Connecticut

BIG EAST FOOTBALL DEPTH CHART NEWS

Orange receive important boost in backfield

By Raphielle Johnson

With Averin Collier’s status still up in the air for academic reasons (it does not look good in terms of him playing this season), Doug Marrone was looking at going into a season with just one experienced running back at his disposal (Antwon Bailey). But Syracuse received quite the depth chart boost on Monday with the clearance of 1,000-yard rusher Delone Carter. Carter, kicked out of school in April for punching another student (February 27^th snowball incident), was cleared by the school’s judicial review board on Monday to re-enroll. While not in Syracuse for practice and the team’s media day at the Carrier Dome, Collier is expected back sometime this week.

There’s no overstating the importance of this news; behind Bailey there was a surplus of inexperienced backs, and the addition of Carter will allow Coach Marrone and running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley some time in developing those youngsters. Also, junior college transfer Lou Alexander (offensive tackle) looks to be on his way towards being cleared to join the team, and his presence will provide the offensive line with more depth and added competition. Lastly, in their quest for a downfield playmaker at wide receiver the Orange will look to Dorian Graham. Graham, who missed all of last season due to a shoulder injury, moves from cornerback to wide receiver and possesses some freakish athletic measurements.

Wide receiver talk segues into the injury woes that have hit USF at the position in their first full week of practice. Senior wideout Colby Erskin, who’d been granted a sixth year of eligibility for medical reasons (three prior ACL tears), tore the ACL in his left knee on Saturday, ending his season before it even began. Add this to the departure of Carlton Mitchell (NFL), four players deciding not to return and projected starters Sterling Griffin and A.J. Love both missing the first month of the season (at least) due to their own injuries. This is not a good start for Skip Holtz and company, who will likely lean heavily on Lindsey Lamar to make things happen from that position.

In other wide receiver news, Cincinnati learned that they will not have the services of junior college transfer Kenbrell Thompkins per NCAA transfer rules. Thompkins, who signed an LOI to play for Lane Kiffin at Tennessee, was not released from the letter by the new coaching staff and as a result will have to sit out the season. However, Thompkins will have two years of eligibility beginning with the 2011 season. Cincinnati will be fine at wide receiver without him, and he should at the very least help out the secondary as they get their reps in against the offensive scout team. Tight end Travis Kelce will not play this season due to a violation of team rules.

Connecticut kicked things off on Monday, and the big move for Randy Edsall’s team actually came in the form of a coaching move. Coach Edsall will handle the safeties this season, allowing first-year secondary coach Darnell Perkins to work solely with the cornerbacks. The Huskies have to replace Robert McClain at free safety and the overall youth is such that it could help them to hear a more familiar voice for the time being. UConn ranked 88^th in pass defense in 2009, and that area could be the difference between contending for the Big East title and simply going to another bowl game.

As for Rutgers, the absence of backup quarterback Steve Shimko (shoulder injury) could open the door for true freshman Chas Dodd to earn the #2 nod in his stead. Tom Luicci of the Newark Star-Ledger writes that the coaches have been impressed with Dodd’s demeanor and ability. But regardless of who wins the backup job the hopes of the Scarlet Knights will rest on the health of Tom Savage; they cannot afford for him to go down due to injury. Pittsburgh is looking for a big season from redshirt junior linebacker Tristan Roberts, who moved ahead of Greg Williams at WILL linebacker due to his play in the spring. Roberts getting the job done will provide even more depth to a unit that’s expected by many to be the best in the conference this season.

Louisville DE Malcolm Tatum is hoping to hold onto his starting job for the entire season, as he lost that spot after just two games in 2009. C.L. Brown of the Louisville Courier-Journal also wrote on Monday that linebacker Deon Rogers, who switched from Georgia to Louisville once the Cardinals hired Charlie Strong, was cleared to join the team. Scout.com ranked Rogers 53^rd in the nation among linebackers and gave him a three-star rating.

West Virginia, which met the deadline to respond to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, will be looking for significant production from spur Terrence Garvin given the many responsibilities for his position within their 3-3-5 scheme. Given the overall strength of the Mountaineer defense, Garvin (one of two new starters on defense) should have plenty of opportunities to make things happen. At the very least he’ll have experienced voices on the field letting him know where he needs to be.

