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Spring Roster and practice ( SPRING GAME Sat, April 16th )

the Blades

the Blades

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Marriner, Marder and Bockeloh gone along with a few position changes and some new weights:

* Uconn FB Spring Roster

Also: Spring Practice begins on March 9. Annual Spring game April 16 (3 pm) at The Rent...


ucfB15_springgamelineup-splash.jpg


********** SPRING GAMES DETAILS - SATURDAY 16, 2016 *********

also from Dez's article on page 2 of this thread: " The game will mostly resemble that of a real game. The first team will be in blue shirts with some reserves flipping jerseys to blue in the second half for further evaluation. The second half will be running time. All players are expected to be available."
 
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Surprised not to see Marriner on the roster...

Nice to see Dallas Parker back on defense.. IIRC he was being used at TE on the depth chart last year out of necessity, but if you look back at his HS highlight tape you see DE all day long.... a kid who seemed to love coming off the edge.. we need edge rushers on D.. and at DT, I see we'd like to keep Blackwell HEAVY at one DT spot.. He's a load at 331lbs... all in all, gotta love our depth in our front 7 on D by the way...
 
aman kidwai said:
I see some players at "F" and some younger CBs moved to safety, any other position changes?
Click to expand...
Besides Parker back from TE to DL as mentioned.... I also noticed another TE they changed was Ian Campbell (was #83 now #78) into an OL, also noticed he's up to about to about 270lbs. But I figured some of the CB's needed to move to safety with Floyd earlier and now Marder gone.
 
True about Marriner, I hadn't heard anything about him leaving.....his carries did go down this year from 36 to 13 and he has 2 years left if he leaves to go the FCS route. Plus him, Newsome and Johnson are all JR's( though Josh redshirted) so a bit of a log jam....but this from:

Desmond Conner ‏@desmondconner 2h2 hours ago Storrs, CT
Having left #UConnFootball RB Josh Marriner will run outdoor track then go back to play football closer to home in #Virginia

Desmond Conner ‏@desmondconner 34m34 minutes ago East Hartford, CT
Wishing Josh Marriner all the best. I saw him on campus briefly today. Glad I did. Josh is a good person, period. #UConnFootball #AlltheBest
 
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the Blades said:
True about Marriner, I hadn't heard anything about him leaving.....his carries did go down this year from 36 to 13 and he has 2 years left if he leaves to go the FCS route. Plus him, Newsome and Johnson are all JR's....but ???
Click to expand...
Think this means we'll see the freshmen RBs get a shot.
 
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aman kidwai said:
Think this means we'll see the freshmen RBs get a shot.
Click to expand...
Yeah, RB was getting a little thin with Max and now Josh gone plus the FB Claxx ... also can read a little more into how they could give the walk-on RB Jason Thompson a scholly..... him and another walk-on (Tahj-Anthony Wilson ) are the only 2 back-ups for the spring behind Ark and RJ.
 
RB, in my opinion, is still a little thin in terms of scholly RBs... We will only have 5 going into Fall camp.. Hoping Thompson and Wilson (if he sticks around as a walk on) can provide adequate practice depth..
 
My guess is with the F-slot position in full mode, Uconn will only be going with a single back pro look 90% of the time, meaning the RB position is depth-ed out at 5 deep... plus they can also use the PWO FB, Allmendinger in the backfield on the scout team. The ( Aaron Hernadez type) F-slot takes the place of a dual back set .....as a look with a RB, "F", TE, and 2 WR's besides the QB or other combinations.
 
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Here's a little more on:
Josh Marriner Hopes To Have Made A Difference At UConn ...

"Marriner would have been part of a crowded backfield had he stayed for what would have been his redshirt junior year. He likely would have seen little paying time. Marriner came to the school in 2013, and in three years he will have graduated. Marriner, from Chesapeake, Va., said he will return closer to home and intends play football, possibly with his brother, Brandon Addison, a cornerback at Old Dominion, an FCS school."

His vision extends well beyond the playing fields. Marriner intends to go to graduate school with the intention of earning his Masters in public administration and public health.
 
the Blades said:
Here's a little more on:
Josh Marriner Hopes To Have Made A Difference At UConn ...

"Marriner would have been part of a crowded backfield had he stayed for what would have been his redshirt junior year. He likely would have seen little paying time. Marriner came to the school in 2013, and in three years he will have graduated. Marriner, from Chesapeake, Va., said he will return closer to home and intends play football, possibly with his brother, Brandon Addison, a cornerback at Old Dominion, an FCS school."

