How do we build for the future?

[Uconnalliance]

 

[AllThings34]

I think UConn has the talent to be competitive…it is just a matter of allowing guys the opportunity. Which comes down to coaching ….although I do think there are positions that are desperately in need of a revamp. Namely linebackers and OLine…our secondary can make stops but is slow at ball hawking and poor tackling. Our D line is capable of getting in the backfield but we can’t get consistency making tackles or pressuring the QB. A lot of the losses come down to defense not being able to make stops……..and bonehead penalties.

 

[John]

?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

We have a lot of injured talent and a ridiculously young roster. Mazzone made us presentable. With Mazzone and Tyler all season, we have 3-5 wins right now. Instead, we have no OC and we play offense like it is 1960.

If we can bring back our injured players, bring in a few transfers and hire a good football coach, we will pummel UMass next season. This situation just isn’t as bad as it looks. You have to look at the youth on the roster and the season long injuries to very good players. Combine that kick in the nuts with the fact that our coaching staff beyond Spanos is literally a D2 staff at best and Spanos is a mediocre FBS DC at best. The talent gap at full strength and one year older won’t be nearly as bad as it looks today. Enhance the roster with transfers and add competent coaches and we might have something pretty decent.

I’m not very accepting of the “it’s UConn football” bs. We have great facilities, a tv deal that allows parents all over the country to see their kid play at UConn, a known brand name and an appealing schedule with big names on it. This is not UMass or Liberty or any of those other small time schools we are talking about. Our football program is only crap due to mismanagement.

I wish BC had hired Edsall back in 2011, not Maryland. We never would’ve hired him back, even if BC had fired him too.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

This is why UConn should be able to out recruit most MAC schools and quite a few others. Yet we haven't. Even if you just targeted smart kids looking for a good school we could do better than we have. On top of name brand, we've got better facilities as well.

Speaking of recruiting in state is Victor Rosa still coming here? Or did he back out?

 

[huskymedic]

Speaking of recruiting in state is Victor Rosa still coming here? Or did he back out?

From a Courant article a few weeks back:

“Rosa committed to UConn over BC, Army and Air Force in June, but he kept it a secret until July to announce it on his mom’s birthday. The three-star recruit is actually the No. 1 CIAC ranked player. Only Loomis Chaffee prep lineman Alessandro Lorenzetti, a Michigan commit, is ahead of him.

With Randy Edsall out as UConn coach, Rosa is suddenly looking at a different landscape. Does it alter his plans? “As of right now, no,” he said. “I’m going to take it take by day and see what happens. There are a lot of unknowns right now and I do have a very close connection with (assistant coach) Corey Edsall. We’re in touch every day. Nothing has changed. “Football always been my first love. I always dreamed of playing D-1 football. I committed to UConn for a reason. Obviously, the coaching staff I loved, but the chance to be a ‘hometown hero,’ there is more thought put in beyond the coaches.”

The new NCAA rule for name, image and likeness is a factor. A successful local athlete can now make money from sponsorship deals. Rosa, who plans to major in business, understands the bigger picture. It would be pretty humorous to see the 7-1 and 6-0 buddies do endorsements together.<-

 

[huskysupporter]

Yeah, UConn needs to lower its admission standards for athletes. Like Yale, for instance?

That excuse is getting pretty baggy -- a red herring for sure. Another fallacy is that going independent and playing P5 schools in body-bag games will somehow attract talent to Storrs. In what universe do kids want to play for a perennial loser?

UConn's problem is that it's located in a part of the country with little homegrown talent -- a recruiting desert. Few people in New England care about college football, and more talented recruits from more fertile parts of the country are going to gravitate toward winning programs that will showcase their skills on a larger stage. UConn gets only leftovers.

Yes that is correct - it is one piece of many things that need to happen to make UCONN a consistent winner.

Believe me I don’t think that alone solves the issue. Jeff Hathaway, Susan Herbst and Warde Manuel tossed the football program into a dumpster and Dave Benedict tossed the match in.

I’ll point out again - look at any of the schools that have done a short rebuild or have maintained success in areas not known for football success. Compare their admissions to ours.

We have lost some fantastic players because they didn’t have the grades, yet managed to graduate at the schools they matriculated in.

Lower admission standards for a percentage, put them in a program that is easy to pass and that is a start.

 

[SubbaBub]

With the transfer portal, a decent coach can get UConn to be a reasonable competitive G5 program. There are a lot of 4* and high 3* players on P5 rosters that are approaching their junior year and have not seen the field yet, and are watching their coaches recruiting 4* and 5* players for their position with every new class.

Every one of these players is a candidate to play at UConn.

Literally.

 

[SubbaBub]

We have a lot of injured talent and a ridiculously young roster. Mazzone made us presentable. With Mazzone and Tyler all season, we have 3-5 wins right now. Instead, we have no OC and we play offense like it is 1960.

If we can bring back our injured players, bring in a few transfers and hire a good football coach, we will pummel UMass next season. This situation just isn’t as bad as it looks. You have to look at the youth on the roster and the season long injuries to very good players. Combine that kick in the nuts with the fact that our coaching staff beyond Spanos is literally a D2 staff at best and Spanos is a mediocre FBS DC at best. The talent gap at full strength and one year older won’t be nearly as bad as it looks today. Enhance the roster with transfers and add competent coaches and we might have something pretty decent.

