Thoughts on the UConn Football Offseason
Coming off a 2-10 season, this figured to be a long, quiet offseason for the UConn Football program. Season ticket holders are unhappy, the fanbase is frustrated, and it seems, at least in my circles, that nobody wants to talk UConn Football because it’s a mood killer. However, a number of things have happened since the spring game during what is usually a dead period for college football news. Let’s take a look and recap, and i’ll throw in my own personal thoughts along the way.
- Byron Jones Gets Drafted by the Cowboys in the 1st Round of the 2015 NFL Draft
- Jones was the 27th pick by the Cowboys, the highest pick ever taken from the University of Connecticut. I love the fit here, and he most likely will start for a Dallas secondary that was below average last year. Byron put himself on the map with his record breaking long jump during the combine, and I believe it elevated him onto the national scene and ultimately into the first round. All reports out of Dallas are that they love him after his performance during OTA’s. He’s a high character kid who will do nothing but represent UConn Football well. I’m not a Cowboys fan at all, but I’m glad one of our former players finally got drafted by a high profile team. Being the Cowboys 1st round draft choice carries more attention than being drafted 1st by almost any other team. He has a chance to really propel himself into the national spotlight, and his success will be UConn Football’s success.
- McQuillan leaves the Team
- Disappointing, to say the least. He was supposed to be a captain for the upcoming season. Diaco raved about his leadership. He is a CT kid. And then he made a dumb decision. He’s not the first kid to get in a fight in college, and he surely won’t be the last. He does leave with his degree, which is fantastic, but it’s too bad how it ended for him here. Hopefully he learns from his mistakes and will move on to future success. On the football side of things, this opens the door for Alec Bloom, who I think is going to be a stud for us on offense the next 3 years. He’s a big receiving target who can stretch the field, and can be a big asset in the passing game and in the red zone. I think he’s the best receiving threat we’ve had at the position since Ryan Griffin, and Bloom is much bigger and quicker in the open field. I’m expecting him to breakout this season, and now he has even more of an opportunity to do so.
- The Civil Conflict
- Listen, it makes no sense. The schools are a thousand miles away. They’ve only played a handful of times. There’s little to no history between the schools. And, UCF had no idea about it. However, the fact remains that as of this moment, we are in the AAC. NOBODY cares about AAC football. Nationally, the conference is a joke. This whole stunt comes off as a joke to the rest of the country. With all of that said…..I LOVE IT! I love what Diaco did here. He called out the top team in this conference and basically said, “We’re coming for you.” He got people, not just in CT and in Florida, but around the country talking about UConn Football in May. Sure they may have been laughing at us, but did any of those people ever talk about UConn Football before at all? Did they even know who are coach was? That we were in the AAC? Outside of our state borders, nobody remembers we were in the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago. Listen, I’d rather be known for winning games and just pulverizing this lame conference, but that’s not the reality at the moment. He pulled a stunt, a stunt that hurt nobody. And he let people know that UConn Football exists and is calling out the top dogs in the conference that were in. I hope they go down there this year and beat them on their home field and hoist that fake trophy afterwards.
- Our first two 2016 Commitments
- Recruiting is a fickle entity. These kids aren’t Huskies until they sign on the dotted line in February. However, UConn Football received its’ first two verbal commitments this past week. The first being a 3 star, 6 foot 4, dual threat QB out of VA, Donovan Williams. I’m not a recruiting guru, and I can’t anazlyze his high school film and tell you how it will translate to the college game. But here’s what I do like. He’s big. He’s athletic. He fits the mold of a dual threat that Diaco wants to run the QB position. I like that he’s a guy that can do multiple things. Looks like a good pickup. I also like that we went into Virginia and scooped this kid up. It seems Diaco’s plan was to stretch our recruiting area, and judging by last year’s class and the beginning of this one, we are doing just that. I am not in the camp that we must keep the best in state kids home. We must get the best players here, period. I don’t care where they come from. Some of our fanbase keeps waiting for the next Danny O, next hometown hero. I just want to win games. If we do that with kids from CT, or kids from West BumbleF***, I don’t care. Start winning games. WIth that said, the second commitment is a local kid out of Glastonbury, Keyion Dixon. Again, from everything I read on him, the kid is an athlete. Played QB & CB, but I believe he’s being recruited as a WR. All good, we need athletes. I like it.
@UConn813
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