Joe Williams is making himself noticed. http://courantblogs.com/uconn-football/news-and-notes-from-uconn-football-spring-practice-no-9/
Chip and John chime in, much of gthe same, but from a different perspective http://jiblogs.com/jsilvers_uconn_football_blog/ http://runwayramblings.blogspot.com/
Here is my take away from the blog and others and my season opening qb, WR, rb predictions pending everyone stays healthy .... Qb - Whitmer 1, Nebrich 2 (wildcat), Mcummings 3 (wildcat) Rb - Joe Williams/mccombs ... Part of me thinks Joe Williams as 1 but ive seen what mccombs can do now need see what Williams can do. WR's - Shakim, McBride, Smith, Williams
Disagree on a lot of this. I agree that it sounds like Whitmer is the # 1, but McEntee is the # 2, IMO. And why would you think Joe Williams is the # 1? McCombs had a great season last year, even more impressive when you consider our passing game was of NESCAC quality (and that is insulting the NESCAC). From the blogs, I see Mike Smith as # 1, and questions behind him.
McBride would be an excellent tackler in the event that our QB's are int prone....and imagine him as a downfield blocker. Coach SOS, get on that, let's roll with it. Wasnt there a guy who played dt for Maryland some years ago who acted as a goal line fullback/blocking tight end. With all of these injuries, I'm starting to think our defense is going to live up to its billing. I just hope we have an offense left to put out there or we may begin to see defensive players filling holes. I really hope that Davis and Jones Jr. step up this year and I am getting more excited about adding McNeal as another target. I think we are going to have some good competition and playmakers there as long as the ball gets to them. I appreciate the good news about the QBs, but I think we can all express frustration because has been a while since we have had a strong and definitive candidate at QB. I think we have guys with a big arsenal of skills and abilities, but my biggest focus is game management. No one has to be Luck or Griffin, he needs to be an assertive passer and manage adversity well. Saying that, I think by early fall we will see someone step out of the pack and take on that role. I love our situation at running back, but the Oline is very important for any running back. I like the speed and elusiveness of Williams. It would be a nice compliment to mccombs. Another big aspect of our running backs is blocking. McCombs was ok at best, but it will be a big need as the Oline gels. A guy who can pass block is essential. The addition of osciecki and delorenzo will be big in that department. He can pick up where Sherman left off.
I think Frank is going to be fine as the full time FB. He looked very good last year. And I thought he did a nice job on special teams as well.
From the blogs it sounds like Joe Williams is the real deal. Don't know why there doesn't seem to be a full competition for RB. Blogs make it sound like the job is Lyle's to lose.
If this is what you think, you are reading far too much into blogs and articles. Whatever we do at TB next season, it will be designed to maximize our wins. What does an "open competition" even mean? Competitions can be opened or closed, but the coaches are still going to put whatever lineup out there that they think will win us more games.
sounds like shoemate may not see the field. between his injury issues and joe willimas emerging he may not get the rock. i would be interested to see if it got to the point where our 2 deep at rb/fb were frank-shoe and lyle-jwill
I don't want to go though what UConn did last year with the quarterbacks. I want someone to take control and win the job without any questions who the quarterback is. At running back I see McCombs as the starter with Williams and others backing him up. My concern is the offensive line as it was last year.
There is reason to believe we have something here with Williams. We know he's very fast from his track times, he's got good size, he prepped, got here for spring ball and appears to be turning some heads this spring. My guess is he sees the field and hopefully we have another solid back. LM was excellent last season, but he does not have breakaway speed and I continue to doubt that at his size he can continue to be a workhorse back.
I'd love to see McCombs at 10-15 carries a game. At his size that would be optimal. His quickness/vision are great, and if he can improve his playing strength he will really have something. I am praying that Joe Williams is the real deal. Love to see a guy with his size and athleticism in the backfield.
I've read more today, and I'll eat those words. Coach P seems to be definitely for completely wide open competition. That's all I wanted to being with.
UConn will need both McCombs and Williams, so no point in debating how many carries each gets. That will sort itself. As for QB, nobody wants to see two QBs. For UConn last year that meant, no QBs . . . and an anemic offense.
Everything is relative. Last year if we had some experience coming back with a returning starter, we might have been in decent shape. As it was we had no experience and a new system and started and overworked a red-shirt freshman. In spite of that McCombs did an outstanding job in running the ball for us. This year we have a definite proven talent in McCombs and the possibility of one or two additional backs who can provide a different look in Williams and possibly Delorenzo or Hyppolite. I will be interested to see how well the new guys run the ball, catch the ball and block on passing plays. I believe we have more talent and also have enhanced the existing talent with experience, so there will be an uptick in the position. I don't think we will have to utilize McCombs quite as much as last year and in doing that we should be able to be less predictable and more productive. People have mentioned here before that our offensive schemes were successful in getting people open for big plays but that the plays broke down for one reason or another, offensive line issues, QB lack of mobility, poor passing, etc. I'm not sure all of those things will clear up overnight, but we should be able to mount an even more effective running attack and also add a moderately effective passing attack. We don't have to be great in the passing game to have a very substantial effect on our overall offense. It just has to hold it's own and not turn it over and make regular plays on downs we need to like every other D1 team. Having an even more solid running attack will allow it to develop. I'm also interested to see what develops with the fullback position and if we can make some improvement there. It would be nice to see that position be a weapon for us like in the past. I always favor competition and also favor giving close competitors a share in the playing time if that can be done effectively. We have done that in the past and other teams have done it as well. I don't like the approach of riding the one horse and letting the other ride the pine unless it clearly hurts the team to play both. Can't wait to see the new guys in game action. In prior seasons, I have fallen for the hype and made assumptions that were unrealistic. This year, I'm cautiously optimistic about being improved as a team and having more and better resources to work with. I don't know who will eventually lock down the key skill positions but feel that we have more and better resources to work with. We'll see...
