Dom Amore: Joe Fagnano has taken his last snap for UConn football, now he’s aiming for the NFL | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Dom Amore: Joe Fagnano has taken his last snap for UConn football, now he’s aiming for the NFL

It does restore some of the faith in Athletics as an activity bigger than the game, an educational experience. Coached for over 40 years at all levels, and always felt that competitive sports were the most powerful tool that educators had in the toolbox. Got the examples to show!!

Doesn't change how crazy things have become, but kids are still kids. Whether it is Art or Archery, Basketball or Bass Fiddle, you never know what activity will impact the arc of a life in a positive direction.

Pulpit closed, go Huskies!!
 
giddyup said:
True and Bernie Madoff was a big philanthropist. Just because you did something good doesn’t excuse you from doing something bad. He abandoned his players. End of story.
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I’m not excusing that act. I understand it and recognize the necessity of what Mora has to do going into his next HC job. Same with coach Candle. They have a lot to do in a short time. This is a business. Even before NIL and the new rules for transfers players understood that coaches left programs all the time. These players are young adults. Most should get over it quickly. I’m not losing any sleep over it. Nor do I plan on dumping on HC Candle for doing to Toledo what Mora did to UConn.

I’m grateful for what Mora has accomplished while he was here. Leaving before this bowl game is upsetting. But on my scale of transgressions the needle hardly moves. Certainly not to the level of dishonesty of Madoff.

My energy is directed to the team beating army. Time to move forward.
 
Exit 4 said:
I'll walk my comment back if the OL plays poorly in the bowl. If the OL plays adequate, then I will not change my POV. I am not in practice, I do not know what the second string OL looks like.

My general feeling is that there are some circumstances where skipping the bowl makes sense, but it is also a slippery slope. Why play games 9, 10, 11 and 12 if you put down enough tape in the first 8 games.
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Your opinion, that you've graciously offered to make after seeing the o-line performance... DOESN'T MATTER!
 
UConnDan97 said:
I don't know how the Candle Era is going to turn out. But two things are clear; 1) He was so successful at Toledo that they would have kept him for the rest of his life, and 2) if Candle didn't view our situation as a noticeable upgrade, he would have never left them either...
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You can make the same two arguments for Mora except I’m not sure CSU is much of an upgrade - maybe just that they’re not indy. UConn didn’t feel the need to throw more money at Mora and he obviously didn’t get a P4 offer from anyone.

Mora did a a good job here. But Candle’s record indicates he’s a better recruiter, which I think is the most important factor for UConn going forward. I’m more optimistic about the future here with Candle for that reason. Time will tell.
 
Kowalski said:
You can make the same two arguments for Mora except I’m not sure CSU is much of an upgrade - maybe just that they’re not indy. UConn didn’t feel the need to throw more money at Mora and he obviously didn’t get a P4 offer from anyone.

Mora did a a good job here. But Candle’s record indicates he’s a better recruiter, which I think is the most important factor for UConn going forward. I’m more optimistic about the future here with Candle for that reason. Time will tell.
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Me too. I feel very confident. After previous debacles with PP, Edsall 2.0 and Diaco, I had to slow down and think it through. I decided that a guy that consistently wins in the MAC and gets 3* and higher players is going to succeed with UConn’s brand and a pot of NIL cash to spend.
 
Kowalski said:
You can make the same two arguments for Mora except I’m not sure CSU is much of an upgrade - maybe just that they’re not indy. UConn didn’t feel the need to throw more money at Mora and he obviously didn’t get a P4 offer from anyone.

Mora did a a good job here. But Candle’s record indicates he’s a better recruiter, which I think is the most important factor for UConn going forward. I’m more optimistic about the future here with Candle for that reason. Time will tell.
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I don't believe you can make the second argument for Mora. He went west because he was always going to go west. CSU isn't an upgrade in any way, shape, or form. And while it's been argued ad nauseum on the board that he left for a chance at the College Football playoffs via a conference, I'll stick with the take that Geno Auriemma put out there the week that Mora left; that he wanted to be closer to home...
 
