UConn Football Open Practice in August (Update > 8/14 @ 1p)

[hardcorehusky]

It would have been nice if they had a printed handout showing the players and their numbers. Probably asking too much of the 20 UConn football staff members.

They did - they were handed out upstairs.

 

[Woof 101]

So by the end of practice, ML had not thrown a pass in a small numbers drill or 11 v 11 scrimmage situation?

Did not see one myself, he did do a hand off in some short shuffle drill but mostly stood around. At some points with his helmet off as others always had them on.

It would have been nice if they had a printed handout showing the players and their numbers. Probably asking too much of the 20 UConn football staff members.

Agree, we got them upstairs along with food and soft drinks. That and the pep talk from Randy. They should have been available below also to help promote. It was a dropped ball on the PR staff on this as any leftovers could be used at home games.

Most people were not invited to the pre-game event.

Event is one of the dog bones thrown to early season ticket buyers and donors. This along with free game tickets to promote games sure to be low attendance to help build the fan base. Other perks include random tickets for many sports including men's bb, womens bb, baseball etc.

 

[Rewster]

Still concerned about accuracy with Jack Zergiotis.
In games two years ago he could wow you with a great throw but make you crazy with a simple sideline throw falling behind a receiver.
Saw some of that again today. Moxy with lack of accuracy is not a good combination and lack of accuracy is hard to fix.

It’s will be an interesting choice for conservative RE.
Can he live with Jack Zergiotis’s turnovers.?That a tough one for RE to swallow.

 

[jdb50]

Thanks for the updates yarders. Had a home improvement project taking priority today but I am really excited to be back at the Rent cheering on our Huskies. I was at Rent for the signing day event right before covid hit Feb 2020 and Nate Carter looked and sounded like he meant business right from the jump. He was right out of high school as a early graduate and I was impressed.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Sat down near the RB group and did not stay til the end.

Burns is a load. Carter and Mensah to get their carries with Carter as a homerun threat . Brewton I see as a return guy. Don't think you will see Max Modeste this year, seemed to need more of the coaching and work on technique but looks like he can still add more weight so watch out next year.

Fortin"s leg was wrapped and he was out of pads. Lundt is a big boy. Walker the center is not, hope he doesn't get pushed around. Can see Rayonte Brown as next year's LOT.

The starting LBs should be alright but it gets thin after them. Deondrick Speight and Ian Swenson were working with the Safeties (and Hybrids?)

QBs and Running routes; I thought Steven Krajewski looked to be the most accurate and the best of the group. Seemed to throw the longer ball with less effort. Came back some to the field running with the 2s during play calling. Did not see Leon throw. Did see him participate during hand off drills while Steven Krajewski held for McFadden. I think the reps were prorated with the 1s getting a little more than the 2s getting more than the 3s

McFadden can win an upset game(s) with a long kick. (Yes, I know every game but one would be an upset)

My worries would be QB, OL and the LB depth.

Left early for a birthday party, thanks to those stayed and reported.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

-> The team's depth is a strength, leading to some stiff competition at several positions. Edsall has some difficult decisions to make. "It's good because there is more depth and there is more you have to decide," Edsall said. "Our two-deep is a lot clearer. Where there are a lot more decisions to make is on special teams. That's the thing that we're going to have to really sit down and really figure out. We'll probably have more guys traveling than we had in the past few years when we were playing just because of the numbers that I think can contribute."

Edsall isn't ready to announce a starting quarterback. Sophomore Jack Zergiotis appears to have an edge at this point. He took snaps with the first team on Saturday, with redshirt sophomore Steve Krajewski on the second team and freshman Tyler Phommachanh of Stratford on the third team. Redshirt junior Micah Leon, another quarterback in the rotation, was on the field at times but mostly played a spectator's role. "He just didn't practice today," Edsall said when asked about Leon. <-

-> Some highlights of Saturday's practice included freshman Joe McFadden's 40-yard field goal that had plenty of distance, and freshman Desmond Fogle's nifty sideline interception off a tipped ball. ... Freshman running back Nathan Carter earned some praise from Edsall, who said. "Nate's been very good. He's a worker. He's got to prove things, but he reminds me of Donald Brown in terms of his work ethic and how he goes about his business, how he takes care of his body and how he just does everything. He just wants to get better. As he plays, he can be very, very productive." <-

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[JMick]

-> The team's depth is a strength, leading to some stiff competition at several positions. Edsall has some difficult decisions to make. "It's good because there is more depth and there is more you have to decide," Edsall said. "Our two-deep is a lot clearer. Where there are a lot more decisions to make is on special teams. That's the thing that we're going to have to really sit down and really figure out. We'll probably have more guys traveling than we had in the past few years when we were playing just because of the numbers that I think can contribute."

