So we ran McFadden and Ruelas out of town…..

[Alum86]

And got a transfer from IU who arguably is not as good. Bonehead Mora should not have kicked a FG that late. Go for it.
That said, Freeman’s gotta make it.

 

[ZooCougar]

This is what is also indefensible.

 

[Windham4th]

I thought it was weird that there was an IU commercial on the ACCN...

 

[CashewCrew]

I agree in all account especially that we should have gone for it. The kicker sucks but what does a field goal get us there? A closer loss?

 

[uconnfan68]

I agree in all account especially that we should have gone for it. The kicker sucks but what does a field goal get us there? A closer loss?

Was still enough time to get the ball back and kick another one too. Only down 5.

 

[UConnDan97]

Was still enough time to get the ball back and kick another one too. Only down 5.

Correct.

If the kicker makes the kick, we are down 2 points with all of our timeouts and plenty of time on the clock. It wasn't a bad call. It's just unfortunate that it happened at a time when our kicker is not confident at all...

 

[DawgEnjoyer]

The staff had an infatuation with McFadden who was decent PRE knee injury.

After that he wasn’t the same and Ruelas should have been given the keys.

Local kid, great story and actually made kicks

 

[businesslawyer]

Arguably not as good? Ruelas has two over 40 yard FGs already this year. Our guy is friggin 0 for 3.

This was a huge unforced error. And when you’re trying to come out of the hole we are, coaches can’t make huge, unforced errors.

 

[UConnDan97]

Agreed. Losing Ruelas really hurts...

 

[Alum86]

Arguably not as good? Ruelas has two over 40 yard FGs already this year. Our guy is friggin 0 for 3.

This was a huge unforced error. And when you’re trying to come out of the hole we are, coaches can’t make huge, unforced errors.

Jimmy flubbed it on that call. He needs to own it.

 

[businesslawyer]

Personally, I don’t care whether a coach owns mistakes or not. What I like are coaches who don’t make so many of them.

Everything else notwithstaning, we lost that game because our kicker went 0-1 and theirs made a pair of over 45 yard kicks. Was Ruelas not good enough in practice? Because based on ‘22, he never should have been benched last year and he should have been offered a schollie and the role this year.

 

[lavuuk153]

Correct.

If the kicker makes the kick, we are down 2 points with all of our timeouts and plenty of time on the clock. It wasn't a bad call. It's just unfortunate that it happened at a time when our kicker is not confident at all...

How can you say it wasn’t a bad call then talk about how the kicker isn’t confident. Before the kick did you really think he’d make it then make a bigger kick later? If Teggart is back there then sure you can kick it. They should have gone for it and that disaster 3rd down play should have been with the mindset that it was 4 down territory.

 

[UConnDan97]

How can you say it wasn’t a bad call then talk about how the kicker isn’t confident. Before the kick did you really think he’d make it then make a bigger kick later? If Teggart is back there then sure you can kick it. They should have gone for it and that disaster 3rd down play should have been with the mindset that it was 4 down territory.

It's the right football call. If he doesn't use the kicker there, then he should never use him for the rest of the year.

I don't know about you, but I've never seen a team that was able to get away without having a kicker for a whole season...

 

[Bonehead]

And got a transfer from IU who arguably is not as good. Bonehead Mora should not have kicked a FG that late. Go for it.
That said, Freeman’s gotta make it.

Hey!!

 

[Blades]

Yep, totally flubbed the Ruelas situation twice, by trying to force Mcfadden ( the scholly guy-53% FG's) back in last year when he wasn't better, who then quits FB. And unforgivably not giving Noe a scholly, let alone NIL to a hometown kicker who already proved he could do the job (18-24 FG's) 75%. I remember Doug Shearer saying we have 2 really good kickers, actually they only had 1 and they let him walk, SMH !

 

[hardcorehusky]

Keyboard warriors here know if a kid is confident or not over their coaches who are with them everyday.

 

[UConnJim]

I'm not sure what is wrong with Freeman's FG kicking, but he has made 100% of his xtra points and he is a major improvement in kickoffs from McFadden and Ruelas. It does look like Ruelas has lost the KO duties at James Madison (to a transfer from Central Connecticut). This season, Freeman is ranked #39 in kickoffs vs UConn ranked #95 in 2023 and #92 in 2022. Opponent kickoff returns, UConn is ranked #27 vs #88 in 2023 and #77 in 2022 which translates to about 5 yards less per kickoff return this season.

