What Have You Done for Me Lately?
The Story: The football team needs a spark and interim coach Lou Spanos continued his youth movement by inserting Nate Carter into the lineup as the No. 1 running back ahead of Saturday’s game against Wyoming.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This isn’t a surprise. Carter started on Saturday and there were plenty of other freshman starters on the field. What makes Carter notable is that he is unseating fifth-year senior Kevin Mensah, who had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons and with another strong campaign had a chance to break the UConn career rushing record. That isn’t going to happen as Carter impressed the coaching staff with his game-breaking ability in camp. He’s just one of a slew of new players that are getting time for the Huskies, who have only three seniors starting among the top 22.
PHOMMACHANH THE STARTER: Not that we would expect anything different, but Tyler Phommachanh is the starter again on Saturday. Phommachanh put up 14 points of offense on two rushing touchdowns and at least looked like a dangerous player out on the field. Micah Leon is the fourth quarterback and he was considered a possible starter coming into camp. so, don’t count anyone out.
RISING STAR IN MITCHELL: Linebacker Jackson Mitchell is making up for lost time this season with 31 tackles in his last two games, and leads the nation in tackles with 45 after four weeks. That’s a lot of tackles for a defense that has struggled, but it does show a nose for the ball. The Huskies have some good players on the defense and just pining the entire unit as subpar is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Mitchell, defensive tackle Travis Jones and defensive end Kevon Jones have the ability and freshman linebacker Hunter Webb racked up 15 tackles in his debut. There is a long way to go in the secondary, and not much depth, but there are players to work with on defense.
SPEAKING OF JONES: If you take PFF’s grading as gospel, and there are people who do, Jones is the highest-rated defensive tackle in the nation in four weeks with an 84.3 grade. Jones, who’s is receiving a lot of buzz as an NFL Draft prospect as a 330-pound tackle is doing his part on the interior. Unfortunately, it takes a unit to get things done on defense and not one player who can change the tide unless it’s Lawrence Taylor walking into that locker room.
WYOMING BIG FAVORITES: UConn is +29 against Wyoming, which is 3-0 coming into the season. OK, we get that Wyoming is decent this year but we are confounded how Wyoming, Boise State and others can attract players to play football. Perhaps it is about recruiting and development and not the region of the country or size of the fan base.
ARE THE HUSKIES THE WORST TEAM EVER? This is the talk out there because college football is the one sport where most media prefer to punch down. Every other sport likes the underdog except college football. The sport is very much about making yourself look better by ridiculing others. There are only about 15 teams anyone cares about, but there are things as the bottom 25 teams in college football. UConn football even made an appearance on a podcast that included Eli Manning as a topic. Ridicule works really well on the internet and our time in the business knows how easy outlets go after cheap wins on social. Even the Daily Caller has an opinion. But, who actually wants to read this stuff? For all we love about college football, the actual disregard for teams that are struggling is a problem with the sport. UConn is getting the brunt of it now, but every week there are media that prefer the lowlights to highlights. Is UConn the worst team ever? Here is our answer — who cares?
Morning Reads
• Fear not boys and girls, the #ICEBUS is back. Mike Cavanaugh’s crew held a media day on Tuesday and the team is confident it can make the NCAAs after last season’s snub. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• Moussa Wade scored in the first half and the men’s soccer team knocked off Dartmouth 1-0. The Huskies are 4-2 and we have our fingers crossed as they head into Big East play. (UConnHuskies.com)
