Fuller:
Injuries could force UConn’s struggling defense to rely even more on freshmen
>> While there were no updates on the playing status of Coyle, Herring-Wilson and Terry for Saturday’s game at Syracuse (4 p.m., ESPNews), a trio of freshman defensive backs (cornerbacks Ryan Carroll and Jeremy Lucien and safety Oneil Robinson) could all be in the starting lineup when the Huskies go up against a Syracuse team ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense and rushing offense.<<
>>Depending on how quickly UConn’s veterans heal, the Huskies could start six true freshmen and eight total freshmen while squaring off with a Syracuse offense with 180 career starts between them.<<
>>“I know the (UConn defensive) numbers aren’t good and all that sort of stuff,” UConn coach Randy Edsall said. “I don’t care who you are, if you’re playing as many young guys as we are, you’re not going to have the stats. If we can keep getting them to keep playing hard, keep giving the great effort each and every day in practice and in the meeting room, it’s going to pay off. We have to take some lumps now, it is what it is but the one thing is that the kids are trying, they’re trying to do everything but they’re not ready, but that’s the situation we’re in. These kids are just coming from high school, they had 25 practices and now ...<<
Robinson’s comment about tackling technique is interesting and evident w/ a lot of them.