We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

[Knickerbocker91]

Little flare for the dramatic this week from the Huskies, no? Way to keep throwing punches in a back and forth game, it's always tough when the opponent has an answer every time you try to build momentum. And bowl eligibility to boot, can't go wrong with that.

Tough loss for Rutgers, but a close game so it's motivating to get to that upper echelon on Big Ten powers. Funny that in my last season, Rutgers went 11-2 and made a National Championship appearance (both losses were to Ohio State). So hopefully this iteration will have similar success.

[itsbigmike]

Name: Richard Harrison
Age: 30
Specialty: (Offense or Defense): Offense
Skin Color: (Light, Medium, Dark): Light
Body Size: (Small, Medium, Large) :Medium
Head: (Describe facial features you’d like or give me a number): same head as Connor Turley
Apparel:
Hat/Glasses (Optional): hat and glasses
Alma Mater: Western Michigan
Offensive Philosophy/Playbook: (You can describe your style or give a playbook): A nice spread option attack.
Offensive Run/Pass Ratio: (EX: 65-35 in favor of running) 60/40 running/passing
Defensive Philosophy/Playbook: (You can describe your style or give a playbook): Attacking 3-4
Defensive Run/Pass Ratio: (EX: 65-35 in favor of stopping the run) 60/40, pass/run


Any other information for me to consider when selecting your initial job? (Not required; Tell me geographic interest, background, personality, etc.)

[HARLEE23]

I'd settle for OSUs OC! Get a HC job after that.

But this is getting me antsy wanting to create my own dynasty! Wouldn't be able to progress it often but would be nice.

[thesportsguru11]

UConn recruiting check-in

Wow.. I actually remembered recruiting. How about that!? Now that we are officially halfway through the season, we have a few recruits and several other targets to touch upon in what could be UConn's most important recruiting class yet.


Leading off, to date nine recruits have committed to playing for Coach Diaco in East Hartford.

2021 UConn Huskies Commits (through October 12, 2020)
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Korey Davis-Love	G	HS	Sanford, ME	6'3	296
Kyle January	P	HS	Darien, CT	5'11	214
Daulton Hyatt	DE	HS	Cloverleaf, TX	6'7	242
DeAaron Kensing	DE	HS	Rutherford, NJ	6'3	239
Roshawn Rowe	G	HS	San Bernardino, CA	6'1	279
Ethan Buckingham	DT	HS	Summit, NJ	6'0	275
Dallas Freeman	FB	HS	Farmington, NH	5'10	234
Jayson Moss	FB	HS	Maple Shade, NJ	6'1	230
Anthony Ricciardi	K	HS	Farmington, NH	6'1	195

Leading the way is four-star guard Korey Davis-Love from Sanford, Maine. Love is a big body at 6'3, 296 pounds and has refined blocking skills for someone who only turns eighteen in May. More importantly, Davis-Love will likely start immediately. Brantell Webb moved to guard in the spring because of depth issues there, and he graduates after this season. Vince Jones is also a junior now, so Davis-Love's presence will be greatly appreciated for the next three to four years.

While UConn signed a pair of potential impact defensive ends last season in Brennick Samples and Kiel Hughes, that hasn't stopped Diaco from adding more toys. Cloverleaf, Texas' Daulton Hyatt is a guy that Diaco could have a lot of fun with. Hyatt comes in at 6-foot-7, 242 pounds and has run stopping tendencies. Hyatt can run too, making him an agile defensive end.

A guy who could line up across from him is DeAaron Kensing from New Jersey. Kensing is a pass rusher who may need some time to bulk up. Nevertheless, Diaco likes Kensing as well.

Depth in the middle is starting to become a concern as well with each passing year, and Diaco added Ethan Buckingham to the fray last week. Buckingham looks bigger than his listed 6-feet tall, 275 pound frame suggest, but is a body nonetheless, and with a three-star rating and some more bulk Buckingham could develop into a starter.

