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.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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UConn Football links

UConn’s Diaco States Again “We’re Not a Good Team Yet” [sox & dawgs]

Two QB Situation at UConn Not Going Away [sox & dawgs]

Former Husky WR Nick Williams Finds Home On Redskins Practice Squad [sox & dawgs]

UConn Football Depth Chart For Stony Brook Seawolves [sox & dawgs]

UConn game a homecoming for Stony Brook coach [jim fuller – new haven register]

Towson Game Of Last Season Not Far From UConn’s Mind [hartford courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Faris to play in Australia [jim fuller – new haven register]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Three Huskies Tally Goals In No. 8 UConn’s 3-0 Victory Over Stony Brook [uconn huskies]

M. Soccer. UConn Soccer Team Shuts Out Stony Brook [hartford courant]

W. Soccer. Gottwik Scores First Career Goal In 1-1 Draw At Syracuse [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Anagu Named The American’s Defensive Player of the Week [uconn huskies]

Ahead of today’s pregame press conference for the Stony Brook Seawolves, UConn Huskies football coach Bob Diaco has released his two-deep for the game and there are no changes to it from the post-camp one.

Honestly, I’m not surprised as they had one game to evaluate players. Plus it’s almost like the two deep didn’t matter as the Huskies played 50 players, 25 on offense and 25 on defense, in the loss to the BYU Cougars last Friday night.

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: 78 Dalton Gifford (RJr., 6-4, 304)
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: 12 Casey Cochran (RSo., 6-1, 224)
10 Chandler Whitmer (RSr., 6-0, 192)

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

TB: 44 Max DeLorenzo (RJr., 5-11, 210)
26 Joshua Marriner (RFr., 5-9, 193)

WR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
9 Kamal Abrams (RJr., 5-11, 182) OR
1 Dhameer Bradley (So., 5-9, 166)

Defense

DE: 56 Angelo Pruitt (RSr., 6-2, 287)
93 Folorunso Fatukasi (RFr., 6-4, 307)

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

DT: 97 B.J. McBryde (RSr., 6-5, 304)
95 Kenton Adeyemi (RJr., 6-4, 268)

DE: 47 Reuben Frank (RSr., 6-4, 246)
57 Cole Ormsby (RFr., 6-3, 248)

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)
10 Cameron Stapleton (RFr., 6-4, 226)

CB: 16 Byron Jones (RSr., 6-1, 196)
7 John Green (RSo., 5-10, 179)

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) OR
19 Ellis Marder (RSo., 6-1, 193)

CB: 6 Jhavon Williams (RSo., 5-10, 190)
21 Jamar Summers (Fr., 6-0, 180)

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)
12 Casey Cochran (RSo., 6-1, 224)

KR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
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)

On March 10 of this year, just about three months into the job and after his first spring practice, UConn Huskies football coach Bob Diaco told the assembled media the Huskies weren’t a good team.

“We’ve got enough players to have a good team, but we’re not a good team,” Diaco said. “We’re not a good team.”

On Monday’s American Athletic Conference coaches call, Diaco repeated those same words.

“We’re not a good team yet. We’ve got a lot to work on.”

Like it did in March, it caught me off guard.

One of things he emphasized in March was they weren’t good because they continued to do the things that cause losing. And yes that happened again on Friday night.

After allowing a BYU touchdown, Deshon Foxx took the kickoff back to his 44 yard line giving the Huskies excellent field position for their first possession of the 2014 season. Or so we thought.

Jazzmar Clax was called for a block in the back putting UConn back a their own 19 yard line. On the first offensive touch, Max Delorenzo fumbled the ball and the Cougars recovered at the 26.

BYU made them pay when Taysom Hill hit Mitch Mathews for a 26 yard touchdown on bad coverage from the secondary.

Block in the back penalty. Fumble. Bad coverage. All things that cause losing.

“You can’t start a football game like that and think you’re going win, come on.” said Diaco after Friday night’s game.

So it makes it understandable as to why Diaco said what he said about the team not being good. But does that make UConn a bad team?

In the grand scheme of things, they are a 1,000 times better than when Diaco took over. Are they still doing some things that cause losing? Yes. But, they are doing it less and will eventually get there sooner rather than later.

They are better men, they are better football players. They believe in their coaches. Most importantly, they believe in each other.

As far as the football part goes, they’re only going to get better over time. And if Diaco employs the same tactics he did with playing 50 players including 18 players who had not played a down of college football, they will be a much better football team then they were when they took the field.

“The only way players are going to get better is to play,” Diaco said on Monday. “We played 50 players – 25 on offense, 25 on defense – in the first half. It was meaningful snaps. We stayed on that plan the whole game and didn’t change, so the players got better.”

