Uconn certainly did not have the type of season they were expecting last year. Head coach Paul Pasqualoni was fired after the first four games, all losses, leaving him 10-18 as a head coach at Connecticut. They eventually lost their first nine games of the season. They ended up having three different starting quarterbacks, but they did win their final three games as well when Casey Cochran took the reins as the starter. Now, they have a new head coach and a new outlook for 2014 under the leadership of Bob Diaco. Diaco played his college football under Hayden Fry at the University of Iowa as a linebacker. He also belongs to the Brian Kelly coaching tree, as he was his defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and then has been at Notre Dame for the last 4 seasons. He brings a renewed hope to the Huskies football program and it will be interesting to see how they play differently in the American Athletic Conference in 2014, but here is one last look at some results to forget from the 2013 season:
Losing to a FCS school is never a good way to start a season, but Uconn did just that in the opener when they hosted Towson. They did play well against Michigan and should have put that game away because Michigan played an awful game, but Connecticut blew the game and lost by three late. However, it is a new coach and a new system so it will be good for them to get a fresh start in 2014.
Offense
The quarterback rotation in 2013 featured three names. The starter at the beginning of the season is now redshirt senior Chandler Whitmer. He completed right around 55% of his passes in the first few games of the season, throwing 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Whitmer has been announced to be the backup quarterback this upcoming Fall. Sophomore quarterback Tim Boyle took the reins from there, but he was completely inefficient, completing 44% of his passes and throwing 8 interceptions and no touchdowns. Boyle is currently the third-string quarterback on the roster. The man who will be getting the starts and who the coaching staff trusts is redshirt sophomore Casey Cochran. He went 3-1 as a starter and threw 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions for the season, completing 63% of his passes. It looks like the staff has finally found the right man to throw the ball, as Cochran managed the position better than anyone else last year and will look to continue that winning streak in the early season in 2014.
Lyle McCombs was the starting running back last year. He had 670 rushing yards and had 5 touchdowns, but he will be replaced by redshirt junior running back Max DeLorenzo. DeLorenzo also had 5 touchdowns last year, with 349 yards rushing. His average per carry was only 3.5 yards, which has to be improved in order for the offense to lengthen drives. DeLorenzo is a little undersized to carry the load for the Huskies at 5 '11" and 210 pounds. They will need someone to step up and carry the load alongside DeLorenzo, but there just is not much experience to see who will step up beside him. It is a mystery indeed who will help out in the backfield.
One of the best wide receivers in the American Athletic Conference is redshirt senior Geremy Davis. Last year his stats were 71 catches for 1085 yards and 3 touchdowns. Davis is 6 '3" and 216 pounds. If he can develop some consistency with Cochran, then he could easily become a highly rated draft prospect. His partner across the field is senior Deshon Foxx. He is the smaller possession receiver to go with the big deep threat target in Davis. Foxx is listed at 5' 10" and 173 pounds. Foxx went great with Cochran last year in the final two games he had back to back 100 yard receiving games. He finished the year with 43 catches for 534 yards and 2 touchdowns. This dynamic duo will be tough to beat on the field this season.
Defense
The defensive line for the Uconn Huskies is a pretty porous situation. There were not very many elite players on the defensive line last year. One man who is looking to better his efforts in 2013 is defensive end Angelo Pruitt. He had 25 tackles, 6 for loss, and one sack. He is 6' 2" and 287 pounds and he has a lot of talent. He could step up to another level this season under the new coaching style of Bob Diaco.
Inside linebacker Yawin Smallwood had 118 tackles last year. He was drafted in the 7th round by the Atlanta Falcons and is working hard to make the team. Redshirt junior Jefferson Ashiru had 58 tackles as a linebacker last year and is going to try to come up to a better level this year due to Smallwood leaving the team. There is a lot of talent absence from the defense. Ashiru has good size and Diaco is a former linebacker, maybe he can help them go up to a higher level.
The two leading men returning in the secondary for the Huskies are redshirt senior cornerback Byron Jones and redshirt sophomore safety Obi Melifonwu. Jones was converted from safety and had 3 interceptions last year. He also had 11 passes defended and 8 passes broken up. He is 6' 1" and 196 pounds, which is good size for a college cornerback,\ because the secondary for the Huskies is their biggest defensive strength. Melifonwu had 70 tackles last year, which was second on the team. He is one of the best players even though he is younger in his collegiate career. He is looking to make an even bigger impact on the Huskies defense in 2014.
Special Teams
Uconn's leading kicker and punter have both departed this past year. The man who looks most likely to handle the kicking duties is redshirt sophomore Bobby Puyol. He actually has made a 40 yard field goal for the Huskies before and should be in front of the two other kickers listed on the roster in freshman Chase Briley and redshirt sophomore Andrew Paluch. Puyol was highly rated in his home state of Florida before going to college and should easily beat out the competition.
The only punter on the roster for the Huskies is redshirt sophomore Justin Wain. He does not have any game experience, but if he is the only punter on the team, he is the best they have. Do not be surprised if one of the kickers practices some punts as well so they have an emergency backup punter.
2014 Season Outlook
This season is one that has a lot of potential ups and downs in it for the Huskies. They think they have finally found the right person at quarterback and also have two very talented wide receivers returning. Their secondary is strong as well. Football is going to be all about the matchups they face this season and how well they will be able to compete. So, here is a closer look at their 2014 schedule:
Somehow the Huskies convinced BYU to come into their home stadium and they convinced Boise State to do the same. The Broncos of Boise State were actually supposed to join the conference at one point and then later backed out to stay in their conference of the Mountain West. The American Athletic Conference is a strange one to see who will be able to win the championship, but Uconn will probably be happy to see a bowl bid under their new coach. Looking at this schedule though, yours truly puts them at 5-7 and just missing that opportunity, but some growth toward the future is always a positive experience.