Nate Hopkins has left the team | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Nate Hopkins has left the team

Edsall is an acquired taste. He has always been blunt - no diplomacy. The kids hear straight away when they are not meeting standards and the roles are evolving. Day to day. If Hopkins didn’t like the proposed role ... he has the ability - in my view - to earn the higher slot.

Kids aren’t different. 12-14 years ago ... UConn had to use a 4th guy as the starter RB for many games. He was super good in that role.

Chris Bellamy
 
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JMick said:
Scott is a RSFR. The two freshman are Gillespie and Black. If anyone gets hurt we will probably see one of them though
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Nobody even needs to get hurt. They can play 8 games between them.
 
huskymedic said:
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I don’t get the feeling Edsall tried that hard to get him to stay. We know Donovan Williams contemplated leaving and the staff convinced him not too.

I think the first game will be the Mensah/Scott/O’Reilly show and then we see four games sprinkled in for the two rookies for whomever is banged up.

And now it looks like the annual tryout will tilt toward finding another WO rb.... tell your friends!
 
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noeynox said:
This sucks. I liked this kid. He saved our hide against HC last year.
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It’s always nice to have a relative big back by the goalline. He also gave them a change up at RB. Having said that he certainly wasn’t a star.
 
Stainmaster said:
If O'Reilly is getting 1st team reps, it would seem that Mensah is not at 100% in terms of physical shape or playbook understanding. Hopefully he can make up for lost time even quicker now...
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Maybe O’Reilly came back in better shape, stronger and quicker than the other RBs. Maybe he is more versatile and is a multi-down back. I’ve said a few times not to over look him.

I doubt there are many (if any) guys on that team that are as focused AND work harder than that kid. He knows what the prize is and hasn’t taken his eyes off of it since given the opportunity he has earned.
 
RMS25CT said:
Maybe O’Reilly came back in better shape, stronger and quicker than the other RBs. Maybe he is more versatile and is a multi-down back. I’ve said a few times not to over look him.

I doubt there are many (if any) guys on that team that are as focused AND work harder than that kid. He knows what the prize is and hasn’t taken his eyes off of it since given the opportunity he has earned.
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And Randy likes the guys that do what they are asked in terms of fitness, school and the playbook.

Now all five remaining RBs are guys Randy recruited.
 
Chief00 said:
It’s always nice to have a relative big back by the goalline. He also gave them a change up at RB. Having said that he certainly wasn’t a star.
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The kid was a freshman that got more touches and td’s from the backfield then Newsome. He was pretty good and I think he would have been great this year. That said, players going forward might be in check-mode and listen to their coaches before indicating how the depth chart should look.

Best of luck Nate.
 
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huskymedic said:
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Translation=we’ve got plenty of RB talent.

This is Edsall MO. Plenty of competition and the best play. This is nothing more than someone looking for more time somewhere else as they got pushed down the DC.
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When the guy that recruited you leaves, it is time to start assessing and developing your options.
 
BNich said:
If he can get his academics in check.
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I'm not sure why you're moaning here. He already has the grades he needs to play this semester. If he screws up in the classroom now, those chickens won't come home to roost until after the season.
 
Austin316 said:
The kid was a freshman that got more touches and td’s from the backfield then Newsome. He was pretty good and I think he would have been great this year. That said, players going forward might be in check-mode and listen to their coaches before indicating how the depth chart should look.

Best of luck Nate.
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I think that's more around Diaco and Company unable to understand Newsome's potential. Last year, Hopkins was mostly a goal line/short yardage back. Other than the Holy Cross game, his touches were limited. I like Hopkins, but with almost three weeks until the first game, I would of liked him to compete and prove the coaches wrong.
 

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This is what is going to keep happening as Edsall transforms the roster. I hope Edsall is trying to move people around the field and see what he can do with them to keep them here.
 
I said in another thread edsall hasn't earned blind faith with qb's....with running backs he has. While at this point you'd prefer to keep him, its also exciting to see we have guys who have passed him on the depth chart
 
You never want to see guys quit.... but if he's quitting because he's not happy with his role in the second week of camp, it doesn't bother me.

We need guys willing to earn it.
 
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Ostrout: New Britain Herald - Sophomore running back Hopkins leaving UConn football program, will transfer

>>O’Reilly was one of three Huskies to awarded scholarships before training camp began last week, Edsall said Monday. Carlton Steer, a senior defensive lineman from East Hartford, and wide receiver Mason Donaldson also are now former walk-ons.“It was a great surprise,” O’Reilly said. “I came in last year in Week 2 and I’ve been working really hard to earn that scholarship and earn my way on this team.”

O’Reilly spent the 2015 football season at Merrimack College, playing mostly special teams as a freshman for the Division II North Andover, Massachusetts school. He spent the second semester of that academic year at a community college before applying to UConn. “I actually had plans on playing when (coach Bob) Diaco was here,” O’Reilly said of the 2016 season. “But that didn’t work out so I had to be a regular student for a season, which was hard. That was my first time in 13 years of not being able to play football.”

When Edsall was re-hired, O’Reilly immediately fired off a half-dozen emails to UConn staffers reminding them that he was on campus and anxious to play. After an open tryout, Edsall and his staff gave O’Reilly a shot. Needless to say, they don’t have any regrets.<<
 
He is our modern day Rudy so to speak.
Whoever saw him this spring, saw he had excellent vision and a good burst. He looked like he belonged.

Sad to see Nate Hopkins leaving, but that is how things go at Division 1.
 
JMick said:
I get that he probably expected to play more, but who doesn't want to be the guy that gets the ball on 4th and 1 at the goal line?
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Maybe they don't expect to be in that situation very much?

(Joking)
 
huskymedic said:
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Happy he landed on his feet.. he went back home to finish his career it appears.. He's still forever a UConn Husky ( just like Tim Boyle and Joe Williams who both look as though they'll be suiting up for a NFL team this upcoming season )...
 
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