Way too early question: What are your expectations for next season?

[huskymedic]

Zach Fraser from ND. Higher rated too, I believe.

Loved Zach, but he was no four star, maybe a three. As I recall Zach had blockers too.

Yeah he was. Top 125 national recruit.

 

[ScottVib]

I don’t think he is being objective when he’s calling other posters unrealistic because they are very positive on a new coaching crew. Opinions are not objective, especially when the new coach just signed UConn’s first 4 star rated qb in its history.

Actually I never called any poster unrealistic... singling out a poster on a message board rarely goes well. I did however state that I don't think bowl predictions are realistic:

I think bowl predictions at this stage are way off base, but it's nice to see the hope back on the boards.

I then followed it up with my reasoning. As I posted this morning in my follow-up I think setting unrealistic expectations for year one is dangerous and the kind of thing that sets the program up for failure. In my case I set my expectations to the minimum acceptable performance, I can hope the team does better, but I certainly don't think next season will be a failure or disappointment if it fails to reach a bowl and frankly it'd be an unmitigated success should the club win four next year. If I set my baseline expectation at a bowl.. well there isn't really much room for upward mobility.

Disagreeing is not criticism...

 

[hardcorehusky]

This team's issue was for the most part, the talent just not being there. We were good on special teams because there was talent there in McFadden, Brewton, Keating, etc.

Our starting Quarterback for the first two games is now at a program which is in the middle of a bottom conference in FCS. That should say something. Our OLine was absolutely insufferable, defense was tolerable with some clear talent mixed in to it.

This is probably a rough take to a lot of people on here, but Kevin Mensah was never really that good. Yeah he had a bad OL this year, but Nate Carter proved that he's just better. a lot of times, putting Mensah in slowed the team down.

Phommachanh was what the team needed, but Krajewski was not too bad. He did alright with what he had. I don't see him getting many snaps in '22, but he was important to this team for getting any points on the board at all in games like Houston.

With an improved OLine, this team scores much more points. I think they've made plenty of steps to improve it.
A refined already good defense with the likes of Jackson Mitchell returning, we definitely give up less points
We have a skilled and athletic Quarterback in Ja'Quan Roberson. When was the last time we had something like that? I've seen him ball in person before. He's a key talent we've been missing.

Also on offense, we have a beyond solid skill position set. I'm surprised Keelan Marion didn't leave us, he is damn good. We picked up some good receivers (Although I think that some, like Matt Hoffman, will be playing other positions as he is playing IOL)

Nathan Carter, Keelan Marion, and Victor Rosa will be our most important receivers/runners.

If these parts of the team can be made consistently decent/good.... I think it's safe to expect 4 wins.

Where does Cam Ross and Matt Drayton, the starters before injuries took them out fit?

 

[KembaKek]

Where does Cam Ross and Matt Drayton, the starters before injuries took them out fit?

not sure. We have so many receivers. I tried not to include guys in talking about this because I don't think that basing anything off of 2019 is useful.

they're both very good and we could expect them to start. But there's little doubt to me that Keelan Marion isn't gonna be a starter. Cam Ross almost definitely a starter. Drayton maybe.

Keep in mind those two were starting when Zergiotis was QB1. A lot has changed since.

 

[Bongo Fury]

They’ll play if they are better than others. We’ll see. 2019 was a long time ago.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Yeah he was. Top 125 national recruit.

No he wasn’t, he was a three star. I’d rate Timmy Boyle, Casey Cochran, and Will Levis slightly over Zach and they were 3 stars. Would you rate Zach over Taisun Pomachanh who is a high 3 star or low 4 star (0.91) depending on who you talk to?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Actually I never called any poster unrealistic... singling out a poster on a message board rarely goes well. I did however state that I don't think bowl predictions are realistic:


I then followed it up with my reasoning. As I posted this morning in my follow-up I think setting unrealistic expectations for year one is dangerous and the kind of thing that sets the program up for failure. In my case I set my expectations to the minimum acceptable performance, I can hope the team does better, but I certainly don't think next season will be a failure or disappointment if it fails to reach a bowl and frankly it'd be an unmitigated success should the club win four next year. If I set my baseline expectation at a bowl.. well there isn't really much room for upward mobility.

Disagreeing is not criticism...

Geez Scott you’re a UConn football fan, you’re not Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit or Lou Holtz. Let them worry about “baseline expectations” or “minimum acceptable performance”. Enjoy the game

 

[Huskygrad88]

No he wasn’t, he was a three star. I’d rate Timmy Boyle, Casey Cochran, and Will Levis slightly over Zach and they were 3 stars. Would you rate Zach over Taisun Pomachanh who is a high 3 star or low 4 star (0.91) depending on who you talk to?

I think you are comparing fact and opinion. Zach was a 4 star. That is a fact. See the post above with the picture or just google it. Did he play like one? No.

 

[SubbaBub]

I'd rather be slightly disappointed than have embarassingly low expectations.

 

[Ajs120102]

I think there will be a lot of good effort games next season. But w-l maybe 3-9 2-10. 23 should be the good season.

 

[B1GEast]

Bowl game, 6 wins

 

[Slasher]

As MJ would say, expect disappointment and you can never be disappointed.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I think you are comparing fact and opinion. Zach was a 4 star. That is a fact. See the post above with the picture or just google it. Did he play like one? No.