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UConnDan97 said:
I don't believe you can make the second argument for Mora. He went west because he was always going to go west. CSU isn't an upgrade in any way, shape, or form. And while it's been argued ad nauseum on the board that he left for a chance at the College Football playoffs via a conference, I'll stick with the take that Geno Auriemma put out there the week that Mora left; that he wanted to be closer to home...
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Maybe true. Also he may not have had another extension as quickly as he wanted.

Truth be told, I am glad we actually have coach that is living in CT now. Mora always acted like the employee who never fully moved into his office or workspace because he didn’t intend to stay that long.

If we have another good 4 year run and Candle leaves I will be fine with that but at least he is unpacking his boxes.
 
ZooCougar said:
Maybe true. Also he may not have had another extension as quickly as he wanted.

Truth be told, I am glad we actually have coach that is living in CT now. Mora always acted like the employee who never fully moved into his office or workspace because he didn’t intend to stay that long.

If we have another good 4 year run and Candle leaves I will be fine with that but at least he is unpacking his boxes.
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It wasn’t how Mora was acting. He probably never did intend to stay that long.
 
giddyup said:
True and Bernie Madoff was a big philanthropist. Just because you did something good doesn’t excuse you from doing something bad. He abandoned his players. End of story.
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Grow up. This is not about you.
 
ZooCougar said:
Maybe true. Also he may not have had another extension as quickly as he wanted.

Truth be told, I am glad we actually have coach that is living in CT now. Mora always acted like the employee who never fully moved into his office or workspace because he didn’t intend to stay that long.

If we have another good 4 year run and Candle leaves I will be fine with that but at least he is unpacking his boxes.
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Does anyone know what part of the country his wife is from? I read that she isn't from Ohio.
 
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Exit 4 said:
His choice, I understand it. My humble opinion, he should play. His draft stock right now says the more tape the better. Same for everyone sans Bell.

Look I get it - just my opinion.

This whole situation might be different if we didn't have a regime change. Regime change is adding a lot of noise and a lot of uncertainty.
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How much more tape do you think he needs for God sakes
 
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giddyup said:
True and Bernie Madoff was a big philanthropist. Just because you did something good doesn’t excuse you from doing something bad. He abandoned his players. End of story.
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You might want to consider following D-3 football, because your philosophy was dying a lingering death, until it was finally left for dead and buried by NIL and the transfer portal.

The guys playing D-1 and D-2 football are gladiators who hope to make as much money as they can, while they can, from playing football, whether that means transferring to a bigger school for more NIL money or skipping a meaningless bowl game to protect themselves from injury in order to better prepare themselves for a potential professional career. Under the circumstances, I don't blame them a bit.
 
Palatine said:
In Joe's case. He owes his NFL shot to Uconn. He could have treated us better.
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Come on, Joe was given an opportunity; end of story. He worked his ass off, he got us into bowls for two consecutive years, and he owes “UConn” nothing at this point.

Ditto for Mora, who leaves us, after 4 years, 1000% better.
 
amishboy said:
Come on, Joe was given an opportunity; end of story. He worked his ass off, he got us into bowls for two consecutive years, and he owes “UConn” nothing at this point.

Ditto for Mora, who leaves us, after 4 years, 1000% better.
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Did you get kicked in the head by one of your draft horses?

Joe needed the last three weeks to prep for the NFL and an All Star game when the combine is two whole months away? He had just one game to go! And what the hell was up with the Sky Bell gimmick?

Why are so many fans cool with this me-first mentality after the season schedule was over?

Weird.
 
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The ECU QB who beat Pitt today was a true frosh who'd thrown all of seven passes prior to today. Didn't have a fantastic stats day, but did toss 2 TDs with no turnovers.