Being down on the field affords me a different perspective to the game.

I never once saw the guys get down despite the score. I saw them battle hard. I saw a cohesive team on the sideline. If a player wasn’t playing in the game and his unit (offense or defense) was on the field, he was standing as close to the game action as he could be soaking it all in.

The coaches weren’t yelling at the players if something bad happened, they were coaching and correcting it making sure it didn’t happen again.

Overall, the scoreboard might have shown a 25 point loss. But I can tell you, UConn was a better football team on Friday night than they were on Friday afternoon.

And folks, that is progress which I expect you’ll see all season long.

We’ve known for quite a while that UConn Huskies head coach Bob Diaco was going to play two quarterbacks during games. Two weeks ago, we found out those two quarterbacks were going to be Casey Cochran and Chandler Whitmer.

Last Thursday before the eventual loss against the BYU Cougars the following night, they learned how they would be used.

“We preset that every third drive was going to be Chandler’s,” Diaco said during his teleconference on Saturday. “We felt he had a higher aptitude at that point. We had a plan for him to come in once the ball penetrated 22 yard line and got into the scoring zone.”

“If the drive stalled, we would activate Chandler in the high and low red. Which, we ended up doing. We detailed our plan on Thursday, shared it with the players Thursday afternoon, and we stuck to it. We did exactly what we wanted to.”

On the outside looking in, it looked as though Whitmer had the better game as he moved the Huskies down the field and led them to their first and only touchdown. They looked more cohesive as a unit.

But Cochran also moved the ball down the field well to start the third quarter only to be replaced by Whitmer, who then sacked twice. UConn tried a fake field goal with Blake Feagles but the Cougars sniffed it out.

Here’s the thing.

While they may have some different tangible and intangible traits, they are essentially the same quarterback. One is good at this while the other is good at that. But both play the same style. So it’s easy to prepare for both of them when they could be looked at as one and the same.

Down on the field, I could hear the fans grumbling when a quarterback change was made. We’ve seen it in the past at UConn and it hasn’t worked.

That doesn’t mean it won’t work under Diaco.

So what should we expect to see on Saturday against Stony Brook?

According to Diaco on Monday’s American Athletic Conference coaches call, we’re going to see both Cochran and Whitmer again with maybe more Whitmer in the red zone.

“I think he (Whitmer) has a little better capacity to keep plays alive with his legs and it opens up more offensive plays for us a bit,” said Diaco. “He’s a got a higher aptitude and maturity in decision-making down there in a complex situation.”

Don’t rule out Cochran in the red zone either.

“Casey is getting much better down there, too.”

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.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Photos: UConn Huskies vs BYU Cougars – 8/29/14 [sox & dawgs]

BYU Spoils Diaco’s UConn Debut, 35-10 [sox & dawgs]

Video: Highlights from BYU’s 35-10 Win over UConn Football [sox & dawgs]

Video: Matt Balis Has Reshaped UConn Football Team [sox & dawgs]

Video: The Change In Culture Under Bob Diaco [sox & dawgs]

16 Former UConn Football Players Make 2014 NFL Rosters [sox & dawgs]

UConn football: A long way to go [john silver – sny uconn]

The day after: On quarterbacks and subs [john silver – sny uconn]

UConn football: How the 2 QB system worked [john silver – sny uconn]

Wrapping up the American Week 1: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly [john silver – sny uconn]

Tale of the Tape: UConn offense vs. BYU [the uconn blog]

Change Is Here [uconn huskies]

BYU pounds UConn 35-10 in opener [ct post]

High School stars Cochran, Newsome connect on pass play [ct post]

UConn notebook: Diaco relies on youth in season opener [ct post]

A Deflating Debut As UConn Falls To BYU [hartford courant]

From Clean And Crisp To Bedraggled, Just Like That [hartford courant]

BYU’s Hill Lives Up To Expectations [hartford courant]

For Huskies, BYU Sets A Good Example [hartford courant]

UConn Report Card [hartford courant]

BYU dominates UConn in Bob Diaco debut [new haven register]

A stark reminder of how far UConn football has to go [new haven register]

UConn trying to get more receivers involved in passing game [new haven register]

BYU spoils Diaco’s debut at UConn 35-10 [the day]

Are Diaco’s measures of progress different than ours? [the day]

UConn falls to BYU 35-10 in season-opener [the hour]

Platoon II: Calling the UConn quarterback situation what it appears to be [the hour]

Penalties resulted in a choppy Cougar performance at UConn [daily herald]