Edsall isn't ready to announce a starting quarterback. Sophomore Jack Zergiotis appears to have an edge at this point. He took snaps with the first team on Saturday, with redshirt sophomore Steve Krajewski on the second team and freshman Tyler Phommachanh of Stratford on the third team. Redshirt junior Micah Leon, another quarterback in the rotation, was on the field at times but mostly played a spectator's role. "He just didn't practice today," Edsall said when asked about Leon. <-

-> Some highlights of Saturday's practice included freshman Joe McFadden's 40-yard field goal that had plenty of distance, and freshman Desmond Fogle's nifty sideline interception off a tipped ball. ... Freshman running back Nathan Carter earned some praise from Edsall, who said. "Nate's been very good. He's a worker. He's got to prove things, but he reminds me of Donald Brown in terms of his work ethic and how he goes about his business, how he takes care of his body and how he just does everything. He just wants to get better. As he plays, he can be very, very productive." <-

wow. must think highly of him if he even mentions his name and donald brown in the same sentence.

 

[huskymedic]

-> Zergiotis ran with the starters, Krajewski the second team, and Phommachanh the third team. The team’s fourth quarterback, Micah Leon, was in uniform but was not involved in any contact plays. Edsall refused to acknowledge if he was injured. “He just didn’t practice,” Edsall said with a grin.

Zergiotis was 10-for-15 passing during the main portion of the scrimmage, Krajewski 7-for-13, and Phommachanh 2-for-6. The latter had two sizable scrambles out of the pocket, however. <-

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

The team’s fourth quarterback, Micah Leon, was in uniform but was not involved in any contact plays. Edsall refused to acknowledge if he was injured. “He just didn’t practice,” Edsall said with a grin.

What the heck does that mean? Leon is in the dog house for a reason...and it's not injury. I guess it's vaccine?

 

[uconnbill]

Someone who is going to be big on special teams is Brian Brewton from Florida. He is a going to be a good returner.

Another possibly breakout candidate is Kevens Clercius at wide receiver. He has the size and seems to have a connection with Jack Zeriotis.

 

[huskymedic]

What the heck does that mean? Leon is in the dog house for a reason...and it's not injury. I guess it's vaccine?

Nope. Story on the home team side of the field was that he was dinged up a bit…

 

[Exit 4]

Observations from yesterday in no particular order: caveat, I missed the first hour (thank you legendary coastal CT traffic).

1) OL/DL - so is our DL/front seven super good or our OL not so great? Honestly its hard to say. I want to believe our OL is perhaps a 4 or 5 on a scale to 10 while our DL is closer to an 8. Lots of penetration with LBs and DLs blocking throwing lanes and getting to the QB after a couple seconds. Travis Jones, Watts and Uguak look ready.
2) #28 Brian Brewton - on special teams drills it was apparent the freshman RB from FL is very fluid, with burst. I would like to see him start with kick off duties this year, maybe punt return too.
3) #86 Kevens Clercius - 6'3'' third year WR from Canada got the call up to 1st team to replace injured Matt Drayton. He provides the big body WR to balance out Ross.
4) #91 Collin McCarthy - 6'6'' 256lb RS FR DE from NJ - seems like he was rotating in with the 1s. Looks like he will be an early contributor. Able to set an edge. Interested to see what he is like in a real game.
5) #89 Jahkai Gill - RS Soph slot walk on WR looking great on second team. He should get some touches this year. Very fluid.
6) #26 Nate Carter - RS FS RB looks like he will be a difference maker in 2021 and years ahead. Able to run inside, outside and catch passes, he will leave the opponents guessing.
7) #30 Robert Burns - I didn't happen to notice much from Burns, I can't say I was able to absorb everything that was going on yesterday. I do think Burns will be an effective change of pace back or more.
8) #19 Durante Jones...RS FS safety is rather visible on the field.
9) Corners - didn't seem that busy, because it didn't seem that our QBs challenged them very often. I left yesterday wondering, are our corners just much better, our QBs not as good or did the staff just keep this open practice so vanilla there was no good opportunities for the WRs. Hard to say....but on its surface #21 Jeremy Lucien (who has filled out nicely) and #7 Wortham (getting snaps for Bell who I believe was nicked up) seemed to have the edge over the offense.
10) #44 Max Modeste - I like what I saw on third team, intriguing RB for a year or two into the future.
11) #45 Chris Johnson - seemed to stand out a bit on third team at TE.
12) #55 Quay Evans - big seemed to stand out to me a bit on second or third team on DL. Maybe simple because he ahead of the others at this level with by filling out his body.
13) #22 Alfred Chea - seemed active on second team D at safety. Had an interception of Tyler P.
14) Kudos to Tyler P for tossing that smooth practice ending bomb TD to his HS bud #88 Josh Tracy. Tyler tried to push the ball downfield with some of his reps earlier in the session without great success. Of note, when he decides to run he is shifty and demonstrates that he can easily move like our best slot WRs.

Okay - again I missed the first hour.

Its one practice....so its easy to read too much into anything.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Observations from yesterday in no particular order: caveat, I missed the first hour (thank you legendary coastal CT traffic).

