2015 - Last season tied to Edsall Recruiting

[Carl Spackler]

Here's a look at our upperclassmen for 2015 - the last class recruited under Edsall, and my few cents for the coming season. NINE players of an 85 scholarship limit. Among these players, that are the last tied to Edsall recruiting, I really only see three that project to be starters in September as senior, final year eligibility players- all on D - Campenni, Vann and Adams. On offense, the only player I see that has legit shot at starting is McQuillan that's still tied to Edsall.

FWIW: None of these players were actually coached by an Edsall led staff.



Julien Campenni - Stud. Needs to be big time leader on and off field.

Andrew Adams - Wrap and Lock kid, when you tackle. Wrap and lock.

Kenton Adeyemi - needs to step it up, competition at the DE's/OLB's.

Marquise Vann - Stud ILB - needs to be big time leader on and off field.

Dalton Gifford

Sean McQuillan - needs to step it up, TE position group should transform to a position of strength and versatility for offense under his leadership.

Wilbert Lee - SPECIAL TEAMS - this kid, may be the most important leader on the field for a turnaround for the program, and I'm not kidding. Flawless kick and punt returns and coverages is what's going to turn this thing around in 2015, if it's going to.

Max DeLorenzo - grasp the coverages and blocking schemes and don't fumble. Can be a leader and power runner, but has competition at the position. Needs to be a leader above all else.

Paul Nwkoeji

 

[mikedog10]

Of the 9, 3 are from CT, plus 2 from Mass and 1 from Brooklyn. Who said Edsall couldn't recruit locally? At least we managed to turn things around with PP's strong CT ties.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Of the 9, 3 are from CT, plus 2 from Mass and 1 from Brooklyn. Who said Edsall couldn't recruit locally? At least we managed to turn things around with PP's strong CT ties.

THis seems to be a dig on Pasqualoni's recruiting? I do not agree with that if so. What I will agree is that OL recruiting has been a disaster for several years. Edsall let things drop in several position groups, other than OL, (TE, and DB notably), but nothing has hurt as much as the OL recruiting in generating the results of the past 4 seasons. Pasqualoni started addressing it, but his butt buddy was too much to overcome. Diaco came in and started focusing on it, and I hope that whoever is next on the board behind Ulizio is just as good a prospect. Losing him hurts, losing any OL prospect will hurt for another year or two. Recruiting across the board in other position groups, has not been as bad IMNSHO, has

 

[mikedog10]

THis seems to be a dig on Pasqualoni's recruiting?

Not as much a dig on Pasqualoni, just a sarcastic remark on the over-reactive nature of Uconn nation. I was one of the koolaid drinkers who thought Pasqualoni strengthening the CT high school connections would be a great move for Uconn. I still think some of the relationship-building he did will pay future dividends. But your post seems to contradict the general perception that Edsall couldn't recruit CT, seeing 3 of these 9 kids were from CT indicates that we didn't do quite so terribly in our home state under Edsall.

Pasqualoni may have been a fine recruiter, my dig with him was the lack of development once they got to campus.

 

[UConn9604]

Here's a look at our upperclassmen for 2015 - the last class recruited under Edsall, and my few cents for the coming season. NINE players of an 85 scholarship limit. Among these players, that are the last tied to Edsall recruiting, I really only see three that project to be starters in September as senior, final year eligibility players- all on D - Campenni, Vann and Adams. On offense, the only player I see that has legit shot at starting is McQuillan that's still tied to Edsall.

FWIW: None of these players were actually coached by an Edsall led staff.



Julien Campenni - Stud. Needs to be big time leader on and off field.

Andrew Adams - Wrap and Lock kid, when you tackle. Wrap and lock.

Kenton Adeyemi - needs to step it up, competition at the DE's/OLB's.

Marquise Vann - Stud ILB - needs to be big time leader on and off field.

Dalton Gifford

Sean McQuillan - needs to step it up, TE position group should transform to a position of strength and versatility for offense under his leadership.

Wilbert Lee - SPECIAL TEAMS - this kid, may be the most important leader on the field for a turnaround for the program, and I'm not kidding. Flawless kick and punt returns and coverages is what's going to turn this thing around in 2015, if it's going to.

Max DeLorenzo - grasp the coverages and blocking schemes and don't fumble. Can be a leader and power runner, but has competition at the position. Needs to be a leader above all else.

