2008 Woodie Awards
A Co-Big East championship.
A 9-4 record.
A national ranking.
A berth in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
All of these things contributed to the special, program-establishing season that UConn football enjoyed in 2007, but with spring practice a week away, the team isn’t satisfied with basking in the accomplishments of last year.
“They know they’ve got so much more to prove,” said head coach Randy Edsall. “It’s a whole new year, it’s a whole new team. It’s been workman-like and business-like throughout the whole offseason. They know you can’t rest on what you’ve done in the past.”
And for much of the team, including some returning starters, the intense offseason conditioning wasn’t based on a team goal, but rather an effort to beat out the competition and earn playing time.
Edsall, who mentioned potential position battles at running back, cornerback, safety, defensive end, and defensive tackle, said he was excited to see the results of a rigorous offseason translate onto the field during the spring.
Despite the plethora of position battles that will take place, Edsall did not indicate there would be open-competition at quarterback.
Though Tyler Lorenzen’s turned in an immensley successful campaign in his first year at UConn- he passed for 2,367 yards and 13 touchdowns- there was a general feeling that Notre Dame transfer Zack Frazer, a four-star recruit who was ranked the No. 9 quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com as a high school senior, would have a chance to win the job in camp. Edsall quickly debunked that rumor.
“Tylers our quarterback,” Edsall said. “Just like any other position, there’s Cody [Endres] and Zack [Frazer] there, so they are trying to play as well. But unless someone beats him out, Tyler’s our quarterback.”
As well-documented as Lorenzen’s emergence was, the fast-rise of tailback Andre Dixon was given even more attention. With Donald Brown and Dixon both healthy for the start of spring ball, questions were raised about whether or not Edsall would continue to run the ball by committee- as he did towards the end of the season- or make one the full-time starter.
“If we have someone who can be the dominant guy, then he’ll be the dominant guy, but we’ll still have someone go in there and spell him,” Edsall said. “If you can have someone spell him, you’re number one guy becomes that much more effective. When you have two different types of runners, I think that helps you too. Look at the Giants with Brandon Jacobs and [Ahmad] Bradshaw.”
Edsall added that improved pass protection will be a goal of the team this offseason, and the running back who proves to be the better pass blocker will have an edge for playing time.
While running back figures to be the most high-profile position battle, the shake-up on defense will surely receive some attention as well. Following the graduation of standout middle linebacker Danny Lansanah, Edsall moved outside linebacker Scott Lutrus to the inside, brought Dahna Deleston to Lutrus’ old position, and moved prize-recruit Jarell Miller from his high school position of middle linebacker to defensive tackle. Edsall raised some eyebrows when he announced the changes three weeks ago, but it was a maneuver that he had been planning all along.
“Last spring we were going to move Dahna to the Husky position, but he incurred some academic issues and he wasn’t here so we couldn’t do it,” Edsall said. “Scott had planned to be inside, but we moved him outside because of the situation we had. The move with Dahna isn’t that drastic because alot of the things we did, we had him down in the box.”
Both Lutrus and Deleston have done all the right things to excel in their new positions, according to Edsall. Along with Cody Brown, Edsall said Lutrus and Deleston had exceptional off-seasons on the field and in the weight room. Another offseason standout was seldom-used safety Glen Mourning, who at 6-foot-1 200 lbs has always had the physical tools, but struggled to translate them to the field. With Deleston moving to the “Husky,” Mourning may have the opportunity to find some time at safety.
“Glen had a very good off-season, but he’s got to try and do it on the field,” Edsall said.
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