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Message: [QUOTE="Pudge, post: 3175950, member: 364"] Exit 4 + Drew I have been watching expansion formation of Professional franchises since the early 1970s. The Miami Dolphins & Atlanta Falcons. Yes I am Randy Edsall’s age. I can pull out ridiculous names and stories of early years of now name Brand pro teams. The 1990s were an age that College Football forced our University and others (USF & UCF & others) to fully upgrade to compete at the highest level. It was a choice; but, not one with a solid alternative: do nothing was a deep hole. Randy Edsall did a brilliant job raising this University from – really – desperate mediocre D2 to competing at a level a few steps beyond. No! We did not go against the MAC from the start (like UCF); we went against storied longterm programs (some in Prime days – Virginia Tech) and took it. It’s not just the Win Loss record in this category; it’s all the pieces and details that come with fully forming a Program at the college level; a full franchise at the Pro level. Frankly ... there are many components where we can say that UConn Football - in spite of its Yankee Conference past - is in its infancy. Fan base for one. There are things to focus on today: 1. Randy Edsall is an excellent manager of the full 105 man football roster. You simply cannot Win at the level we are at without strong depth and evaluation all down your scholarship and walk-on roster. Simple things have always been important to RE. There’s zero chance - in my opinion – Edsall plays Jonny McEntee to start a September game or even a Chandler Whitmer. While I do pick QB knowing the Edsall years aren’t notable for QB position (excepting Orlovsky), there was thought and depth in that; not the wing-it approach of PP & BD. LB’s? Edsall had two strings of great college LBs. None of this was there in the first 3 years. Took time to mold both your assistants and your 5 years of players moving up & down. YES … there were kids that left because of fit. Some of us still shake our heads at the Tampa incident of beer. But I think whether you weigh the current situation versus Diaco or Pasqualoni, there’s a detailed evaluation planning that Edsall just is superior at. 2. Assistant Coaches. How does a guy find and groom younger coaches who become Joe Moorhead or Todd Orlando or Rob Ambrose or Greg Gattuso or something that comes together as a cohesive team of functioning leadership? Crocker sure. But Edsall had Crocker’s in his 1999-2003 period; Edsall had Lashlee & Dunn events before. Edsall can pull together solid talented affordable assistants. He is far beyond PP & BD; I believe he is far beyond Schiano was in that same time period. You have to trust this happens as it was something he excelled at prior. 3. Development. It is easy to be dismissive based on your Offers on kids going to Michigan or BC from Connecticut. As the folks who have watched this game over decades can tell you, there is success just as measurable for the many kids that had limited offers that came through UConn years as the kids from New England etc that passed on us & went bigtime. The “ones” who got away … often never reached Starter status or graduated or got beyond a few highlights. The stories of Edsall 2003-2009 are full of rising level of development. Net? Come back and debate in 5 years. That is the ONLY good answer on the “recruiting” hot air. Did you do well by the kids who came through; did the kids you missed amount to anything. Social Media or whatever … there’s an element we don’t know and can’t comprehend. Development over 5+ years is an amazing test. Sure … we sucked. Barely .500 Program in a mid-level Big East. That is hugely dismissive given the immense challenge of our rising. It is a UCONN fanbase trait that I hate. Even though we have been enormously successful across many many sports, the Boneyard is full of Negative Nancys. The reality is the 40 year rise in UConn athletics (including Baseball this week) is amazing for any fan or stakeholder. Simple. There was not a good alternative to Bob Diaco (given the weight of his $$ liability) in December 2016. Tough for you that we had to totally repair the Program’s foundation – again. I do wonder on Edsall’s energy and focus to do the job again at an advanced age. [/QUOTE]

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