From
Desmond Conner.....#UConnFootball Insider: Midseason Report Card http://fw.to/IggrUll at the Courant:
QUARTERBACK: B
No controversy through six games. N.C. State transfer Bryant Shirreffs (97 of 153, 1,271 yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions), took hold of the offense in the spring and hasn’t let go. He is the Huskies’ leader on offense and has the air of confidence you want. He cares about ball security and it shows and he also cares about extending plays, which he does very well with his feet. Some of it is by choice and some by necessity based on breakdowns up front. Either way, Shirreffs is too valuable to not be smart when it comes to taking off with the ball. He has taken some big hits. He’s also given some. That’s Shirreffs. He can be a little more accurate passing but in addition to his ability to move the ball he has shown good arm strength.
RUNNING BACKS: B
It’s sophomores Arkeel Newsome, pictured, (58 carries, 305 yards, three touchdowns) and Ron Johnson (64x194, 149, four TDs). Newsome is starting to become more comfortable. We’ve seen the 5-9, 182-pound Newsome grow as a player, especially as a blocker in pass protection. He has started the past three games. Johnson started the season but hadn’t really touched the ball until last week at UCF. He scored a touchdown against the Knights. The Huskies might be a better team with both backs in the game but the bruising Johnson is going to have to return to the form that enabled him to become the starter as well as improve in pass protection. Senior Max DeLorenzo (9x18) needs to be more involved.
RECEIVERS: B
UConn broke out a couple of its freshmen receivers, including Hergy Mayala (1 catch, 11 yards) and Aaron McLean (1x29) at UCF. Tyraiq Beals (16x165, TD) is one of the leading receivers on the team. The leader is junior Noel Thomas, pictured, (26x361, TD) and he’s been playing like the only person who can stop him is him and that happened once at BYU when he had two catches for 13 yards. He caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown the next week at UCF. He is the leader of the group. And the Huskies are so good, so big and so deep at tight end with 6-5 Tommy Myers (7x149 two TDs), 6-6 Alec Bloom (10x149), 6-7 Chris Lee and 6-5 Zordan Holman, both freshmen.
OFFENSIVE LINE: D
Too inconsistent and while youth and inexperience are a factor, focus is as well, particularly in pre-snap errors among experienced players. That has to stop. It would be unfair to say the line hasn’t made some improvements. It has but not enough. UConn is 112th in the nation on third down, converting about 33 percent. UConn is 116th in total offense and that’s after hanging 40 points and more than 400 yards against an awful Central Florida team it should have pounded. The Huskies are 123rd of 127 schools in sacks allowed at 3.5 per game. Now, that’s not all on the line. Some is, and the line simply has to do a better job of carrying its weight.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B
It has been pretty good but it has faced tough fronts (at Missouri, against Navy and at BYU), but this group should be the better for it, holding its own against the Tigers and Cougars. Kenton Adeyemi and Luke Carrezola (19 tackles) at the ends have been solid, as has Cole Ormsby and Sean Marinan. Julian Campenni, Mike Myers and Foley Fatukasi (pictured), the latter with 20 tackles, four for loss including 3.5 sacks, have been stout inside.
LINEBACKERS: B-minus
Graham Stewart (pictured), with 27 tackles, is playing his best football at UConn. Matt Walsh (25) has been a pleasant surprise and Marquise Vann (17) seems to be returning to form after sustaining a lower leg injury against Navy. Junior Joseph (41 tackles) has been the man here. He has been a terror in the middle all season. There are some things that could be tightened up: Pass coverage and putting the quarterback on the ground. Still, they’ll have to be better at in the second half because there are more mobile QBs to face.
SECONDARY: B
Jhavon Williams, pictured, (three interceptions, 22 tackles) has been a star at one cornerback position and Jamar Summers (20 tackles, two interceptions) is budding on the other side. He had some growing pains early but his natural ability has won out. Javon Hadley has proved to be the very capable next man. Senior safety Andrew Adams leads the team with 46 tackles and has two picks. Free safety Obi Melifonwu is third on the team in tackles with 33 and had his first interception last week. The unit proved to be one of the strongest units on the team but because of the keep-the-points down philosophy it looks bad when teams easily dink and dunk down the field . It was painful to watch at BYU but it actually worked until the Huskies became unglued late. It’s the way they play. It has been tried and true for coach Bob Diaco. It may not look great but it works.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus
Junior kicker Bobby Puyol (pictured) is ranked No.1 in the nation – along with 12 others in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) – for perfection on field goals. Puyol is 7-for-7 with a long of 42. There were issues with blocked extra points early but the Huskies appear to have fixed the issue. Punter Justin Wain (38.9 average with seven punts inside the 20) can be better but he hasn’t hurt the team. Punt returner Brian Lemelle is pretty much in a punt-safe situation all the time so the Huskies are at the mercy of the opposing punter in that regard. On kickoff returns, Arkeel Newsome, the AAC special teams player of the week, had 106 yards on three returns at Central Florida, including a 71-yarder. UConn is 17th in the nation in punt return defense (17.6 yards allowed) and seventh in punt return defense, allowing fewer than a yard per return.
