Benedict/Mora presser.

[Ajs120102]

It is. I think Spanos set this whole thing up. I’d be thrilled if Mazzone comes along for the ride. His quick work here was beyond impressive

Of course Spanos set this whole thing up. He was probably the one to suggest it to AD David Benedict in the first place bc he knew he wouldn’t get the job. I’m sure a reward for the referral is remaining on staff.

 

[outlaw]

Would like to have a beer with this guy

 

[WestCoastHusky]

After Spanos tweet about how great of a hire Mora was. I believe it was set up by Spanos. Which is okay with me.

There is no doubt Spanos did this to save his own job, and also pushed for a boss he liked in the past. Also, getting Mazzone here was to get his buy-in as well. There are some UCLA fans who think this crew will do well here since they had much success at UCLA, and some are regretting about the Chip Kelly hire now since has not be as successful as they hoped.

If Mora can get Mazzone as the OC, we can be pretty good next year with a healthy Tyler P.

 

[Stinger92860]

-> Mora also plans to make use of the transfer portal. “It’s changed the landscape of college football and it has allowed teams to get better quickly,” he said. “You can have great recruiting classes but they’re still young players. I think the portal gives you a chance to get some players that have some experience, obviously are a little bit more mature. … I just think you have to make sure that you attack it with a real strategy and you don’t become a team of mercenaries, that you use it to your advantage where you can.” <-

Thanks! I thought I read this earlier. Only a casual fan would have missed this.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Would like to have a beer with this guy

Would like to climb some mountains with him and of course beers.

 

[Block C]

There is no doubt Spanos did this to save his own job, and also pushed for a boss he liked in the past. Also, getting Mazzone here was to get his buy-in as well. There are some UCLA fans who think this crew will do well here since they had much success at UCLA, and some are regretting about the Chip Kelly hire now since has not be as successful as they hoped.

If Mora can get Mazzone as the OC, we can be pretty good next year with a healthy Tyler P.

Agreed. Mazzone came in for his interview and how the team played with his help. He passed. It all makes sense. I think there will be success at UConn. Tyler P is the start of something great. As he is very versatile

 

[Waquoit]

TBF at RE2.0's presser, half the room wanted him stabbed.

And the other half wore knee pads.

 

[Exit 4]

Solid presser. Refreshing to hear a clear communicator without smugness and/or thinly veiled disdain.

Its a big task...he has no connection to New England/Northeast, so there is much to learn.

Looking forward to what he is able to do in early December with the first signing period.

 

[uconnbill]

What I get is professional and someone who has been there before and nothing is going to surprise him as a coach. The coaching staff he hires will tell me a lot if they "UConn" opened the purse strings and bring in a solid staff would go a long way in quieting the critics here and in the media.

He threw a bone to the local coaches saying how he needs to keep the best in Connecticut here as some coaches think UConn ignores their players or vice a verse a

 

[Kolumbo]

Messrs. Mora, Spanos and Mazzone, we present to you UCONN Football, your Sistine Chapel. Godspeed.

 

[UConnJim]

Solid presser. Refreshing to hear a clear communicator without smugness and/or thinly veiled disdain.

Its a big task...he has no connection to New England/Northeast, so there is much to learn.

Looking forward to what he is able to do in early December with the first signing period.

His biggest challenge will be the lack of available scholarships. How many players will graduate? How many scholarships will he use on HS kids? How many scholarships for transfers and JUCOS?

I would not judge Mora on what happens during the early signing period.

 

[uconnfan68]

Agreed. Mazzone came in for his interview and how the team played with his help. He passed. It all makes sense. I think there will be success at UConn. Tyler P is the start of something great. As he is very versatile

How about Tyler older brother in the portal?

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

His biggest challenge will be the lack of available scholarships. How many players will graduate? How many scholarships will he use on HS kids? How many scholarships for transfers and JUCOS?

I would not judge Mora on what happens during the early signing period.

To your point, by simple count there are a total of 10 seniors/graduates as it is an underclassmen dominant roster. You'd have to figure that with the transfer portal working both ways and by having the standard end of season discussions in an appropriate/professional way that another 5-10 players will move on. So, perhaps we will see upwards of 20 scholies open up? Might be a bit lighter than most years but hopefully not too much.

 

[Block C]

How about Tyler older brother in the portal?

That would be a great pick up.

 

[Exit 4]

His biggest challenge will be the lack of available scholarships. How many players will graduate? How many scholarships will he use on HS kids? How many scholarships for transfers and JUCOS?

I would not judge Mora on what happens during the early signing period.

Slow down, I’m not looking for him to pull three rabbits out of the hat just yet. Just want to see how a guy that has been out of coaching for 5 years who lives in Idaho does with this first window - holistically.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

He didn't want to lose the buyout he was being paid by UCLA... simple.

That was my assumption. He was double dipping, getting paid by UCLA & ESPN, and got to spend more time with the family. Who wouldn't take that deal?

