UConn RB Donevin O’Reilly out for season with torn ACL

[businesslawyer]

You absolutely hate to see something like this happen to any kid, but especially one who has worked so hard to get to where he was on the depth chart. As much as I love this time of year for all the camp news you hate to see these stories pop up.

On our team we've sustained some very difficult losses in the last few weeks. We had two incoming freshman be forced to retire because of undiagnosed heart conditions that were discovered on their entrance medical screenings. We also lost a predicted starter at DE because of chronic back issues.

Injuries are a part of the game, but anyone who has been around it at this level understands the amount of sacrifice these kids make to get where they are. It is total physical and mental commitment. Hopefully Donevin's teammates pick him up at this difficult time and he can bounce back from this ready to compete next year.

Sorry that I missed it, but what freshmen did we lose?

 

[Hornet22]

Sorry that I missed it, but what freshmen did we lose?

Seems like he might have been talking about another team that he roots for?

 

[businesslawyer]

Seems like he might have been talking about another team that he roots for?

I agree. thanks.

 

[Husky25]

Sorry that I missed it, but what freshmen did we lose?

Appears Ldandy follows Penn State.

 

[Hornet22]

Appears Ldandy follows Penn State.

Oh yeah. I did see that one of their CB’s had to step away because of his heart condition.
Tough. But seems like the coaching staff knew it was a potential issue and still honored his scholarship.
I love hearing stuff like that. We pick these kids apart in terms of their talent-or lack thereof (myself included) and the reality is they’re just kids trying to get through life like we did when we were younger.
It’s why I try and remain optimistic and qualify what I deem a successful season by looking at things other than wins and losses. Tough to do as a fan but not so difficult when you put your parent hat on and just want the kids to succeed in life.

 

[Shop91]

Don’t want him. Can’t rely on guys like that. You quit? Good get out.

Very disheartening to see Hopkins character being questioned. I am very close to him and the truth is Coach Edsall did not tell the truth about why he left . There was no conversation about him having a limited role , in fact it’s the complete opposite . Kid has no blemishes on his record , has good grades and works his tail off . It’s unfortunate there are head coaches who will be dishonest to the media about players . Not sure why he wasn’t honest , but now it leads to people questioning his character and being called a quitter .

 

[TheDoggPound]

Very disheartening to see Hopkins character being questioned. I am very close to him and the truth is Coach Edsall did not tell the truth about why he left . There was no conversation about him having a limited role , in fact it’s the complete opposite . Kid has no blemishes on his record , has good grades and works his tail off . It’s unfortunate there are head coaches who will be dishonest to the media about players . Not sure why he wasn’t honest , but now it leads to people questioning his character and being called a quitter .

All that aside he clearly didn't want to compete for a role. Sounds a bit like entitlement to me..

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Very disheartening to see Hopkins character being questioned. I am very close to him and the truth is Coach Edsall did not tell the truth about why he left . There was no conversation about him having a limited role , in fact it’s the complete opposite . Kid has no blemishes on his record , has good grades and works his tail off . It’s unfortunate there are head coaches who will be dishonest to the media about players . Not sure why he wasn’t honest , but now it leads to people questioning his character and being called a quitter .

Then just tell us what really went down, Nate.

 

[Ldandy]

Appears Ldandy follows Penn State.

That's correct. I was referring to Penn State in my comments. I'm an Alum/PSU Fan First, but I adopted UConn as a second team that I root for when a kid from my old HS was on the team a few years back. Watching games during the Coach P and Fishcakes Eras was a real test of one's patience but I've endured and I hope for better things for both the team and UConn Fans in general. My interactions here have been overwhelmingly positive. Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet up with some of you all at a tailgate in the future.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

That's correct. I was referring to Penn State in my comments. I'm an Alum/PSU Fan First, but I adopted UConn as a second team that I root for when a kid from my old HS was on the team a few years back. Watching games during the Coach P and Fishcakes Eras was a real test of one's patience but I've endured and I hope for better things for both the team and UConn Fans in general. My interactions here have been overwhelmingly positive. Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet up with some of you all at a tailgate in the future.

