Spring Practice 10 News And Notes

What’s goin on?

- UConn Coach Paul Pasqualoni said after practice today that senior running back D.J. Shoemate was not at practice because he was having shoulder surgery.

“A little scope,” Pasqualoni said. “So we’re looking at that.”

- The Coach also said LB Andrew Opoku is still indefinitely suspended.

- WR Geremy Davis practiced lightly today. He’s been out a little bit with an undisclosed injury but he was in helmet and shoulder pads and shorts. No contact.

- Pasqualoni was happy with today’s practice in what amounted to the fourth good one in a row dating back to last week.

“Today we built on what we did last week,” Pasqualoni said. “I think we stacked some good days on top of each other last week.”

- Today was a good situational work day too in which the Huskies focused on blitzing, red zone and the fringe, that sticky area between just across the 40 and just outside the red zone.

- In red, QB Casey Cochran threw another one of those balls that seemingly cuts through people and is only available to the target. Fellow nutmegger Sean McQuillan was on the scoring end of a Cochran pass that whizzed past the DB between two safeties Into McQuillan’s waiting arms. Just a great throw. Cochran is the only one of the five competing for the No.1
job I’ve seen do that and I’ve seen him do it twice now this spring. Impressive stuff.

- QB Chandler Whitmer is looking more and more comfortable.

- QB Johnny McEntee looks good making throws on the run.

- QB Michael Nebrich hasn’t been running all that much. When you focus on him as just a thrower the kid is pretty darn good.

- QBs Cochran and Whitmer were doing a little option work today.

- I was just asked why we weren’t hearing about Tebucky Jones Jr., right? Well kid made plays left and right today but his show stopper came after he slipped coming out of his break. As Jones was getting up (he wasn’t all the way up); Nebrich threw a laser and Jones caught the ball in a crotched position right in front CB Dwayne Gratz. Lots of poohs and ahhhs from the players. Heck of play. He had a couple others. This young man has potential.

- Kenton Adeyemi, Jonathan Louis and Tim Willman are running at defensive end behind Jesse Joseph and Trevardo Williams. Teddy Jennings is recovering from double shoulder surgery. Adeyemi is playing anchor or on the strong side meaning he’ll have a lot of tight end responsibilities.

- Talked to defensive coordinator and d-backs coach Don Brown, always a pleasure and usually an enlightening experience because like OC George DeLeone and Pasqualoni, he’s all too willing, respectfully, to explain something you may not know or understand. I love it.

Anyway Brown was so complimentary of CB Taylor Mack because he has come such a long way from last season. We all know Mach is good enough to play (he did it as a frehman) but as Mack told us last week he struggled in the system last year. He ain’t strugglin now. He’s the third corner behind senior starters Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson.

- Another guy Brown is proud of and said so was the young DT Julian Campenni.

“Great interior player,” Brown said of Campenni.

DC