UConn Huskies head football coach Bob Diaco held his weekly pregame press conference on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of Saturday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bearcats and talked about a myriad of things.

With there being a bye week, Diaco opened things right up to questions. I got things started by asking him about what phase were they in as far as the season goes.

If you remember back to earlier in the season, Diaco had broken down the season into different parts, the future and the present. Now it’s all about the past as in the previous players there. He talked about it being a family and the legacy.

He said they are focused on getting better.

He talked about how the team has a much deeper understanding of what they want to get to, a better understanding how far they’ve come and how far they’ve got to go.

WR Geremy Davis has been fully cleared to participate as has QB Chandler Whitmer.

He said the Cincinnati defense should look familiar as former UConn defensive coordinator Hank Hughes is the DC at Cincy. He said they use four down lineman, lot of quarters coverage and are very attacking group.

They run a spread offense and have heavily featured wide receivers. When they can run, it opens up their passing game.

He said Cincy has a consistent sound special teams. Overall, they are very explosive.

I asked him about Cincy QB Gunner Kiel in regards to Notre Dame. He said he’s not all familiar with him on the field. Kiel got injured and was out for the year. He did say from what he remembers that Kiel has great tangible skills.

He said that there is no grand plan for using Tim Boyle at QB. Boyle will get at least one series and the game flow will dictate the rest.

He stated the final three games aren’t as important as far as winning and losing. It’s important to keep using the opportunities of games and practices to get better.

He said it was a monumental undertaking of rebuilding. It was a tear down and rebuild and they are still in the beginning phase. He reiterated that the team understands where they are at.

He said the team needs, experience, maturity, culture and the lifestyle to be a champion. He said they lack mature intelligence in football situations.

He has no concern about the lack of motivation from seniors. If they aren’t performing like they should as far as effort, he will clean out their lockers himself and throw them off the team.

He said it’s been a very rewarding 11 months on the job. He said it’s been great to watch these guys grow physically, mentally and emotionally. He also said it’s been very educational for the day to day things on what to do, what to not do.

He said his network of coaches has helped him in his first year as a head coach. He said he speaks with Hayden Fry, Gary Darnell and Brian Kelly. He also has a slew of people inside the building he can talk with as well.

He said the most surprising thing about being a head coach is that everyone has a story. He said there’s a 140 in the organization and all of their stories are important. And if they have 5-12 people they care about then there are that many more stories that are important as well.

Diaco was asked about saying there was nothing there when he got to the school. He stated he never said there was nothing, he said it was a giant mess and now it’s a smaller one. He said the players were physically weak and fat, there blood work and nutrient levels were bad.

He said they had the culture of accepting losing. When they first got there it was an us against them mentality.

As far as recruiting goes, he’s interested in getting players that want to go to UConn. He wants individuals that achievement oriented. Then he wants guys who have a love for football. Otherwise it won’t work. After that, they have tangible traits they are looking for. He wants to have a big athletic team to be a good team. To be a great team, they need to get one or two exceptional players.

He said their expectations are to get to the top of the league. He said there should be 25 or less players who that fit the model.

He stated the AAC is an awesome league. He said that Casey Cochran is working with the tight ends now. He said Cochran may want to get into broadcasting now.

He said he felt terrible for Whitmer. He said Whitmer is a great teammate and that the team doesn’t see him as responsible for the loss to Army.

He said he went through the chronology of losing from the end of the game. Then they went through the chronology of every losing moment from the beginning of the game to the end. He said Chandler is resolute in being the best teammate he can be.

We’ll have more on what Diaco said as well some words from Whitmer, Boyle, Ron Johnson, Marquise Vann and Deshon Foxx as the week goes on.

Prior to Tuesday’s press conference for Saturday’s game at Rentschler Field against the Cincinnati Bearcats, UConn Huskies head coach Bob Diaco released his depth chart for the game and there are no changes to it from their last game against Army two weeks ago.

Obviously things can change throughout the week.