Who was the kid?

 

[tiger8mush]

Very disheartening to see Hopkins character being questioned. I am very close to him and the truth is Coach Edsall did not tell the truth about why he left . There was no conversation about him having a limited role , in fact it’s the complete opposite . Kid has no blemishes on his record , has good grades and works his tail off . It’s unfortunate there are head coaches who will be dishonest to the media about players . Not sure why he wasn’t honest , but now it leads to people questioning his character and being called a quitter .

Thanks for posting. Could you help us understand why Hopkins left?

 

[Ldandy]

Who was the kid?

The kids that were diagnosed with heart problems for Penn State, or the kid from my HS who played for UConn?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

The kids that were diagnosed with heart problems for Penn State, or the kid from my HS who played for UConn?

Latter

 

[Shop91]

All that aside he clearly didn't want to compete for a role. Sounds a bit like entitlement to me..

It wasn’t about competing for a role , he was and had been doing that .

Then just tell us what really went down, Nate.

Fans will decide what they want to believe . I was just pointing out the dishonesty from your head coach , if that’s how you interpret that then so be it .I just know for a fact that’s not the case . I played big time college football and I have a pretty good understanding that if a kid doesn’t want to compete he’s not going to stay for 2+ years . There’s a lot of talk about the culture in this program and I think that starts with a head coach who doesn’t lie about a kids motive for doing something . And a coach who actually takes the time to get to know kids and their families at some level to at least give the impression that they care .

This isn’t Nate nor is it Nate’s parents , he would never read a blog . He’s focused on competing for a job at a division 1 school in Texas . Which he will start doing in a week .

Just wanted to address the comments in the interview . I will be rooting for the huskies because there is a good group of young men in the program and I wish them the best .

 

[Husky25]

Very disheartening to see Hopkins character being questioned. I am very close to him and the truth is Coach Edsall did not tell the truth about why he left . There was no conversation about him having a limited role , in fact it’s the complete opposite . Kid has no blemishes on his record , has good grades and works his tail off . It’s unfortunate there are head coaches who will be dishonest to the media about players . Not sure why he wasn’t honest , but now it leads to people questioning his character and being called a quitter .

Call me crazy, but if asking for a transfer and leaving school is not the dictionary definition of quitting the program, it's not far off.

He may not be a "quitter" in life per se, but he certainly quit the football program at the University of Connecticut.

BTW, the term "quit" was used twice in 6 pages (3 here and 3 here). Neither were used as nouns.

 

[huskymedic]

Very disheartening to see Hopkins character being questioned. I am very close to him and the truth is Coach Edsall did not tell the truth about why he left . There was no conversation about him having a limited role , in fact it’s the complete opposite . Kid has no blemishes on his record , has good grades and works his tail off . It’s unfortunate there are head coaches who will be dishonest to the media about players . Not sure why he wasn’t honest , but now it leads to people questioning his character and being called a quitter .

Hey - curious which part of this synopsis is factually incorrect?

>>Sophomore Nate Hopkins, who led the Huskies with seven touchdown runs in 2017 as a redshirt freshman, has left the team according to Edsall. “We had some changes in the depth chart,” Edsall said. “He told me he wanted to go somewhere else. I think we have some decent players at running back and I think the competition is pretty good. We told him what we thought his role would be as a short-yardage and goal line guy. We just try to be honest and if guys don’t want to do the role that we think and they think they can have a bigger role somewhere else, God bless them and good luck to you.”<<

Was the role discussion before or after NH told the staff he was transferring?

 

[tiger8mush]

It wasn’t about competing for a role , he was and had been doing that .


