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

[nofx94]

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

Looking forward to the future of this dynasty!

[GoldenJet]

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

It took me approximately a week to get through this, but here I am - 216 pages later. I'm a huge fan of your work sir, glad to get here in time for the new season.

[young22]

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

Gonna catch up on this, dope to see you still going strong

Sent from my SM-A520W using Operation Sports mobile app

[RoundingThird]

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

Checking in bud! Love that this is still going. Had a great first season working with the Huskies!

[Bigsheen]

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

Guru, sometimes a break is all you need before coming back to make the best possible product. I’m in a similar situation myself and anxiously await when I’m ready to get back into reporting.

It’s pretty incredible what you’ve been able to accomplish here at UConn and will be interested to see your plans (if any) after this year.

Hope your finals went well...I’d do anything to go back to school, but just wouldn’t take my finals lol oh how I DON’T miss this time of year. I’m excited to see this season get started!

[thesportsguru11]

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

Looking forward to the future of this dynasty!

As am I!

It took me approximately a week to get through this, but here I am - 216 pages later. I'm a huge fan of your work sir, glad to get here in time for the new season.

That’s some serious dedication, thanks so much GoldenJet! It’s been a really fun ride so far, I can’t believe we’re at 216 pages in this thread now…. Honored to have you on board and that my little break allowed you to get caught up in a timely manner. Hope you’ll stick around moving forward!

Gonna catch up on this, dope to see you still going strong

Glad to have you back as always young, season 10 starts real soon so I hope you’re ready!

Checking in bud! Love that this is still going. Had a great first season working with the Huskies!

My man! I’m glad you had fun being at the stadium, because I’m sure you would not have had fun watching them on TV. I was only able to watch the Temple and UCF games this year… but ouch. Doesn’t really matter anyway, though. I can’t watch UConn in the same light anymore knowing that all of my original virtual team members are now graduated in real life! I guess that makes me officially old.

Guru, sometimes a break is all you need before coming back to make the best possible product. I’m in a similar situation myself and anxiously await when I’m ready to get back into reporting.

It’s pretty incredible what you’ve been able to accomplish here at UConn and will be interested to see your plans (if any) after this year.

Hope your finals went well...I’d do anything to go back to school, but just wouldn’t take my finals lol oh how I DON’T miss this time of year. I’m excited to see this season get started!

Thanks so much Bigsheen! Honestly, I think finals went well, but I don’t have grades yet. For all we know I got four F’s *shrug* (but probably not). I love learning stuff (HUGE game show fan for much of my life), but sometimes it feels as if school hinders my ability to do so. If nothing else, I’m happy to get some time off to relax on that front.

Last week we passed the four-year anniversary of this thread. It is indeed really incredible to see how far we have come, in terms of the on-field product and the graphics/presentation in the thread. UConn had some pieces to work with when I started, but we were only average early on. While we were pretty good in “Part I” of the thread, we have really turned the corner since this project’s revival last year, rattling off four straight ten-win seasons, with a national title and another title game appearance in that span. Truly incredible, and the only direction to go is up!

This break has been really good to recharge the batteries, as you mentioned, and I’m very excited to hit the field again after a four or five month break now. Especially so as this year’s iteration of UConn should be a lot of fun to play with! For me at least, knowing that the window of time to start playing again is coming soon but not yet makes me a little antsy/excited, and finally we’re here!

There isn’t much more to do in terms of prep, editing and preseason data gathering, so hopefully Game 1 will get fired up later today (vs. UNLV! RoundingThird!) and posted maybe sometime next week. Playing as much as possible in the next three weeks is the goal so I can have a backlog ready to go when January rolls around. I want to keep going here as long as I’m able, but by the time season ten winds down, another break may be necessary to once again re-evaluate priorities and make sure I have the time to keep at it. If a third national title comes to Storrs/Hartford this year, it could well be a perfect ending and a perfect chance to hang up the controller (again, for good). We’ve all helped build an incredible story here and I’d hate to simply abandon it (again), but we’ll see what the future holds!

Thanks so much to each and every one of you as always for your support! Look out for CAC Previews later today and the start of season ten very soon!

