Edsall confident UConn football program heading in right direction (Gavin Keefe @ The Day)

[uconnyankee]

Totally agree here

couldn't disagree more. Randy left. It's not his responsibility to maintain the program after he leaves. that is on the uconn administration and those that hired the following coaches and staff.

just because randy left in a manner that most didn't like or didn't want to happen doesn't mean he is responsible for the downfall of the program. I don't hear many on the BB side blaming Calhoun for the men's slide.

Factually, yes the program dropped off when Randy left. How can you blame someone for taking a shot at a new opportunity and new challenge.

 

[uconnyankee]

Yeah, realized that after my post. Thanks for pointing that out. As to the point of my post, how about commenting on that? Do you think we will be better? 7-5? 8-4?

no... the schedule doesn't play in uconn's favor this year. I think the games will be more competitive but the results won't change much this year. I see lot's of L's this year. Maybe 9 or 10 unfortunately.
Wagner, Tulane, and Umass would be the best opportunities and I'm not even sure Uconn is favored in those.
After those 3 I think it would take somer serious upsets which I wouldn't bank on.

we've been down this road before. feeling good, liking the team, the effort, the coaching etc. People start getting goofy with the expectations. 7-8 wins is just not realistic. When it doesn't happen, people start freaking out and asking for RE's head.

Honestly, as we sit here right now, 2 wins is reality, 3 wins is overachieving and 4 wins is a great season.
More than that and Edsall along with his coaching staff are genius'

 

[MrSheldrake]

no... the schedule doesn't play in uconn's favor this year. I think the games will be more competitive but the results won't change much this year. I see lot's of L's this year. Maybe 9 or 10 unfortunately.
Wagner, Tulane, and Umass would be the best opportunities and I'm not even sure Uconn is favored in those.
After those 3 I think it would take somer serious upsets which I wouldn't bank on.

we've been down this road before. feeling good, liking the team, the effort, the coaching etc. People start getting goofy with the expectations. 7-8 wins is just not realistic. When it doesn't happen, people start freaking out and asking for RE's head.

Honestly, as we sit here right now, 2 wins is reality, 3 wins is overachieving and 4 wins is a great season.
More than that and Edsall along with his coaching staff are genius'

How does the schedule not favor UConn this year compared to last year? Has it even been finalized yet?

 

[Hornet22]

couldn't disagree more. Randy left. It's not his responsibility to maintain the program after he leaves. that is on the uconn administration and those that hired the following coaches and staff.

just because randy left in a manner that most didn't like or didn't want to happen doesn't mean he is responsible for the downfall of the program. I don't hear many on the BB side blaming Calhoun for the men's slide.

Factually, yes the program dropped off when Randy left. How can you blame someone for taking a shot at a new opportunity and new challenge.

Perspective- true.
I guess the point some try to make is stop complaining about what happened after he left and just work to fix it.

 

[Hornet22]

no... the schedule doesn't play in uconn's favor this year. I think the games will be more competitive but the results won't change much this year. I see lot's of L's this year. Maybe 9 or 10 unfortunately.
Wagner, Tulane, and Umass would be the best opportunities and I'm not even sure Uconn is favored in those.
After those 3 I think it would take somer serious upsets which I wouldn't bank on.

we've been down this road before. feeling good, liking the team, the effort, the coaching etc. People start getting goofy with the expectations. 7-8 wins is just not realistic. When it doesn't happen, people start freaking out and asking for RE's head.

Honestly, as we sit here right now, 2 wins is reality, 3 wins is overachieving and 4 wins is a great season.
More than that and Edsall along with his coaching staff are genius'

Here’s what I would say. We do have some players this year that can do some things with the ball in their hands. We didn’t have much of that last year. Now how much that lends to the win column? No clue.
Why people are optimistic for a better season: defense is a year older/stronger/experienced. We have a few playmakers. Perhaps we have a QB that can stand in the pocket and deliver the ball to likes of Brown, Ross (frosh), Maurisseau...potentially aggressive LB’s in Morgan and Harris. Art Thomkins and Mensah can provide a good run balance
O Line
Upgrade in coaches

Why not be slightly optimistic for improvement?

 

[AndOne]

That said, Diaco absolutely screwed this program with his recruiting.

But many here stated that stars didn't matter. They loved how Diaco recruited guys who were captains of their team, played basketball or knew karate. LOL.

 

[ZachCT12]

How does the schedule not favor UConn this year compared to last year? Has it even been finalized yet?

It's been finalized for a while..
Wagner
Illinois
@Indiana
@UCF
USF
@Tulane
Houston
@UMass
Navy
@Cincinnati
ECU
@Temple

 

[uconndogs]

But many here stated that stars didn't matter. They loved how Diaco recruited guys who were captains of their team, played basketball or knew karate. LOL.

I’m not a big fan of the stars for UCONN. But, you have to have guys who can run.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

How does the schedule not favor UConn this year compared to last year? Has it even been finalized yet?