2012 NOAH SPENCE PICKING UP BIG EARLY OFFERS

Next Bishop McDevitt star already heavily pursued by top college programs

by MATT WHITFIELD

Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg (PA) has a history of producing high-level football talent. NFL players like LeSean McCoy and Ricky Watters have come through the program and numerous others have made D-1 programs. Noah Spence, a 6-3, 230-pound junior-to-be Defensive End, has a chance to be the best of all them though according to his coach Jeff Weachter.

Spence, despite being only a sophomore last season, had 60 tackles, 20 of which were tackles for loss, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, three batted balls, two fumbles recovered and one touchdown. His Bishop Mcdevitt team went 12-1 and returns recent Pittsburgh-commit Jameel Poteat as well this upcoming season.

Spense has already received 14 offers with interest from top tier programs such as Florida and USC.

“I have gotten interest from USC, Florida, Florida State and Oregon,” said Spence. “I have been offered by Cincinnati, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, NC State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee and Virginia.”

Spence also added at this time he has, ‘no favorite yet.’

Spence describes himself as one that seeks out ball and makes plays.

“I would describe myself as a quick after the ball, smart football player that has an eye for the ball,” said Spence.

At the next level Spence is being recruited as a Defensive End and an Outside Linebacker. He feels his build is such that he’ll play that could play either position.

“I am being recruited for are Outside Linebacker and Defensive End. I think it’s my build and my mental use during the game and my motor and eye for the ball,” said Spence.

Spence will undoubtedly see more offers as he progresses and gets bigger and stronger. However, for now Spence wants to work on using his strength more effectively.

“I need work on using my strength more for the next level,” said Spence.

With the numbers he’s already put up at such a rich football program Spence is certainly one to keep an eye on this fall. Undoubtedly Stephen Strasburg won’t be the only athlete people flock to Harrisburg to see this year.

2010 ULTIMATE BIG EAST FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

A week-by-week look at the biggest games in 2010 within the Big East

By Raphielle Johnson

With camps getting underway (USF and Louisville kick things off on Thursday), now seems to be as good a time as any to take a look at the Big East football schedule for the upcoming season. Twelve games: seven conference and five non-conference, with the goal of those non-conference matchups to spread the wealth a bit. No teams will be seen twice on this portion of the slate, and seven of the eight Big East members will be on the schedule at some point. Feel free to add in your own thoughts below.

Week 1: Connecticut at Michigan (September 4th)

Michigan debuts their newly-renovated stadium amidst the cloud of NCAA inquiry in regards to practice time and other issues, not to mention two straight losing seasons under Rich Rodriguez. The Huskies, who won their last four games to close out 2009, never beat Rodriguez when he was the head coach at West Virginia (which received a letter from the NCAA today in regards to Rodriguez’s tenure in Morgantown) but this is likely their best chance. If the Huskies can shore up their secondary and tackling in space issues look out; it shouldn’t be a surprise if Zach Frazer, Jordan Todman and company leave Ann Arbor 1-0.

Best game: Pittsburgh at Utah (September 2nd)

Danger game: Cincinnati at Fresno State (September 4th)
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BIG EAST FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL & AWARDS WATCHLIST

Pitt receives all but two first-place votes in pre-season media poll

By Raphielle Johnson

Tuesday morning marked the official release of the Big East preseason media poll, with Pittsburgh being the pick to win the conference. Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers, who lost their final two conference games a season ago to miss out on a BCS bid, picked up the first place vote on 22 of 24 ballots to separate themselves from two-time defending champ Cincinnati and West Virginia by 48 points. The Bearcats and Mountaineers both finished with 142 points, although Bill Stewart’s squad picked up one of the other two first place votes. Connecticut, who won their last four games to end 2009, picked up the other first place vote and finished fourth in the poll. Rutgers, who has won their last four bowl games, finished fifth by twenty points over USF and Syracuse finished one point ahead of Louisville for seventh.