BYU football creates own perfect storm, rolls past UConn [daily herald]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn women always a top draw [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Chris Clarke Down to 7, Set for UConn Visit [zagsblog]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Hill Scores In Third Straight, UConn Falls 3-1 At No. 8 Penn State [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. UConn Sweeps UNH in 2014 Season Opener [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Finishes Second at 2014 UConn Classic [uconn huskies]

M. Soccer. No. 8 Huskies Fall To No. 17 Coastal Carolina, 3-2, In Season Opener Friday [uconn huskies]

M. Soccer. Coastal Carolina’s Comeback Spoils UConn Opener [hartford courant]

M. Soccer. No. 8 UConn Continues Regular Season Action Monday Against Stony Brook [uconn huskies]

W. Cross Country. UConn Women’s Cross Country Posts Excellent Results in Season Opener [uconn huskies]

Field Hockey. No. 3 UConn Tops No. 14 Northwestern, 3-2, In Overtime [uconn huskies]

Baseball. Barnes Pitching With A Major Purpose [hartford courant]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn’s Goalies Coach Has Wealth Of Experience [hartford courant]

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly football honors for the first week of the college football season.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Keevan Lucas • So. • WR • Tulsa • Abilene, Texas

Lucas helped Tulsa rally from a 21-7 deficit as the Golden Hurricane scored a 38-31 double-overtime win against Tulane in both teams’ American Athletic Conference debuts. Lucas had 13 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns, finishing six yards shy of the conference’s single-game record for receiving yards. He had touchdown receptions of 43 and 84 yards in the first half, both of which brought Tulsa within seven points of the Green Wave, and his 3-yard TD catch with 2:53 left in regulation forced overtime.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tavon Young • Jr. • CB • Temple • Oxon Hill, Md.

Young registered a pair of interceptions to lead a Temple defense that limited Vanderbilt to 28 yards of offense in the Owls’ 37-7 win. Temple, which had just three defensive interceptions in the entire 2013 season, matched that total in Week 1 behind Young’s two picks — both of which led to points on the offensive end. Young finished the day with two tackles and had a combined 35 yards on his two INT returns.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Marvin Kloss • Sr. • K • USF • Naples, Fla.

Kloss, who was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker in 2013, got off to a strong start in 2014 as he scored 12 points, including a 3-for-3 showing on field goals, in USF’s 36-31 win against Western Carolina. Kloss hit first-half field goals of 47, 33 and 26 yards to help the Bulls trail by just one point at halftime after the offense struggled in the first 30 minutes.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Justin Hardy • Sr. • WR • East Carolina • Vanceboro, N.C.

Had eight receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass in a 52-7 win against North Carolina Central. Became the school’s career receptions leader (274).

Jarvis Cooper • Fr. • RB • Memphis • West Memphis, Ark.

Rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries in a 63-0 win against Austin Peay. Became just the third player in school history to reach 100 yards in his first career game (joining DeAngelo Williams in 2002 and Larry Porter in 2006).

Marlon Mack • Fr. • RB • USF • Sarasota, Fla.

Rushed for an American Athletic Conference-record 275 yards on 24 carries with four touchdowns (62, 60, 57, 3) in a 36-31 win against Western Carolina. Scored three second-half touchdowns to help the Bulls rally from a halftime deficit.

P.J. Walker • So. • QB • Temple • Elizabeth, N.J.

Completed 23 of 34 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 21 yards and a TD in a 37-7 win at Vanderbilt.

Sherman Badie • Fr. • RB • Tulane • Metarie, La.

Rushed for 215 yards, including a 90-yard touchdown, on just 15 carries in a 38-31 double-overtime loss at Tulsa. Finished one yard shy of Matt Forte’s freshman rushing record at Tulane.

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today acquired infielder/outfielder Jemile Weeks and minor league infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr. from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for infielder/outfielder Kelly Johnson and minor league third baseman Michael Almanzar.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.

Weeks, 27, appeared in only three games for Orioles this season and was 3-for-11 (.273) with a triple and two runs scored. A switch-hitter, he has spent the majority of 2014 with Triple-A Norfolk in Baltimore’s minor league system. In his 63 games there, Weeks hit .280 (58-for-207) with 12 doubles, four triples, one home run, 19 RBI, and 28 runs scored. With Double-A Norfolk, he totaled more walks (37) than strikeouts (30). For his major league career, he has hit .259 (225-for-870) with 41 doubles, 17 triples, four home runs, and 56 RBI in 226 games between the Oakland Athletics (2011-13) and Orioles (2014). The younger brother of Milwaukee Brewers infielder Rickie Weeks, Jemile was a first-round selection of the Athletics (12th overall) in the 2008 June Draft. He was originally selected by Milwaukee in the eighth round of the 2005 June Draft, but elected to play baseball at the University of Miami.