We should have a better idea of where WR Geremy Davis (lower leg), QB Chandler Whitmer (hand) and S Ellis Marder stand after today’s press conference as far as their injuries are concerned.

Offense

LT: 71 Richard Levy (RSo., 6-6, 305)
74 Paul Nwokeji (RJr., 6-6, 287)

LG: 65 Gus Cruz (RSr., 6-4, 296)
77 Trey Rutherford (Fr., 6-5, 289)

C: 73 Alex Mateas (RSr., 6-4, 309)
70 Kyle Bockeloh (RSo., 6-3, 284)

RG: 60 Tyler Samra (Jr., 6-2, 288)
63 Ryan Crozier (Fr., 6-4, 297)

RT: 53 Andreas Knappe (RSo., 6-8, 300)
62 Thomas Hopkins (RFr., 6-6, 298)

TE: 49 Sean McQuillan (RJr., 6-3, 239)
80 Tommy Myers (RFr., 6-5, 238)

WR: 85 Geremy Davis (RSr., 6-3, 216)
8 Thomas Lucas (RFr., 6-2, 198) OR
5 Noel Thomas (So., 6-1, 187)

QB: 10 Chandler Whitmer (RSr., 6-0, 192)
14 Tim Boyle (So., 6-3, 216)

FB: 34 Jazzmar Clax (RFr., 5-11, 241)
36 Matt Walsh (So., 6-1, 227)

TB: 22 Arkeel Newsome (Fr., 5-7, 180) OR
3 Ron Johnson (Fr., 6-0, 217)
44 Max DeLorenzo (RJr., 5-11, 210) OR
26 Joshua Marriner (RFr., 5-9, 193)

WR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
1 Dhameer Bradley (So., 5-9, 166)

Defense

DE: 95 Kenton Adeyemi (RJr., 6-4, 268)
57 Cole Ormsby (RFr., 6-3, 248)

NG: 90 Julian Campenni (RJr., 6-0, 299)
92 Mikal Myers (RSo., 6-1, 312)

DT: 97 B.J. McBryde (RSr., 6-5, 304) OR
93 Folorunso Fatukasi (RFr., 6-4, 307)

DE: 47 Reuben Frank (RSr., 6-4, 246)
10 Cameron Stapleton (RFr., 6-4, 226)

LB: 46 Marquise Vann (RJr., 6-0, 226)
55 Jon Hicks (RSo., 6-2, 236)

LB: 32 Jefferson Ashiru (RSo., 6-2, 233)
39 Junior Joseph (RFr., 6-1, 242)

LB: 2 Graham Stewart (RJr., 6-1, 227)
59 Vontae Diggs (Fr., 6-4, 207)

CB: 21 Jamar Summers (Fr., 6-0, 180)
7 John Green (RSo., 5-10, 179) OR
11 Javon Hadley (So., 5-10, 164)

S: 22 Andrew Adams (RJr., 6-0, 197)
28 Jordan Floyd (RSo., 6-0, 206)

S: 20 Obi Melifonwu (RSo., 6-3, 210)
23 Junior Lee (RJr., 6-0, 214)

CB: 6 Jhavon Williams (RSo., 5-10, 190)
33 Brice McAllister (Fr., 5-11, 191)

Special Teams

K: 17 Bobby Puyol (RSo., 5-10, 174)
94 Chase Briley (Fr., 5-11, 165)

P: 42 Justin Wain (RSo., 6-3, 204)
94 Chase Briley (Fr., 5-11, 165)

HL: 82 Blake Feagles (RFr., 5-10, 205)
42 Justin Wain (RSo., 6-3, 204)

KR: 22 Arkeel Newsome (Fr., 5-7, 180)
26 Joshua Marriner (RFr., 5-9, 193)

PR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
18 Brian Lemelle (So., 5-10, 165)

LS: 66 Dominick Manco (RJr., 6-0, 213)
67 Adam Mueller (RSr., 6-1, 212)