1) OL/DL - so is our DL/front seven super good or our OL not so great? Honestly its hard to say. I want to believe our OL is perhaps a 4 or 5 on a scale to 10 while our DL is closer to an 8. Lots of penetration with LBs and DLs blocking throwing lanes and getting to the QB after a couple seconds. Travis Jones, Watts and Uguak look ready.
2) #28 Brian Brewton - on special teams drills it was apparent the freshman RB from FL is very fluid, with burst. I would like to see him start with kick off duties this year, maybe punt return too.
3) #86 Kevens Clercius - 6'3'' third year WR from Canada got the call up to 1st team to replace injured Matt Drayton. He provides the big body WR to balance out Ross.
4) #91 Collin McCarthy - 6'6'' 256lb RS FR DE from NJ - seems like he was rotating in with the 1s. Looks like he will be an early contributor. Able to set an edge. Interested to see what he is like in a real game.
5) #89 Jahkai Gill - RS Soph slot walk on WR looking great on second team. He should get some touches this year. Very fluid.
6) #26 Nate Carter - RS FS RB looks like he will be a difference maker in 2021 and years ahead. Able to run inside, outside and catch passes, he will leave the opponents guessing.
7) #30 Robert Burns - I didn't happen to notice much from Burns, I can't say I was able to absorb everything that was going on yesterday. I do think Burns will be an effective change of pace back or more.
8) #19 Durante Jones...RS FS safety is rather visible on the field.
9) Corners - didn't seem that busy, because it didn't seem that our QBs challenged them very often. I left yesterday wondering, are our corners just much better, our QBs not as good or did the staff just keep this open practice so vanilla there was no good opportunities for the WRs. Hard to say....but on its surface #21 Jeremy Lucien (who has filled out nicely) and #7 Wortham (getting snaps for Bell who I believe was nicked up) seemed to have the edge over the offense.
10) #44 Max Modeste - I like what I saw on third team, intriguing RB for a year or two into the future.
11) #45 Chris Johnson - seemed to stand out a bit on third team at TE.
12) #55 Quay Evans - big seemed to stand out to me a bit on second or third team on DL. Maybe simple because he ahead of the others at this level with by filling out his body.
13) #22 Alfred Chea - seemed active on second team D at safety. Had an interception of Tyler P.
14) Kudos to Tyler P for tossing that smooth practice ending bomb TD to his HS bud #88 Josh Tracy. Tyler tried to push the ball downfield with some of his reps earlier in the session without great success. Of note, when he decides to run he is shifty and demonstrates that he can easily move like our best slot WRs.

Okay - again I missed the first hour.

Its one practice....so its easy to read too much into anything.

Think Carter looked liked the best pass catcher of the RBs too. Yeah Brewton needs to touch the ball. The need is not there at RB, hopefully as a return man.

 

[RSTuthill]

One final question for the attendees. In the scrimmages 11 v 11, did the O have any success running the ball against the first unit D? What was your overall impression of UConn's strength vs strength? Running offense vs. run defense?

 

[huskymedic]

Some nice pics in the gallary:

 

[Slick]

So either ML is injured or he is starting. Is that the reasonable conclusion? If he is not injured, then they certainly do not want to reveal that the playbook has changed to pro sets against Fresno.

More likely Jack Zergiotis is #1 and Steven Krajewski is #2. But we shall see.

No chance ML is starting unless Jack Zergiotis and Steven Krajewski are injured

 

[Exit 4]

One final question for the attendees. In the scrimmages 11 v 11, did the O have any success running the ball against the first unit D? What was your overall impression of UConn's strength vs strength? Running offense vs. run defense?

Maybe others can judge better- but sense the drills are run without tackling to the ground it’s not legit live action. That said, there were some chunks of yardage, running game seem far from stifled.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Maybe others can judge better- but sense the drills are run without tackling to the ground it’s not legit live action. That said, there were some chunks of yardage, running game seem far from stifled.

What you missed was RE telling us that the NCAA mandates the following: 25 practices, only 9 allowed to have hitting. All can have helmets but 8 need to have helmets and spider pads and 8 have helmets and regular pads. Allowed to have only 2 scrimmages- 1 was last week and the next and last one is Tuesday.

Also, Gill looked really good yesterday. Wasn't he a walk on?

 

[Exit 4]

What you missed was RE telling us that the NCAA mandates the following: 25 practices, only 9 allowed to have hitting. All can have helmets but 8 need to have helmets and spider pads and 8 have helmets and regular pads. Allowed to have only 2 scrimmages- 1 was last week and the next and last one is Tuesday.

Also, Gill looked really good yesterday. Wasn't he a walk on?

Oh yeah, I’m not complaining - I know the contact is all tightly controlled.

Gill is a walk on and local kid from the Hartford area. He’s looking good- looking forward to seeing what happens for him.

 

[Forte]

Steven Krajewski looked very good while I was there throwing the football. He looked like he was throwing right on the money.

But did he look like a leader?

 

[CCSUblue]

It keeps nagging at me that Steven Krajewski is always the holder. Why aren't they using a punter to do that? Otherwise it seems like Steven Krajewski would have to be 2nd string.