With both Mike Miller and Tyler McCray graduating, UConn needed to add both a new kicker and punter this offseason. Farmington, New Hampshire's Anthony Ricciardi will be the kicker and in-state product Kyle January will be the punter. Both will fight it out for starting roles immediately.

Other commits include guard Roshawn Rowe, fullback Jayson Moss and Ricciardi's teammate Dallas Freeman, also a fullback.

---------------------------------

With two veterans on a roster of four quarterbacks, UConn is looking to the recruiting trail once again to try and find a full-season QB starter for the first time since the 2017 National Title run.

Jordan Brown is the young man whom Coach Diaco has gone all-in on. The Texas native and honors student is a pure pocket passer, which is a little different than what Diaco has become accustomed to. However, Brown would fit perfectly into the pro-style, run first offense Diaco employs.

Brown has superb arm strength and accuracy that is already better than Tanner Dean-Lowry's according to several scouting reports. Brown could and will compete with TDL and starter Isaac Jackson should he decide to come to East Hartford.

However, UConn is no lock to win this race. Brown is expected to wait until signing day to commit between UConn, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and Stanford.

Other Quarterback Targets:


#76 QB (DT) Kelly Carlson - 3*, 6'5, 231 lbs., Glen Ellyn, IL
TOP 3: UConn, Iowa, Purdue

Despite being deep at tailback, UConn is losing Jeff McNeal this offseason and Luke Williamson is eligible to jump to the NFL at any time with his draft stock rising by the week. Diaco is making a push for Jonathan Shaffer from Louisiana. Shaffer runs a lot like current tailback J.P. Byers, some speed and power but grinds out yards. With some time, Shaffer could be a very good running back.

Other Tailback Targets:


#46 RB Scottie Phillips - 3*, 5'10, 221 lbs., Bethel, CT
TOP 3: UConn, Syracuse, Army West Point

A late add to the recruiting board is four-star wideout Brandon Garner from Georgia. Garner has not been recruited heavily because of an impending assault case in which he is reportedly involved in. Nevertheless, Garner is being recruited by several top schools across the country, including Florida State, Michigan, Oregon and USC. Garner has spectacular hands and the size (6-foot-3, 193 pounds) to be a dangerous weapon for years to come... if he can stay out of trouble.

Other Wideout Targets:


#90 WR Cayleb Joseph (JUCO) - 3*, 6'0, 193 lbs., Bowling Green, KY
TOP 3: Notre Dame, Alabama, Florida

#117 WR Jarvontay Kendall - 3*, 6'4 214 lbs., East Orange, NJ
TOP 3: Penn State, Michigan State, Georgia Tech

#152 WR Hunter Carson - 3*, 6'4 216 lbs., Georgetown, SC
TOP 3: UConn, Mississippi State, Duke



Athlete is a big target area for Coach Diaco, as he has added several problem players who haven't received a lot of attention.

Chamarkelle Byrom has lots of talent but a criminal record, Bryant Landry hasn't really shown interest in most of the big name schools. Tyreese Best has lost momentum on the recruiting trail now that he is recovering from an ACL injury suffered in the first game of his senior year, while Lonte' Speier has been busted for pot dealing multiple times. Easton Pointer could play quarterback, but is strongly considering the MLB draft over college football; he won the Gatorade player of the year as a junior pitching for his high school in Roanoke.

All five could be potential big-time players in East Hartford or anywhere else in college, but all are brand-new adds to the board. We'll check back in later in the year on the progress of those guys.


