Spring Ball is here… Welcome to the New Age!

[huskymedic]

-> Roberson seemed to be enjoying himself for most of Tuesday’s workout. The Penn State transfer spent nearly all of the practice working with the Huskies’ first team. “For him or anybody quarterback it’s about reps and ultimately about leadership,” Charlton said of Roberson. “It has to be pretty organic but you have to cultivate it, too.”

Walk-on Jacob Drena worked with the second team, while junior Steven Krajewski was seemingly nursing a minor injury.

Another UConn quarterback, redshirt freshman Tyler Phommachanh, was held out of most contact drills as he continues to recover from his knee injury. But the Stratford native is getting closer to full strength, Charlton said. “He might start doing 7-on-7 here by the end (of spring practice),” Charlton said. “(Tuesday) was the first day he opened up and started throwing the ball hard.”

The Huskies will have two more quarterbacks in the fold soon. In fact, Cale Millen, a transfer from Northern Arizona and one-time Oregon quarterback, was in attendance to watch Tuesday’s practice. He will enroll in the school soon, as will Zion Tuner, the highly rated St. Thomas Aquinas High (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) star. “They’re going to have to catch up, but that’s just part of college football,” Charlton said. <-

 

[huskymedic]

Alternate access link here <<

->“You could see on film he was banged up, but he powered through it,” Charlton said. “He is, like, our type of guy. He is what a UConn football player should be. He’s tough, he’s physical, he’s about it, here every day. At the end of the day, he’s a player you want to coach. There are gifts there, he has talent, but we need players who are about our culture.”

As the head coach at Maine, Charlton, recruited the Rochester, New York, area when Carter was captain and top runner for Bishop Kearney High. <-

-> Running backs coach E.J. Barthel has been pushing Carter on understanding the position and his role in the Huskies’ offense. Details like using his eyes to make the right reads, catching, blocking, picking up the blitz.

“I’m going to be better with the mental part of my game,” Carter said. “Understanding the schemes, the mental part of my position. Coach E.J. is really pushing me to get to that elite level. I need that pushing. If I want to get to a level I want to get to, I need a coach to push me.” <-

-> “He can do a lot of things,” Charlton said. “Nate’s stepped up, played multiple roles for us. We’re doing a lot of two-back stuff right now. In our one-back stuff, he’s getting the ball a lot, and he’s doing great things with the ball. He has some pretty natural pass-catching skills as well. The more skills you have, the more value you have. It’s harder to take you off the field.” <-

 

[huskymedic]

 

[cttxus]

I aspire to have a six pack like #2 NF.

 

[Chin Diesel]

That picture looks like it's CGI or something else. Doesn't look like a lens could capture it. Impressive.

 

[Waquoit]

I know that talk is cheap but this is important. The hacks come in lowering expectations, telling you they need time. The pros don't do that.

 

[Husky68]

you forgot punt.

 

[metsfan2323]

This is great to hear:

"One player worth keeping an eye on is walk-on redshirt sophomore Jacob Flynn, who has been a noticeable standout during the spring".

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Fundamentally a good player. Probably the best place for him is inside a reduced field. Nice call by the staff.

 

[noeynox]

Fundamentally a good player. Probably the best place for him is inside a reduced field. Nice call by the staff.

Astute observation. Finding a role for a guy who is probably a hard worker will build morale. The antithesis of what we have had lately where a guy like Newsome got nailed to the bench because he was a senior despite having somewhat of a track record.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Palatine]

I know words don't amount to much. BUT...it's nice to have a coaching staff that constantly talks about winning, something Edsall almost never did.

 

[gioff2323]

So …. We don’t have to focus on winning breakfast

 

[huskysupporter]

The fact it appears Roberson is improving with every practice is promising. He was dreadful in game action last season but maybe it was because he didn’t get the reps. Have to think he is the number one QB at this point, with Millen and Krajewski fighting for the backup spot.

 

[Nostical]

Finding a role for a guy who is probably a hard worker will build morale.

Not only a hard worker but a great student. Like Nick Williams, he was accepted by some Ivy's but wanted to play at this level. Hard work and intelligence is a good combo. Speed and toughness helps too.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[giddyup]

Loving what I'm hearing from Charlton...I think this staff will better prepare us to succeed on the playing field. I like the part about him talking about running base concepts with misdirection/window dressing. He implied that once we get it down it'd be hard for defenses to stop it... A lot depends on how well we practice... We seem to show a different energy level at least... Body language is lit...

If we actually use misdirection, counters and QB under center play action, we might actually slow down defenses and open up some run and pass lanes. Also, going to run assignment blocking instead of the zone blocking trash that keeps lineman on their heels would be great.

 

[CL82]

So …. We don’t have to focus on winning breakfast

Diaco‘s problem was he didn’t invite the fans in to watch breakfast so that we could enjoy all those wins.

 

[huskymedic]