Spring Ball is here… Welcome to the New Age!

[Waquoit]

It's worked for Belichick.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[SubbaBub]

Damnit Jim, you're getting my hopes up.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

So....has anyone else heard of New England Football Journal? That was new to me...lol. They are pretty good. I liked to hear their comments around team energy and practice efficiency. I especially liked to hear their belief that this team has a lot of talent.

 

[huskymedic]

So....has anyone else heard of New England Football Journal? That was new to me...lol. They are pretty good. I liked to hear their comments around team energy and practice efficiency. I especially liked to hear their belief that this team has a lot of talent.

I’ve followed them for a few years now… they haven’t had much interaction w/ UConn during the Edsall years.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I’ve followed them for a few years now… they haven’t had much interaction w/ UConn during the Edsall years.

Do you think there is a reason behind that? Did they want access and it wasn't granted?

 

[huskymedic]

Do you think there is a reason behind that? Did they want access and it wasn't granted?

I’ve stopped dwelling about decisions/inactions made in the past… I do think they had a previous relationship w/ Nick Charlton (… and the Mora cache has lit a spark).

It’s good for UConn to have some focus outside of CT in New England. The 30 minutes review is worth a listen for the outsider perceptions.

 

[noeynox]

I’ve stopped dwelling about decisions made in the past… I do think they had a previous relationship w/ Nick Charlton (… and the Mora cache has lit a spark).

Good point about Charlton. I've listened to these guys before. They're good, the cat in red cap has one of those voices that drives you crazy.

 

[huskymedic]

-> A lot of what makes Roberson potentially special is that he is gifted as a runner. He made some nice throws Saturday, but his ability to extend plays and make people miss in the open field are what have many people excited about him.

By design, offensive coordinator Nick Charlton kept Roberson in the pocket Saturday. Early on in the workout, Roberson was hitting his receivers in stride and, in one portion of practice, hit two touchdown passes in consecutive periods. The second scoring strike, a 30-yarder to Bo Estes, got his teammates fired up. Roberson leveled off toward the end of practice, and threw an interception late. <-

 

[huskymedic]

RB Room:




?L>R: Houston, Burns, Modeste, Brewton, Carter, Knight

 

[HuskyDogArt]

-> A lot of what makes Roberson potentially special is that he is gifted as a runner. He made some nice throws Saturday, but his ability to extend plays and make people miss in the open field are what have many people excited about him.

By design, offensive coordinator Nick Charlton kept Roberson in the pocket Saturday. Early on in the workout, Roberson was hitting his receivers in stride and, in one portion of practice, hit two touchdown passes in consecutive periods. The second scoring strike, a 30-yarder to Bo Estes, got his teammates fired up. Roberson leveled off toward the end of practice, and threw an interception late. <-

I think that UConn will be a surprise team this year. We might be on the way to have a winning tradition in FB. Will we be bowling? Maybe a minor bowl game, but I think it'll be 2023 when we get to a mid major bowl...

Thoughts on my prediction...Am I too optimistic...

 

[How Sway?!]

RB Room:




?L>R: Houston, Burns, Modeste, Brewton, Carter, Knight

Carter looking HUGE

 

[jdb50]

Burns should have more run last year. The speed and toughness of Carter and Brewton plus the new addition of Knight and we have plenty of talent and firepower.

 

[ZooCougar]

Anyone else amazed that this is the first time they had been to the facilities?

My expectations are very tempered. But at this point everything I have heard everything that I hoped to hear and more.

 

[huskymedic]

-> Here are three observations from yesterday’s practice.

1. Quarterback competition: Incumbent Steven Krajewski and Penn State transfer Ty’Quan Roberson took the majority of the snaps yesterday.

From the outside looking in, it appears to be a quarterback competition between the two. Roberson got the majority of the reps yesterday and quarterbacked the ones.

He had the better day throwing the ball between the two quarterbacks. Roberson is a dual threat quarterback but as offensive coordinator Nick Charlton told us after practice, it was more about emphasizing the passing game and keeping him in the pocket yesterday.

Both will get their fair share of snaps in the spring game next week. The competition will more than likely extend into fall camp where it could include Tyler Phommachanm and Cale Millen.

2. There is some serious talent on the roster: The Huskies are talented. Jim Mora and his staff have some good pieces to work with. I was very impressed from what I saw in terms of the talent.

Running back Will Knight, tight end Bo Estes and wide receiver Nigel Fitzgerald popped for me on offense. Defensively, I was impressed with defensive tackles Eric Watts and Sokoya McDuffie. Both are long, athletic and offer scheme versatility along the defensive line.

Linebacker Langston Hardy and safety Malcolm Bell also got my attention with their size and athleticism.

The Huskies have some good young talent on the way for fall camp as well. Mora and his staff have plenty to work with in terms of talent. They have added to the roster but the cupboard wasn’t bare either.

3. Coach Mora sets the tone: Coach Mora set the tone at yesterday’s practice with his energy and passion. His expectations for the program are high for the program and you can see it in the way he coaches.

It is obvious that he has already built a rapport with the players based on the way he interacts with them. You also saw the other side of Coach Mora. He expects things done a certain and when his expectations aren’t met, players and coaches alike will hear about it.

Mora wants to win now. In order to do that, he and his staff need to set the tone this spring. They certainly did that yesterday. Mora expects to win now, not in two or three years. The bar has been set and it is high. The players have to rise up and meet it.

The practice had the feeling of an NFL practice. It had a professional feel to it. Mora’s experience as a long time NFL head coach and coordinator was evident in the way the team operated yesterday. <-

 

[giddyup]

I hope like hell this is a real beginning of something good. If he can get this team out of the box of early with momentum, it will make all difference. Beating Utah State and CCS are the key to our future. The schedule is brutal.

 

[ktuck911]

RB Room:




?L>R: Houston, Burns, Modeste, Brewton, Carter, Knight

Modeste is one of our taller backs and wears #44 IIRC... I don't see him here....

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Pudge]

John Sarianides was a solid HS coach in greater Boston - Norwood HS. Maybe a few others. Don't know about the other 2. This basic website plus some podcasting allows them some air time on Patriots and then they rome into BC; UNH, URI, UMASS and maybe the next level of college football: Bentley, Bryant, Endicott etc. A little hs. Boston guys talking football. Probably not a lot of knowledge beyond 128 and I thought they're eyerolling at the Burton/Shenkman was curious. Meaning few of these guys have wandered down to see Diaco, Edsall etc.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Roberson is looking more and more like the QB the offense needs to inject more life into it. Similar to what Tyler did before his injury. Mora is doing everything we could have possibly wanted out of a new coach. And I think he's secretly scoping out the yard to make sure to say the right things to say. Just kidding on that. But I think Mora has immediate success on the field now, but in 2-3 years we will see recruiting pipelines and relationships unlike anything we've seen at UConn for football. He just gets it for modern day college football.