[thesportsguru11]

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

CAC Preview, 2023

Headlines

New Head Coaches Four CAC alums have new head coaching jobs, including two first time headmen: Youngsters Foxke Brihay (nofx94) at Arizona State and Caleb Henderson (NewscasterNews4), who got promoted at Eastern Michigan. How the two 20-somethings will handle their new responsibilities remain to be seen, but both figure to be young, innovative and decent recruiters. While it would be foolish to expect a conference title immediately, both could have an outside shot at a bowl game in year one.

Promotions in the SEC Two of the top mid-major offensive coordinators in recent years have moved on. Jerome Baumann (RaiderAid89) helped lead a high-powered offense for four years at Ball State, and was hired by Mississippi State this offseason. Meanwhile, Spanky Westside (Trevor3_2009) helped pull UAB out of the abyss and will move on to Texas A&M in 2023. While both worked with limited resources at their previous schools, now both have lots of talent at their disposal. Westside in particular hauled in a stellar recruiting class, headlined by five-star wideout Ahmad Coleman and four-star running back Sha'quan Dillard. I'll be looking out to see how both of these talented coaches can work with talented players.

Who's Got Next? Who will be the next new CAC head coach? I've got my eyes all over Tyrell Coley (Knickerbocker91) at Rutgers. The Knights have been good for years and Coley once again has a plethora of offensive talent, especially in terms of pass catchers. Woodrow Shuman emerged out of nowhere to have a 1,000 yard, All-Big Ten season in 2022, while true freshman Brendan Tangier won the Mackey Award last year and was an All-American. Coley and head man Steve Spurrier Jr. need to break in a new quarterback and running back, but there's talent at those spots too. Look out for true freshman slinger Avante Odom, a Coley recruit and five-star athlete, to be playing real soon. A top 25 season for Rutgers could mean head coaching opportunities for Coley.

I'd also keep my eyes on Trent Davis (Southern Miss OC, UKWildcat999) and Ryan Sorbera (Temple OC, YaBoySorbs). Davis has been in Hattiesburg going on six years now and led his offenses to bowl games more often than not. Southern Miss got as high as eighth in national polls last year before a late season slide, but they have been recruiting well and have some veteran presences at the skill positions that should allow for another good season.

Temple enjoyed another strong season last year under veteran head coach Matt Rhule and the first year coordinator Sorbera, capped with a Liberty Bowl victory. Another young guy, Sorbera draws the most intrigue with his recruiting. His biggest coup this offseason was luring away four-star guard Naquan Foster from several east coast power schools (including UConn); Foster figures to be the centerpiece of their O-Line for years to come. While Sorbera may not be ready for a head coach job just yet, there is no reason to believe other opportunities won't come around if he keeps up the good work.

[jpfine]

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

Oh my gosh, that's so many people! How do you keep track of them all!? lol

[thesportsguru11]

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

Not much changes at the top two under center. We’re planning on having Jordan for one more year before he likely turns pro this spring. Alex Ferguson will start the year on the active roster, but could draw a redshirt if he is not needed late in the year. Ideal scenario is that Jordan can cut down his interceptions and Kelly Carlson can get in a few games to groom him for the starting job in 2024. Option quarterback Linzell Tyson’s future under center remains unknown, but the offense will likely scrap the option wrinkle with Tyson playing at cornerback full time this fall.

Ashanti Swift starred late in the season after J.P. Byers went down hurt and owns the job this year. Mike Molden will continue to serve as our designated goalline back and receiver out of the backfield. Jon Shaffer and local product Scottie Phillips return to help provide depth, and will challenge for second team snaps next year when Molden graduates.

Freeman and Moss return and will split snaps in fullback packages.

Wide receiver returns intact with each of the top four (Speier, Byrom, Brown, Rodgers) returning. With a year to gel with Jordan, we should see some offensive fireworks this fall. The top four could each easily be 1,000 yard receivers. We’ll need a contingency plan real soon in the likely event that all four depart after this season. We’ll keep tabs on freshman John Pratt in practice - he may be a starter next year after a redshirt.