Well, other than the bowl game ... ?

 

[Husky68]

Here’s what I would say. We do have some players this year that can do some things with the ball in their hands. We didn’t have much of that last year. Now how much that lends to the win column? No clue.
Why people are optimistic for a better season: defense is a year older/stronger/experienced. We have a few playmakers. Perhaps we have a QB that can stand in the pocket and deliver the ball to likes of Brown, Ross (frosh), Maurisseau...potentially aggressive LB’s in Morgan and Harris. Art Thomkins and Mensah can provide a good run balance
O Line
Upgrade in coaches

Why not be slightly optimistic for improvement?

Thought we had a QB last year who could do some things with the ball in his hands (unfortunately he wasn't very good at getting the ball out of his hands), Mensah was here last year and lost lot of TE and WR talent (at least talent per UConn). So where is all this "betterness" on offense?
As far as defense goes, when you were by far the worst defense against scoring in the history of FBS it is not that hard to be slightly optimistic. Holding opponents to 45 points per game would be a 10% improvement.

 

[mdkhusky]

It's been finalized for a while..
Wagner
Illinois
@Indiana
@UCF
USF
@Tulane
Houston
@UMass
Navy
@Cincinnati
ECU
@Temple

Wow so tough!

 

[ZachCT12]

Wow so tough!

hah. I think theres many opportunities to snag some wins based on this schedule to tell you the truth, just need a little luck to go our way.

 

[uconnbill]

This was a crap show and a total blowup and rebuild.

I think it improves this year in win total and the overall game presented on the field

 

[Chief00]

Our offers and recruiting concentration are now down south as oppose to Pa, NJ, NY, CT and MA. We will see if that strategy works? Recruiting is more than handing out offers, it’s also clearing the Admissions Office of pseudo Ivy League standards that the Ivy League doesn’t even follow for football players. We needed a dozen transfers or JUCOs with 6-8 with high impact and so far we are running a significant deficit.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Our offers and recruiting concentration are now down south as oppose to Pa, NJ, NY, CT and MA. We will see if that strategy works? Recruiting is more than handing out offers, it’s also clearing the Admissions Office of pseudo Ivy League standards that the Ivy League doesn’t even follow for football players. We needed a dozen transfers or JUCOs with 6-8 with high impact and so far we are running a significant deficit.

You are totally right. For the dozen to two dozen students who are accepted because of their athletic skill, it will not hurt UConn's academic standing. In the long run, getting into Power 5 conference will probably lead to increased funding for academic programs and more interest from high school students in the university overall.

 

[Pudge]

Our offers and recruiting concentration are now down south as oppose to Pa, NJ, NY, CT and MA. We will see if that strategy works? Recruiting is more than handing out offers, it’s also clearing the Admissions Office of pseudo Ivy League standards that the Ivy League doesn’t even follow for football players. We needed a dozen transfers or JUCOs with 6-8 with high impact and so far we are running a significant deficit.

You don’t know what you’re talking about

There’s a concerted effort today - as there was 2002-2009 - in the south. Carolinas & Georgia & particularly Florida. Always. Not different. We are as focused on New England - moreso on Prep schools than ever. New York State & PA (specifically greater Philadelphia) & NJ.

We do seem to lack Western PA coverage (Orlando was key) & without Wholley this year - we aren’t in NYC & eastern LI as much. We used to be in Ohio more. We are in Texas. And clearly, we scout Ontario & Quebec - always have.

What you don’t see? Camps. Edsall is hyper focused on seeing kids himself in camp. So ... all the concentrations of nearby kids come in June. Offers & YES some commitments. If it is like past years, we have 7-9 commitments by September. We seem to easily have a target of 20.

The other thing Edsall is ... different than nearby P5 programs: he likes Senior tape. Particularly on OL.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Thought we had a QB last year who could do some things with the ball in his hands (unfortunately he wasn't very good at getting the ball out of his hands), Mensah was here last year and lost lot of TE and WR talent (at least talent per UConn). So where is all this "betterness" on offense?
As far as defense goes, when you were by far the worst defense against scoring in the history of FBS it is not that hard to be slightly optimistic. Holding opponents to 45 points per game would be a 10% improvement.

All good offenses start with the Offensive Line. The young guys will now be juniors and Peart is a senior. They are all stronger and in better shape. Build it out from there. Thompkins will give us something that Mensah isn't (a burner out of the backfield) and the receivers are relatively new and hopefully can get separation from DB's and make YAC happen. Tight end is short on depth but everyone has been touting Jay Rose from his time in High School- let's see what happens. Key is QB - Pindell was not a good passer. He ran because that is what he was best at and was easier than going through progressions. I like Beaudry and tape- let's see if it translates to field.