1) Pittsburgh -190 points (22 first-place votes)
2) Cincinnati – 142 points
(tie) West Virginia – 142 points (one first-place vote)
4) Connecticut – 131 points (one first-place vote)
5) Rutgers – 99 points
6) South Florida – 79 points
7) Syracuse – 41 points
8] Louisville – 40 points

Can’t say that this is much of a surprise; on paper well before Tuesday’s release the Big East looked to be a league of three “tiers”: the top four with Pittsburgh leading the way, followed by a pair of teams in Rutgers and USF who have the ability to be positive surprises and the rebuilding projects at Syracuse and Louisville bringing up the rear. Personal pick for surprise team is USF; the Bulls have a lot more talent at the disposal of new head coach Skip Holtz and his staff than meets the eye. The biggest question in regards to personnel has to be Syracuse. What happens if they don’t have the services of either Delone Carter (led the team in rushing last season) or Averin Collier (slated to be the starter once Carter was dismissed from school)? You’d have to drop them behind Louisville, who has RB Victor Anderson back for his junior campaign (look for him to rebound from last season should he remain relatively healthy).

My picks:

Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Cincinnati
Connecticut
USF
Rutgers
Louisville
Syracuse

Preseason Award Watch Lists

July marks the time of the year when the individual awards release their initial watch lists for the upcoming season, and a number of Big East players found themselves honored. Below are the players from member schools who are on these lists.

Nagurski Award: DE Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh), S Robert Sands (West Virginia), LB J.K. Schaeffer (Cincinnati), LB J.T. Thomas (West Virginia), LB Lawrence Wilson (Connecticut)

O’Brien Award: QB Zach Collaros (Cincinnati), Tom Savage (Rutgers)

Outland Trophy: G Art Forst (Rutgers), G Zach Hurd (Connecticut), T Jason Pinkston (Rutgers)

Thorpe Award: S Dom DeCicco (Pittsburgh), CB Brandon Hogan (West Virginia), CB Johnny Patrick (Louisville), S Robert Sands (West Virginia)

More awards watch lists will be released next week.

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CLASS OF 2011 PENNSYLVANIA TOP 25 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

by CHRIS DOKISH

It’s a down year for talent in the state, both with the number of elite prospects and the overall number of high-major prospects, but there are still some very good players to be recruited.

The glamour positions of quarterback and wide receiver are severely lacking, and there are no elite offensive linemen or linebackers, but there is an excellent running back which is a rarity in the state, three excellent cornerbacks, and a slew of exciting pass rushers.

As always, the final rankings are my own, but only after talking to many high school coaches, college scouts, and independent scouts, such as Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting.

1. Ben Koyack, Oil City HS (Oil City) TE – It’s not often that a tight end is the best player in the state, but there is little doubt that will be the case this year. At 6′5″ and 230 pounds, he has good size with a frame to get even bigger. He also possesses great hands to go along with good speed and athleticism. More of a threat as a receiver but is a willing and good blocker. Most of all, he just knows how to play football. Committed to NOTRE DAME over Penn State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Oklahoma, West Virginia, LSU, California, Virginia Tech, USC, and many others. Bottom line – A perfect fit for new coach Brian Kelly and there’s no reason why he can’t be a star at the college level.

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BIG EAST FOOTBALL SUMMER SCHOOL: CONNECTICUT

Huskies looking to take the next step in 2010 on the gridiron

By Raphielle Johnson

The University of Connecticut football program (and campus) went through one of the toughest seasons in recent memory in 2009. The tragic murder of starting cornerback Jasper Howard on October 18^th came just hours after one of his best performances as a Husky, and for many programs that would have touched off a downhill spiral that would have been understood. But as a testament to those young men and the program that head coach Randy Edsall has built this was not the case. They lost heartbreakers to West Virginia and Rutgers in the following weeks but a watershed moment took place in South Bend as UConn knocked off Notre Dame in overtime.

From there they lost to just Cincinnati by two points, finishing the season with an impressive 20-7 win over South Carolina in the PapaJohns.com Bowl to go 8-5 on the season. But 2009 on the field was also a season full of “what could have been” moments; UConn lost those five games by a combined fifteen points. This was a young team that went through a lot, learning how to win as the season progressed and players who weren’t counted on as much in 2008 stepping into expanded roles. Considered to be the Huskies’ major weakness going into 2009, the offense was led by quarterbacks Zach Frazer and Cody Endres on a run that few envisioned them being capable of.