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

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UConn Football links

UConn-Memphis Kickoff Time Set for November 29 [sox & dawgs]

UConn’s Diaco reflects on memorable season at Cincinnati [jim fuller – new haven register]

After Another Bye, UConn’s Diaco Welcomes Challenge Of Cincinnati [hartford courant]

Former UConn CB Arrested, Tried To Use Bubble Gum As Money [hartford courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Video: Stanford Upsets #1 UConn Women 88-86 In OT [sox & dawgs]

Stanford snaps UConn’s 47-game win streak [carl adamec – sny uconn]

What We Learned From The End Of A Winning Streak [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Not Your Typical UConn Performance [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Guard Play The Difference As UConn Falls To Stanford [rich elliott – ct post]

To Foul Or Not To Foul … That Was The Question [rich elliott – ct post]

Huskies Looking For More Contributions [rich elliott – ct post]

Thoughts after UConn’s loss to Stanford [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn women badly outplayed in the backcourt [ct post]

Stanford Shocks Huskies In OT, Ending Their 47-Game Streak [hartford courant]

UConn Women Hope Stanford Rivalry Will Last Indefinitely [hartford courant]

Top-ranked Huskies stunned by Stanford in overtime [new haven register]

Stanford knocks off No. 1 UConn [espnW]

Stanford women top UConn in overtime thriller [san francisco chronicle]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Video: UConn Men’s Basketball 2014-15 Intro [sox & dawgs]

Adams, Enoch Sign UConn Letters Of Intent [sox & dawgs]

UConn’s Ryan Boatright Among John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 [sox & dawgs]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Huskies Host RPI Tuesday at XL Center to Open Homestand [uconn huskies]

UConn Hockey: Center Ice, Episode 2 [uconn huskies youtube]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Hockey: Limiting Mistakes Is Focus For RPI [hartford courant]

M. Ice Hockey. RPI will be short-handed for road trip to UConn [troy record]

UConn Club. Impacting Champions: November [uconn huskies]

ESPN and the American Athletic Conference have announced the kickoff time for the game between the UConn Huskies and Memphis Tigers at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on November 29.

The game will start at 4 p.m. and be televised nationally on ESPNews.

From UConn and the Los Angeles Athletic Club:

LOS ANGELES — UConn senior guard Ryan Boatright (Aurora, Ill.) was among the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, announced today by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.

Many of last year’s NCAA Tournament stars were chosen to the Top 50, including Boatright, an All-Final Four team selection in 2014 when he helped lead his team to the NCAA title; three players from a Kentucky squad that fell to the Huskies in the title game, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, and Andrew Harrison; Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, the MVP of the 2014 West Regional; and Florida’s Michael Frazier II. Other returners of note include Tyler Haws of BYU, the nation’s No. 2 returning scorer (23.2 ppg), and Wichita State point guard Fred VanVleet, the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.

Seven freshmen were named to the team: Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre, Jr. of Kansas; Stanley Johnson of Arizona, a high school Wooden Award honoree in 2014; Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor of Duke; Karl-Anthony Towns of Kansas; and Myles Turner of Texas.

Kansas (Alexander, Oubre, Jr., Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden, Jr.) and Kentucky (Cauley-Stein, the Harrison twins, and Towns) lead the honors with four players apiece, while preseason Top 5 Arizona boasts three (Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Johnson). Duke, Louisville, Texas, Wichita State and Wisconsin have two players each on the preseason Top 50 list.

In terms of conferences, the Big 12 leads the way with 10 picks, followed by the ACC (8), and the Big Ten (7), Pac-12 (7), and SEC (7). The American, the Missouri Valley, and WCC had two picks apiece, while the Atlantic-10, Big East, Horizon, Sun Belt, and Ivy League each had one selection.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award. The Wooden Award National Advisory Board will select 25 players for the midseason list in early January. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 in early February. Fifteen top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA will be placed on the ballot and submitted to voters prior to the NCAA Tournament and voting will take into account play during the opening rounds of the tournament. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament.