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-> Mora has been impressed.
“He is explosive and he is fast,” Jim Mora said. “He is compact and muscular. ... He is right about 6-foot, right about 200 pounds. He’s got good lateral movement and he can burst, and then when he gets to the open field, he’s got that speed.
“I like his mindset, he’s got that warrior's mindset,” Mora said. “He's just tough, he's physical. He doesn’t care how many snaps he takes, every one of them he's going to go full speed. He doesn’t get tired. He's not going let fatigue hold him back.”
There has been no ‘easing-in’ phase for Rosa. He will split the backfield with sophomore Devontae Houston, who missed last week with a shoulder injury, as UConn faces an NC State defense that has allowed just 68.7 rushing yards per game. <-
-> Injuries have been accumulating to a near breaking point on offense while the defense struggles to find its identity after losing coordinator Lou Spanos, who took a leave of absence in the final week of fall camp.
"We haven’t found our identity necessarily, or the consistency that we need to have to play well," Mora said. "Sometimes people say that, and people interpret that as taking a shot at the players, it is not. It always starts with the coach putting the player in the position to have success and making sure they get the repetitions to do it effectively. We have been inconsistent and we’re finding our way."
Hence, a defensive shake up.
"On Saturday we were playing four down linemen, a true 4-3 at times, to get bigger guys on the field," Mora said. "We will continue to work that way, we will still work some three-down stuff as Donovan Branch and Nate Voorhees come along, and when we get Colin (McCarthy) back, but we are still putting it together right now." <-