Alex Paige returns at tight end after a solid debut season. Look out for freshman Evan Jeppesen to help out in blocking packages.

Bit of a new look offensive line after a few graduations. True freshman Cole Monroe will be counted on to protect Jordan’s blind side, while Travonte Glascock (center) and Roshawn Rowe (right guard) are virtual unknowns looking to acquit themselves well. Korey Davis-Love, the longest tenured starter, will shift over to right tackle, a weak spot in recent seasons. We have lots of depth at all five spots, but either not a lot of experience or flat out ability.

Hughes, Broadricke and Madison return inside. True freshman Demetris Sands will fill the vacated spot of James Mandrell, headlining a quintet of young linemen looking to provide depth as key backups. Samples and Kensing are adequate and veteran second stringers.

New-look linebacker group for UConn this season, but there’s reason to be optimistic here. Payton Ash became one of UConn’s top ever recruits when he signed in February. He’ll get a chance to prove his worth immediately as a starter, replacing early NFL entree Jevon Sapp in the starting lineup. Kion East has been with the program for a long time and will finally get a chance. Marlon Bush was a Pellum recruit at Colorado and has a good handle on the defense. Marshawn Dortch and Avan Goulding should see increased usage as sophomores.

Greening and Brook become the leaders of the secondary, and will have to help break in defensive newcomer Collin Miranda and a second new cornerback starter, Linzell Tyson for week 1 at least. D’Vaughn Bates will redshirt, but the staff is not shy about burning that redshirt should the situation arise. Safety remains a very thin spot; look for a lot of recruiting here this fall. Ricciardi and January return for the third straight season as UConn’s specialists.

A few rivals litter our out of conference schedule; we start the year with a visit from CAC & UConn alum, as well as frequent CAC challenger, Sam Freday and his UNLV Rebels in Week 2. We travel to UCF for the Civil ConFLiCT game in Week 3, a rematch of a game that UCF won last season. Houston will come to the Property once again in Week 4 as we try to save our perfect record against the Cougs since the start of the dynasty (offhand, I believe we’re at 7-0).

After a bye, a trip to Clemson starts our ACC slate, a team we did not play last year. UConn will then look to avenge a loss to Boston College in what has become our annual “Battle For New England” rivalry. UConn will play North Carolina and Duke (along with new CAC DC Brennan Smith) for the first time as ACC members, and will travel to Notre Dame in what should be another high profile matchup after last year’s snow bowl and the 2021 beatdown the Huskies delivered.

Senior day will take place Thanksgiving weekend on November 25th against Louisville (along with CAC OC Brian Woodard).

SCHEDULE STRENGTH: A-

In total, UConn will be slated to face five preseason Top 25 teams. For the second year in a row, Notre Dame remains a legitimate playoff contender and will likely be UConn’s toughest test again. We have to face them along with Syracuse on the road in consecutive weeks. The Orange are steadily on the rise in the national picture and enter the year ranked #15 after a strong 2022. UConn’s out of conference schedule is not as tough as last year’s, but a trip to #22 UCF early in the year should be a good test. UConn will also have to contend with a likely top 15 team in Pitt at home midseason.

Oh my gosh, that's so many people! How do you keep track of them all!? lol

Hard liquor. J/K, actually it's pretty easy - I keep everything in a google doc and just edit each person's section each week. As long as I have everyone set up in Week 1, I can just copy and paste the template or revise as needed as the season progresses.

[thesportsguru11]

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

Week 1 Schedule

UConn: BYE

Bowling Green vs. South Alabama CAC SHOWDOWN!
Vanderbilt vs. Texas Tech CAC SHOWDOWN!
Colorado State vs. Colorado
Auburn vs. LSU
Boston College vs. South Carolina
#5 Oklahoma vs. #10 Wisconsin
Utah vs. Utah State

[RoundingThird]

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

Damn, who do I root for week 1?

[thesportsguru11]

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

Week 1 Bye Report: Shav’s brother Syvelle Wade among UConn’s top recruiting targets

Syvelle Wade (left, #3), ready to make an interception.