His vision extends well beyond the playing fields. Marriner intends to go to graduate school with the intention of earning his Masters in public administration and public health.
Click to expand...

This is good stuff but ODU isn't an FCS school, Dez.
 
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I say Josh ends up at an FCS school in VA... That way he plays 2 years instead of 1...
 
More on Spring practice ( starts Wednesday ! ) from DC:
Full read: UConn Prepares For Spring With A Heavy To-Do List
a few notes:
* Quarterback Bryant Shirreffs (hand), tight ends Tommy Myers (lower leg) and Zordan Holman (lower body) could be limited initially.
* The offense, which showed improvement from previous years, returns all of its key players and loses one starter, guard Tyler Samra. The offensive line has a chance to be better with a couple of additions, including Ryan Crozier, ( Remington Watch List ) who was a devastating loss to injury last summer ...
* interesting position battle will occur at the safety spot next to Obi Melifonwu..... Anthony Watkins, Marshé Terry and Brice McAllister will be the prime competitors.
 
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Tough to see us dead last in the PR game.. We averaged less than a yard per return.. embarrassing... We need to change that now... That could mean the difference for a few more wins this upcoming season.

I think we'll do well anyways, but we gotta be able to return a punt... not have a designated fair catcher.. That's a "playing not to lose" mentality.. You don't win much that way.
 
Yeah.... Lemelle would at least look for a punt return ( 2 for 15 yds) until he was injured ...but after.... when Vitale (4 for -13 yds) took over... it seemed like his job was to just call for a fair catch by the end of the year. Diaco mentioned Qyayvon Skanes at signing day as someone who could see the field right away in the return game, hopefully him or someone else steps up.
 
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here's the blurb:
Quayvon Skanes, 5-10, 175, WR, Chicago, Ill./WendaII Phillips Academy
“He is this toolbox guy. He’s not outside what we’d normally do, but he’s your inside slot punt/kick returner. Whether the team is void of that guy, I don’t think you need a bunch of them, but you need one or a few. This is the difference making, hard to tackle jet. He’ll be an impact player for our program. If nothing else, he’ll be doing some special teams jobs just initially as a very hard guy to tackle. Again whether he was a national recruit or not, I’m not sure, but he was a high scholarship list guy, 20-50 and could have went anywhere he wanted. He had most or a lot of the Big Ten and decided to come serve the University of Connecticut and be a Husky.”
 
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I sure hope Skanes is our next Nick Williams or Larry Taylor or combo of both... we need the help back there... Right now, we don't have any....well we have back ups at that spot starting...(truth)
 
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I agree on Vitale Blades, but it's just not about the returner right? rhetorical.....
but i think they also need to do a better job of blocking, whether it be from the line or getting down field to pick someone up. Although there were many times a fair catch probably wasn't warrented, i also think there were many times where the returned had absolutely no room to maneuver either. How can we go from the best at returning, to the absolute worst. Well, for punt returning not sure we were the best but i thought we were pretty decent. You cannot get any worse than what we were last year.
 
I agree, I don't think it was completely about Vitale... and it almost started to look like he was under orders from the coaching staff to play it safe and not to return, after a muff or 2 earlier in the season.

Here's a little more from the Diaco link below:
One area the Huskies absolutely have to improve on is punt returns. They spent a good bit of time on it Wednesday. The Huskies need a dynamic presence at that position and a couple of players appeared to be auditioning, along with regular returner Brian Lemelle. Wide receiver Tyraiq Beals and cornerback Jamar Summers fielded punts.
 
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NHR - Jim Fuller:
" Redshirt freshman Matt Peart was the starting left tackle over two-year starter Richard Levy and to say the coaches are excited about what he brings to the team would an understatement of incredible proportions. Trey Rutherford and Tommy Hopkins were the guards while Andreas Knappe started at right tackle. Ryan Crozier is back, healthy and was UConn's starting center. "

" Defensively, Vontae Diggs at linebacker and Anthony Watkins at safety were with the first team along with the usual suspects (Cole Ormsby, Foley Fatukasi, Mikal Myers, Luke Carrezola, Matt Walsh, Junior Joseph, Obi Melifonwu, Jamar Summers and Jhavon Williams). Diggs brings plenty of speed to the UConn defense and he flashed that at times today "

With no long snappers in camp following the graduation of Dom Manco and the departure of walk-on James Bedell, Walsh and Alec Bloom are being schooled in how to handle that role. Tommy Myers, when he is fully cleared, could be in the mix as well. It will give UConn options rather than just expecting incoming freshman Nick Zecchino to come in and be the long snapper.
 
