really quick look into 2016

[ktuck911]

Guys, we have a bunch of talent that hasn't seen the field yet that will be redshirt frosh...

on D, it's gonna be interesting to see who steps up into the 2 Deep and takes an upperclassmen's spot... At LB we've got Naz Williams, William Richardson, Connor Freeborn.. up front at DL, Felton Blackwell, Kevin Murphy, and Okounam... at DB - J Robinson IV, Garland, and Marshe Terry...

on O, it's equally interesting with OL kids Cespedes, Peart, TE - there's Ian Campbell, WR - Frank Battle, and QB - Tyler Davis...

That's a promising group we as fans currently no absolutely nothing about. other than the fact that they bring pretty good size to the roster

and we can't forget the current frosh and redshirt frosh who will be a year older.

and lastly the two transfer redshirts in TE Billy Williams and LB - E Levenberry... I think these two should really help in taking us to the next level on both sides of the ball.

Exciting bunch to look forward to.

 

[CTMike]

Very much agree. This is the start of us building depth. At times it's painfully slow to get there, but we are on the right path. Eventually 2016 will give way to 2017, our current sophs will be seniors, and the guys you mention above will be pushing for playing time and getting some game experience. So on, etc. It broke down in a big way previously, so it's nice to see signs of it being fixed.

 

[junglehusky]

Wish we had 3 or 4 Cespedes's (Cespedi?), but other than that I feel optimistic about the trend for depth.

 

[ktuck911]

one last thing I neglected to mention is that we gotta do something in the coaching ranks for 2016 as well. We need a special teams guy... Put Corsley back to RB coach... bring in a guy that runs special teams... Get a guy from the VTech coaching staff.. A part of their success over the years was because of their special teams. We have neglected that part of this verseion of UCONN football. I know we started over but we don't have a very good special teams. Completely unacceptable. And I for one (said it before and I'll say it again), at this level of college football, don't agree with plugging a coach in to coach a position he doesn't normally coach. a RB coach should coach just that, RBs.. a special teams coach should coach special teams... What we have right now in place isn't working.

 

[SAMCRO]

So next season this is what we have:
On offense we lose one player from our 2-deep, Samra (DeLorenzo is listed as the 3rd RB). We also get who was supposed to be our starting Center this season (name escaping me right now) back from his season ending injury, so more depth on the OL, and the RS's who may make an impact beginning next season. In addition, the offense will have the same OC for 2 years in a row, which they haven't had since PP/GDL's first 2 seasons (throws up in mouth). That continuity will go a long way to this unit improving. Our O will be much better (needs to be).
On defense we lose 4 total from the 2-deep, but all 4 are starters., 2 OLB, 1 DE, 1 DT. We get EJ Levenberry (sp?) the FSU transfer at LB eligible to play, and Walsh replaces Vann (they pretty much split time this season). We have a lot of good guys/depth where our # 2's played meaningful minutes and made an impact. Having the entire secondary back is huge as well. Our D will at the least be as good, and probably better next year.
On Specials we lose our long snapper, but return both kickers, holder, all KR guys, and our designated fair catcher on punts.

Our schedule sets up like this:
OOC:
Sep. 3 v. Maine
Sep 17 v. Virginia
Sep 24 v. Syracuse
Nov 19 @ Boston College

AAC (dates won't be determined until probably February or March)
Temple
Tulane
UCF
Cinci
@ Houston
@ USF
@ ECU
@ Navy

 

[Rewster]

Our schedule sets up like this:
OOC:
Sep. 3 v. Maine
Sep 17 v. Virginia
Sep 24 v. Syracuse
Nov 19 @ Boston College

AAC (dates won't be determined until probably February or March)
Temple
Tulane
UCF
Cinci
@ Houston
@ USF
@ ECU
@ Navy[/QUOTE]



Smells like a 7-0 start to the season to me

 

[HartfordHank]

bring in a guy that runs special teams... Get a guy from the VTech coaching staff.. A part of their success over the years was because of their special teams.

Frank Beamer coached special teams at VaTech!

 

[SubbaBub]

So next season this is what we have:
On offense we lose one player from our 2-deep, Samra (DeLorenzo is listed as the 3rd RB). We also get who was supposed to be our starting Center this season (name escaping me right now) back from his season ending injury, so more depth on the OL, and the RS's who may make an impact beginning next season. In addition, the offense will have the same OC for 2 years in a row, which they haven't had since PP/GDL's first 2 seasons (throws up in mouth). That continuity will go a long way to this unit improving. Our O will be much better (needs to be).
On defense we lose 4 total from the 2-deep, but all 4 are starters., 2 OLB, 1 DE, 1 DT. We get EJ Levenberry (sp?) the FSU transfer at LB eligible to play, and Walsh replaces Vann (they pretty much split time this season). We have a lot of good guys/depth where our # 2's played meaningful minutes and made an impact. Having the entire secondary back is huge as well. Our D will at the least be as good, and probably better next year.
On Specials we lose our long snapper, but return both kickers, holder, all KR guys, and our designated fair catcher on punts.

