Thinking of Spring

Greetings. I hope everyone has stayed dry.

It seems just like yesterday I watched Michael Smith at the Papjohns.com Bowl in Birmingham house a slice on the field in celebration. He was more brave than me. The experience was terrific, but let's be honest, when you are from Connecticut, Papjohns pizza goes under the category of "sustainable food that I will eat during a nuclear holocaust." Great game though and first rate, I'll give them that. Perhaps the Frank Pepe's New Haven Bowl would better satisfy our palates.

Anyhow, spring practice opens tomorrow and considering the state of basketball on the men's side here that will be a welcome distraction to the faithful. For UConn's sake, just win that opening game in the NIT (more later). I don't think I am the only one dying for the season opener at Michigan. Fans should be excited, and perhaps for the first time on the beat in four years I find this team compelling for pure football reasons.

I will tell you what I won't write this spring and next year and never again - The "Look how far Connecticut has come in football!" and the "Can you believe UConn plays football?" stories. It became a cliche. No more. Those went to their eternal rest on a certain fourth Saturday in November in South Bend.  

So what are we going to look forward to? Here are a couple of things I will be looking for and watching closely.

Wide receiver

Incumbents: Kashif Moore, Isiah Moore, Michael Smith

The battle: A little different than last year when I wondered if anyone on the team can play. Some walk-on named Marcus Easley had a pretty good year if I remember. Easley's emergence was about as lucky as my hitting oil while drilling in the backyard. Talk about out of nowhere.  He needs to be replaced, and it's a big hole.

Kashif Moore was terrific at the end of the year (you tube Moore and Papajohns.com Bowl. Isiah Moore was steady. Will say I think Mike Smith was a disappointment. He was hampered by injuries and never really got into a rhythm. Those 3 are solid, but it's what's coming up that has me intrigued. Dwayne Difton was lost as a true frosh. It goes to show you how difficult the position is at the college level. We hope to see his precise route running and game breaking ability. Mike Lang showed flashes of speed as a true frosh. He's raw, but he can extend the field and will probably be in the mix at kick returner. The other? Nick Williams will be useful in certain packages and I suspect they will use him like they used Larry Taylor. The two big question marks are the tall receivers. Can Malik Generett and/or Gerrard Shepperd break into the lineup? This will be interesting for me because the Huskies receivers are on the smallish side. Generett was routinely a scout teams standout. Sheppard is raw and athletic. He is going to take time, but why not?


Running back

Incumbent: Jordan Todman
The battle: Todman isn't going anywhere as a returning 1,000 yard rusher but Andre Dixon needs to be replaced. There are ample carries at backup running back. Remove Robbie Frey from the mix because he is going to sit out the spring. I think Frey profiles more like a special teams standout than a backup running back, but he will get a chance in the fall. This is prime opportunity for Meme Wylie and redshirt Martin Hypolite as well as converted safety Jon Jean Louis.  Both of the backs are big bruising inside running types that are suited to replace Dixon. Wylie had a great spring last year, kind of tailed off in the fall and we never heard from him. Now is his chance. I want to see Hypolite and Jean Louis run.


Defensive end

Incumbents: None
The battle: Just looking for depth. Jesse Joseph is entrenched on won side but is out with an injury. What is interesting is Marcus Campbell's return. Campbell was deemed explosive enough to get time as a situational pass rusher as a true freshman. Him and Trevardo Williams have scary speed as pass rushers. The big thing here is strength. We'll see how they hold up and the Huskies are looking for 4 guys to have in rotation. the Huskies will rush the passer. Can they play 1st and 2nd down though?


Husky backer

Incumbents: Kijuan Dabney, Jory Johnson

The battle: Scott Lutrus is a MIKE backer full-time, and that leaves plenty of playmaking opportunities out there. Johnson had his moments filling in as a starter at the husky. Dabney is a player UConn has been trying to find ways to get on the field since he came here. He is coming off injuries.