 

[Windham4th]

I didnt see the first 2 games because of travel so I don't have 3 games of knowledge on him but the miss yesterday wasn't awful. It was a kick he pushed, but he clearly knows how to kick it.

 

[Austin316]

I won’t harp on the past Noe should have been our guy this year. It’s very unfortunate.

So we got an IU transfer who’s from Indiana… kicking is a mental game. I think they should stick the course and see how it goes. He has six straight home games to figure it out. Maybe homesickness comes to an end… idk.

Alternative option is RS freshman punter Seth Turner. He was a pretty good kicker in high school. If Mr. Hoosier blows any more kicks you give Mr. Turner a go at it.

What amazes me is we have 1 Place Kicker and 3 Punters on our roster. Why in the world we need 3 punters is beyond me. Unless Turner is a kicker/punter. Seems strange to me. My head tells me he’s unofficially the back up.

I’ll give the staff the benefit of the doubt. When you have so many players transferring THE LAST thing you’re worrying about it trying to find a speciality player (just my opinion). It’s a drag but not the end of the world.

 

[huskymedic]

Alternative option is RS freshman punter Seth Turner. He was a pretty good kicker in high school. If Mr. Hoosier blows any more kicks you give Mr. Turner a go at it.

What amazes me is we have 1 Place Kicker and 3 Punters on our roster. Why in the world we need 3 punters is beyond me. Unless Turner is a kicker/punter. Seems strange to me. My head tells me he’s unofficially the back up.

Yup…

Seth Turner • Class of 2023 • Kickers

-> Seth is a very talented high school kicking and punting prospect. He is a great looking athlete with big college potential. Seth does an excellent job on field goal. He gets the ball up well off the ground and easily has 50+ yard range. His kickoffs are strong. He drives the ball into the endzone with good hang time. Seth is also an excellent punting prospect. He punts for a nice combination of distance and hang time. Seth is a competitor who does well under pressure. I really like his all around upside. He has all the tools to be a special college player. He is a fine young man who is always a great pleasure to work with. Strong combo prospect. OFFER NOW!!! Great addition for UCONN.

Accomplishments

Major Chris Sailer Kicking Camp Accomplishments:
2022 Vegas XXXIX Field Goal Finalist
2022 Vegas XXXIX Class of 2023 Field Goal Champion
2022 TX Spring Camp Punt Champion <-

 

[ktuck911]

It's Seth Turner time

 

[Purple Stein]

The crazy thing about this thread is EVERYBODY seems to be on the same page about losing Ruelas -- a kicker from Hall High School. We disagree about a million things, but how Ruelas didn't earn a scholarship after what he did in 2022 (let alone playing time in 2023) -- it's just a total WTF moment.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Our kickoff return against avg has dropped because Freeman has bombed them into the end zone. We didn't see that from McFadden nor Ruelas. Noe wasn't accurate enough.

I give Freeman another game or 2 and if he goes 1 for 3, then go to Turner.

 

[Forte]

I agree in all account especially that we should have gone for it. The kicker sucks but what does a field goal get us there? A closer loss?

Momentum which is huge in football

 

[UConnJim]

The crazy thing about this thread is EVERYBODY seems to be on the same page about losing Ruelas -- a kicker from Hall High School. We disagree about a million things, but how Ruelas didn't earn a scholarship after what he did in 2022 (let alone playing time in 2023) -- it's just a total WTF moment.

I think Ruelas entered the portal 11/30 which was less than a week after the UMass game and I think before the coaches sat down with players about their future. McFadden entered the portal on 12/12. Since McFadden was graduating, there probably wasn't a spot for him and he moved on. I guess UConn could have circled back to Ruelas, but he probably was not happy with the way 2023 turned out.

Freeman has missed 3 FGs this year: 43, 52, and 48 yards, so not like they were chip shots. Freeman made 71.4% of his FGs at Indiana in 2023 including 3 of 6 from 40 yards. Ruelas, in his career at UConn was 4 of 8 from 40+ yards. McFadden was 5 of 14 from 40+ yards in his career. The biggest difference between the 3 kickers is Freeman is a better KO kicker which has resulted in UConn giving up 5 fewer yards per kick off this year.

I'm confident that Freeman will improve as he has done it in the past.