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the Blades said:
Here's a little more from the Diaco link below:
One area the Huskies absolutely have to improve on is punt returns. They spent a good bit of time on it Wednesday. The Huskies need a dynamic presence at that position and a couple of players appeared to be auditioning, along with regular returner Brian Lemelle. Wide receiver Tyraiq Beals and cornerback Jamar Summers fielded punts.
Click to expand...

Glory hallelujah
 
Football back to work this week after spring break....here's a read from Dez on Diaco and improving the offense:

Diaco Says He's More Than Defensive Presence

"Now we need to eliminate the negative plays, minimize TFLs (tackles for loss, 7.3 allowed per game] and sacks [2.85 allowed]. These plays that are happening behind our line of scrimmage need to be eradicated, and we need to score more points, be better in third down percentage, high red zone offense, and take more shots down the field, explosive plays, and I expect it to improve."
 
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have they started practicing again this week yet? or is the first practice back from Spring break tomorrow?
 


Fuller:
I will have a story on how redshirt freshman Matt Peart is handling his role as the starting left tackle in tomorrow's paper. The starting offensive line was the same with Peart and Andreas Knappe at tackles, Tommy Hopkins and Trey Rutherford at guards at Ryan Crozier at center.

Brice McAllister did see a few first-team reps although it was mostly Anthony Watkins who continues to line up next to Obi Melifonwu. Omaine Stephens received snaps with the first-team defense at linebacker while the rest of the starters (Ormsby-Fatukasi-Myers-Carrezola-Joseph-Walsh-Summers-Williams-Meifonwu-Watkins) remained the same as they were during the first practice.

 
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*DEZ - Back to Work For UConn Football Team

* The expectations for the UConn wide receivers will be heightened this season. Add in some newcomers and wide receivers coach Erik Campbell from Michigan, and the reasons mount.
"Hergy Mayala, Tyraiq Beals, Aaron McLean, Frank Battle and Brian Coney are all guys that can all play really well, winning, productive, football at this level," coach Bob Diaco said. "And then you add that with Noel and Brian [Lemelle], you've got two veteran players who have made plays here and will make a ton in the future."

* Senior Richard Levy, a starter at left tackle, is working at left guard while redshirt freshman Matt Peart has been installed at left tackle. The coaches want to see how it looks. Peart has a world of potential. Levy has struggled at left tackle but offensive line coach Mike Cummings said he can play either left or right guard.
 
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NHR- Redshirt freshman Peart pleasant surprise at left tackle

Peart quickly earned second-team work at left offensive tackle ahead of former starter Dalton Gifford and other veteran linemen during his redshirt season. The UConn coaches were going to protect Peart’s redshirt season at all costs, but encouraged him, along with all the other players in his class who were redshirting, to prepare as if they were going to play in games. Peart was brought in to talk to some of the UConn coaches not long before the first spring practice. It was there where they dropped a bombshell that Peart would start spring camp as the No. 1 left tackle ahead of Levy, a two-year starter.



 
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UConn's McAllister adjusting to life as a safety
* With the return of CB starters Jamar Summers and Jhavon Williams in addition to key reserves like Javon Hadley and John Green. The move of McAllister and Aaron Garland from cornerback to safety did not come as huge surprises considering that of the six safeties who saw defensive snaps a season ago, only starter Obi Melifonwu and reserve Anthony Watkins return.
* McAllister has been working mostly with the second-team defense but did see some time with the starters at Thursday's spring practice. It is too early to tell whether McAllister, current starter Watkins or another player will line up next to Melifonwu when the season gets rolling.
 
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From:

* Huskies Not Lacking in Leadership
"One would think that losing five starting seniors on the defensive side of the ball would leave a hole, specifically when it comes to leadership. However, if you ask head coach Bob Diaco, that won’t be a problem and there’s a reason for that. "
 
* DEZ- What A Difference A TD Makes: Improving Offense Brings Promise For UConn Football's 2016 Season

All key players are back and the OL will add 2 players ( Peart and the injured Crozier) that are moving ahead of starters still on the team. Also back close to 100 percent is Tight end Tommy Myers, who was sorely missed in the Huskies' final two games of 2015 with a lower leg injury.

" They lost it 16-10 to Marshall in St. Petersburg. They also lost 9-6 at Missouri in Week Three, halting the momentum of a two-game winning streak and opening the door to three consecutive losses, including one at home the following week to Navy (28-18). One more touchdown and who knows? The Huskies and offensive coordinator Frank Verducci are trying to do something about that. "
 
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