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PHIL STEELE’S PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAMS

Phil Steele Releases All-Big East Teams

Daniels, Lewis lead the way for Big East talent in 2010

By Raphielle Johnson

CLEVELAND, OH – May 19, 2010 – Phil Steele sent his Phil Steele’s 2010 College Football Preview to the press. Enclosed is Phil’s preseason All-Big East Team as well as his All-American Team as it will appear in the Magazine, hitting newsstands June 8th.

Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is the nation’s most informative preseason football magazine and has always provided a preseason All-American team as well as preseason All-Conference teams. For more information or to obtain a copy of each of the All-Conference teams, please visit PhilSteele.com

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING NOTES

The Charleston Post & Courier is always a valuable resource for recruiting notes in the southeast. Phil Kornblut delivers many relevent notes once again in his May 11 Notebook, here are some of the notes that Big East fans will find of interest:

WR Justin Scott (5-11, 205) of Camilla (GA) plans to announce his commitment Saturday at the state track meet. ScottWake Forest and South Carolina in the next two weeks. He has offers from the Gamecocks, Wake Forest, Louisville, Georgia, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Maryland.
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TE Drew Owens (6-5, 230) of Charlotte has decided to open his recruiting back up after narrowing things a little bit. He had South Carolina and North Carolina as his top two, but now he says there are no favorites. He’s doing this because he recently picked up offers from Louisville, Michigan, South Florida and Illinois. He also has offers from South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, East Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Duke. He plans to have a new top five before this season and those will be his official visits.
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LB Marcquis Roberts (6-1, 205) of Powder Springs (GA) is still favoring South Carolina over offers from Wisconsin, Memphis and Louisville. Gamecock recruiter GA Mangus was in recently, along with recruiters from Florida State and Purdue. Mangus is expected back for his spring game Saturday. He doesn’t plan to make a decision until mid-season.
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DB Geraldo Orta (6-0 180) of Valdosta (GA) has landed offers from Clemson and South Carolina. Orta also has an offer from Tennessee and is also getting interest from North Carolina, Illinois, Central Florida, Georgia, Troy and Louisville. Right now he’s favoring Clemson over Auburn, Tennessee and North Carolina. Orta plays cornerback and safety.
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ATH Ronald Baines (6-1 180) of Voorhees (NJ) is still waiting on that first offer and will be attending camps from May through July to be evaluated by the coaches. One of his camp stops will be South Carolina in early June. Schools showing interest include USC, Temple, Penn State, Michigan, South Florida, Connecticut, Tennessee, Rutgers and Kentucky.
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NBE Sports has watched plenty of Penn Wood (PA) High School big man Shawn Oakman on the basketball court, where he is a Division I prospect at 6-foot-8, 240-pounds. However his future might be on the gridiron at the college level as a defensive end as Oakman is Up to Six Division 1-A Offers (PennLive.com) in football.

Oakman has received offers from Connecticut, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pitt, Rice, and South Carolina. Schools like Michigan, Purdue, Rutgers, Virginia and West Virginia have shown interest.
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Bowling Green, Illinois, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, Texas Tech and West Virginia have all offered Desimon Green as Clairton’s Green is Up to 10 Offers (PennLive.com). Green doubles as both a quarterback and a defensive lineman for Clairton which has gone 30-2 the last two seasons. The 6’4, 215-pound senior-to-be had a productive junior season at quarterback, throwing for more than 1,500 yards and running for more than 800 yards, accounting for more than 20 total touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball he has been a dominant pass-rusher, accounting for more than 45 sacks the last two seasons.
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Dallastown’s Ben Kline has received scholarship offers from Boston College, UCONN, Maryland, Michigan, Pitt, Rutgers, Vanderbilt and West Virginia as WR/LB Kline is Up to 8 Offers (PennLive.com).
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BIG EAST FOOTBALL APPROACHING CROSSROADS?

Expansion possibilities threaten league’s viability

By Raphielle Johnson

The company line following the BCS meetings in Phoenix last month was that the Big Ten Conference would wait until December to issue invites to possible expansion targets, staying on course instead of accelerating the process as rumored. That may have been thrown for a loop if the report put out by 810 WHB in Kansas City on Monday has any truth to it. According to the Kansas City-based ESPN affiliate the Big Ten will invite four institutions to join the league: Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Rutgers. Is there truth to the report or is it merely speculation from “sources” that could be wrong? That’s the question and the report was followed by denials from those intimately involved with the process.

