Dom Amore: Seniors leaving UConn football better than they found it

[huskymedic]

-> It has taken a lot for this core of seniors to stick this thing out together at UConn, to continue to give all a football player must give, to risk all a football player must risk, without ever really knowing what the payoff on that investment could be. There was no money to be had when they got to UConn, still no bowl tie-in or conference championship for which to compete. They’ve simply worked day by day with the ideal, perhaps vague to others but clear to them, of finishing what they started, and leaving UConn football better than they found it. It’s a mission just about accomplished now. <-

-> In 2022, Jim Mora’s first season as coach, UConn finished 6-6, defeated Boston College and Liberty, ranked at the time, at Rentschler to earn a chance to play a bowl game, the program’s first since 2015. Now, the Huskies are 5-3 going into the last home game this Friday against Georgia State. A win would give them a 6-1 finish at home, bowl eligibility for the second time in three years and three more opportunities on the road to clinch UConn’s first winning season since 2010, the season that ended in the Fiesta Bowl. <-

-> “Since I was a kid, it was preached to me, ‘whatever you start, finish it,'” Gourdine said. “Also, I’ve got a chance to leave this place better than I found it, and my name will be on that forever. They they bring these teams up, my name is going to be on that.” <-

 

[AllHusky]

Amore a fine writer and a nice guy, has a great feel for the people side of Athletics.

 

[UConnDan97]

The turnaround has been great. And Gourdine is right: their names will be on the turnaround forever...

 

[AzHusky]

If and when we get a bowl invite and we get the flag for playing in said bowl can they put the names of the seniors on said flag? I mean without those guys sticking with the program we are not where we are today. I'm not saying retire their numbers just list their names.

 

[Scrutineer]

Dalmont Gourdine has a winner's attitude and we can just hope he achieves his dreams in life after an excellent career at UConn!

 

[Chin Diesel]

First group of seniors in over a decade who can say that.

 

[Jetskies]

thankful to these seniors for sticking it out and seeing results. Good on them

Thankful to the past seniors as well who endured 1-11, 2-10 seasons in the 2010's, with no hope in sight and who never got their happy ending. There is a special kind of inner strength needed when the only attention you get from the outside sports world is mockery and ridicule. You still represented the husky proudly. Sorry for what you went through.

In a sense, I think Dom was writing to those guys, too.

 

[Palatine]

Seniors that spent all their careers at the same school have become rarer and rarer. They really deserve to recognized and appreciated. A huge thank you to our Huskies seniors.

 

[huskymedic]

-> Overall, it will be Lundt's 45th game and 45th start. He's missed one game when an injury kept him out of the Nov. 27, 2021 contest at Houston.

-> But through the turmoil he was a Husky, and that's all he wanted to be.

"My biggest thing is that I believe in loyalty," Lundt said. "That ties in with this program for as long as I've been here. Regardless of who the coach was, we had a pretty tight-knit group on our offensive line, with Ryan Van Demark being here, with Matt Peart being here. The year I had with Matt, he was a great mentor for me, as well. Then recently Christian (Haynes), the guy I played next to for three years. You don't get that type of chemistry within the offensive line room like we have." <-

-> "Obviously, The Rent has had a lot of legendary people who have played in it, and we're trying to add to the legacy," UConn wide receiver Skyler Bell said. "We have a lot of seniors who will be playing their last game, and we're trying to send them off on the right note." <-

 

[Waquoit]

I approve this message.

 

[jayfromfla]

can someone post a list of seniors celebrating their last home game

 

[jayfromfla]

Thanks to the members of the group who helped me find a betting operation. This year the reservation took on sports betting I drove to the casino in august and placed 500 for over 4.5 wins. I’ll cash in next week as I’m traveling to the east coast

Go Huskies

 

[gioff2323]

It would be nice if we could do something to celebrate this group, particularly those here for 4-5 years. We will owe them for getting to 2 bowls in 3 years and regaining a modicum of respect. But we owe them for the lessons they teach us, our kids, and folks generally about loyalty, perseverance, drive, determination and an undying faith in this school and this program.

 

[ZooCougar]

It would be nice if we could do something to celebrate this group, particularly those here for 4-5 years. We will owe them for getting to 2 bowls in 3 years and regaining a modicum of respect. But we owe them for the lessons they teach us, our kids, and folks generally about loyalty, perseverance, drive, determination and an undying faith in this school and this program.

A win tonight would be good.

 

[huskymedic]

can someone post a list of seniors celebrating their last home game

Click the pics:

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Congrats senior bowlers!

 

[Patman]

The senior group, to some degree in the NIL era, signed on when we were total crap and kept working through it. So thank you for the commitment

 

[huskymedic]

From Joe Arruda’s wrap-up article today:

-> Senior Night highlights program’s progress​

UConn recognized 23 players before Friday’s game as part of its Senior Appreciation Night. When many of them arrived four, five years ago, the idea of clinching bowl eligibility in their final game at Rentschler Field would have been a bit of a reach, not to mention that it was for the second time in three years.

Five of the players recognized were starters on the team in 2021, when UConn lost its first home game by 10 points to Holy Cross, an FCS opponent. Randy Edsall was fired as head coach just a few days later.

“I didn’t look too far in advance (as a freshman), but it makes sense now,” Dixon-Williams said. “I wanted to build a culture here and that’s what we’re doing… (The standard is) just not being average. We don’t want to do anything average here. Going 6-6, that’s just average to us, we want to do better than that. Make those six games eight, nine, 10 games winning. Just build a culture here and we want people to want to go to UConn because we’re a great football school, we’re more than just basketball, and we want to win here.” <-

 

[huskymedic]

Hynes has consistently put out good material:

 

[Jetskies]

Randy Edsall was fired as head coach just a few days later.

y'all, was RE fired? I know on paper he retired, but was he fired? idk how these politics work.

 

[huskymedic]

y'all, was RE fired? I know on paper he retired, but was he fired? idk how these politics work.

Joe Arruda/Courant must think so…