Is That the Last We See of Carter?
The Story: Sophomore running back Nate Carter, one of the Huskies’ lone bright spots this season, will miss Saturday’s game at No. 12 NC State and likely be out even longer as he recovers from a significant shoulder injury.
WHAT HAPPENED? Carter, who ran for 384 yards through UConn’s first three games, had just six carries for 21 yards before he left the game against Michigan with a separated shoulder.
• Jim Mora said Carter underwent an MRI and has a Grade II or Grade III shoulder separation, which, as Dr. Google tells us, is a “complete separation of the joint. The acromioclavicular ligament, the coracoclavicular ligaments and the capsule surrounding the joint are torn.”
• If that’s indeed the case, that may be the last we see of Carter this year. In fact, it probably should be, anyway; he has only played in four games, meaning he’d be eligible to redshirt and preserve a year of eligibility that he can use at his new school at UConn in the future.
• Carter ran 65 times for 405 yards, meaning an average of 101.25 yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry. He had been in the top five in the FBS in rushing all season (but is now 22nd), and he’s 32nd in yards per attempt. He’s a beast, plain and simple. Hopefully, he can be one again when he gets back on the field.
ON DECK: Well, that’s a hard one. We don’t really know. It would seemingly be freshman Victor Rosa, the Connecticut Gatorade High School Player of the Year from Bristol Central who once ran the 100-meter dash in 10.7 seconds at a track meet as a senior.
• Rosa is the only player at the position who is fully healthy, and he got the lion’s share of the work at Michigan once Carter left as he finished with 14 carries for 23 yards. He also fumbled twice, once in the first quarter and once in the third quarter, so ball security is likely his focus in practice this week.
• Behind Rosa are Robert Burns (the Miami transfer, not the poet, though does the poet have any eligibility left?) and freshman Camryn Edwards, who has been a defensive back through the first four games of his freshman season but will move to running back, which he also played at Norwalk High.
• The wild card is Devontae Houston, who missed the Michigan game with a shoulder injury of his own but should be ready to play, according to Mora.
WHAT DID MORA SAY? “[Rosa has] good lateral movement and burst, and when he hits the open field, he can run. He’s got that speed. I like his mindset. He’s got that warrior’s mindset. He’s tough. He’s physical. He doesn’t care how many snaps he takes. Every one of them, he’s going to go full speed. He doesn’t get tired. He’s not going to let fatigue hold him back. You want guys like that on your team, man. He’s going to get better and better. These reps are valuable for him. I don’t think any of us expected him to take the snaps that he did versus Michigan, plus return punts, and we didn’t return any kickoffs but he was back there. That’s a heavy load for a true freshman, right? To go on the road against a team like that, he didn’t even flinch. I just think he’s a true competitor.”
FITZGERALD ALSO OUT: Wide receiver Nigel Fitzgerald, the graduate transfer from Old Dominion whose time in Storrs was plagued by injuries, is done for the season. Mora said last night on the coach’s show that Fitzgerald tore an ACL in practice.
• Fitzgerald joins Cam Ross and Keelan Marion on the injured list, though Marion has a chance to return from a broken collarbone later this season. (Again, best to just give him the redshirt.) He caught just two passes for 12 yards.
• Though he has already redshirted, Fitzgerald could conceivably return to UConn as a sixth-year senior because of the COVID-19 relief. He might also quality for a medical redshirt, which would make him a seventh-year senior in 2024.
PUMA GOOD TO GO: Mora confirmed as part of a greater conversation about quarterbacks that Tyler Phommachanh, who tore the ACL in his left knee at Vanderbilt a week shy of a year ago, would be able to play if he was needed in a game. If he’s healthy and has recovered, what do they have to lose?
Hockey Rink Gets Familiar Name
The Story: UConn’s new hockey arena will be known as the Toscano Family Ice Rink, a name that recognizes the donations Board of Trustees chairman Dan Toscano and his family have made to the university over the years.
ABOUT THE RINK: The 2,600-seat arena is scheduled to open with a men’s hockey game against Northeastern on Jan. 14. It is located across the street from the Freitas Ice Forum, which will become the hockey teams’ practice facility.
• Its expected cost is $70 million and though the women’s hockey team will play there exclusively, the men’s hockey team will still play some of its games in Hartford at the XL Center in order to meet Hockey East requirements.
• “UConn has had a profound impact on my life, and its quest for eminence in everything it does has become a passion for my family,” Toscano said in a press release. “It’s not just giving back for us. We invest in the ambitions of the next generation and the faculty and staff that show them the way.”
Top photo: Nate Carter has been reliable for the Huskies but will miss some time with a shoulder injury. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