I’m not very accepting of the “it’s UConn football” bs. We have great facilities, a tv deal that allows parents all over the country to see their kid play at UConn, a known brand name and an appealing schedule with big names on it. This is not UMass or Liberty or any of those other small time schools we are talking about. Our football program is only crap due to mismanagement.

Injuries and avoiding them are part of FB. Penn State is going from a CFP contenders to a 7-8 win season because their QB and a DL got hurt. That's what separates them from Ohio St and Alabama. What separates UConn from 120 other schools is our first team guys can barely play, the backups...well you see.

I still think there was enough talent on this team to win 4-5 games. The words of the Wyoming QB are haunting and reflect what a lot of us here have been thinking. We don't know how to play. That's on Randy and the coaches either by not knowing or not teaching.

 

[Bongo Fury]

If UConn has talented players then they don’t have nearly enough of them. Injuries are common in the game.

 

[Chin Diesel]

We have a lot of injured talent and a ridiculously young roster. Mazzone made us presentable. With Mazzone and Tyler all season, we have 3-5 wins right now. Instead, we have no OC and we play offense like it is 1960.

If we can bring back our injured players, bring in a few transfers and hire a good football coach, we will pummel UMass next season. This situation just isn’t as bad as it looks. You have to look at the youth on the roster and the season long injuries to very good players. Combine that kick in the nuts with the fact that our coaching staff beyond Spanos is literally a D2 staff at best and Spanos is a mediocre FBS DC at best. The talent gap at full strength and one year older won’t be nearly as bad as it looks today. Enhance the roster with transfers and add competent coaches and we might have something pretty decent.

I’m not very accepting of the “it’s UConn football” bs. We have great facilities, a tv deal that allows parents all over the country to see their kid play at UConn, a known brand name and an appealing schedule with big names on it. This is not UMass or Liberty or any of those other small time schools we are talking about. Our football program is only crap due to mismanagement.

Injuries is a garbage excuse. Few teams make it through the entire season with all their top players in tact. You're right that the injuries expose UConn's lack of next man up talent. Most schools have somewhat of a decent second set on the two deep. UConn has nothing. Half it's starters wouldn't make a two deep on FBS rosters, so you know the back ups are going to be roughed up and abused in game situations.

 

[Urcea]

This thread is a hoot. It's folks saying we (the football fans) need to lower our expectations, etc., but when figuring out what that looks like it's 7-5. What do they think we expect?

 

[Hornet22]

I've said it before, the entire roster can turn over.

McFadden is the only player who is above average at his position compared to the other 120+ FBS schools. I like Carter so he can stay but I realize there will be 25-30 RB's in the portal and JUCO as good if not better.

Fandom is great but also sad at times. At the end of the day I want all these kids to succeed on and off the field- would be different if we’re talking pros and these guys are getting paid millions and not performing- have at it

But to make a statement to get rid of kids who, yes, are struggling on the field but aren’t chattel, just so you can have the benefit of saying you root for a team that can get some wins is pretty sad in my opinion. The funny thing is you can go to the boards of power 5 teams and hear their fans say the players suck and aren’t FBS caliber players- like Vandy and South Carolina for example.

You’re stuck with this UConn football situation bud- deal with it, but just root for the kids whether or not they bring you a victory on Saturday. These kids owe you or I absolutely nothing. Believe me, they’re not worrying about what Chin Diesel has to say.

sheesh

 

[hank970]

Just sell them on the name. It’s not hard to do when you walk up and down the streets of Europe, Sidney and Melbourne, Moscow, Hong Kong and see people wearing UConn T shirts. If Geno and Calhoun or Hurley can sell the school to recruits, a good football coach can do the same.

The name? How many t-shirt fans from Europe, Australia, and Asia show up at games, contribute to the university, or groom their kids to play football at UConn? What UConn needs is kids in the US who aspire to play in Storrs, and right now, potential recruits have better choices. UConn needs rivalries, better facilities, and bigger donors to attract a coaching staff with the panache to attract decent recruits.

 

[Uconnalliance]

?

Our time in FBS

 

[UCONNRPh]

The name? How many t-shirt fans from Europe, Australia, and Asia show up at games, contribute to the university, or groom their kids to play football at UConn? What UConn needs is kids in the US who aspire to play in Storrs, and right now, potential recruits have better choices. UConn needs rivalries, better facilities, and bigger donors to attract a coaching staff with the panache to attract decent recruits.

Better Facilities??

 

[gioff2323]

Let’s start by taking the WE out of the header.

 

[gtcam]

I refuse to accept what some been saying that Uconn will never be good in football.

We have a national TV deal, which means every parent can see their kid playing on TV every game. The media pay sucks, but Uconn can get a better deal and attract more eye balls once we are more competitive.