Athlete Targets:

#13 ATH Chamarkelle Byrom - 5*, 6'5 218 lbs., Fairbault, MN
TOP 3: Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oklahoma

#17 ATH Bryant Landry - 4*, 6'0, 205 lbs., Elba, AL
TOP 3: Florida, USC, Michigan

#21 ATH Tyreese Best - 4*, 6'0 225 lbs., Madisonville, KY
TOP 3: Ohio State, Florida, USC

#35 ATH Lonte' Speier - 4*, 6'0 205 lbs., Manning, SC
TOP 3: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt

#36 ATH Easton Pointer - 4*, 6'3 204 lbs., Roanoke Rapids, NC
TOP 3: Florida, Notre Dame, Penn State

While UConn landed Korey Davis-Love already, Diaco would be thrilled to land one of his top prospects in New Jersey run blocking guard Josh Lawrence. He has size, skill, fits UConn's scheme to a T.. now all he needs to do is pick us over other nearby schools. Here's hoping.






New Jersey's Matt Tellers has the ideal size for a Diaco nose guard -- 6'3, 331 pounds. He's raw, but he's a balanced lineman and Diaco does like him.. and he does need more defensive tackles.

Other Front Seven Targets:


#38 LB Aaron Warren - 3*, 6'3, 231 lbs., Columbia, MO
TOP 3: UConn, Wisconsin, Oregon

UConn has a dearth of young talent in the secondary, but Diaco loves his defensive players. As a result, Diaco has his eyes on Utah's Maleek Cutting. A friend of current UConn wideout Devin Brown, Cutting has gotten good word from Brown and is very interested in playing for the defensive specialist Diaco. Diaco likes his size and scouting says that Cutting could be a good player before long.

Other Corner Targets:


#113 CB Kelvin Cooke - 3*, 6'2, 182 lbs., Hoboken, NJ
TOP 3: UConn, UNLV, Virginia Tech

Quote: Originally Posted by HARLEE23

I'd settle for OSUs OC! Get a HC job after that. But this is getting me antsy wanting to create my own dynasty! Wouldn't be able to progress it often but would be nice.

I don't know how old Urban is, but if we keep this going long enough Ohio State could be an option.

You should! You'd have a strong legion of supporters I feel.

A lot of people run their dynasties at a slower pace.. I just like to move a little quicker and I'm at a point in time right now where I'm able to churn out one to two posts a day.. I'm working weird hours this summer and I wake up early enough to do be able to post before I leave. Won't be like that forever but it's nice in the meantime!

Quote: Originally Posted by itsbigmike

Name: Richard Harrison

Thanks for the submission Mike! Looking forward to putting Coach Harrison into the CAC pool.

Quote: Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91

Little flare for the dramatic this week from the Huskies, no? Way to keep throwing punches in a back and forth game, it's always tough when the opponent has an answer every time you try to build momentum. And bowl eligibility to boot, can't go wrong with that. Tough loss for Rutgers, but a close game so it's motivating to get to that upper echelon on Big Ten powers. Funny that in my last season, Rutgers went 11-2 and made a National Championship appearance (both losses were to Ohio State). So hopefully this iteration will have similar success.

A lot closer than I'd hoped yes. But we played well enough on defense toward the end and a win is a win. A lot of parity around the nation this year too so getting bowl eligible now is big.. leaves us a lot of room to compete for bigger prizes like the conference, a New Year's Bowl Game, the CFP. We shall see.

The game always seems to favor Rutgers.. but it's working out for you! We'll see what happens in the coming weeks and hopefully you can continue to compete with some of the bigger names. It's nice to see someone other than Ohio State and Michigan win every now and then.

[thesportsguru11]

UConn Flashback: Kansas and UConn first met as Big 12 members in 2018. Led by then sophomore Jeff McNeal (wearing #23!) and his touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams, the Huskies trounced Kansas.

But last year? A much different story. UConn walked into Lawrence and played one of their worst games in the Diaco era. Relive those games in the links embedded.

[whughes]

Your front 7 should have a field day with Kansas' offensive line. They're pretty weak up front. I'm predicting a 35-10 win, with a minimum of 4 sacks

Edit: I just read through the previous two games against Kansas. I totally forgot you made Kurt Warner the OC at Oklahoma State! Where is he now?

