What up UCONN fans

[dylanrob]

- I can't believe the season starts in 3 weeks.

I have come here to learn about your team - interested to hear from you guys what your strengths and weaknesses are on both sides of the ball, and how you think your team will do this season.

BYU - from my point of view:
ON DEFENSE: How our LBs reload after what have been 2 very solid years will be key. We lost our best defensive player, Kyle Van Noy (who was drafted 1st rd. by the Lions). We seem to have a lot of new-comers to a LB squad, guys like Manoa Pikula, Bronson Kafusi, Zac Stout and Jherremya Leuta-Douyere will be new, so I'm interested to see them play. Many are high on Pikula's ability, but I think if we are a step behind where we were last year I fear we'll be somewhat vulnerable - but who knows.

Luckily we have now-healthy DBs who had to sit last year due to injury - the best of which is Jordan Johnson who is actually from your neck of the woods (Springfield, Mass.).

ON OFFENSE: Taysom Hill has the reputation of a run-first QB, but the guy was showing progress through the air as the season went along. As BYU fans, we have to hope the guy can continue that progression amid losing our best receiver (Cody Hoffman). He is great with his feet. You may recall his breakout game against Texas last year.

Many would say Hill progressed as the O-line progressed, and that may be true, so if we are going to be as good as we want to be, we'll have to be solid upfront, and get good performances from new WRs.

That said, I feel our offense has NOT been consistent the last few years. In 2010 we started a frosh who never developed, we then went to Riley Nielsen who was good with his feet, but very weak through the air, we now have Taysom who seemed only a bit more reliable than Nielsen, so now that we have lost Hoffman at receiver and we will be without our best RB, I fear we may come out shaky on O as we open the season far from home.

Either way - would love to hear some level-headed comments from you guys on your team.

I have cheered for UCONN a few times like when you guys beat Louisville on the road in OT I think two season ago, and the one FIESTA bowl game. I know you guys seemed to have a rough season last year, so you guys must be eager to start turning things around.

-Best-

 

[Nostical]

You may be the nicest sounding poster from an opponent in the history of the Boneyard. Thanks for the info. I'm sure you'll get a good read from one of us but I'm heading to a meeting! Looking forward to the 29th.

 

[bmayuc]

Welcome to the board, first of all. Here is your viewing guide:

Overall:
We have had a rough couple years coming off of our Fiesta Bowl Appearance in 2011. An awful coaching staff let the program stagnate and allowed our foundation to erode. We had been known as a run-oriented, hard-hitting, rugged team that won with great defense, enough offense, and a mistake-free gameplan. The last few years we have watched as our Offense backtracked, lost any semblance of identity, and meandered through games with seemingly no direction. Our defense, while the stronger part of our team, was inconsistent but spirited. Below I will make some Roster predictions for you.

We have placed 20 players in the NFL draft since 2008, and have developed a reputation as a team that takes somewhat unheralded recruits and turns them into highly productive players at the college and now, professional level.

With the introduction of the new coaching staff, it is clear that they are rebuilding the team from scratch mentally and physically, reintroducing much higher levels of accountability and discipline, as well as team-oriented, brothership and family atmosphere that was brutally and clearly lacking the past 3-4 years. Luckily, it looks like the cupboard was not bare, but simply unorganized and poorly managed.

Offense:
For the first time in years, we have returning experience/quality at the skill positions. Our strength is our WR group. Our (HUGE) weakness is our Offensive Line. We are pretty excited about our offense for the first time in a while

QB - Our QBs and running-back groups appear to be very talented but as of yet we have no clear view on who will win the position battles. I would look out for Casey Cochran at QB. He is not a great athlete, but has good vision, anticipation, and accuracy. I would compare him to a Chad Pennington type of player.

RB - This group has a ton of potential but no clear breadwinner at the moment. I would look for a share of work between Max DeLorenzo and Josh Marriner. DeLorenzo is a big, physical back that will grind out YAC and has surprising edge speed but very little wiggle. He's a one-cut type player. Marriner is a compact, explosive guy who excels at breaking tackles and cutting on a dime. Additionally, you will likely see true FR Arkeel Newsome get a few carries. He is the all-time CT rushing and touchdown leader by a country mile, and is a physical freak. Many think he has a chance to rival the best RBs we've had come through, which includes a couple NFL starters in the past decade.

WR - Our WR group is likely the strength of our entire team led by Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx. Davis is a physical bruiser in the mold of a college Larry Fitzgerald, and he never, ever drops passes that are within his grasp, and will likely be an NFL player a year from now. Foxx is a speedster with sketchy hands. Thomas Lucas has some buzz, and Noel Thomas is a raw but talented athlete.

TE - Sean McQuillan is an undersized pass-catcher, and our depth here is severly limited. Young players like RFr Tommy Myers and Fr Alec Bloom could see lots of snaps and must produce.

