UCONN Football Experiences Engaging Weekend, Part II (Saturday, August 9th)
On Saturday, the Huskies unexpectedly boarded buses and headed for what they have termed ‘their house,’ Rentschler Field. The staff attempted to recreate a game day atmosphere by holding a scrimmage and from all accounts, the players responded.
“It was positive for our ninth practice in a row,” Diaco said after practice on Monday. “The team was a little lethargic, a little dead-legged, but it really didn’t show. You saw intensity, live-action, guys getting after it, but you also saw guys taking care of each other, encouraging each other and communication was high. We selected the day for a few reasons, the energy at the facility itself since there was an event there, to create kind of a distraction and how they would battle through that. We surprised them with that to create a little bit of anxiousness, anxiety and unsureness. We also wanted to see over-blown emotion, excitement and see how long that can last as we continue to shape and coach even the pre-game portion of leading up to contests. The team got better, the coaches got better and it was a positive working day at The Rent.”
One particular aspect of practice stood out to Diaco, the offense and offensive line.
“At the very end we had a critical situation where the team had a pre-prescribed set of plays, no more. If the offense got a first down, they won and if the defense got a stop, they won. Each time, the offense, each group, once, twice, the next man in came out and the offensive line re-set the line of scrimmage. We were able to move the ball and win the game by staying on the field. There’s nothing better than the game ending with your unit on the field, when your unit secures the win and your unit ends the game in a win. So they had a chance to see what that feels like.”
Tight end Sean Mcquillan corroborated what Diaco mentioned above.
“It was great, they actually had the rock race going on in the back ground, a little music playing. It’s always fun to get out to The Rent and scrimmage and get moving around in a different environment besides the Hilltop campus. It’s always a good thing when the offense can get a first down when needed to close a game out. It doesn’t get better than that, that’s the best feeling. All the guys rallied together and said we only have a few yards to get and we all came together and got it done.”
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