[RoundingThird]

Kansas has a winning record this late into a season? Well, I guess you could say the same about UConn.

[thesportsguru11]

Home Cooking

UConn gets revenge on Kansas with 58-10 massacre after Carder leaves hurt; Shav Wade tallies another INT as Williamson runs wild in three quarters of work



Luke Williamson strengthened his Heisman candidacy with 177 yards and four touchdowns on the afternoon.

Let’s get one thing straight. Kansas is having a fantastic year in 2020. Let’s not get that wrong. The Jayhawks have already beaten their win total from last year, and are still above .500, second in the Big 12 East.

However, this afternoon the Jayhawks looked nothing like the resurgent team we thought we’d see. The reason why?

It’s the Property. We had a House Party.

Seven more times that song played on Saturday, as sixth-ranked UConn took the contest in East Hartford with ease. The Huskies cruised to a 58-10 victory after the defense knocked third-string/starting QB Josh Carder out of the game in the first quarter. Thrust into action was fourth stringer MyKeese Holley, and the Kansas offense struggled for the remainder of the game. They garnered only 131 total yards of offense, and only 30 yards rushing on 22 carries. More importantly, Kansas did not score one point after Carder’s exit from the game as UConn's defense gained all the momentum and never relinquished it.

Kyler Parks still feels mad about last year. He decks a Kansas lineman after he recovered a fumble.

On the other end, however, UConn had little problems with a poorly rated Kansas front seven. UConn racked up 594 yards, with a stellar 305 on the ground. 177 of those rush yards came from Luke Williamson, and sophomore Carlton Parker sent the home fans into a frenzy with a career high 88 yards and two touchdown scores -- the second of which on a fantastic 38 yard, zigzagging touchdown run.

Isaac Jackson played well once again, completing 16 of 22 for 72% and 265 yards to go with a touchdown and INT, once again displaying his capabilities as the leader for the UConn offense. His only mistake came on an inaccurate throw early in the first quarter that was intercepted by Aaron Thomas (who had 10 tackles on the afternoon).

Despite all the good, though, it was actually Kansas who raced out to a 10-7 lead after the first quarter of play. Carder did a stellar job moving the Jayhawks down the field and had the lead after a long Sam Shelten field goal and a seven yard screen play that went for a touchdown on the legs of Michael McGill. However, Carder was hit hard on that play by John Cox and Sam Rourke and was diagnosed with a concussion -- out for the game.

UConn won the game on this play. Though Kansas scored, Carder left concussed and didn't return. Kansas didn't score again.

With their leader down, UConn pounced on the suddenly deflated Jayhawks. The Huskies scored 31 points in the second quarter alone on the strength of three of Williamson’s touchdown runs, and UConn never looked back.

With UConn up 38-10 at the half, the second string played for the majority of the second half, and several reserves shined. We already touched upon Carlton Parker, who is making the most of his carries while J.P. Byers remains on the shelf with his pectoral injury.

However, the biggest star of the day may have been sophomore D-End James Mandrell.

The loser in the starting left end battle this offseason with Altarri Gardner, Mandrell racked up four sacks of Holley in the fourth quarter alone, a defensive performance unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He also played well in UConn’s win over Michigan earlier in the year, so it remains to be seen whether or not Mandrell will see an increase in snaps after today’s game.

James Mandrell had a phenomenal gam-- I mean fourth quarter.

Other than that, linebacker Scott Coffman tallied a sack and a pair of TFL’s, and young QB Alex Paige completed his first career pass. New kicker Tyler McCray converted three of his four field goals and all seven extra points.

UConn moves to 7-1, 3-1 in Big 12 play with the win. The Huskies also create some extra separation in the Big 12 East race as the second place Jayhawks fall to 4-3 and 2-2 in-conference. Coach Diaco had a good day, all in all, and seemed pleased in the post-game presser as he wished Kansas luck in the rest of the year.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bob Diaco

There was a lot that I liked today and some things I’ll have to evaluate as we get into next week. Best of luck to Kansas and I hope they keep up their great year so far.. I love having extra competition in our conference. We’re on to K-State.

