2009 Weekly Previews, Connecticut News, Raphielle Johnson, Uncategorized

UNC – UCONN FOOTBALL PREVIEW

2009 Hoops Final Four participants meet on the gridiron

By Raphielle Johnson

Saturday’s game with #19 North Carolina brings about the opportunity for Connecticut to see where they stand right now and how good they could become this season. Butch Davis’ team will be a significant test for a team that didn’t look too impressive in their 23-16 win over Ohio last weekend. The primary issue according to head coach Randy Edsall was consistency, or the lack thereof. The Huskies didn’t take advantage of positive gains in momentum, allowing the Bobcats to stick around via turnover or missed assignment. Mistakes such as those will get UConn beat and beat badly, which is what happened in Chapel Hill (38-12) last season.

But the task is not impossible. The Tar Heels took care of The Citadel last weekend by the final of 40-6, but things were by no means perfect. QB T.J. Yates completed fewer than half his passes and threw an interception in the win, with the running game and defense providing the deciding blows. Have the Huskies learned from their mistakes on special teams in last year’s meeting? The “little things” will make a big difference one way or the other on Saturday. Below is the North Carolina depth chart for Saturday’s game.

QB 13 T.J. Yates (Jr.)

14 Braden Hanson (RFr.) -or-

7 Mike Paulus (So.)

RB 20 Shaun Draughn (Jr.)

32 Ryan Houston (Jr.)

FB 4 Bobby Rome (Sr.)

6 Anthony Elzy (Jr.)

The running game got the job done last weekend, but don’t expect the Huskies to allow Yates’ performance (9-20, 114 yards, 2 TD 1 INT) to lull them into a sense of security when defending the pass. Carolina didn’t have to show much against The Citadel, so they simply relied on the tandem of Draughn and Houston (163 combined yards and two touchdowns on the ground). Draughn is the feature back with Houston being the goal line battering ram. Bobby Rome is one of the better fullbacks in the ACC, but neither he nor Elzy is a player the Heels look to feed the ball to on a regular basis. Neither had a carry in the season-opening win.

WR 8 Greg Little (Jr.)

34 Johnny White (Jr.)

WR 3 Joshua Adams (Fr.)

82 Todd Harrelson (RFr.)

TE 17 Zack Pianalto (Jr.)

80 Ed Barham (Jr.)

H 33 Christian Wilson (So.) (for formations requiring an H-back)

80 Vince Jacobs (Jr.)

The receivers were an area of concern once the 2008 season ended. Yes, Brandon Tate had gone down early with an ACL tear so the Heels were used to not having him. But to replace him in the return game, along with the dynamic Hakeem Nicks and the dependable Brooks Foster was an arduous task for North Carolina. This is the time for junior Greg Little to make the progression many pictured for him as a high-touted recruit. He’s gone from receiver to running back and back due to the logjam of talent at the position in recent years. He’s got the body and the speed to be a serious threat that Connecticut will have to account for.

On the other side is freshman Josh Adams, who has the size (6-3) and speed to be an impact player throughout his career in Chapel Hill, and junior Johnny White was also champing at the bit for his opportunity. What this group lacks in playing time they can make up for with skill, and tight end Zack Pianalto is a credible threat in the passing game as well.

LT 72 Kyle Jolly (Sr.)

67 Greg Elleby (Jr.)

LG 64 Jonathan Cooper (RFr.)

74 Sam Ellis (Jr.) -or-

62 David Collins (Fr.)

C 69 Lowell Dyer (Sr.)

65 Cam Holland (So.)

RG 70 Alan Pelc (Jr.)

76 Travis Bond (Fr.)

RT 66 Mike Ingersoll (Jr.)

73 Brennan Williams (Fr.)

The line is an experienced group that did a very good job last week of run blocking (261 yards). They’ll outweigh the Connecticut line across the board, and given the play of Draughn both last week and in last season’s meeting (109 yards and one touchdown) look for a heavy dose of the run on Saturday. Dyer began his career as a walk-on and ends it as a scholarship starter on the Rimington Award Watch List, and Jolly is the most experienced player up front. Pelc and Jolly may be the best two on a solid offensive line.

