2009 Preview Stories, Connecticut News, Raphielle Johnson, Uncategorized

2009 BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: CONNECTICUT

Huskies look to revamp a ground-heavy offense

By Raphielle Johnson

The 2009 football season is finally here, and once again much isn’t expected of Connecticut. Picked to finish sixth in the Big East, the Huskies will have to replace starters such as Donald Brown, Darius Butler and Tyler Lorenzen if they want to go to their third consecutive bowl game. Brown rushed for more than 2,000 yards last season, an amazing accomplishment when considering how bad the passing game was. Husky quarterbacks combined to throw five touchdown passes and seventeen interceptions in 2008, which makes Brown’s omission as a Doak Walker Award finalist all the more glaring.

Joe Moorhead takes over as offensive coordinator for the departed Rob Ambrose (head coach at Towson), and he brings with him an up-tempo no-huddle attack that the Huskies hope will open things up. On defense Connecticut will once again be solid with six starters back. Linebackers Scott Lutrus, Greg Lloyd and Lawrence Wilson make up one of the better units in the Big East, and they’ll be counted on to lead a unit that ranked sixth nationally in total defense. Special teams should be solid as well, thanks to the return of punter Desi Cullen, kicker David Teggart and a host of capable kick returners.

Under Coach Edsall, the Huskies have made a living of taking players who get little fanfare and turn them into solid college football players and sending players to the professional ranks as well. The given is that Connecticut will be a tough, fundamentally sound team that won’t lie down for anyone. And with arguably the toughest schedule of the Edsall era on the horizon, they’ll need to be just that if they’re to compete for a Big East championship. Below is a unit-by-unit preview of the 2009 Connecticut Huskies.

Offense

New offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead has a starting quarterback in Zach Frazer, who performed better than Cody Endres in spring drills. They will be the top two on the depth chart with true freshman Mike Cox sitting third. There’s no Donald Brown to carry the bulk of the offensive load so Frazer will have to improve his production. Not the prettiest passer if you’re looking for tight spirals, Zach will need to rely upon sound decision-making if he’s to be successful. Luckily for the quarterbacks, they’ve got a number of options at the skill positions.

Running backs Jordan Todman, Andre Dixon are all looking to show what they can do since Brown got the lion’s share of the carries in 2008. Todman is a young speedster who was brought in as a change of pace back last season, and he could combine to make up a solid partnership with Dixon. Andre was second team All-Big East in 2007, but he got a bit complacent and combined that with some off-field issues. The end result was a 2008 with just nine carries on the season. If he’s ready to go, and the reports were that he’s anxious to show his skills, he can get back to that 2007 level. Frey, who has done the bulk of his work on special teams, could see more time as a running back in addition to his kick return duties (averaged twenty yards per return in 2008). And with fullbacks Anthony Sherman and Anthony Davis they’ll have very good lead blockers.

The receiving corps is loaded with young talent; whether that young talent is ready to hit the scene will go a long way in how much the passing game improves. True freshman Dwayne Difton has received a lot of press in the preseason, and the skills are there. It’s rare to find fast guys who are also praised for their route running, and this combination makes the Fort Lauderdale native a threat to opposing defenses.

Returnees Kashif Moore, Brad Kanuch, Marcus Easley and Michael Smith will all factor into the rotation, as will youngsters such as Gerrard Sheppard and Mike Lang. Tight end is a bit lean with the loss of Steve Brouse and Martin Bedard but with Coach Moorhead preferring a three-wide formation players such as Corey Manning and John Delahunt may not see as much playing time as they would have in the previous system.

The offensive line returns three starters but will have to replace a pair of very good blockers in William Beatty and Keith Gray. Moe Petrus moves over to center and 2008 starters Mike Hicks (right tackle) and Zach Hurd (right guard) man those positions. Dan Gray, who’s got thirty games under his belt, will start at left tackle while there’s competition at left guard. Redshirt senior Alex LaMagdelaine missed every game except for one last season, and he’ll be fighting for the starting spot with Mathieu Olivier and Scott Schultz. The offensive line can be pretty good if they develop chemistry and remain healthy. Jimmy Bennett has already gone down with a season-ending injury, so they can’t afford any other significant losses.