Our schedule sets up like this:
OOC:
Sep. 3 v. Maine
Sep 17 v. Virginia
Sep 24 v. Syracuse
Nov 19 @ Boston College

AAC (dates won't be determined until probably February or March)
Temple
Tulane
UCF
Cinci
@ Houston
@ USF
@ ECU
@ Navy

Right here right now, that looks like 6-8 wins and it might be a slog to get even there. I only see Navy, UCF, and Tulane as highly probable in conference. We'll see if Temple loses their coach and how many players. OOC it should be a clean sweep, right?

 

[ktuck911]

Frank Beamer coached special teams at VaTech!

And I'm sure, as old as he was, he had some guys under his wing learning his craft...

 

[ktuck911]

I don't think who we lose next year has any bearing on the 2 deep. There's gonna be some kids that Diaco's recruited over the past 2 years that may very well jump ahead of the kids already in place. One kid I forgot to mention was DT Ryslik... There was praise on that kid through Fall practice before the season started... He could very well crack the 2 deep, along with Murphy and/or Blackwell. Then you have our not-so-great OL... It's serviceable but it can be better... The younger kids we have are in the weight room now growing and getting much stronger over 1 - 2 years.. They may very well have better technique than the guys we already have in place that were physically ready already... Now with those kids being physically ready, what's to say they want take somebody's spot... It all starts in the trenches for us... and, primarily, our weak spot, OL... so, I'd love to see changes there to help solidify not only our running game, but pass protection as well.

 

[BlueMAB]

Right here right now, that looks like 6-8 wins and it might be a slog to get even there. I only see Navy, UCF, and Tulane as highly probable in conference. We'll see if Temple loses their coach and how many players. OOC it should be a clean sweep, right?

Navy loses about 30 seniors, Houston lost their coach, both temple and Houston will likely lose some key players.

I think all of our conference games are winnable thanks to the amount of guys we are bringing back. If the team continues to improve we should be looking at at least 8 wins with at least 3 if not 4 coming OOC. UVa is probably the toughest OOC matchup and it's at home. BCU has a solid defense but is toothless

I think 4-0 OOC, with wins over Navy, UCF, Temple, Tulane, Cinci and ECU.

 

[LIUCHusky]

Navy loses about 30 seniors, Houston lost their coach, both temple and Houston will likely lose some key players.

I think all of our conference games are winnable thanks to the amount of guys we are bringing back. If the team continues to improve we should be looking at at least 8 wins with at least 3 if not 4 coming OOC. UVa is probably the toughest OOC matchup and it's at home. BCU has a solid defense but is toothless

I think 4-0 OOC, with wins over Navy, UCF, Temple, Tulane, Cinci and ECU.

I think some of you are taking BC, Virginia and Syracuse much too lightly. I hope I am wrong and you are right.

 

[huskypantz]

7 wins is reasonable, 3-1 OOC and 4-4 in conference. Any better than that requires significant gains by the offensive line. I'm not sure that it's even possible to have a worse return game next year. I'd take a flyer on a 5' 7" scat back with serious speed - we need some options and it does not seem like any of the guys who played this year really fit the mold on KR/PR.

 

[Dooley]

If we want to challenge for an AAC title next year, we desperately need to address Specials. We give up way too much field position with our (lack of) return game. Those extra 10-15 yards can turn 0 points into 3; 3 points into 7.

 

[cheech63]

one last thing I neglected to mention is that we gotta do something in the coaching ranks for 2016 as well. We need a special teams guy... Put Corsley back to RB coach... bring in a guy that runs special teams... Get a guy from the VTech coaching staff.. A part of their success over the years was because of their special teams. We have neglected that part of this verseion of UCONN football. I know we started over but we don't have a very good special teams. Completely unacceptable. And I for one (said it before and I'll say it again), at this level of college football, don't agree with plugging a coach in to coach a position he doesn't normally coach. a RB coach should coach just that, RBs.. a special teams coach should coach special teams... What we have right now in place isn't working.

If I heard correctly during the Temple game,The Huskies have a total of 8 yards on punt returns for the year.So,yes, I think there is an immediate concern for special teams coaching for next year.That is beyond unacceptable.

 

[SubbaBub]

one last thing I neglected to mention is that we gotta do something in the coaching ranks for 2016 as well. We need a special teams guy... Put Corsley back to RB coach... bring in a guy that runs special teams... Get a guy from the VTech coaching staff.. A part of their success over the years was because of their special teams. We have neglected that part of this verseion of UCONN football. I know we started over but we don't have a very good special teams. Completely unacceptable. And I for one (said it before and I'll say it again), at this level of college football, don't agree with plugging a coach in to coach a position he doesn't normally coach. a RB coach should coach just that, RBs.. a special teams coach should coach special teams... What we have right now in place isn't working.

We need quality depth that usually plays on special teams. We are using linemen as fullbacks, quarterbacks as running backs, defensive ends as receivers. I've come to the conclusion that Bob thinks the back half of the squad is missing (a lot of attrition before he got here), not good enough, or not ready (including redshirting). Hopefully we have a full squad ready to play next season and the coverage/return units can contribute something.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Smells like a 7-0 start to the season to me

followed by a 5-0 finish. I'm going full Nosty!