 

[Bubba1957]

There is no doubt Spanos did this to save his own job, and also pushed for a boss he liked in the past. Also, getting Mazzone here was to get his buy-in as well. There are some UCLA fans who think this crew will do well here since they had much success at UCLA, and some are regretting about the Chip Kelly hire now since has not be as successful as they hoped.

If Mora can get Mazzone as the OC, we can be pretty good next year with a healthy Tyler P.

I'm hoping Tyler gets another year to rehab and learn while his brother Taisun takes control!

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

Great presser! Dave Benedict probably should have silenced his cell phone though!

I heard all those unanswered texts from Dan O, too.

 

[huskymedic]

To your point, by simple count there are a total of 10 seniors/graduates as it is an underclassmen dominant roster. You'd have to figure that with the transfer portal working both ways and by having the standard end of season discussions in an appropriate/professional way that another 5-10 players will move on. So, perhaps we will see upwards of 20 scholies open up? Might be a bit lighter than most years but hopefully not too much.

Don’t forget that the new staff gets additional slots to fill this year depending on transfers from program:

“Under the NCAA’s one-year rule, schools can sign a recruiting class of 25 student-athletes, plus one additional spot for each scholarship player that enters the portal; however, the additional spots are capped at seven. For example, if a school loses two players to the transfer portal, it gains two spots in its recruiting class and can sign 27 high schoolers, rather than 25. If a school loses ten players to the transfer portal, it can only gain the maximum of seven spots, so the recruiting class may expand to 32 new signees.”

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Don’t forget that the new staff gets additional slots to fill this year depending on transfers from program:

“Under the NCAA’s one-year rule, schools can sign a recruiting class of 25 student-athletes, plus one additional spot for each scholarship player that enters the portal; however, the additional spots are capped at seven. For example, if a school loses two players to the transfer portal, it gains two spots in its recruiting class and can sign 27 high schoolers, rather than 25. If a school loses ten players to the transfer portal, it can only gain the maximum of seven spots, so the recruiting class may expand to 32 new signees.”

So with the cap of 7, seems like we could do the 10 that lose eligibility and another 7 for a total of 17?

 

[huskymedic]

So with the cap of 7, seems like we could do the 10 that lose eligibility and another 7 for a total of 17?

No - depending on number of transfers staff can sign a total of 32 “new signees” but cannot exceed the 85 scholarship limit.

Remaining eligibility is a moving target in some respects due to the free Covid year.

@Exit 4 usually has a pretty accurate count of roster projections.

 

[Yup!]

That was my assumption. He was double dipping, getting paid by UCLA & ESPN, and got to spend more time with the family. Who wouldn't take that deal?

He would of been stupid to not take that deal. His family made so many sacrifices, so to get that kind of opportunity would be crazy to not take advantage of, his payout was $12M. His family suggested he get back to coaching, and what I love the most, he could have called any school for an opportunity instead he chose UConn. Dave said he told him the truth about how difficult this job would be and he still was up for the challenge. Shows his competitiveness as a coach.

 

[Exit 4]

No - depending on number of transfers staff can sign a total of 32 “new signees” but cannot exceed the 85 scholarship limit.

Remaining eligibility is a moving target in some respects due to the free Covid year.

@Exit 4 usually has a pretty accurate count of roster projections.

I'll clean up my roster sheet this weekend and repost.

Off the top, it appears we have 9 true seniors/final year of eligibility players and 10 juniors/rs juniors.

With Medlock in the portal I believe we are at 83 scholarship players.

Its probably the case that 3 to 5 of the juniors are in a position to graduate and will opt to leave for whatever reason.

And its likely that the normal churn of players will open up another 2-4 slots by the second signing date.

So it seems a rough estimate of our recruiting cycle would be to pull in 17 to 21 kids.

That all said, its a bit of a guess as to how Mora views the roster and just how many kids are ready to try something else. Its not out of the realm that by June 2022 the turnover is closer to 25 new names.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I'll clean up my roster sheet this weekend and repost.

Off the top, it appears we have 9 true seniors/final year of eligibility players and 10 juniors/rs juniors.

With Medlock in the portal I believe we are at 83 scholarship players.

Its probably the case that 3 to 5 of the juniors are in a position to graduate and will opt to leave for whatever reason.

And its likely that the normal churn of players will open up another 2-4 slots by the second signing date.

So it seems a rough estimate of our recruiting cycle would be to pull in 17 to 21 kids.

That all said, its a bit of a guess as to how Mora views the roster and just how many kids are ready to try something else. Its not out of the realm that by June 2022 the turnover is closer to 25 new names.

Cool - thanks for the insights! I figured the floor was 17 but beyond that it got fuzzy to me. Hopefully we score well in the portal - gotta strike while the iron is hot!

 

[WestHartHusk]

It blows my mind that we had players enter the portal BECAUSE Edsall was fired.

How bad does your judgment have to be to think what came after him would be worse?