Meet The Quintet Of Freshman D-Linemen That Could Anchor UConn Football's Future (Putterman)

[huskymedic]

Meet The Quintet Of Freshman D-Linemen That Could Anchor UConn Football's Future

>>Uguak, a 6-foot-5 Canadian who plays both end and tackle, represents one-fifth of a D-line crew that could anchor UConn’s defense for years to come. There’s hulking defensive end Jonathan Pace. Agile pass-rusher Pierce DeVaughn (who will sit out the rest of the season as a redshirt as he seeks to bulk up). Powerful, 350-pound tackle Travis Jones. And sturdy tackle Caleb Thomas, whose status as a redshirt freshman makes him the veteran of the group.<<

>>“They are going to be very good players. Right now it’s just a matter of strength,” Crocker said Wednesday. “You look at them, and they are going to be very big bodies. And to have that size and be able to move the way they do and have the athletic skill set that they have is going to pay huge dividends down the road.”<<

>>All of UConn’s freshmen linemen know they have ample room to improve, that just because they’re playing major roles as freshmen doesn’t mean they can afford to be complacent. Coach Randy Edsall has spoken repeatedly about the group’s need to add strength in the offseason while continuing to learn the nuances of college football. Pace, for example, says he currently weighs 252 pounds but hopes to play at 270 in the future.<<

>>Today, the freshmen D-linemen are just another group of Huskies struggling to find their groove in the college game. But before long, Uguak vows, they’ll be front and center on a dangerous UConn defense. “We came in, we gelled and by the time we’re in next year or the next couple years, we’ll be really good,” Uguak said. “We’ll be stronger, faster. It’ll all come into play, and we’ll help the team a lot.”<<

 

[ktuck911]

encouraging

 

[uconnric]

Lots of potential in these players. Should see a big improvement with the defense next year. (Yes, I know, it can't get any worse.) They have to get stronger.

 

[Exit 4]

It will take two to three years to get these guys up to the right weight and strength. I would still look for JUCO help on the D line this winter. I dont want to bet that one off season will bring us up to level we need.

I'd also look JUCO for one LB (in addition to Harris) and one more in the secondary. Three JUCOs for defense next year. And will it happen? No, doesnt appear that it is all in the cards with this staff. The staff only seems to be looking at JUCO tight ends.

 

[Palatine]

It will take two to three years to get these guys up to the right weight and strength. I would still look for JUCO help on the D line this winter. I dont want to bet that one off season will bring us up to level we need.

I'd also look JUCO for one LB (in addition to Harris) and one more in the secondary. Three JUCOs for defense next year. And will it happen? No, doesnt appear that it is all in the cards with this staff. The staff only seems to be looking at JUCO tight ends.

Two to three years? They need to grow up faster than that. If they are not much improved by November, it's a bad sign.

 

[freescooter]

My hope is that there will be some improvement next season and we can redshirt the next class instead of wasting a year on guys who are really unprepared to play at this level. Maybe Jones could play in a limited role but the rest are just not there yet.

 

[Stainmaster]

If they are not much improved by November, it's a bad sign.

I want very badly to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you know things about football, but then you post things like this...

 

[Stainmaster]

It will take two to three years to get these guys up to the right weight and strength. I would still look for JUCO help on the D line this winter. I dont want to bet that one off season will bring us up to level we need.

I'd also look JUCO for one LB (in addition to Harris) and one more in the secondary. Three JUCOs for defense next year. And will it happen? No, doesnt appear that it is all in the cards with this staff. The staff only seems to be looking at JUCO tight ends.

I think both Wholley and D-Dot are following this guy on Twitter:

Niadre Zouzoua, Monroe C.C., Weak-Side Defensive End

 

[UConnDan97]

The future is bright. Hang tough, UConn Nation...

 

[huskymedic]

I think both Wholley and D-Dot are following this guy on Twitter:

Niadre Zouzoua, Monroe C.C., Weak-Side Defensive End

There are other JUCOs on D that the staff is following.

 

[ktuck911]

Two to three years? They need to grow up faster than that. If they are not much improved by November, it's a bad sign.

Agreed. We can't wait til '20 to get them going for real. We've already looked horrible for years 1 & 2 under Edsall 2.0. Just can't afford to wait 2 more seasons for real production. We need legit juco and grad transfer help on D. Plain and simple. Need mature bodies that know what the heck they're doing out there to curb the learning curve a bit.

 

[huskysupporter]

We need help badly here. The D Line is horrible and expecting them to improve to good in one year is stretching things.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Keyion Dixon had more tackles than the majority of our starting defensive line. That tells you all you need to know lol

 

[BugsyCT]

Bring in JUCOs next year to stop the hemorrhaging. We can't have another season like this. In 2020, when most of these guys are upperclassmen, this D should finally be better.

 

[uconnfan68]

Two to three years? They need to grow up faster than that. If they are not much improved by November, it's a bad sign.

The schedule favors them looking much better by then.

 

[rich1122]

Where's Kendall Reyes when you need him???

 

[uconnbill]

Keyion Dixon had more tackles than the majority of our starting defensive line. That tells you all you need to know lol

The linebackers should lead the team in tackles as you want your lineman to occupy the offensive lineman while the linebackers make the tackles.

UConn could use a couple of JUCO's on both lines along with a tight end or two.

 

[huskyrob1]

It will take two to three years to get these guys up to the right weight and strength. I would still look for JUCO help on the D line this winter. I dont want to bet that one off season will bring us up to level we need.

I'd also look JUCO for one LB (in addition to Harris) and one more in the secondary. Three JUCOs for defense next year. And will it happen? No, doesnt appear that it is all in the cards with this staff. The staff only seems to be looking at JUCO tight ends.

Two to three years????? Are you joking?

 

[UCFBfan]

It will take two to three years to get these guys up to the right weight and strength. I would still look for JUCO help on the D line this winter. I dont want to bet that one off season will bring us up to level we need.

I'd also look JUCO for one LB (in addition to Harris) and one more in the secondary. Three JUCOs for defense next year. And will it happen? No, doesnt appear that it is all in the cards with this staff. The staff only seems to be looking at JUCO tight ends.

Whether or not it's true on the 2-3 years, this just shows how wasted these players will be. They needed a red shirt year to build that strength and a year after that (RS Fresh year) to allow us to have three solid years from them. Instead, outside of Thomas who already redshirted, this frosh won't get a RS year and it will be up to the next incoming wave of recruits to give us more time and work.

This is why college football can't be compared to other sports in terms of turning things around in 1-2 seasons. There is so much depth involved that you can get a star recruit but they likely will require at least a year to be impactful. It's not bball, which many of our fans miss when they want to complain how we aren't getting better and it should be faster.

All we can do is hope those frosh mature quickly and bulk up just as fast. It will be an accomplishment to get three good years from them. Likely next year will be a slight improvement but it won't be until their last two years that we should see good to hopefully great impact play