LT - Richard Levy - I have no idea. reports are positive
LG - Gustavo Cruz - coming back from a heart infection last year. inconsistent throughout his career.
C - Alex Mateas - On the Rimington watch list, but has not been great to date.
RG - Tyler Samra - a bit undersized, otherwise i have no idea.
RT - Andreas Knapp - From Denmark, just switched to OT this year. Reports are positive but I have no idea. This is a theme on the OL, as you can see.

Defense:
Aside from some depth/fit issues due to switching from a 4-3 concept to more of a 3-4 base alignment, this is a group we feel pretty good about. We have experience at DL, huge potential at LB, and a very experienced and talented DB group. I expect this group to stuff the run but struggle a bit rushing the passer out of a base alignment as we have no proven pass-rushing expertise on the DL. This was problem that plagued us last year as well. If we aren't generating pressure through blitzes/stunts, we are not winning many 1:1 pass rushing battles. Strength: DBs Weaknesses: pass-rushing/DL Depth

DE: I would look for Angelo Pruitt and Kenton Adeyemi to start. Both are seemingly solid, productive players against the run, and have the size/strength to hold up well. However they are not burners so very little pass-rush from this group. Our Hybrid DE/LB player is going to be Reuben Frank, a former FB who has great size and athleticism but has not distinguished himself as a PassRusher to date. We need him to produce this year, bigtime. If Reuben falters, look for Cole Ormsby, a fast rising DE/OLB, to get a shot.

DT/NT : Julian Campenni is short and wide and strong. He's basically impossible to move off of his spot, but gets very little penetration, either. Other players are BJ McBride and Mikal Myers, who are in the same type of class but none have looked to be stars.

LB: Our best LB is our WLB and coolest name award winner, Jefferson Ashiru. You will see him flying around, blitzing off the edge, and generally being a nuisance in all facets. Marquise Vann is a hard-hitting run-stuffer at MLB, as well as an emotional sparkplug. Finally, our SAM is Graham Stewart, who is a workout monster and tremendous athlete that has been injury plagued. Pretty much everyone agrees he has NFL level potential, but he needs to transfer that to performance this year and stay on the field.

DB: In competition with WR for best position group, we have 2 likely NFLers lining up here. At CB Byron Jones is a 4 year starter and has elite size/athleticism. He should be a true Lock-Down corner this year for us, while Jhavon Williams has proved reliable at the other corner last year as a RFr, and looks to have good upside as well. At FS we have a physical Monster Obi Melinfonwu, who has gained someone of a reputation already as a big-hitter, and Andrew Adams, who has good all-around skills and awareness, but isn't a top-level athlete necessarily, but uses savvy to succeed.

Specials:
Basically, we have no idea. they are both new and I don't even know their names. Huge area of concern for us from a kicking game perspective.

Hope this helps, and UCONN folks feel free to post comments or ammend the likely mistakes or outdated information I may have put up here.

Have fun @ BoneYard, and don't mind the few lunatics you will run across on this board. Most of us are just reasonable fans that have way to much free time at work

 

[tense50]

Agree with Nostical. One of the best/most earnest post from a fan of a UConn opponent that I can recall coming across on the Boneyard in a long,long time. You my friend seem to be an honorable fan of the opposition. So, here's what I think UConn will bring to the game on Aug. 29th: The QB position is yet to have a starter named, but the 3 who are competing for the job; senior Chandler Whitmer, soph. Tim Boyle and redshirt soph.
Casey Cochran all had experience starting games last year. All are capable of leading the team, but, if I had to pick a starter, it would be Cochran. He lead us to our only victories last year. The wide receivers should be good with Jeremy Davis and Deshon Foxx leading the way. Davis gained over 1,000 yds. receiving last year and Foxx was a burner after making the catch. Biggest question mark will be the o-line. At least 3 new faces in this group with not a lot of experience there. If they can have a quick learning curve for their positions then the rbs that we have could do some real damage. Max Delorenzo/rs jr and Josh Marriner/rs fr should share the majority or carries. On defense UConn should be strong at defensive back with Byron Jones at one cb spot and Obe Melifonwu at safety. Jones could be one of the best cbs in the country. LBs and d-line Should be able to hold their own against any of our opponents this season, but that's always been a strong point with this team. Lastly, this is a new coaching staff (lead by new headcoach Bob Diaco, former DC at Notre Dame last year) and they are instilling a new attitude in all aspects of the team and the players have bought into this and appear much more ready to face this season with a winning attitude then they have been the last few years. So, that's one Huskies fan opinion. No matter what, it should be a good game against BYU and am looking forward to see how UConn matches up with the Cougars. Enjoy the game. #Bleed Blue #Go Huskies
Sorry about the one long paragraph. I type in a stream of conscientiousness a lot.