Randy Edsall on this year’s offensive line and other Spring cleanup...

[Palatine]

Cespedes? I thought, he never sees the field. Wow!

I watched Cespedes quite a bit during the spring game. He got off the ball okay and really finished his blocks. He looked like he belonged.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

He was not very good in high school. He must have worked really hard, over the last year especially. I'm happy for him

Yeah I think he only played a year maybe two, Mick.

 

[huskymedic]

Cespedes? I thought, he never sees the field. Wow!

He was not very good in high school. He must have worked really hard, over the last year especially. I'm happy for him

 

[whaler11]

Lots to chew on here.

i) I have us at 77 scholarships. To have 78, my guess is that Donaldson is now on scholarship. But awarding Donaldson now means it counts towards the annual 25 head cap, vs offering it next year would exempt it from the cap.
ii) So we are capped at 83 over a clerical error! My guess is that we didn't get those mid year kids properly papered to the 2016 class. Just a guess.
iii) So which WO are getting scholarships? O'Reilly seems highly likely. Not sure on who else though.
iv) No plans for LB help? Gardner must have really showed something the last two weeks. If he's a + level player, then maybe we are indeed okay.

#hireexit4

 

[whaler11]

I watched Cespedes quite a bit during the spring game. He got off the ball okay and really finished his blocks. He looked like he belonged.

I was sitting near his high school? coaches I think. They were very excited.

If they turned Cespedes into a player that’s a feather in someone’s cap. Didn’t seem he was ever going to get on the field.

As far as WR goes - this is the 14th consecutive season where UConn has fielded it’s deepest and most talented corps; may the 14th time be the charm.

 

[Palatine]

I was sitting near his high school? coaches I think. They were very excited.

If they turned Cespedes into a player that’s a feather in someone’s cap. Didn’t seem he was ever going to get on the field.

As far as WR goes - this is the 14th consecutive season where UConn has fielded it’s deepest and most talented corps; may the 14th time be the charm.

Lineman are the hardest to project coming out of high school. Will that big, strong kid be as dominant when he plays against opponents that are just as big and strong? Will that athletic, quick kid maintain that quickness as he gets bigger and stronger? It's tough to predict what you will get when a kid is 20, 40 or 60 pounds heavier.

Over the years, one of Edsall's gifts is an ability to project what a kid will be like years down the road. And he seems to know how to develop them to maximize their abilities. It especially nice when it's a local kid like Cespedes.

 

[whaler11]

Lineman are the hardest to project coming out of high school. Will that big, strong kid be as dominant when he plays against opponents that are just as big and strong? Will that athletic, quick kid maintain that quickness as he gets bigger and stronger? It's tough to predict what you will get when a kid is 20, 40 or 60 pounds heavier.

Over the years, one of Edsall's gifts is an ability to project what a kid will be like years down the road. And he seems to know how to develop them to maximize their abilities. It especially nice when it's a local kid like Cespedes.

Sure, except Edsall inherited Cespedes and they have gone through two OL coaches in two years.... I guess it takes a village on this one.

 

[huskymedic]

Fuller: Madison’s Jack Driscoll headed to Auburn, former Miami lineman commits to UConn

 

[Exit 4]

Fuller: Madison’s Jack Driscoll headed to Auburn, former Miami lineman commits to UConn

So two nuggets in there. Kyle Williams, WO CB who was with the team last year, is seriously competing for playing time next fall. Maybe he is the other guy to go with O'Reilly for a scholarship. Second nugget, Edsall is jacked about Caleb Thomas playing NT, so he is thinking Travis Jones will start at DE. So our possible opening day DL could be Fines, Thomas and Jones with Freeborn, Murphy and Atkins/Okounam for back up. I still like one of the other three freshman to get serious playing time this year, just not sure who.

 

[kibblesnbits]

So two nuggets in there. Kyle Williams, WO CB who was with the team last year, is seriously competing for playing time next fall. Maybe he is the other guy to go with O'Reilly for a scholarship. Second nugget, Edsall is jacked about Caleb Thomas playing NT, so he is thinking Travis Jones will start at DE. So our possible opening day DL could be Fines, Thomas and Jones with Freeborn, Murphy and Atkins/Okounam for back up. I still like one of the other three freshman to get serious playing time this year, just not sure who.

I wouldn't be surprised. In a 3-3-5 all of the linemen could be traditional DTs as they must be prepared to tie up multiple linemen while opening lanes for the LBs and DBs to close on the ball. It's also important, however, to have a pass rush specialist or two that can step in at DE on passing downs and we haven't seen that yet.