Another young defensive back wearing #3 in Union, New Jersey is making waves with his exploits on the football field. Five years after his brother, UConn’s career interception leader Shavlion Wade, helped the Union High Farmers to a state championship, Syvelle Wade is leading Union High on the path to another. Syvelle took over his brother’s #3 when he got to Union High in 2020 and has also begun wearing his brother’s trademark arm bands.

The younger Wade began to catch the attention of scouts in his sophomore year. Syvelle recorded six interceptions in fourteen games as a junior last fall in addition to notching forty-five tackles. Despite the success, SPARQ labels him as just a three-star recruit in the Class of 2024. Syvelle has been graded a little higher than Shav as an overall prospect with good top-end speed and solid coverage attributes, but also finds himself flying significantly under the national radar as a recruit. Most services view Wade as having reached his athletic peak and needing a little more time to develop his coverage abilities.

Syvelle has, predictably, placed UConn at the top of his recruiting board and Coach Belichick is expected to go all-in to secure a commitment. It is expected, when and if Syvelle chooses UConn, he will wear Shav’s #3 as well. Syvelle is also being pursued by Indiana, Texas A&M, UCLA and Michigan, whose new coach Bob Diaco recruited Shav at UConn in 2018. Syvelle hopes to pick a school by the December early signing deadline.

Others to Watch For

While the younger Wade may be the most notable prospect on the board, UConn has an abundance of talent interested and on their recruiting board this fall. Among the top prospects is second ranked cornerback Khalil May from New York. Given an 81 overall ranking from SPARQ, May and Wade could be a tremendous cornerback duo in two or three years.

UConn also plans to load up on wide receiver prospects as several new faces will be needed next year. Florida native Shomar Webster leads the trio of blue chip targets as he ranks high on most national ranking lists, but UConn will also equally pursue Vonquez Tabor and New Jersey native Henry Hodge IV. UConn will also make a play for four-star recruits Rymone Jones Jr. and athlete (likely wideout) Tremayne Woodard.

Other noteworthy recruits include Rhode Island native Marco Ciacci, who could fill an important need position at right tackle. Tight end E.J. Skalnick ranks as the top prep tight end in the country and would likely be a successor to Alex Paige. Local linebackers Chad Black (Maine), Cole Kitteredge (New Jersey) and R.J. Gunn (New York) will be heavy targets of UConn’s as well. Gunn in particular has intriguing size at six-foot-six.

UConn will also need to start searching for contingency plans at quarterback and running back. Look out for pushes toward landing Washington D.C. native Cooper Steutel as a development quarterback, and Brockton, MA native Trey Kelley at running back. Kelley projects as a poor man’s Ashanti Swift, a good overall runner, a bit of a thumper with adequate speed.

We'll check in on the recruiting board as the year goes on - as we know well, a lot can change throughout the season. Here's the full, Week 1 board below!

Damn, who do I root for week 1?

Root for UNLV - your CAC teams have played UConn a few times now over the years and it has never ended well (0-2 against us when you were at BG, I believe?). Not saying anything will change this time as you are playing the #10 team in the land, but you just never know.

[thesportsguru11]

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

Week 2 Slate

Southern Miss @ #14 Pitt
#8 Notre Dame @ Florida State
Youngstown State @ Michigan - Bob Diaco's debut!
#20 Ohio State @ #6 Texas
#4 Michigan State @ Bowling Green
USC @ #13 Tennessee
Oregon State @ #1 Ole Miss
#3 UCLA @ #5 Washington - College Gameday!
Northwestern @ #25 Stanford
#2 Florida @ Auburn

ACC Standings and more in-depth Around the NCAA stuff comes next week when more games are played.

[thesportsguru11]

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

Week 1 Headlines

Brooks records first win at Texas Tech in thriller against Miller, Vanderbilt; Favre protege Moran shines as South Alabama tops Bowling Green; trio of CAC games highlight Week 2 Slate


HC Quinn Shea (thesportsguru11): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ #13 Tennessee (0-0)

HC Kaelyn Willingham (kswgrad2012): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ UTSA (0-0)

HC Foxke Brihay (nofx94): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Arkansas (0-0)

HC Dale Miller (glunsford): L (0-1), 21-23 vs. Texas Tech (1-0) CAC LOSS!