Secondary

Incumbents: Jerome Junior SS
the battle: Blidi Wreh Wilson is out for the spring, but he looks like a sure bet at one corner. Jerome Junior seems to be the choice at strong safety, though he is going to still have to prove it. That leaves a whole lot to fix in the secondary that is perhaps the one big question mark on the team. Dwayne Gratz and Tevrin Brandon are corner candidates as is Gilbert Stlouis, a spring addition as a freshman. Safety has plenty of candidates with the likes of Matt Edwards, David Kenney, Marcus Aiken as well as spring enrollee Emmanuel Opraku. They all are going to get a shot at safety. The only sure thing here is Blid Wreh Wilson, and a slight edge to Jerome Junior for experiences sake. There is a lot of athleticism and size at secondary, which should bode well. 

This is the most important position on the field for the Huskies this spring. The secondary was shredded at the end of last year and gave up way to many big plays. Perhaps experience will count for something.

What didn't I touch on? The quarterbacks. It's Zach Frazer's job to lose, and that is as strong endorsement as you can get from the head coach. Cody Endres may not not it, but he is going to have to stay ready and if something happens as it did last year go in and perform as he did. His most important thing is to stay ready.  I want to see Mike Box at QB, though we should put an end to the fantasy that some have that he is going to jump over Frazer and Endres this spring or fall. If that happens, there will be a long year. Lastly, there is
Leon Kinnard -- I want to see what they heck they are going to do with him. How many QBs, true QBs, are in the mix as a kick returner. I have to see this kid play a little bit.

It should be a good spring. Plenty of players coming back and there is already talk of Michigan. Is it really six months away?

Random thoughts

If you haven't figured it out, the Big East looks like it is going to disintegrate. I know we don't want to talk about it, but let's consider the Big 10 raid. If the Big East is lucky, it will only be Rutgers. If UConn is lucky maybe they can sneak into the ACC or Big 10. I am not confident the conference is going to be around as a FB conference in 4 years.

The Notre Dame AD has said this is the most volatile he has ever see conference alignments. ND might be forced to move into a conference. Then Bill Stewart, West Virginia coach, openly pines for the SEC. Rutgers is about as subtle as Tiger Woods and his mistresses about a Big 10 invite.  

Here is a major issue I see with the Big East existence. If the PAC 10 goes to 12, the Big 10 to 12 all of those leagues will have championship games. There is no way the BCS bid will continue for the Big East with no championship game.

Now, there are no teams that I see can come into the Big East to support a title game. UCF, East Carolina and Memphis just don't add enough revenue-wise. I doubt the league expands to get to a championship game format. There isn't enough value out there.

I can't see the BCS giving the Big East champ a free pass while other leagues play title games. Here's a thought: The Big East and Mountain West Conference champions play each other on conference championship Saturday for one single BCS bid (that will also keep Congress off their backs). 

It's either that, or good bye to the Big East as a major football entity. This is going to be the most tumultuous period in college athletics history in the next couple of years. Don't think for a minute that it's just hysteria. The worry is very real. UConn being left out of a major BCS conference would be devastating to the program. It affects basketball too.

Not Invited Tournament

If ya'll don't know, my roots as a writer is in college hoops, and it's something I lived and breathed since some team in Storrs won the NIT in 1988. heck, I started covering colleges on the terrific CCSU teams from the early 2000s. 22 years later I can't say that I am fired up the NIT, but consider this to all the UConn die-hards. How about a Final Four of Memphis, North Carolina, UConn and Illinois?

Now, if I told you that would be a Final Four at the beginning of the year we all would have jumped at it. All four of those teams have played on championship Monday this decade with UConn and Carolina winning three titles. You know who is at home with nowhere to go? UCLA, Arizona and Indiana.

So, UNC, UCLA, Indiana and Arizona are sitting out the NCAA tournament. If those teams can miss an NCAA tourney than UConn can. Hell, the demise of a program can't happen in one year. They made the Final Four last year. The hemming and hawing of the last week about the future of the program has generated hysteria. All the Huskies are is one recruit away from being contenders again. ONE PLAYER.

If I can hit the blog after practice I will. I am heading off to Windsor-Hillhouse boys in 20 minutes and I will be at the Windsor Locks-Prince Tech semifinals Tuesday. If I can hit the blog in between writing my story and the game I will.

Later,