 

[uconnphil2016]

So two nuggets in there. Kyle Williams, WO CB who was with the team last year, is seriously competing for playing time next fall. Maybe he is the other guy to go with O'Reilly for a scholarship. Second nugget, Edsall is jacked about Caleb Thomas playing NT, so he is thinking Travis Jones will start at DE. So our possible opening day DL could be Fines, Thomas and Jones with Freeborn, Murphy and Atkins/Okounam for back up. I still like one of the other three freshman to get serious playing time this year, just not sure who.

A 330 pound defensive end? Will be tough when we face quick QBs, but I sorta like that plan more than playing bad true DEs

 

[JMick]

A 330 pound defensive end? Will be tough when we face quick QBs, but I sorta like that plan more than playing bad true DEs

You really only need 1 pass rushing DE in the 3-3-5. You can then bring up your best pass rushing OLB or hybrid LB/S for a more traditional nickel blitz package

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

If it was Bobby I’d dismiss it, but Randy tends to be brutally honest with his guys. He has also had some incredible O-lines, paving the way for a few 1000 yard rushers so if he thinks this is one of his best I’m very excited. We’ll need to routinely be in the 30s for points to win many games this year so that’s a good sign.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I was sitting near his high school? coaches I think. They were very excited.

If they turned Cespedes into a player that’s a feather in someone’s cap. Didn’t seem he was ever going to get on the field.

As far as WR goes - this is the 14th consecutive season where UConn has fielded it’s deepest and most talented corps; may the 14th time be the charm.

Without Arkeel out of the backfield and Bloom/Myers coming off the line to keep the defense honest I’m worried that the WRs are going to have a tough time creating space. Indeed may the 14th time be the charm.

 

[Scrutineer]

Mike Anthony‏ @ManthonyCourant 9m 9 minutes ago
UConn docked 2 scholarships, can only award 83. Huskies now at 78. "Hurts us from a standpoint I can't reward two [walk-ons]," Edsall said. Edsall said a mistake was made in compliance department working on numbers last year, some type of miscommunication or clerical error.

"Mensah continues to show ability but over-thinks everything."

Ha! Anyone else get it? ;-)

If I was smarter I might be able to figure it out.........

 

[whaler11]

Without Arkeel out of the backfield and Bloom/Myers coming off the line to keep the defense honest I’m worried that the WRs are going to have a tough time creating space. Indeed may the 14th time be the charm.

If Pindell gets hurt they might not score a TD all season but best WR corps is in play if that doesn’t happen.

 

[Scrutineer]

He was not very good in high school. He must have worked really hard, over the last year especially. I'm happy for him

Thought I read recently that he was late to football and didn't have more than a couple years playing in high school. Maybe that's the issue?

 

[Stainmaster]

If it was Bobby I’d dismiss it, but Randy tends to be brutally honest with his guys. He has also had some incredible O-lines, paving the way for a few 1000 yard rushers so if he thinks this is one of his best I’m very excited. We’ll need to routinely be in the 30s for points to win many games this year so that’s a good sign.

Peart looks like he will be playing on Sundays, and Van Demark was already matching up well against in-conference competition despite being underweight last year. It's up to the interior of the line to determine how good the unit will truly be. Given DeGeorge's pedigree, I'm hoping for a significant leap to be made at some point.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Never found Randy to make outrageous statements. If you look at the line as presently constituted, they are young(except Crozier) and will all be back and all can get stronger. JB Grimes helped them make a giant leap forward last year to ok. If they take the same leap this year and we can have a downhill running game to go with a decent passing game, then we can have a great year offensively.

 

[businesslawyer]

Never found Randy to make outrageous statements.

Eh. He said Bonislawski could throw the ball better than Dan O.

Caring what any coach says about anything is rarely a good plan.

 

[huskymedic]

Updated Mike Anthony Story:

 

[uconnphil2016]

Updated Mike Anthony Story:

Im a bit confused about what UConn Insider is. I thought it was a podcast, but it seems like now they come out with articles under that name as well

 

[huskymedic]

Im a bit confused about what UConn Insider is. I thought it was a podcast, but it seems like now they come out with articles under that name as well

All encompassing: "The Hartford Courant's UConn Insiders take you between the lines and on the beat with the state's premier college programs."

 

[Chief00]

He was not very good in high school. He must have worked really hard, over the last year especially. I'm happy for him

I could never understand how someone of his size and ability could be underachieving so much. Focus?

 

[Chief00]

I watched Cespedes quite a bit during the spring game. He got off the ball okay and really finished his blocks. He looked like he belonged.

That is one thing we started getting better at last year - finishing blocks. Grimes was big on that but it took awhile to present on the field.