Well… you heard the man. We’re on to Kansas State. Road trip! We’ll see you next week.

Kansas Jayhawks at Connecticut Huskies
Oct 17, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Kansas Jayhawks (4-3, 2-2)	10	0	0	0	10
#6 Connecticut Huskies (7-1, 3-1)	7	31	7	13	58

Team Stats Comparison
	KU	CONN
Total Offense	131	594
Rushing Yards	30	305
Passing Yards	101	289
First Downs	7	24
Punt Return Yards	0	38
Kick Return Yards	46	18
Total Yards	177	650
Turnovers	3	1
3rd Down Conversion	3-13	8-15
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1-1-0	6-4-2
Penalties	3-27	4-44
Possession Time	12:54	23:06

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		KU	CONN
6:38	(KU) Shelten 47 FG	3	0
3:50	(CONN) Williamson 25 run (McCray kick)	3	7
2:14	(KU) Carder 7 pass McGill (Shelten kick)	10	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		KU	CONN
7:48	(CONN) McCray 36 FG	10	10
5:48	(CONN) Williamson 1 run (McCray kick)	10	17
2:37	(CONN) Williamson 1 run (McCray kick)	10	24
:45	(CONN) Jackson 24 pass Ferwerda (McCray kick)	10	31
:07	(CONN) Williamson 2 run (McCray kick)	10	38
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		KU	CONN
7:17	(CONN) Parker 5 run (McCray kick)	10	45
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		KU	CONN
5:10	(CONN) McCray 23 FG	10	48
3:11	(CONN) McCray 42 FG	10	55
:15	(CONN) Parker 38 run (McCray kick)	10	58

Kansas Jayhawks PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Mykeese Holley 8-17 47 0 2 Josh Carder 6-10 54 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Michael McGill 7 45 6.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Michael McGill 5 11 2.2 1 Jared Peters 3 25 8.3 0 Kay'Sena Holt 3 25 8.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Adam Jackson 15 (1) 0 0 0 Aaron Thomas 10 (1) 0 1 0 Dan Trese-Moore 5 (1) 1 0 0

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Isaac Jackson 16-22 265 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Luke Williamson 32 177 5.5 4 Carlton Parker 12 88 7.3 2 Jeff McNeal 5 34 6.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Derrick Ferwerda 4 66 16.5 1 Kevin Lacey 3 72 24.0 0 Rashad Harris 3 61 20.3 0 Jeff McNeal 3 42 14.0 0 Royce Archie 2 24 12.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Tim Duchane 5 (2) 0 0 0 Marcus Bradford 4 (1) 0 0 0 James Mandrell 4 (4) 4 0 0

Shavlion Wade. You know what happens next.


Carlton Parker had a great day with the second stringers.

Quote: Originally Posted by RoundingThird

Kansas has a winning record this late into a season? Well, I guess you could say the same about UConn.

Heh.. very true!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by whughes

Your front 7 should have a field day with Kansas' offensive line. They're pretty weak up front. I'm predicting a 35-10 win, with a minimum of 4 sacks by one player Edit: I just read through the previous two games against Kansas. I totally forgot you made Kurt Warner the OC at Oklahoma State! Where is he now?

Fixed that for ya

That was scary accurate on a few different levels.. but yeah we had a pretty good game on D.. Cox and Wade both picked off Holley, Mandrell had the quarter of his life. I'm disappointed Sam Rourke didn't absolutely abuse that left tackle.. he needed a matchup like that to kickstart his senior year and didn't take advantage.

Warner is still at Okie State.. this is his fourth year. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten a head coaching job, honestly, considering that Okie State played in the New Year's Six last year. Maybe he wants to stay for a while longer.