Late update

Sorry I have been late, I am preoccupied and had other things to do (you wait six months for free time, and now I am still running around).

It was a pretty informative session up in Storrs. Of course Donald Brown was the big news of the day. I am not so sure it was smart of him to just say he is coming back, but it looks like this is where his heart is. I would imagine he will take an honest look at the situation.

That will make UConn a major player in the Big East in 2009. If you can start with a big-time NFL tailback, you can do a lot. That should make everything easier.

Let's get to the other stuff.

Randy Edsall defended Tyler Lorenzen on Monday.

"The kid is a winner, he made this program better, and in heart and my mind he will play well on Jan. 3,” Edsall said.

I am not going to lie, the lack of a passing game is a pet issue of mine and I think the play was non-competitive against Pittsburgh. I just am not sure how much is the quarterbacks fault, though it does rest a lot with it. Lorenzen hasn't had as good a season as last year, he is the first to admit it, but I saw enough last year to know that he can at least play the position competently. Something else is going on this year, and my money is on the wide receivers and then his foot injury.

I felt this way about 2/3 through the season. If Lorenzen never got hurt I think they would have beaten Rutgers in New Jersey and probably have been able to knock off West Virginia. They were up 10-0 on the Cardinals when he got hurt.

So what happened? Why did the bottom come out? No explanation. UConn wasn't as lucky as a year ago. Maybe that's it.

"I think last year a lot of things did go our way. This year is not what I had in mind. It started off the way I thought it would, but it didn’t end up working like it. We fizzled out at the end of the season and we need to figure out a way to move past that.”

The Huskies are disappointed in themselves for the season. At 5-0, and even 7-3, they expected something better.

Donald Brown blamed the offense, which was a moment of truth, though kind of silly to include himself in the discussion. Brown tried to take some of the blame however. Perhaps he should have gained a billion yards.

"The defense did a nice job keeping us in a lot of games,” Brown said. “We didn’t put the defense in the best of situations sometimes. The offense didn’t put points on the board. We allowed turnovers and didn’t make big plays. As a part of the offense, I felt we let our team down.”

Lorenzen thought Brown's season is tremendous and did a little ex post facto campaigning.

"It’s a shame he wasn’t up for Doak Walker Award, he should have been there. I can’t believe he was left off. He is the best running back on the nation. He proved all season long he is the best running back in the nation. He carried our offense. And I don’t know about the other guys, but the load of the offense was on Donnie Brown’s shoulders.”

UConn needs a better passing game. But, it just isn't a matter of another QB coming in. It's going to take a bigger overhaul.

Husky notes

* Darius Butler is slated to return, but we won't know for another week or so if he can play. He needs to get back into condition and it's doubtful he plays two ways, and we have seen the last of him returning kicks for UConn.

* CJ Marck and Greg Lloyd are back with the team after taking care of "personal issues." As far as Andre Dixon, he is going to return to the team. Dixon was suspended after a DUI arrest the final week of the season. He is going to be with the team. Edsall could have jettisoned Dixon, perhaps he is down to his final chance.

*Talked a bit with Mo Petrus about Canada. It's funny how things work. Since he is Canadian he gets interviewed about the International Bowl. He said he went to Toronto once. That is like interviewing me about the Poinsetta Bowl because I happened to be an American.

Petrus played along. But, I think I know where the stupid American tag comes from. He said 30 or so family and friends will come down. Big time year for Petrus. I thought he played great.

Side notes:

*Why was a Papajohns.com Bowl commercial on during the UConn-Stony Brook men's game? That is just an affront to UConn in almost every way.


* Also, the college hoops season is too long. I can't take anymore of Delaware State, Stony Brook or Western Carolina. I understand that these games have to be played and UConn has a brutal Big East schedule and also is playing Gonzaga. So no, they don't have a weak schedule. But, I just can't take anymore 30 point blowouts at the XL Center. I will watch the Zags game and call me in January.