don’t get to see that all the time, but he puts in a lot of work in the weight room and every other aspect of the game, so it was exciting for me watching that,” he added. “I almost got as excited for that play as one of those long passes we had, so it was great to see.”
Those statements, equal buy-in and support for a player that has been much maligned by fans over the course of his career. Even if the team was already all-in on Whitmer before, the effort on that play, solidified it.
Following the game, Whitmer looked at is as just another play, him just doing his job.
“Whatever it takes, these guys fight for me, I just do my job,” he said. “Whether it’s throwing the ball or getting blocks in those situations, I want to be smart, but I’m putting it out there to fight for these guys and they fight for me. We love each other, it was a great fight tonight.”
The senior quarterback went on to talk about the disappointment of another loss, but he and the rest of the team understand the progress being made. Hanging in with a team for three and a half quarters and falling by ten points is not what anyone’s definition of success is. That part is clear.
Head coach Bob Diaco echoed that there are no moral victories, but there are certainly plays and situations that can be looked at, as positives to build on. This one in particular, certainly falls into that category and he won’t let the team forget it.
“They’ve watched it, a lot,” Diaco said on this morning’s AAC teleconference when asked if he’s shown the team the play. “In fact, as soon as I saw it happen in the game, I actually ran down to the defensive bench to have them watch the board, if they hadn’t already seen it, and a lot of them had seen the play. It’s a huge, huge thing, a selfless act, a contact tough moment that is an energizer from a position that wouldn’t otherwise be asked to do that. It was a great, great play.”
The Huskies will need some more of these ‘winning plays’ come Saturday, when Central Florida visits Rentschler Field, seeking their 12th conference win in as many games. Judging by the performance given on Thursday, it should be a good atmosphere, at The Rent.
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