Young Huskies Squad Beginning to Come of Age
It was well documented here over the past several weeks, that the offensive line was beginning to take shape, show improvement and open up holes for the running game. Last Thursday’s game, on the road at East Carolina, exhibited the progress for all to see, in terms of pass protection. For the first time all season, there was a pocket for QB Chandler Whitmer to throw from and did the Huskies ever take advantage, even with WR Geremy Davis leaving the game with an undisclosed injury.
Whitmer threw for 303 yards on 18-30 passing, for two touchdowns and one interception, which came on a deflected ball at the line, on a simple dump off to the flat. The Huskies continuously took chances to stretch the field and converted on a handful of those long attempts, something UConn head coach Bob Diaco talked about during Tuesday’s meeting with the media.
“That’s how we want to play, we want to throw the ball down the field,” Diaco said. “It shortens the box, it loosens things up for the run game and it’s exciting to be a part of. It energizes [teams], those explosive plays, which are game changing plays.”
There’s also another side to throwing the ball down the field, which Diaco mentioned the Huskies will continue to take advantage of.
“With all the new rules now as it relates to what you can and can’t do for the defenders, I”m not even sure if OPI [offensive pass interference] is a rule anymore,” the first year head coach said. “It’s hard for those defensive backs. The defender can be in position, with the ball in the air, but they need to be so precise in how they try to win the battle for the ball.
“If a ball is underthrown, the receiver just has to move into the defender and it’s DPI [defensive pass interference],” Diaco continued. “It’s an interesting thing. So if you throw the ball down the field, there are a lot of good things that can happen for the offense. Most of those plays result in either completions, penalties or just incompletions.”
To aid in the passing attack, the Huskies changed their pace of play for really the first time all season. Whitmer led the Huskies on a 7 play, 77-yard drive, their first scoring drive of the night, which saw a no-huddle, hurry-up system, something the offense worked on heading in.
“Definitely did,” Whitmer revealed on Tuesday. “We hadn’t done as much of that before, but it’s always been in our package. We wanted to bring it out to just switch it up, get the defense running, move the ball around and try to get them tired. We feel we are in good shape and we can handle that. It’s nice to go fast, get in a rhythm and move the ball down the field.”
The senior quarterback, much like the line in front of him, has improved his game, since the start of the year.
“Just being smart in what I’m doing, taking what the defense is giving me,” Whitmer said. “There’s times where there will be a long third down or a third and eight to ten, where I want to make a play down field, but the defense isn’t giving it to us. So, let’s just take four yards, punt the ball and not make something worse. That’s just something I’ve tried to build on throughout my career and then make plays when they are there.”
With Davis out, Whitmer had to make those plays with some young receivers, along with senior Deshon Foxx, who exploded for 120 yards on four catches, including an 88-yard touchdown. The underclassmen, Noel Thomas, Thomas Lucas, Dhameer Bradley and Brian Lemelle, combined for 10 catches, 168 yards and a score.
“They [Thomas and Lucas] are improving in their preparation and their route running is getting better, the preciseness in Thomas Lucas’s case in particular,” Diaco noted. “Noel Thomas is blocking better, more aggressively. I also have seen, not that we are passing the torch to them in any way at this point, but I have seen a higher level of leadership and professionalism in how they prepare and live.”
Moving into the Huskies backfield, freshman RB Ron Johnson received the start, saw the majority of the carries and has risen to the top of the depth chart, alongside fellow freshman, Arkeel Newsome.
“He’s a physical runner and has good vision,” Diaco commented on Johnson. “I thought he improved his pass protection and how he fits into things. I’d like to see him become a little more aggressive on a couple of those pass protection plays, but he’s a big body guy, he’s conscientious, he’s got good vision and he’s a lot to tackle. He runs behind his pads and he becomes an imposing force on the defenders.”
The separation of the two true freshman heading into UCF, is a sign that the elder statesman at the position will be slowly worked out of the rotation, something Diaco touched on, on Tuesday.
“I’m pleased with all four backs and we have roles that they are going to play,” Diaco said.
But?
“We gave Max and Josh, Max in particular, an appropriate opportunity and there was no real separation there. At the end of the day, Arkeel and Ron possess high level tangible talents, that in time, the maturity of their games will catch up through game experience. So, if nobody was really taking it and running with it, something needed to tilt the scale. We are pleased with all of those guys, they all will play a role for us, they all have great value and they can all go into the games and produce.
“The tailback position does not prevent us from winning, when ball security is not an issue. If that’s not an issue, then whoever the four are can operate and help us win football games,” Diaco stressed.
Despite the vast improvements, UConn still needs to find a way to get over the hump in the most important statistic of all, the scoreboard. The Huskies know this well, from the coaches, all the way down to the players.
“Had we been able to come up with more plays down the stretch, then we would’ve won the game [on Thursday],” Diaco said. “That’s what we want those contests to be. We want them to be four quarter fights, down to the final minutes. Hopefully, sooner than later, we can have a strong enough culture, strong enough team and enough systems in place to come up with those plays at the end to win a game like that.
“The team can see the improvement, they can feel it. We know what we are doing is working and what we’re putting in and the investments that have been made. The players can see areas of improvement each week and there is more to give and more to do. So that gives you even more hope that they will soon be executing and we will all be seeing the results on the scoreboard.”
Homecoming will be a prime opportunity to do so, against a team, who is coming off a BCS bowl win over Baylor, in January.
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