Paul Nwkoeji

I met Campenni at a train station a few years ago and I'm pretty sure he said that he had never met Edsall and that he was recruited by Coach P. (It was right before the 2012 season, and I asked him if he was excited to go down to Maryland. He said sure, but I'm almost positive that he made clear that he had no real tie to Edsall.)

I could be wrong, though.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I agree. Edsall did not have success in making UCONN a destination desireable for football programs locally and their staffs. (and I don't mean just Connecticut) The truth is he tried, early on, tried hard, but he's just not a great personality, and in CT, and the northeast in general is a unique culture that he didn't do well in - to sell UCONN as a highly desireable place. At our height of visibility in 2009-2010, he had basically stopped trying, for a few years by then. Early on he tried everything from the camps, to inviting programs to campus, to going out and meeting local coaches.

I look at the lists that huskymedic keeps updating and I'm very encouraged. The quality of athlete/the profile that we are going up against as demonstrated by where they are coming from, and where they are going, IMNSHO is exactly what I believe we should be going for, and Edsall never really tried to compete against, he tried to hide his recruits from being poached by competition. I just hope the guys we are getting are as fast as they are big. We can have success recruiting the New England, and northeast I-95 corridor, and extending into the reaches of Texas, Florida and Ohio regularly.

From what I see of Diaco's recruiting, I'm excited for the future. I'm very concerned about the offense though. It's been way too long that we have had such a poor offense. Whoever takes on that OC job, and how they perform at putting a successful offense on the field, may be the most important thing that Diaco does that will translate to future success or failure.

As far as immediate signs that I'm looking for from next season as to where we are going, is that I'm looking for significant improvement in the kick returns and coverages.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I met Campenni at a train station a few years ago and I'm pretty sure he said that he had never met Edsall and that he was recruited by Coach P. (It was right before the 2012 season, and I asked him if he was excited to go down to Maryland. He said sure, but I'm almost positive that he made clear that he had no real tie to Edsall.)

I could be wrong, though.

I went strictly by the recruiting website classes and timeline. When you get to the real nitty gritty it is indeed worse, but going by readily available public info -it's 9 players. Vann is also a Pasqualoni recruit. The reality, is that of those 9 players, more than 2 did not have any contact with Edsall.

 

[CL82]

Andrew Adams - Wrap and Lock kid, when you tackle. Wrap and lock.

Huge pet peeve of mine. Nothing I hate more to see a running back bounce off someone and go for another 10 yards. I also think that "proper" (as in the way we were taught) tackling technique could go a long way to reducing concussions.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

LOL at the notion that Pasqualoni was a good recruiter. The #uptick lives in some people's fantasies.

 

[Carl Spackler]

LOL at the notion that Pasqualoni was a good recruiter. The #uptick lives in some people's fantasies.

There is a difference between recruiting adequate numbers of players to field a division 1 roster, and recruiting top notch athletes regularly to compete at division 1. I've re-read what I wrote here, and Pasqualoni was indeed beginning to address the simple numbers deficiency we had. in the 2 classed he brought in, he also brought in some very good athletes. Apparently you want to throw everyone on this roster out.

I don't. I want them to succeed and win next season.

Whatever - I've not read and write around here a lot lately, and I won't again after today. Guys like you and others are so marred in negativity it's sad. I've posted some very meaningful words, around here, words that hall of fame coaches live by, that players aspire to achieve. It's a punchline to you.

 

[Bonehead]

There is a difference between recruiting adequate numbers of players to field a division 1 roster, and recruiting top notch athletes regularly to compete at division 1. I've re-read what I wrote here, and Pasqualoni was indeed beginning to address the simple numbers deficiency we had. in the 2 classed he brought in, he also brought in some very good athletes. Apparently you want to throw everyone on this roster out.

I don't. I want them to succeed and win next season.

Whatever - I've not read and write around here a lot lately, and I won't again after today. Guys like you and others are so marred in negativity it's sad. I've posted some very meaningful words, around here, words that hall of fame coaches live by, that players aspire to achieve. It's a punchline to you.

Yeah - and if Edsall stayed he wouldnt have addresed the numbers deficiency - hogwash.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

There is a difference between recruiting adequate numbers of players to field a division 1 roster, and recruiting top notch athletes regularly to compete at division 1. I've re-read what I wrote here, and Pasqualoni was indeed beginning to address the simple numbers deficiency we had. in the 2 classed he brought in, he also brought in some very good athletes. Apparently you want to throw everyone on this roster out.