In addition to the media deal, we also have top notch facilities and academics. With those tools at our disposal, we should be able to out recruit just about all the G5 schools and many not so good P5 schools. We should not limit ourselves to local talent only. We need to recruit states like FL, TX, GA etc. CA should not be off limit either. There are plenty of parents and players out there that care about school academics in addition to playing football, and we should be targeting those kids.

We should be shooting for BYU or Boise level of success. With the right coaching staff, we can get it done.

I agree with most of this but I feel UConn has done very well with recruiting in Florida and Texas as of late - as I recall, Florida was always well represented on the UConn roster.
The higher academic standards is a double edged sword - we miss out on some kids but would also miss out on kids who have high academic acumen who want to play with like kids - many of these kids graduate and work at high level positions and end up donating big bucks - the academic thing is very touchy, especially for a state school.

 

[hank970]

Better Facilities??

Yes, an on-campus stadium. Like it or not, the Rent is an albatross -- as much a detriment to UConn's success as anything else. Can you think of any other FBS program where campus and stadium are so distant from one another?

 

[huskymedic]

Yes, an on-campus stadium. Like it or not, the Rent is an albatross -- as much a detriment to UConn's success as anything else. Can you think of any other FBS program where campus and stadium are so distant from one another?

UCLA to Rose Bowl (it’s even farther by a few miles)… forget about actual travel time.

 

[History Geek]

The U to Hard Rock Stadium is also 21 miles

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The name? How many t-shirt fans from Europe, Australia, and Asia show up at games, contribute to the university, or groom their kids to play football at UConn? What UConn needs is kids in the US who aspire to play in Storrs, and right now, potential recruits have better choices. UConn needs rivalries, better facilities, and bigger donors to attract a coaching staff with the panache to attract decent recruits.

Ok Hank, maybe you’re on to something.

 

[Hoophound]

Injuries is a garbage excuse. Few teams make it through the entire season with all their top players in tact. You're right that the injuries expose UConn's lack of next man up talent. Most schools have somewhat of a decent second set on the two deep. UConn has nothing. Half it's starters wouldn't make a two deep on FBS rosters, so you know the back ups are going to be roughed up and abused in game situations.

I’d normally agree, but we lost Tyler P, Drayton and Ross. They are our best offensive players. Jay Rose has missed a few games. Basically, most of our exceptionally talented offensive players haven’t played much or at all. To say we didn’t have anyone behind them, isn’t really fair. We’ve seen a ton of potential from others. Neiminski, Maurisseau, Hairston, Jeffreys, Marion and Turner have all looked good. ALL are freshmen, except Mauriseau, who is a sophomore.

The defense has similar issues. This is a very odd year for us between injuries to star players and a lack of experience on the coaching staff. Our offense is pretty much operating with no one that knows what they are doing on staff. That isn’t an exaggeration. We’ve seen clear as day that the offensive staff, other than a couple of Mazzone games, is completely inept and has no idea what to do.

 

[ChampHusky]

I’d normally agree, but we lost Tyler P, Drayton and Ross. They are our best offensive players. Jay Rose has missed a few games. Basically, most of our exceptionally talented offensive players haven’t played much or at all. To say we didn’t have anyone behind them, isn’t really fair. We’ve seen a ton of potential from others. Neiminski, Maurisseau, Hairston, Jeffreys, Marion and Turner have all looked good. ALL are freshmen, except Mauriseau, who is a sophomore.

The defense has similar issues. This is a very odd year for us between injuries to star players and a lack of experience on the coaching staff. Our offense is pretty much operating with no one that knows what they are doing on staff. That isn’t an exaggeration. We’ve seen clear as day that the offensive staff, other than a couple of Mazzone games, is completely inept and has no idea what to do.

Hairston is a RS-JR and Jeffreys is a RS-SO

 

[hardcorehusky]

Hairston is a RS-JR and Jeffreys is a RS-SO

Hairston isn't even in our rotation and Jefferies and Maurisseau get s green snaps a game.

 

[giddyup]

1. Call Nick Saban
2. offer him $10 million/year

Otherwise, there is zero chance UConn will ever be better than a mediocre FBS program. Don’t believe me? Ask BC, Syracuse, & Rutgers (all in Power 5 conferences) how it’s going.

This is a silly statement. I think they are all quite pleased to be collecting $30-40 Million in their mediocrity. It’s like the poor guy laughing at the rich guy because he has luxury of not having to worry about losing money.

 

[billybud]

Pitt is on top of the standings as their Division leader...so is Wake.

Never say never.

 

[History Geek]

Pitt is on top of the standings as their Division leader...so is Wake.

Never say never.

It's looking like the ACC champ will be either Pitt, Wake, or NC State. This likely means the ACC champ won't make the playoff no matter what their record is/how they look because the powers that be are going to be forced to hold their nose and take Cincy . This leaves only 3 P5 slots available and they won't want to waste one of those spots on a weaker brand. The setup still stinks because it's still all about ratings.

#8teamplayoffnow

 

[coachcap]

Pitt is on top of the standings as their Division leader...so is Wake.

Never say never.

Bizarro World has come to pass.

 

[John]

Pitt is on top of the standings as their Division leader...so is Wake.

Never say never.

That first Pitt game at the Rent is probably my top all-time fun UConn event in any sport.