Randy Edsall: “We’re not changing. We’re not going to change”

[Drew]

 

[Drew]

 

[storrsroars]

I wonder if a booster came up with a cool mill+ to pay for the required testing and any other protocol requirements if that would change anyone's mind.

When you're cutting sports already, adding a seven-figure expenditure that taxpayers would bear to field a football team for 4-5 games seems like a move that woudn't be popular with voters.

 

[Exit 4]

Unfortunately I think this decision as much to do with concerns about readiness of this program to turn the corner as it does with COVid. I think concerns about both are on equal footing. There is an opportunity to play 1-3 developmental games, but it comes with more than just COVid risk, it comes with concerns about having to show progress. "Better to remain quiet than to open your mouth" - if you will. Hope I am wrong - we will eventually know by Sept/October 2021 if we are actually getting better.

 

[Exit 4]

PS - wouldnt be surprised if that plan for a Spring UMass game is called off.

 

[Adios]

At least the SEC won't forget us for a while.

 

[Hornet22]

Unfortunately I think this decision as much to do with concerns about readiness of this program to turn the corner as it does with COVid. I think concerns about both are on equal footing. There is an opportunity to play 1-3 developmental games, but it comes with more than just COVid risk, it comes with concerns about having to show progress. "Better to remain quiet than to open your mouth" - if you will. Hope I am wrong - we will eventually know by Sept/October 2021 if we are actually getting better.

Here’s my take. If you’re RE and you look at the landscape of your team, you probably feel the more pressing matter for progress is maturity and physical strength. You look at the NFL And if anyone is paying attention you see first hand the impact of a Covid season. Can we really afford major injuries during this stage of a rebuild? This football team has been gifted with a “redshirt” year that was sorely needed. For the last two seasons, most on this board complained about the youth and lack of physical maturity witnessed on Saturdays. We wished we had that red shirt year to just marinate our young talent in the weight room. Guess what? The football Gods were listening.

If I’m RE, I’m probably not caving to the monkey see monkey do that’s going on right now. Covid and all the unknowns is the obvious deterrent. Soft tissue injuries is another. We’re seeing all these games get cancelled because of Covid and no one is reporting on what’s happening behind the scenes. No one knows how these affected players are dealing. I happen to know a college football player recovering from it (no, not a lineman) and he told me, for him, it was almost debilitating.

Fans think the protesting Big Ten parents are representative of all of college football and I tend to think that’s not the case. As a coaching staff, you have to weigh the risk/reward factor while also understanding that you have a parent base that fully understands where UConn Football is at the moment and, perhaps, don’t feel like it’s worth it. This is not Alabama guys. This is UConn. My guess is the coaching staff didn’t feel like it was worth it to scrape together a meaningless schedule in a meaningless year while subjected your team to stressors that would impact the rebuild which officially continues against Fresno in 2021- And all at a financial cost

Just my two sense/cents

 

[Exit 4]

Here’s my take. If you’re RE and you look at the landscape of your team, you probably feel the more pressing matter for progress is maturity and physical strength. You look at the NFL And if anyone is paying attention you see first hand the impact of a Covid season. Can we really afford major injuries during this stage of a rebuild? This football team has been gifted with a “redshirt” year that was sorely needed. For the last two seasons, most on this board complained about the youth and lack of physical maturity witnessed on Saturdays. We wished we had that red shirt year to just marinate our young talent in the weight room. Guess what? The football Gods were listening.

If I’m RE, I’m probably not caving to the monkey see monkey do that’s going on right now. Covid and all the unknowns is the obvious deterrent. Soft tissue injuries is another. We’re seeing all these games get cancelled because of Covid and no one is reporting on what’s happening behind the scenes. No one knows how these affected players are dealing. I happen to know a college football player recovering from it (no, not a lineman) and he told me, for him, it was almost debilitating.

Fans think the protesting Big Ten parents are representative of all of college football and I tend to think that’s not the case. As a coaching staff, you have to weigh the risk/reward factor while also understanding that you have a parent base that fully understands where UConn Football is at the moment and, perhaps, don’t feel like it’s worth it. This is not Alabama guys. This is UConn. My guess is the coaching staff didn’t feel like it was worth it to scrape together a meaningless schedule in a meaningless year while subjected your team to stressors that would impact the rebuild which officially continues against Fresno in 2021- And all at a financial cost

Just my two sense/cents

Thats all good, but its particularly tough around here when you see other programs looking to challenge themselves in public rather than hide. Fair or not, that is what it looks like today.