De Jesus Jr., 27, spent all of 2014 with the Orioles’ Norfolk affiliate, where he was named to the International League’s mid-season All-Star Team. He hit .282 (116-for-411) with 19 doubles, five triples, five homers, 56 RBI, and 50 walks in 113 games and appeared at shortstop (98 games), second base (8), and third base (1). The right-handed batter has a .205 average with three doubles and five RBI in 48 career major league games over parts of two seasons between the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-12) and Red Sox (2012). De Jesus Jr. was first acquired by the Red Sox on August 25, 2012 as part of the nine-player deal that sent Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, and Nick Punto to the Dodgers. He played in eight games for Boston in the final month of September 2012 and went 0-for-8 at the plate. The son of 15-year major league veteran shortstop Ivan De Jesus, Sr., he was the Dodgers’ second-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft and has hit .298 with 178 doubles, 22 triples, 38 home runs, 421 RBI, and 73 stolen bases in 945 career minor league games.

Johnson, 32, was acquired from the New York Yankees on July 31 and played in 10 games for the Red Sox after being activated from the 15-day disabled list on August 7. The left-handed batter went 4-for-25 (.160) with a double and an RBI for Boston, appearing at first base (5 games, 4 starts), third base (2 games, 1 start), second base (1 game), and left field (1 game). In 87 games between the Red Sox and Yankees in 2014, Johnson has hit .212 (48-for-226) with 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs, and 23 RBI. A nine-year major league veteran, Johnson has hit .250 with 201 doubles, 40 triples, 130 home runs, 465 RBI, 81 stolen bases, and 462 walks in 1,138 career games between the Braves (2005, 2007-09), Diamondbacks (2010-11), Blue Jays (2011-12), Rays (2013), Yankees (2014), and Red Sox (2014).

Almanzar, 23, was acquired by the Orioles during the Rule 5 Draft this past December and returned to the Red Sox organization on July 1. The right-handed batter played in nine games in the Orioles system between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, High-A Frederick, and Triple-A Norfolk. In the Red Sox system, he has played 49 games this season, all with Double-A Portland, batting .277 (46-for-166) with nine doubles, five homers, 25 RBI, and 12 walks. Originally signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2007, Almanzar has hit .251 with a 147 doubles, 12 triples, 55 home runs, and 333 RBI over seven minor league seasons.

Here are photos from Friday night’s game between the UConn Huskies football team and the BYU Cougars at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT. BYU won the game 35-10.

photo credits: ian bethune – sox & dawgs

UConn Huskies head coach Bob Diaco knew all along that BYU Cougars QB Taysom Hill was going to get his yards on the ground running. I don’t think he quite expected what he did in the air as well.

Hill accounted for 405 of BYU’s 513 total yards and was in on all five touchdowns as the Cougars beat the Huskies 35-10 in front of 35,150 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT on Friday night.

All spring and summer long we heard how the Huskies had to eliminate the things that cause losing. They didn’t do a good job of that early on.

After BYU opened the scoring, a Jazzmar Claxx holding call on a great return from Deshon Foxx set the Huskies back at their own 19 yard line. Then on the first play from scrimmage, Max Delorenzo fumbled the ball and it was recovered by BYU’s Bronson Kaufusi.

On the very next play, Hill hit Mitch Mathews for a 26-yard touchdown pass and within a span of 21 seconds, UConn found themselves down 14-0.

“You can’t start a football game like that and can’t win… come on,” Diaco said.

It was 21-0 before the Huskies finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half on a Joshua Marriner one yard touchdown run. But a breakdown by the defense allowed the Cougars to score before the end of the first half  and UConn found themselves down 28-7 at the break.

The third quarter was scoreless and you never saw a sense of urgency from the Huskies trailing by three scores. Even after they kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter and got the ball back, you never saw the Huskies trying to play hurry up or anything like that.

“Our program is like an infant, we have a long way to go but we have the right guys to go there,” Diaco said. “There isn’t any doubt about that”.