Desmond Conner.....#UConnFootball Insider: Midseason Report Card http://fw.to/IggrUll at the Courant:
QUARTERBACK: B
No controversy through six games. N.C. State transfer Bryant Shirreffs (97 of 153, 1,271 yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions), took hold of the offense in the spring and hasn’t let go. He is the Huskies’ leader on offense and has the air of confidence you want. He cares about ball security and it shows and he also cares about extending plays, which he does very well with his feet. Some of it is by choice and some by necessity based on breakdowns up front. Either way, Shirreffs is too valuable to not be smart when it comes to taking off with the ball. He has taken some big hits. He’s also given some. That’s Shirreffs. He can be a little more accurate passing but in addition to his ability to move the ball he has shown good arm strength.
RUNNING BACKS: B
It’s sophomores Arkeel Newsome, pictured, (58 carries, 305 yards, three touchdowns) and Ron Johnson (64x194, 149, four TDs). Newsome is starting to become more comfortable. We’ve seen the 5-9, 182-pound Newsome grow as a player, especially as a blocker in pass protection. He has started the past three games. Johnson started the season but hadn’t really touched the ball until last week at UCF. He scored a touchdown against the Knights. The Huskies might be a better team with both backs in the game but the bruising Johnson is going to have to return to the form that enabled him to become the starter as well as improve in pass protection. Senior Max DeLorenzo (9x18) needs to be more involved.
RECEIVERS: B
UConn broke out a couple of its freshmen receivers, including Hergy Mayala (1 catch, 11 yards) and Aaron McLean (1x29) at UCF. Tyraiq Beals (16x165, TD) is one of the leading receivers on the team. The leader is junior Noel Thomas, pictured, (26x361, TD) and he’s been playing like the only person who can stop him is him and that happened once at BYU when he had two catches for 13 yards. He caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown the next week at UCF. He is the leader of the group. And the Huskies are so good, so big and so deep at tight end with 6-5 Tommy Myers (7x149 two TDs), 6-6 Alec Bloom (10x149), 6-7 Chris Lee and 6-5 Zordan Holman, both freshmen.
OFFENSIVE LINE: D
Too inconsistent and while youth and inexperience are a factor, focus is as well, particularly in pre-snap errors among experienced players. That has to stop. It would be unfair to say the line hasn’t made some improvements. It has but not enough. UConn is 112th in the nation on third down, converting about 33 percent. UConn is 116th in total offense and that’s after hanging 40 points and more than 400 yards against an awful Central Florida team it should have pounded. The Huskies are 123rd of 127 schools in sacks allowed at 3.5 per game. Now, that’s not all on the line. Some is, and the line simply has to do a better job of carrying its weight.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B
It has been pretty good but it has faced tough fronts (at Missouri, against Navy and at BYU), but this group should be the better for it, holding its own against the Tigers and Cougars. Kenton Adeyemi and Luke Carrezola (19 tackles) at the ends have been solid, as has Cole Ormsby and Sean Marinan. Julian Campenni, Mike Myers and Foley Fatukasi (pictured), the latter with 20 tackles, four for loss including 3.5 sacks, have been stout inside.
LINEBACKERS: B-minus
Graham Stewart (pictured), with 27 tackles, is playing his best football at UConn. Matt Walsh (25) has been a pleasant surprise and Marquise Vann (17) seems to be returning to form after sustaining a lower leg injury against Navy. Junior Joseph (41 tackles) has been the man here. He has been a terror in the middle all season. There are some things that could be tightened up: Pass coverage and putting the quarterback on the ground. Still, they’ll have to be better at in the second half because there are more mobile QBs to face.
SECONDARY: B
Jhavon Williams, pictured, (three interceptions, 22 tackles) has been a star at one cornerback position and Jamar Summers (20 tackles, two interceptions) is budding on the other side. He had some growing pains early but his natural ability has won out. Javon Hadley has proved to be the very capable next man. Senior safety Andrew Adams leads the team with 46 tackles and has two picks. Free safety Obi Melifonwu is third on the team in tackles with 33 and had his first interception last week. The unit proved to be one of the strongest units on the team but because of the keep-the-points down philosophy it looks bad when teams easily dink and dunk down the field . It was painful to watch at BYU but it actually worked until the Huskies became unglued late. It’s the way they play. It has been tried and true for coach Bob Diaco. It may not look great but it works.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus
Junior kicker Bobby Puyol (pictured) is ranked No.1 in the nation – along with 12 others in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) – for perfection on field goals. Puyol is 7-for-7 with a long of 42. There were issues with blocked extra points early but the Huskies appear to have fixed the issue. Punter Justin Wain (38.9 average with seven punts inside the 20) can be better but he hasn’t hurt the team. Punt returner Brian Lemelle is pretty much in a punt-safe situation all the time so the Huskies are at the mercy of the opposing punter in that regard. On kickoff returns, Arkeel Newsome, the AAC special teams player of the week, had 106 yards on three returns at Central Florida, including a 71-yarder. UConn is 17th in the nation in punt return defense (17.6 yards allowed) and seventh in punt return defense, allowing fewer than a yard per return.
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