I don't. I want them to succeed and win next season.

Whatever - I've not read and write around here a lot lately, and I won't again after today. Guys like you and others are so marred in negativity it's sad. I've posted some very meaningful words, around here, words that hall of fame coaches live by, that players aspire to achieve. It's a punchline to you.

I live in the real world. I don't pretend things are great or operate on blind faith like so many others. If that rubs some people wrong than too bad.

It's also quite the leap to state that I want to throw everyone off the roster. While you were preaching that for the first time ever we had a Division 1 FBS roster, we've won 5 games the last 2 years and put exactly nobody on the all conference team in the mighty AA--C. What does that tell me? That Pasqualoni's recruiting absolutely sucked and the #uptick that you, HFD, and the other recruitniks on this board boasted about was nothing short of pure horsesheet.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Yeah - and if Edsall stayed he wouldnt have addresed the numbers deficiency - hogwash.

Here's the facts:

Edsall did leave, and he left at a point 11 months into a 12 month recruiting cycle. He left a recruiting class he directly oversaw that was deficient in simple numbers. The fall of 2015, will be the last season that can be tied to Edsall by a recruiting calendar, and some of those players that number only 9, were not even ever directly in touch with Edsall. In fall 2011, we were numbers deficient, based on a progressive decline starting in 2008 when it comes to players filling 85 scholarships that came through a full NLI recruiting cycle. Edsall started first actively interviewing and looking elsewhere for a job after the 2007 season.

Pasqualoni came into that program that was numbers deficient when it comes to filling 85 scholarships with NLI recruiting cycle recruits, and started addressing the problem, filling maximum numbers of scholarships and recruiting players to prep schools and feeder systems, and then was canned after completing only 2 full calendar recruiting cycles. Attrition, and yet another coaching change caused yet another fall off recruiting.

Diaco is into his second class of recruiting, and first full cycle as a UCONN coach. We enter 2015, with 60 scholarship athletes - of which not all were actual NLI cycle high school recruits. We have a starter on the OL that was essentially sent to UCONN by Zach Frazer from Denmark. Diaco is on record showing up at UCONN, to a recruiting board that was empty - that is on Warde Manuel - and is probably the biggest reason that Diaco has such a carte blanche for year 1.

I expect that by fall 2016, that Diaco will have this program back on a track for NLI recruiting cycles that is adequate for fielding a division 1 program. Pasqualoni most likely would have had us back on track for numbers for division 1 by fall 2014, but that didn't happen because he failed to win enough on the field, and therefore lost the team off the field.

So - what Edsall may have done if he stayed at UCONN, is meaningless. What matters is what did happen, and what we do moving forward.

Others want to argue quality of recruiting, and I find that useless as well. We were 2-10 in 2014. Players play and coaches coach - they all sucked as a team. We have some good coaches and some good players individually though. That's different than "quantity" in recruiting.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I live in the real world. I don't pretend things are great or operate on blind faith like so many others. If that rubs some people wrong than too bad.

It's also quite the leap to state that I want to throw everyone off the roster. While you were preaching that for the first time ever we had a Division 1 FBS roster, we've won 5 games the last 2 years and put exactly nobody on the all conference team in the mighty AA--C. What does that tell me? That Pasqualoni's recruiting absolutely sucked and the #uptick that you, HFD, and the other recruitniks on this board boasted about was nothing short of pure horsesheet.

I've said many, many times that I took a respect for a coach from decades ago, and put value behind his words. I was wrong to do that, and i was wrong about the things I wrote. I no longer have any respect for Pasqualoni as a head football coach and I learned for the last time, and won't make the mistake again, that results matter above anything else.

Diaco might be a fantastic guy and coach, and person, but his results to date suck. He's got the opportunity to change that, and I hope he does.

, and maybe, you should not put so much weight into the words that somebody on an anonymous internet forum posts.

But hey, at least I'm memorable.

I do stand by my opinion though, that special teams, and how we perform there with size, speed and as close to flawless execution will be the key indicator as to whether or not this program will turn around. On that, and the fact that Pasqualoni promised that with his recruiting and roster - is why I believed him. He was not wrong about that. Special teams and competing there, is the quickest and surest way to turn a loser into a winner and sustain winning.