M. Carter: 19-47, 332 yds, 2 TD, 4 INT, 15 rush, 56 yds, TD
M. Johnson: 8 rec, 151 yds, TD
A. McQueen: 7 rec, 162 yds, TD
C. Palmer: 10 tckl (4 TFL), 2 sacks
B. Randolph: 8 tckl (TFL), INT, FF

Next Week: vs. Rice (0-0)

HC Bob Trebell (DrGravyBoat): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. UC-Davis

HC Sam Freday (RoundingThird): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ #10 UConn (0-0)

HC Connor Turley (convict38): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: BYE

HC William Brooks (TheOtherPotterGuy): W (1-0), 23-21 vs. Vanderbilt (0-1) CAC WIN!

L. Drybeck: 14-28, 186 yds, TD, 2 INT, rush TD
D. Buvaleeda: 19-34, 172 yds
T. Schmidt: 8 rec, 55 yds, TD
N. Manley: 7 rec, 130 yds
I. Day: 9 tckl, sack, INT, FF

Next Week: @ Missouri (0-0)

HC Caleb Henderson (NewscasterNews4): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Middle Tennessee State (0-0) CAC GAME!

OC Brian Woodard (mattynokes): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ #17 BYU (0-0)

OC Jordan James (HARLEE23): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. San Jose State (0-0)

DC Brennan Smith (bryan3169) BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. James Madison (0-0)

OC Tyrell Coley (Knickerbocker91): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ West Virginia (0-0)

DC Xavier Stephenson (young22): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Temple (0-0) CAC GAME!

OC Ricky Jacobsen (slicknick3822): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Miami-OH (0-0)

OC Emmett Nama (BookWork123): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Buffalo (0-0) CAC GAME!

DC Bud Kilmer Jr. (xboxxerx): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. SE Missouri State

OC Matthew King (ThaBoss18): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Tennessee Tech

OC Ryan Sorbera (YaBoySorbs): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Illinois (0-0) CAC GAME!

OC Equanimeous St. Brown Sr. (TheRosterMaster): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Eastern Michigan (0-0) CAC GAME!

OC J.J. Mac (RedRaider10): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Sam Houston State

OC Trent Davis (UKWildcat999) BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ #14 Pitt (0-0)

OC Frankie Francisco (BigPlayJ1220): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Purdue (0-0)

OC Brian Grant (LadiesAndEdelman): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: BYE

OC Richard Harrison (itsbigmike): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Air Force (0-0)

OC Max Crenshaw (whughes): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Georgia (0-0)

OC Ryan Malloy (FootballFanatik): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Oklahoma State (0-0) CAC GAME!

OC Theron Sorensen (ronnysauce): L (0-1), 22-34 vs. South Alabama (1-0) CAC LOSS!

A. Jafar: 13-19, 242 yds, TD
S. Bolen: 20 rush, 104 yds, TD
J. Thomas: 11 rec, 204 yds, TD

Next Week: vs. #4 Michigan State (0-0)

OC Spanky Westside (Trevor3_2009): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Lamar

OC Jerome Baumann (RaiderAid89): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. UAB (0-0)

OC Brett Favre (hudso3): W (1-0), 34-22 vs. Bowling Green (0-1) CAC WIN!

G. Moran: 28-41, 354 yds, 3 TD
B. Thornton: 16 rush, 79 yds, TD
K. Duran: 11 rec, 159 yds, 3 TD
S. Sims: 10 rec, 96 yds

Next Week: vs. Alabama St.

OC Laurence Gilbert (Mike7Vinas): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Alabama A&M

[moose141]

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

Love the season preview/media guide! It really gave a great overview of the team for this year. You have a TON of ability at the skill positions offensively, Jordan is an absolute beast, with so many weapons at both receiver and with Swift in the backfield (unreal name for a running back also). That said, will the line be able to hold up to take advantage of that talent? If you have to argue that there is any weak point on this team, that would probably be it. If those guys can gel together and play above their ratings, then I don't think that there is any question that you can be competing for a title once again!