If you have a pretty good idea who you're gonna have to play at QB, get the kid ready. Apparently the kid could throw down field a little as evidenced in 2nd half. Just couldn't find the end zone. A few more passes in 1st half might've made this more competitive.

UConn couldn't win a freaking FBS game just a few years ago. RE2.0 had undersized players with little talent. Now we're bitching about NFL draft choices not playing a meaningless bowl game.
 
storrsroars said:
UConn couldn't win a freaking FBS game just a few years ago. RE2.0 had undersized players with little talent. Now we're bitching about NFL draft choices not playing a meaningless bowl game.
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Did the game count on our record? If it did (it did), Than it's not meaningless.

And how pathetic to go back to the Edsall 2.0 days to excuse the indefensible from the present. Yeah anything looks good compared to that. Still cheap to constantly go back to it.
 
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storrsroars said:
Joe has more to gain from scouts seeing him in all-star bowl practices than he does playing behind an offensive line that is not the one that protected him all year. Even H oF F QBs will look bad when their OL is a sieve.
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Don't think any conflict existed between playing in this game and all-star game practices (if you don't believe me, ask Iverson - LOL). Playing in your game is who you are. All-star game practice is just a general capabilities show (a pre-draft work-out, at best). I think we already know JF has "marginal" NFL talent (i.e. a depth QB, at best) and "marginal" 1st / 2nd round draft prospects. As such, better to play than hide, more to gain than lose.
 
storrsroars said:
The ECU QB who beat Pitt today was a true frosh who'd thrown all of seven passes prior to today. Didn't have a fantastic stats day, but did toss 2 TDs with no turnovers.

If you have a pretty good idea who you're gonna have to play at QB, get the kid ready. Apparently the kid could throw down field a little as evidenced in 2nd half. Just couldn't find the end zone. A few more passes in 1st half might've made this more competitive.

UConn couldn't win a freaking FBS game just a few years ago. RE2.0 had undersized players with little talent. Now we're bitching about NFL draft choices not playing a meaningless bowl game.
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Agree completely with your first two paragraphs (not so much on the third)
 
storrsroars said:
The ECU QB who beat Pitt today was a true frosh who'd thrown all of seven passes prior to today. Didn't have a fantastic stats day, but did toss 2 TDs with no turnovers.

If you have a pretty good idea who you're gonna have to play at QB, get the kid ready. Apparently the kid could throw down field a little as evidenced in 2nd half. Just couldn't find the end zone. A few more passes in 1st half might've made this more competitive.

UConn couldn't win a freaking FBS game just a few years ago. RE2.0 had undersized players with little talent. Now we're bitching about NFL draft choices not playing a meaningless bowl game.
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^^^ THIS ^^^
 
RitzLuce1 said:
Did the game count on our record? If it did (it did), Than it's not meaningless.

And how pathetic to go back to the Edsall 2.0 days to excuse the indefensible from the present. Yeah anything looks good compared to that. Still cheap to constantly go back to it.
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True, our fans talk about UConn’s 9 win accomplishment in 2024, which included the bowl win over NC. Now we’re told the bowls are meaningless.

So if the bowls are meaningless, then get rid of them. Or expand the playoff and somehow incorporate a few more bowls into it. That would be the best move.
 
storrsroars said:
The ECU QB who beat Pitt today was a true frosh who'd thrown all of seven passes prior to today. Didn't have a fantastic stats day, but did toss 2 TDs with no turnovers.

If you have a pretty good idea who you're gonna have to play at QB, get the kid ready. Apparently the kid could throw down field a little as evidenced in 2nd half. Just couldn't find the end zone. A few more passes in 1st half might've made this more competitive.

UConn couldn't win a freaking FBS game just a few years ago. RE2.0 had undersized players with little talent. Now we're bitching about NFL draft choices not playing a meaningless bowl game.
Expand ...

Well obviously the ECU kid is a better QB.

Also it didn’t help that Evers took two weeks of reps with the 1s and then bounced. Supposedly the staff was more than irritated with that. Either you are in our out.
 
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