 

[Exit 4]

I will say Senior tape matters. Every year I would say a solid 30% of the kids with 3 star junior tape have two star senior tape. This is the one weakness of the big programs, accepting commitments too early. Conversely and more importantly for a program like UConn, a lot of great kids don’t shine until their senior campaign. This team will largely be assembled in the December recruiting battles.

I too wish we could take more JUCOs. Randy’s team seems to knock on the door of a lot of JUCOs and then nothing happens... I presume our high admissions standards ends the conversation.

Gonna be tough on the recruiting front until September when the world see’s a better product on the field.

I still think we get 2-4 kids by end of July through the camp process.

 

[Excalibur]

Edsall confident UConn football program heading in right direction

That makes one of us . . .

 

[Chief00]

You don’t know what you’re talking about

There’s a concerted effort today - as there was 2002-2009 - in the south. Carolinas & Georgia & particularly Florida. Always. Not different. We are as focused on New England - moreso on Prep schools than ever. New York State & PA (specifically greater Philadelphia) & NJ.

We do seem to lack Western PA coverage (Orlando was key) & without Wholley this year - we aren’t in NYC & eastern LI as much. We used to be in Ohio more. We are in Texas. And clearly, we scout Ontario & Quebec - always have.

What you don’t see? Camps. Edsall is hyper focused on seeing kids himself in camp. So ... all the concentrations of nearby kids come in June. Offers & YES some commitments. If it is like past years, we have 7-9 commitments by September. We seem to easily have a target of 20.

The other thing Edsall is ... different than nearby P5 programs: he likes Senior tape. Particularly on OL.

I disagree about the 2020 offers, 50 out of 83 or 60% of outstanding offers are offers to guys in the former confederate states. If commitment translates in the same percentage, I don’t ever recall a UConn team with 60% of the roster from Southern states. And if that doesn’t happen, then we have not expended our recruiting efforts and resources wisely.
If we can obtain good southern players, Chief is all for that. I think we really need to re-examine our admissions requirements for football players to make this strategy work.

 

[Pudge]

WTF

Come talk to us after the UConn camps. You just haven’t watched this for long ... and per your online persona ... you’re spouting off.

We are very strong in New England. I’m confident that the MD Head of Football Operations that rubs the data base keys knows all the MD, DC, DE, Philadelphia & South Jersey kids. I think we are going fine.

 

[Chief00]

Come talk to us after the UConn camps. You just haven’t watched this for long ... and per your online persona ... you’re spouting off.

We are very strong in New England. I’m confident that the MD Head of Football Operations that rubs the data base keys knows all the MD, DC, DE, Philadelphia & South Jersey kids. I think we are going fine.

LOL - Me spouting off - when I backed up my statement by hard numbers while you presented a theory or opinion.

 

[huskymedic]

Our offers and recruiting concentration are now down south as oppose to Pa, NJ, NY, CT and MA. We will see if that strategy works? Recruiting is more than handing out offers, it’s also clearing the Admissions Office of pseudo Ivy League standards that the Ivy League doesn’t even follow for football players.

I disagree about the 2020 offers, 50 out of 83 or 60% of outstanding offers are offers to guys in the former confederate states. If commitment translates in the same percentage, I don’t ever recall a UConn team with 60% of the roster from Southern states. And if that doesn’t happen, then we have not expended our recruiting efforts and resources wisely.
If we can obtain good southern players, Chief is all for that. I think we really need to re-examine our admissions requirements for football players to make this strategy work.

So... you’re saying that there are only smart kids (likely to be admitted to UConn) north of the Mason-Dixon Line?

 

[Exit 4]

We are very strong in New England. I’m confident that the MD Head of Football Operations that rubs the data base keys knows all the MD, DC, DE, Philadelphia & South Jersey kids. I think we are going fine.

Under what definition are we very strong in New England? We struggle to get more than 2 to 3 kids out of the top 20-30 in each of MA/CT/NY. BC is very strong (hurts to say). Rutty does pretty well in NJ of course. The B1G, ND, Syracuse and Clemson seem to take what doesn't end up at BC. Hopefully in 5 years we can say we are very strong in NE, but I dont see what grounds we have to make such a statement right now.

And while I have no problem with the football recruiting/operations staff at UConn, there is absolutely nothing going on with this administration to suggest we are out doing anyone on data mining for recruits. Its hyper competitive out there. All the programs are running deep data mining and turning over more stones than ever. There is nothing to suggest we have some sort of advantage or a special database that no one else as built.

 

[Stainmaster]

And while I have no problem with the football recruiting/operations staff at UConn, there is absolutely nothing going on with this administration to suggest we are out doing anyone on data mining for recruits. Its hyper competitive out there. All the programs are running deep data mining and turning over more stones than ever. There is nothing to suggest we have some sort of advantage or a special database that no one else as built.

Pudge is still living in a mid-2000s world where the internet and social media played no role in players’ recruiting trajectories. Any attempt to convince him otherwise is a waste of time.