 

[Bonehead]

Here's the facts:

Edsall did leave, and he left at a point 11 months into a 12 month recruiting cycle. He left a recruiting class he directly oversaw that was deficient in simple numbers. The fall of 2015, will be the last season that can be tied to Edsall by a recruiting calendar, and some of those players that number only 9, were not even ever directly in touch with Edsall. In fall 2011, we were numbers deficient, based on a progressive decline starting in 2008 when it comes to players filling 85 scholarships that came through a full NLI recruiting cycle. Edsall started first actively interviewing and looking elsewhere for a job after the 2007 season.

Pasqualoni came into that program that was numbers deficient when it comes to filling 85 scholarships with NLI recruiting cycle recruits, and started addressing the problem, filling maximum numbers of scholarships and recruiting players to prep schools and feeder systems, and then was canned after completing only 2 full calendar recruiting cycles. Attrition, and yet another coaching change caused yet another fall off recruiting.

Diaco is into his second class of recruiting, and first full cycle as a UCONN coach. We enter 2015, with 60 scholarship athletes - of which not all were actual NLI cycle high school recruits. We have a starter on the OL that was essentially sent to UCONN by Zach Frazer from Denmark. Diaco is on record showing up at UCONN, to a recruiting board that was empty - that is on Warde Manuel - and is probably the biggest reason that Diaco has such a carte blanche for year 1.

I expect that by fall 2016, that Diaco will have this program back on a track for NLI recruiting cycles that is adequate for fielding a division 1 program. Pasqualoni most likely would have had us back on track for numbers for division 1 by fall 2014, but that didn't happen because he failed to win enough on the field, and therefore lost the team off the field.

So - what Edsall may have done if he stayed at UCONN, is meaningless. What matters is what did happen, and what we do moving forward.

Others want to argue quality of recruiting, and I find that useless as well. We were 2-10 in 2014. Players play and coaches coach - they all sucked as a team. We have some good coaches and some good players individually though. That's different than "quantity" in recruiting.

You are the one that mentioned Pasqualoni - which is meaningless.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Huge pet peeve of mine. Nothing I hate more to see a running back bounce off someone and go for another 10 yards. I also think that "proper" (as in the way we were taught) tackling technique could go a long way to reducing concussions.

Missed this before - I agree - and on topic with discussion.

Adams is a senior now - I expect the kid to perform like he's capable. Head up, arms open, chest contact, wrap, lock and twist. I put up frames of Junior Joseph knocking himself out of the game on an open field tackle with poor form against USF last season.

Coaches coach, players play. We've got a couple of solid upperclassmen players on defense going into 2015 that I expect to do well as players and leaders - I listed them.

Offense is another question mark - it's frustrating that for so long, we've had such problems on offense. We're going to be relying mostly on underclassmen again to get anything done over there.

 

[Carl Spackler]

You are the one that mentioned Pasqualoni - which is meaningless.

Really now? I think that it's going to another 2 years minimum until the name Pasqualoni is meaningless. Edsall truly has reached meaningless stage. There are no players on this roster anymore that were ever coached by Edsall, and you can count the number that had any recruiting contact at all on one hand.

 

[UConnDan97]

Just FYI: In the 2011 recruiting class, there were 3 kids that were Pasqualoni recruits (Campenni, Ashiru, Hemingway).

Unlike some others here, I think that PP did a good job of recruiting. I think that we have already seen or are going to see some really great things from Newsome, Carrezola, Rutherford, Fatukasi, Bradley, Lemelle, Tommy Myers, Marriner, Ormsby, Thomas, Walsh, Clax, Levy, Melifonwu, Mikal Myers, Samra, Schafenacker, Stewart, and Jhavon Williams. And we all definitely saw some great things from Casey when he was playing.

Just because the man was a crap head coach doesn't mean that he didn't get talent here. So much so that Diaco called Obi "the most athletic safety he has ever seen." Now, we're going to see if Diaco can actually coach these kids up, but PP brought in talent that even the current coach has agreed with...

 

[Bonehead]

Really now? I think that it's going to another 2 years minimum until the name Pasqualoni is meaningless. Edsall truly has reached meaningless stage. There are no players on this roster anymore that were ever coached by Edsall, and you can count the number that had any recruiting contact at all on one hand.

It will be 20 years - we will be talking about how bad he screwed UConn FB 20 years from today...unfortunately in my opinion. He may have done harm that can never be recovered from - time will tell.

So you are right, Pasqualoni name will probably never be meaningless.

 

[Bonehead]

Just FYI: In the 2011 recruiting class, there were 3 kids that were Pasqualoni recruits (Campenni, Ashiru, Hemingway).