 

[Palatine]

Edsall just cuts himself off from things for no reason. No transfer portal players, no chance to play this year. A smarter guy would use more flexible language. Leave himself some wriggle room.

 

[Nextmanup]

PS - wouldnt be surprised if that plan for a Spring UMass game is called off.

I read that if they play a spring game they can up the practices so I’m thinking it’s more of a go than not..

 

[Exit 4]

I read that if they play a spring game they can up the practices so I’m thinking it’s more of a go than not..

Oh I think Randy will definitely play spring games. The only questions now are i) will it be public or private, ii) full games or exhibition style with extra rules/limitations and iii) will it still involve UMass who has become a thorn in our side by deciding to play some fall ball.

 

[storrsroars]

Do I recall correctly that I read that having college kids play in both spring and then in fall in the same calendar year was detrimental to players' health?

Why yes I did.

Under normal circumstances, teams go eight or nine months between the end of one season and the start of another. If held until the end of May, a spring season would trim the gap between games to only three months and allow for as few as two months of recovery time before teams returned for preseason practices.

“When you play 2,000 competitive reps, your body is not ready for contact in three months or two months,” former Ohio State coach and current Fox Sports analyst Urban Meyer said earlier this month. “It’s not. I would not put those players in harm’s way."

So let's not bury that opinion when thinking about a spring season.

 

[Exit 4]

So let's not bury that opinion when thinking about a spring season.

Who is talking about a spring season? Spring season discussions are pretty much dead in FBS. Dont confuse a plan to play 1-3 exhibition games this spring with a "season" - its nothing like a season..

 

[John Greene]

Speaking of free red shirt years, does anyone here know if RE gets a 'red shirt' year on his contract?

 

[gioff2323]

I wonder if a booster came up with a cool mill+ to pay for the required testing and any other protocol requirements if that would change anyone's mind.

When you're cutting sports already, adding a seven-figure expenditure that taxpayers would bear to field a football team for 4-5 games seems like a move that woudn't be popular with voters.

Wait. We are not testing the team as they practice and lift?

 

[Hoophound]

Speaking of free red shirt years, does anyone here know if RE gets a 'red shirt' year on his contract?

It is pretty much a given that this year is a redshirt year for Randy. He has been recruiting well, so I’m going to stay positive and look forward to next year.

Covid numbers are climbing again. Still a lot of uncertainty regarding how this season plays out nationally too.

 

[storrsroars]

Wait. We are not testing the team as they practice and lift?

There's testing for practices and then there's testing for games, the latter being much more frequent and comprehensive based on what I've read other conferences are doing.

 

[hardcorehusky]

I would love to see us play but the governor has tight restrictions that most other schools don't have and the $$ deficit would get worse with the increased travel. College football is all about money- UMass feels they can pick up something by playing a few games and quite frankly, they need to do something to wake up the moribund program and school. My problem is how do you have kids playing sports when the rest of the student body isn't on campus. That is wrong.

And for those who say UConn football is moribund- the move to independence will work out better than you think. We just need to get back to a more normal time. This program is on the up - UMass on the other hand is at rock bottom.

 

[Drew]

People forget it costs more to order a coffee at McDonald's than it would to fire Randy Edsall.

 

[hardcorehusky]

People forget it costs more to order a coffee at McDonald's than it would to fire Randy Edsall.

We get you hate RE. If you think he is controlling this, I have a bridge for you to buy.

 

[uconnric]

Unless you're in a conference that decides to play, playing as an indy at this point in the season would only blow one meaningful year of eligibility for the team for some version of a traveling road show against god knows who. Losing the Big Ten and ACC/SEC games doomed our season.

 

[Drew]

We get you hate RE. If you think he is controlling this, I have a bridge for you to buy.

Ned Lamont, AD David Benedict, and most of the state legislature can kick rocks too

 

[Exit 4]

Unless you're in a conference that decides to play, playing as an indy at this point in the season would only blow one meaningful year of eligibility for the team for some version of a traveling road show against god knows who. Losing the Big Ten and ACC/SEC games doomed our season.

The NCAA has granted all fall 2020 athletes an extra year of eligibility regardless if they play 0, 1, 5 or 12 games this fall or in spring 2021 if there is such a thing as spring football.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I would like to see them try, but, looking today 18 of 42 games have been cancelled in the first three weeks .

I suspect it isn't going to work And will be a miserable season for the players

 

[metsfan2323]

View attachment 58907

The Boneyarder's demanding a football season in this crazy year are the ones who most closely represent the "old man yelling at the clouds".