"We have to get bigger, tougher, stronger, nastier upfront on both sides of the ball"

[UConnJim]

What background do I need to know to win the argument? None. Your hidden guy went to Iowa, IOWA! So he made it to big time football at near the highest level. Your tale would have relevance to your thesis if it was a Danny Woodhead type story were everyone missed out except lowly and invisible Chadron State College in Nebraska. The Woodhead story is the story we are looking for. Guys in NY and NE that punched a ticket to the B1G aren't hidden gems at all. To the contrary they are "found" guys, regardless of whether its early or late in the recruiting process.

Probably better examples are Massachusetts guys like Kevin Mensah and Matt Peart, both 2*s, who are 2 of our better players on offense. Mensah had his eligibility issues due to transfering high schools which helped him fall through the cracks, although Michigan came in with a preferred walk-on offer due to Don Brown. Peart was overlooked because he was a basketball player who started playing football late in high school at a school better known for academics.

 

[huskyrob1]

the only thing i wonder with jones is that edsall and lashlee have already stated that they want their OL to be smaller and quicker, that means that jones would have to drop somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 lbs, that's a lot, that kind of weight changes has unintended consequences. im all for the big boys being quick, its just not as easy as plug and play.

I think Edsall and Lashlee were referring to the OL players they already had, the ones they inherited from Dicko, when they made those statements, not future students and players. That would be a great way to win over a three star kid still in high school, get him to sign and then tell him and his parents he's too slow because he's fat. I've seen Jones play, and IMO he doesn't need to lose any weight at all. He's just a naturally big kid, with surprising athleticism, despite his bulk. All he needs to do is hit the weight room during the off season.

 

[uconnbill]

He's already faster at 350 than Foley ever was at nose tackle. Foley is too slow to play defense end, which I saw suggested in another post.

Foley will be playing in the NFL next year without a doubt and should be drafted in the middle rounds especially if he does well in the pre draft combines

 

[uconnbill]

Travis jones best position is offensive guard

His coach thinks it is on the defensive line. We will see and if he loses 15-20 pounds I think he will be that much quicker.

 

[JMick]

His coach thinks it is on the defensive line. We will see and if he loses 15-20 pounds I think he will be that much quicker.

currently he's a better offensive player than defensive player. how he projects is a different story

 

[huskysupporter]

His coach thinks it is on the defensive line. We will see and if he loses 15-20 pounds I think he will be that much quicker.

His highlights show a player better as an offensive lineman.

 

[huskyrob1]

His coach thinks it is on the defensive line. We will see and if he loses 15-20 pounds I think he will be that much quicker.

The kid has played both sides of the ball all season, so his coach is saying that for a reason, and the coach probably has already met and discussed his opinion with the UConn coaches. Wherever he eventually plays for UConn I'm sure he will be a welcome addition to the team.

 

[huskymedic]

His coach thinks it is on the defensive line.

.50 second mark from after the Xavier game

It’s nice to have options and I think his future position depends on future (other 2018) targets committing to UConn. I’ve seen him multiple times in person this year - he can play either but seemed more dominant @ this point on OL (but you have to consider size mismatch at this level).

In Edsall I trust.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Edsall needs to find Shamar Stevens types.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

ok ill use that as a perfect example, that was the best team we may have had ever in the state. how many of them went on to play at top 25 colleges? or even D1 schools for that matter. we up here truly don't understand the level of competition down in FLA. you throw a rock in any direction in florida you'll hit a 3 star kid going to a D1 college. thats just facts.
just a quick search on rivals/ 247 sports there is just about 300 players ranked 3 stars or more in the state of florida compared to the maybe 4-5 in the state of CT, if you wanna include all players with star ratings that number jumps to 550 FL and 20 for CT. I love the state of CT and CTHSFB is near and dear to my heart but they truly are apples and oranges.

Also, Florida high schools have triple the students of a Connecticut high school and the school district is larger (Hillsborough County School District is about 1/3 the size of Connecticut in area.).