Unlike some others here, I think that PP did a good job of recruiting. I think that we have already seen or are going to see some really great things from Newsome, Carrezola, Rutherford, Fatukasi, Bradley, Lemelle, Tommy Myers, Marriner, Ormsby, Thomas, Walsh, Clax, Levy, Melifonwu, Mikal Myers, Samra, Schafenacker, and Jhavon Williams. And we all definitely saw some great things from Casey when he was playing.

Just because the man was a crap head coach doesn't mean that he didn't get talent here. So much so that Diaco called Obi "the most athletic safety he has ever seen." Now, we're going to see if Diaco can actually coach these kids up, but PP brought in talent that even the current coach has agreed with...

And we could give a list of Edsall recruits who panned out better...it is not an apples to apples comparison in this regards.

 

[Carl Spackler]

It will be 20 years - we will be talking about how bad he screwed UConn FB 20 years from today...unfortunately in my opinion. He may have done harm that can never be recovered from - time will tell.

So you are right, Pasqualoni name will probably never be meaningless.

That is a bit pessimistic.

 

[UConnDan97]

And we could give a list of Edsall recruits who panned out better...it is not an apples to apples comparison in this regards.

I'm not sure what you're getting at.

What I'm saying is that we have talent in the building. Many of the names I put into my post were playing as underclassmen. Before the 2014 season started, I think I made the analysis that 50% of the 2-deep was PP's kids. That's an amazing stat when you think about it, since the 2010 and 2011 kids from Edsall's class should have been juniors, redshirt juniors, and seniors at the time. And keep in mind that it was not PP who had made that 2-deep listing, but Bob Diaco. In other words, Bobby D agreed with the talent assessment.

Now, am I saying that Edsall "gave up" like some others have suggested in different threads? No. I don't think that's true. But I do think that we had unmistakeable problems on the offensive line; due to a bunch of reasons that we have already covered in other threads. If that OLine turns around in 2015, I think that people are going to be really shocked with the level of team that we put out there. Mark my words...

 

[Carl Spackler]

Just FYI: In the 2011 recruiting class, there were 3 kids that were Pasqualoni recruits (Campenni, Ashiru, Hemingway).

Unlike some others here, I think that PP did a good job of recruiting. I think that we have already seen or are going to see some really great things from Newsome, Carrezola, Rutherford, Fatukasi, Bradley, Lemelle, Tommy Myers, Marriner, Ormsby, Thomas, Walsh, Clax, Levy, Melifonwu, Mikal Myers, Samra, Schafenacker, Stewart, and Jhavon Williams. And we all definitely saw some great things from Casey when he was playing.

Just because the man was a crap head coach doesn't mean that he didn't get talent here. So much so that Diaco called Obi "the most athletic safety he has ever seen." Now, we're going to see if Diaco can actually coach these kids up, but PP brought in talent that even the current coach has agreed with...

Be careful at what you're willing to write. People around here will hold you to your word forever, if your words manage to influence them.

 

[Bonehead]

That is a bit pessimistic.

Blue shades have been thrown away - sorry.

I am on the 'downtick' more than the 'uptick' right now - its called being real.

I am renewing my season tickets, I will still go to every home game and I will cheer wildly - but nothing from the last 3+ years besides TJW infusion has given me any hope we are looking at an uptick for UConn FB, an invite to a Fiesta Bowl or anything close to that, or getting out of my car at the Rent saying 'I think we can win this game' like it used to be.

 

[Bonehead]

I'm not sure what you're getting at.

What I'm saying is that we have talent in the building. Many of the names I put into my post were playing as underclassmen. Before the 2014 season started, I think I made the analysis that 50% of the 2-deep was PP's kids. That's an amazing stat when you think about it, since the 2010 and 2011 kids from Edsall's class should have been juniors, redshirt juniors, and seniors at the time. And keep in mind that it was not PP who had made that 2-deep listing, but Bob Diaco. In other words, Bobby D agreed with the talent assessment.

Now, am I saying that Edsall "gave up" like some others have suggested in different threads? No. I don't think that's true. But I do think that we had unmistakeable problems on the offensive line; due to a bunch of reasons that we have already covered in other threads. If that OLine turns around in 2015, I think that people are going to be really shocked with the level of team that we put out there. Mark my words...

ok - I think we have talent too - but to me it doesnt match the talent of 4,5 and 6 years ago...agree to disagree I guess.