Fans will decide what they want to believe . I was just pointing out the dishonesty from your head coach , if that’s how you interpret that then so be it .I just know for a fact that’s not the case . I played big time college football and I have a pretty good understanding that if a kid doesn’t want to compete he’s not going to stay for 2+ years . There’s a lot of talk about the culture in this program and I think that starts with a head coach who doesn’t lie about a kids motive for doing something . And a coach who actually takes the time to get to know kids and their families at some level to at least give the impression that they care .

This isn’t Nate nor is it Nate’s parents , he would never read a blog . He’s focused on competing for a job at a division 1 school in Texas . Which he will start doing in a week .

Just wanted to address the comments in the interview . I will be rooting for the huskies because there is a good group of young men in the program and I wish them the best .

Thanks for the post. Can you help us understand why Hopkins chose to leave?

 

[uconnphil2016]

It wasn’t about competing for a role , he was and had been doing that .


Fans will decide what they want to believe . I was just pointing out the dishonesty from your head coach , if that’s how you interpret that then so be it .I just know for a fact that’s not the case . I played big time college football and I have a pretty good understanding that if a kid doesn’t want to compete he’s not going to stay for 2+ years . There’s a lot of talk about the culture in this program and I think that starts with a head coach who doesn’t lie about a kids motive for doing something . And a coach who actually takes the time to get to know kids and their families at some level to at least give the impression that they care .

This isn’t Nate nor is it Nate’s parents , he would never read a blog . He’s focused on competing for a job at a division 1 school in Texas . Which he will start doing in a week .

Just wanted to address the comments in the interview . I will be rooting for the huskies because there is a good group of young men in the program and I wish them the best .

He’s going to UNT, right?

 

[Shop91]

Thanks for posting. Could you help us understand why Hopkins left?

I really don’t want to speak for him but I will say this

Hey - curious which part of this synopsis is factually incorrect?

>>Sophomore Nate Hopkins, who led the Huskies with seven touchdown runs in 2017 as a redshirt freshman, has left the team according to Edsall. “We had some changes in the depth chart,” Edsall said. “He told me he wanted to go somewhere else. I think we have some decent players at running back and I think the competition is pretty good. We told him what we thought his role would be as a short-yardage and goal line guy. We just try to be honest and if guys don’t want to do the role that we think and they think they can have a bigger role somewhere else, God bless them and good luck to you.”<<

he was never told his role was limited to short yardage not once .. he was told he was competing for an every down back type role. He had been competing for number 1 back since spring as you guys probably know . There was never ANY discussion of his role other than being a starting back .

 

[Stainmaster]

He’s going to UNT, right?

He should be extremely successful there.

 

[uconnphil2016]

He should be extremely successful there.

They’re actually a solid team this year. Mason Fine is a legit QB

 

[Ldandy]

Latter

Julian Campeni out of PA.

 

[tiger8mush]

I really don’t want to speak for him but I will say this

he was never told his role was limited to short yardage not once .. he was told he was competing for an every down back type role. He had been competing for number 1 back since spring as you guys probably know . There was never ANY discussion of his role other than being a starting back .

Thanks for the reply. If he felt he was competing for the starting back job, and was never told otherwise, I don't understand why he left. Did he not feel he was going to win the competition?

 

[uconnphil2016]

Julian Campeni out of PA.

Solid player. What did players think of diaco? I got the sense that they really liked and believed in him despite how bad of a coach he was

 

[Husky25]

This is reminiscent of the situation surrounding a quarterback out of Plano, TX.

I don't think anyone who posts here legitimately holds a grudge against Hopkins. He made a decision. Hopefully for his own sake, it is in his best interest. Fans will be fans, and while most are supportive of individual players, especially those on "their" team, the name on the front of the jersey will always be more important than the one on the back. Hopkins cannot control the reaction, so why worry about it?

I do find it ironic that in order to demonstrate Hopkins' good character, there exists a need to chip away at another's.

I've said my piece. Checking out of this portion of the thread...