Lawrence Wilson

Experienced UConn Ready For Blue-White Game

Fifth weeks of spring practice comes to an end today with the Blue-White scrimmage at Rentschler Field.

The game is at noon. Admission is free. So is parking.

That should be enough to bring out the fans, but today's forecast is not good. The weatherman is calling for showers. Weather conditions rarely stop a football game from being played, but they do stop some people from showing up.

UConn Coach Randy Edsall made a call to the fans earlier this week to get out and support the team, which is the best, deepest and most experienced team Edsall has had. As important, something he has been looking for since he set foot on campus: whopping team speed.

The players set out on a mission in January, on their own, to prepare for 2010. They hooked up with the coaches on March 16 and have been going three days a week since. Now, it's time to see how far they've come, especially in certain areas.

First, the defense.

Depth is developing at tackle, and that's a good thing because Edsall has not been pleased with junior Twyon Martin's work ethic. Martin, who has started 19 of 26 games, has slipped in the rotation. Sophomore Ryan Wirth will run the first team today opposite newly named captain Kendall Reyes.

Seniors Lawrence Wilson and Scott Lutrus lead the linebackers. Jory Johnson, who replaced Lutrus (stinger) at times last season, is the third linebacker. Lutrus replaced Greg Lloyd (out this spring with a knee injury and moved to defensive end).

This position is probably the thinnest in terms of depth, so how the reserves fare today is big.

"They're working," Lutrus said. "We believe if something were to happen to the first string guys that our second string guys could step in no problem. We like to take pride that we work hard and our ability to learn and compete."

The next wave of defense, the secondary, was an area the Huskies struggled with last season and have struggled with in the spring, too. There is talent in the secondary but more youth. More of both are on the way via UConn's 2010 recruiting class. The Huskies have done some switching around, moving senior linebacker Kijuan Dabney to safety. Dabney is a calming influence for all that youth, but the Huskies need to make plays back there.

Wide receiver was the biggest question mark heading into the spring. It has, arguably, been the most productive and solid unit, top to bottom, in spring camp. Dropped balls weren't the norm; big plays and yards after the catch were. Coming up with the rotation for this unit will be a problem the coaching staff probably likes.

Quarterback is settled, too. Senior Zach Frazer went into spring as the No.1 guy, and he'll be No.1 today. He's a much improved player, but surely people want to see that firsthand. "It was a personal goal of mine to come out here and get better every day," Frazer said. "The [offensive] line and everyone's got my back, receivers, running backs, so, hopefully, we can get the momentum moving and carry this on to [today's] game."

Running back is solid with Jordan Todman returning, but fans could be in for a treat watching the powerful yet shifty Kelmetrus "Meme" Wylie and Jonathan Jean-Louis, who moves from the defensive side of the ball and has great speed. On special teams, experienced junior kicker Dave Teggart is getting pushed by Chad Christen, a redshirt freshman.