Defense

LDE 92 E.J. Wilson (Sr.)

90 Quinton Coples (So.)

LDT 9 Marvin Austin (Jr.)

91 Tydreke Powell (So.)

RDT 93 Cam Thomas (Sr.)

97 Aleric Mullins (Sr.)

RDE 42 Robert Quinn (So.)

94 Michael McAdoo (So.) -or-

98 Donte Paige-Moss (Fr.)

The Carolina front four will represent a substantial upgrade to what the Huskies saw from Ohio last Saturday. Austin’s likely the best known of these four, and registered a pick-six in last season’s meeting. McAdoo (2.5 TFL, 1 sack) and Quinn (1 TFL, 1 sack) stood out against The Citadel, but the primary job of the defensive line is to occupy blockers for the linebackers. This is a group that has the size and speed to disrupt the Connecticut running game should the Husky offensive line not take care of business.

WLB 47 Zach Brown (So.)

48 Kevin Reddick (Fr.)

MLB 52 Quan Sturdivant (Jr.)

36 Kennedy Tinsley (Sr.)

SLB 54 Bruce Carter (Jr.)

57 Dion Guy (RFr.)

Sturdivant led the team with seven tackles on Saturday, and he plays a role similar to that of Mark Paschal and just about every other middle linebacker who’s played the position under Coach Davis. The action gets funneled to him (and the other two linebackers) and it’s his job to make the tackles. Bruce Carter, whose name should be quite familiar to Husky fans (three blocked punts last year) starts at the SAM (strong side) position and sophomore Zach Brown is the WILL.

CB 12 Charles Brown (Jr.)

23 Jordan Hemby (Sr.)

1 Gene Robinson (Fr.)

SS 21 Da’Norris Searcy (Jr.)

28 Jonathan Smith (Jr.)

FS 27 Deunta Williams (Jr.)

10 Melvin Williams (Sr.)

29 Brian Gupton (So.)

CB 16 Kendric Burney (Jr.)

37 LeCount Fantroy (So.)

26 Mywan Jackson (Fr.)

The secondary gets a lot of work, with the expectation that they handle their responsibilities in the passing game while also supporting against the run. Burney is one of the best corners in the ACC, if not the country, and classmate Charles Brown isn’t too bad on the other side himself. Those two combined for nine tackles last weekend, and they’ll be prepared to go up against a receiving corps that projects to be better than the outfit they saw in 2008.

The safeties are solid as well, with Deunta and Melvin Williams (not related) being good options at free safety. Deunta picked off two passes last week and with Zach Frazer throwing three interceptions in last year’s meeting they’ll be ready to help him duplicate that dubious distinction. Da’Norris Searcy is the strong safety; overall this is a talented and experienced group that can make Connecticut pay should their passing game lack consistency.

Special Teams

K 11 Casey Barth (So.)

19 Trase Jones (Jr.)

P 39 Grant Schallock (Jr.)

30 C.J. Feagles (Fr.)

KR 34 Johnny White (Jr.)

8 Greg Little (Jr.)

PR 21 Da’Norris Searcy (Jr.)

16 Kendric Burney (Jr.)

DS 69 Lowell Dyer (Sr.) PATs & FGs

51 Trevor Stuart (Jr.) Punts

Holder 19 Trase Jones (Jr.)

Not sure if the Tar Heels will be as lethal when it comes to blocking kicks, but they will have some players to take notice of in the return game. Searcy returned a punt for a touchdown last week, and if you have to focus too much on punt protection your coverage could suffer as a result. Receivers White and Little handle the kick return duties for Carolina, but Charles Brown also got to return a kick last weekend. Casey Barth made both of his field goal attempts but there was also a missed extra point. Grant Schallock punted three times in the opener with an average of forty-one yards per punt. The Tar Heels are very good when it comes to special teams; they will offer a true test as to whether or not the Huskies have improved in that area since their last meeting.