All four schools issued denials on Monday and with an issue such as this it’s difficult to find the truth in the midst of so many rumors. But well before this day the Big East had a simple decision to make. Is the league proactive, making a move with the idea of beating the Big Ten to the punch and gaining a little leverage for itself? Or does the Big East go the reactive route, acting only after it knows what the Big Ten’s course of action will be? You can’t blame Big East loyalists who’ve had flashbacks to the ACC’s calling of three schools back in 2003-04 when it comes to the latter course of action.

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UCONN TAKES PAPAJOHN’S.COM BOWL WIN

By Raphielle Johnson

Going into the Papajohns.com Bowl the Connecticut defense was a concern due to their struggles in both tackling and execution. Having failed to hold an FBS opponent to fewer than 21 points since a 12-10 loss to North Carolina, the Huskies ran into the perfect tonic at Legion Field. South Carolina, who had struggled all season on the offensive line, was also dealing with the loss of offensive line coach Eric Wolford (he accepted the Youngstown State head coaching position) and his absence was rather apparent. The Connecticut defense limited the Gamecocks to 205 yards of offense in a 20-7 victory.

“I thought we were ready to play,” said South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier after the game. “I thought we’d practiced pretty well but obviously our offense was very sad and our defense not as good as it’s been most of the time.”

South Carolina, who finished the game with just twelve first downs (3-for-15 on third down), didn’t move the chains for the first time until halfway through the second quarter and managed just 2.9 yards per rush (76 yards). Scott Lutrus led UConn defenders with nine tackles and a sack and as a team the Huskies managed three sacks, eight tackles for loss and interception and a fumble recovery. Offensively the Huskies were led by senior running back Andre Dixon, who rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on thirty-three carries. Dixon, who won the Fred Sington Most Valuable Player award, became the 12th back in UConn history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark.

And with Jordan Todman (9 carries, 36 yards) already passing that mark the Huskies are one of just three teams in college football this season with multiple 1,000-yard rushers (Nevada and Georgia Tech). Zach Frazer wasn’t great in regards to his completion percentage, completing just nine of twenty-one attempts for 107 yards and a touchdown, but he did a good job of avoiding the crucial mistake on a day in which neither offense was poised to explode. And his touchdown pass that kicked off the scoring was arguably the play of the bowl season.

Kashif Moore was able to gain enough separation on the sideline in the first quarter, giving Frazer room to drop the ball in which Moore snagged with one hand. From there it was a race to the end zone, with the 37-yard strike giving UConn early control of the game. And thanks to the defense and South Carolina’s struggles (nine drops) control wasn’t relinquished until the end of the game. David Teggart added a pair of field goals in the first half to send the Huskies into the locker room with a 13-0 lead.

There was no more scoring until early in the fourth quarter when Dixon gamboled into the end zone from ten yards out to give Connecticut a 20-0 lead that for all intents and purposes sealed the game. South Carolina got on the board with 3:24 remaining on a 2-yard touchdown run by Brian Maddox but Alex Molina’s recovery of the onside kick shut the door. From there the Huskies ran out the clock, winning their second consecutive bowl game in as many seasons.

Things that went right:

1. Defense! For a unit that ranked 95th against the pass coming into the game to play as well as they did in all phases was a welcome surprise.

2. Running the football: Connecticut was able to control time of possession (35:28-24:32) and the tempo of the game thanks to a rushing attack that accounted for 146 yards against a stout South Carolina defense.
3. Discipline: The Gamecocks killed themselves with some untimely penalties that kept a UConn drive alive early in the third quarter. Connecticut finished the game without being penalized.

What didn’t go right:

1. Passing game efficiency: It wasn’t a big deal due to South Carolina’s offensive issues but Frazer completed less than half of his passes. They were able to get a few big plays through the air, but there were also a couple of missed opportunities that could have led to even more points.

Unit Grades:

Offense: B (the running game got the job done and to be honest there wasn’t much they had to do besides not turn the ball over)
Defense: A (obviously a shutout would have been even better but this unit executed their assignments and made tackles to eliminate the Gamecocks’ big-play opportunities)
Special Teams: A (this was an area that the Huskies held a clear advantage in going into the game and they made sure not to mess that up)

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