Defense

Stout defense has been a staple of the Randy Edsall era, and it should be no different this season. They’ll need to replace three starters on the defensive line, including ends Cody Brown and Julius Williams. Lindsey Witten will most likely man one of the end positions while it’s wide open on the other side. Freshmen Trevardo Williams and Jesse Joseph will compete with redshirt freshman A.J. Portee for the starting spot. Witten will likely be backed up by redshirt junior Mike Cox, who missed all of last season due to injury. Tywon Martin, the lone returning starter up front, returns at defensive tackle and will be joined by classmate Kendall Reyes. Outside of redshirt senior Brandon Dillon and redshirt junior Alex Polito the Huskies are young in the middle, so the pressure is on Martin and Reyes to produce.

All three starting linebackers from last season return, giving the Huskies one of the best units in the conference. Scott Lutrus led the team with 106 tackles on the strong side while weak side linebacker Lawrence Wilson was second on the team with seventy-three. Greg Lloyd will play in the middle, leaving the remaining linebackers on the roster to fight for backup spots on the two-deep. Juniors Kijuan Dabney and Greg Robinson (redshirt), and redshirt freshmen Jory Johnson, Sio Moore and Jerome Williams will all look to earn some playing time when the “big three” need a breather.

The secondary should be solid as well despite the loss of Darius Butler to the NFL. Jasper Howard, who showed the ability to become one of the better corners in the conference last year while also leading the Big East in punt return average, takes over Butler’s role as the shut down corner. Robert McClain has plenty of playing experience, and backups such as Gary Wilburn, Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson. Robert Vaughn, a second team All-Big East selection in 2008, is back at free safety while redshirt sophomore Jonathan Jean-Louis will start at strong safety. There’s a good balance of youth and experience in the secondary, which should add to the competition for playing time.

Special Teams/Schedule

The kicking jobs are in good hands with the return of senior punter Desi Cullen and sophomore kicker David Teggart. Teggart was 13-15 on field goals last season, but the punt coverage unit needs work if the Huskies are to go bowling again. Six punts were blocked, a stat that helped contribute to Cullen having a net average of 32.7 yards per punt. That’s not going to get it done. In one game (at North Carolina) Bruce Carter set an NCAA record in blocking three Cullen punts…in the same quarter. If that area is revamped, look for the Husky special team to perform quite well. Jasper Howard will once again return punts while Robbie Frey and Jordan Todman will return kickoffs.

In regards to the schedule, it gives the Huskies very few chances to lick their wounds should things begin to head south. The season opens with a trip to Ohio, where the fans will be anxious to see the Bobcats pick off a BCS conference opponent. The home schedule kicks off with a visit from the aforementioned Tar Heels the following Saturday, and they should be right in the thick of things in the ACC. Connecticut will also play non-conference road games against Baylor and Notre Dame while hosting former Yankee Conference rival Rhode Island.

As for the seven-game Big East slate, the Huskies picked the wrong year to have to visit Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Cincinnati. In between those games are home dates with Louisville (homecoming) and Rutgers. The regular season ends with home games against Syracuse and USF, the latter of which is one of three Big East games to be played on December 5th. The six teams playing on that final Saturday are also the top six picks in the preseason media poll.

Prediction

Looking at the schedule and dealing with the unknown of how the passing game performs in a new system, it’s tough to peg the Huskies for any more than seven wins. Some may even look at the tough slate and project no more than five wins. If the offensive linemen can stay healthy and Zach Frazer can progress as a passer a bowl game is within the realm of possibility. It may be too much to throw the Huskies into the Big East title hunt, but given the lack of separation among the top five teams why not them? Any team in the top six has at least a puncher’s chance of being the last team standing; whether or not it’s Connecticut will depend largely upon their offense.