Yes he was, though overrated as you say, especially when you look at Levis, Boyle, and Cochran, Taisun P (who was rated a four star, but barely) and the fact that Notre Dame fairly quickly cut Zach loose. I looked all over the web trying to find the proof that Fraser was a solid four star coming out of high school and couldn’t find it. 247 didn’t exist then as far as I know. One way I know to get Huskymedic to find said info is to post something blatantly false, and he will almost always come through with the proof. Lol. I also recalled a thread several months ago that seemed to indicate UConn never had a four star player in any position. So….hmmm, if I post this, hm will find the info and post it. Lol

 

[Buffett10]

Yes he was, though overrated as you say, especially when you look at Levis, Boyle, and Cochran, Taisun P (who was rated a four star, but barely) and the fact that Notre Dame fairly quickly cut Zach loose. I looked all over the web trying to find the proof that Fraser was a solid four star coming out of high school and couldn’t find it. 247 didn’t exist then as far as I know. One way I know to get Huskymedic to find said info is to post something blatantly false, and he will almost always come through with the proof. Lol. I also recalled a thread several months ago that seemed to indicate UConn never had a four star player in any position. So….hmmm, if I post this, hm will find the info and post it. Lol

Yeah he was definitely a high 3-Star as you say lol

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Yeah he was definitely a high 3-Star as you say lol

Whatever….

You seem to be saying Zach’s four star rating was accurate, if so then why did Notre Dame get rid of him so fast. I loved Zach when he played here, was one of UConn’s best QB’s over the years.

 

[uconnric]

As MJ would say, expect disappointment and you can never be disappointed.

With that in mind I've tempered my expectations to 8-4.

 

[History Geek]

1. Not be an embarrassment
2. Noticable improvement vs 2021 on Week 0, and further noticeable improvement by the end of the year

This was pretty much my expectation for 2021. Lather, rinse, repeat I guess.

By definition, this means more than 1 win. Don’t have to go bowling, but this time next year I want to be able to say its an expectation for 2023.

 

[shizzle787]

New coaches rarely come in and take over a team that is this down and turn them into a .500 team in their first year. It’s just incredibly unrealistic. To me, the number of wins doesn’t really matter, I just want to see growth in the level of play from last year. There will be games that disappoint us, and there will be games that surprise us. Like I said, I don’t see .500 or better as realistic, the closer we can get to .500 the better, but I’m not expecting to be particularly close next year. There will be a lot of new faces, let’s get everyone gelling next year and improve, and then hit the ground running the year after.

I would rather win ugly than lose pretty. Results absolutely matter.

 

[Greedo]

I would rather win ugly than lose pretty. Results absolutely matter.

I said I’m not concerned about results because it’s incredibly rare for a coach to take over a dumpster fire and have success in his first year. If we have 2 wins it’s more or less what I expect so I won’t be disappointed. There are a lot of people in this thread that, IMO, have unrealistic expectations and are setting themselves up for disappointment. This is a historically bad program right now. I think Mora is the right hire and he’s making great strides, I’m just not expecting much for next year. The year after I’m expecting wins. It takes a year at least to change the losing culture. Right now, every player on this team only knows how to lose. He’s bringing in new guys, but they’re going to need a year to gel with everyone else.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Does any one of you think Mora is doing all this for 2 or 3 wins in year 1? His expectation is higher.

 

[gioff2323]

1. More than one win
2. Not losing to an FCS team
3. Blue and White game
4. Bringing back the hot 93.7 DJ booth

Yes
Yes
Yes!
NFW!!

 

[TheDrifter75]

Does any one of you think Mora is doing all this for 2 or 3 wins in year 1? His expectation is higher.

He's the head coach, he should expect to win em all. The difference being if he doesn't meet expectations he won't go full yard, burn it all down and start from scratch... again.

 

[RSTuthill]

Yes
Yes
Yes!
NFW!!

Seconded!!!

 

[uconnbill]

Who knows. I would like 4-5 wins to show the program in on the rise. I wouldn't expect anymore than that, but an upset would be nice during the season

 

[Husky68]

I expect to win every game UConn plays. All you "won't you be disappointed" Karens can worry about yourselves. I can handle it if and when UConn loses a game in 2022.

 

[RSTuthill]

I expect to win every game UConn plays. All you "won't you be disappointed" Karens can worry about yourselves. I can handle it if and when UConn loses a game in 2022.

Be careful how you use that Karen word. Some of us prefer the realistic objective approach rather than the gushing like a teenager approach. Prediction like your credibility is at stake.

 

[Get a Job]

I expect to win every game UConn plays. All you "won't you be disappointed" Karens can worry about yourselves. I can handle it if and when UConn loses a game in 2022.

What does this even mean? It can't be true that you expect UConn to win every game unless you have some major cognitive disability. Assuming you don't have that, why make the claim? Maybe you have a different definition of "expect"? According to my definition, the team you expect to win is the team you name when someone says, "Name a team. You will be killed if that team doesn't win."

 

[Madmannsucks]

1. More than one win
2. Not losing to an FCS team
3. Blue and White game
4. Bringing back the hot 93.7 DJ booth

Exactly-4 wins would be a great year.

 

[Madmannsucks]

I see 8 winnable games on the schedule 2 that can go either way (BC, NC State) and 1 where we can possibly win (Fresno) and 1 where we will definitely not win unless Mora pulls off a miracle (Michigan). Realistically I see 6 wins next year and if the offense gets going right away 7 or 8. I think 3 or 4 is our minimum. We definitely see improvement on all offense. There's no where to go but up. This will do nothing but help the defensive stats. I think a 6-6 record next year is right on target.

I would like whatever you are drinking.

 

[Greedo]

I expect to win every game UConn plays. All you "won't you be disappointed" Karens can worry about yourselves. I can handle it if and when UConn loses a game in 2022.

Like this place won't become a bunch of moaners "Oh we never should have never hired Mora" BS if we only have 3 wins next year. Those are the Karens.