Scoring:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
BYU Tigers	14	14	0	7	35
UConn Huskies	0	7	0	3	10

1st quarter

BYU – 9:56 – Taysom Hill 7 Yd Run (Trevor Samson Kick)

BYU – 9:35 – Mitch Mathews 26 Yd pass from Taysom Hill (Trevor Samson Kick)

2nd quarter

BYU – 9:13 – Adam Hine 7 Yd pass from Taysom Hill (Trevor Samson Kick)

CON – 2:33 – Joshua Marriner 1 Yd Run (Bobby Puyol Kick)

BYU – 1:03 – Terenn Houk 35 Yd pass from Taysom Hill (Trevor Samson Kick)

3rd quarter

No scoring

4th quarter

CON – 11:48 – Bobby Puyol 35 Yd Field Goal

CON – 4:06 – Taysom Hill 26 Yd Run (Trevor Samson Kick)

Offensive Players of the Game:

BYU QB Taysom Hill dominated the Huskies. I actually gave him the nickname of “The Snake” for the way he slithered through UConn’s defense. Hill was 28-of-306 for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Game:

BYU LB Zac Stout had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

A three play combination was the turning point of this game.

After a BYU touchdown, UConn WR/KR Deshon Foxx had a great kickoff return but Jazzmar Claxx was called for holding during the return. Then on the first play from scrimmage of the season, Max DeLorenzo fumbled and it was recovered by BYU’s Bronson Kaufusi. Then on the very next play, Hill found Mitch Mathews for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Offensive Notes:

Casey Cochran was 17-of-31 for 171 yards and an interception. He was sacked once. Chandler Whitmer was 8-of-17 for 113 yards and was sacked three times. Max Delorenzo had nine carries for 38 yards. Joshua Marriner had nine carries for 27 yards and a touchdown and also had one catch for 17 yards. Arkeel Newsome had three runs for 10 yards and one catch for 18 yards. Geremy Davis had nine catches for 96 yards. Kamal Abrams had three catches for 38 yards while Sean McQuillan had three catches for 33 yards.

Defensive Notes:

UConn’s LB trio of Marquise Vann, Jefferson Ashiru and Graham Stewart each had 11 tackles. Ashiru was also credited with a 1/2 sack along with Cameron Stapleton. Stewart had a forced fumble that was recovered by Reuben Frank. Junior Joseph had a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Andrew Adams had eight tackles.

Special Teams Notes:

Bobby Puyol made his only field goal attempt from 35 yards. One of his kickoffs went out of bounds. He also made his only extra point try. Justin Wain had four punts that averaged 35.8 yards. Only one of those four punts was downed inside the 20.

Game Notes:

BYU Cougars @ UConn Huskies 8/29/14 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Bob Diaco and BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Here are the postgame notes courtesy of the UConn Athletic Communications Department:

• Friday’s night contest was the first between UConn and BYU. The Huskies will play at BYU on Oct. 2, 2015.
• The contest marked the debut for UConn Head Coach Bob Diaco.
• Jefferson Ashiru, Graham Stewart and Marquise Vann each set new career-highs with 11 tackles apiece.
• Joshua Marriner scored his first career touchdown with a one-yard score in the second quarter. Marriner finished the day with nine carries for 27 yards in his first collegiate appearance.
• Geremy Davis now has at least one catch in 27 straight games. That streak is tied for longest in the nation. Davis finished the game with seven receptions for 96 yards.
• Arkeel Newsome made his first collegiate catch, an 18-yard gain in the first quarter. He also carried three times for 10 yards.
• Justin Wain recorded his first career punt in the first quarter. Overall on the day, Wain punted four times, averaging 35.8 yards per punt.
• Ron Johnson carried for six yards midway through the second quarter, his first career rush. Johnson finished with three carries for nine yards.
• Cameron Stapleton was credited with a half sack in the second quarter, his first career sack.
• Tommy Myers recorded his first career catch in the third quarter.
• Alec Bloom also made his first career reception in the fourth quarter. Bloom finished with two catches for 24 yards.
• Bobby Puyol connected on a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. It was the first field goal for Puyol, who redshirted last season, since Dec. 1, 2012.
• UConn is now 48-25 all-time at Rentschler Field and 26-12 in non-conference games there.

Injuries:

Geremy Davis suffered an undisclosed injury in the 3rd quarter. He return in the 4th.

AAC Games and Results:

Thursday, August 28

Tulane 31
Tulsa 38, OT

Temple 37
Vanderbilt 7

Friday, August 29

UTSA 27
Houston 7

Saturday, August 30

UCF 24
Penn State 26

Austin Peay
Memphis, 7 p.m.

West Carolina
South Florida, 7 p.m.

North Carolina Central
East Carolina,  8 p.m.

Things to Work On:

• Eliminate the things that cause losing.
• Eliminate the things that cause losing
• Red zone offense
• Eliminate the things that cause losing

Up Next:

UConn stays home next Saturday, September 6 as they’ll take on the Stony Brook Seawolves. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.

photo credit: ian bethune – sox & dawgs

A lot of people have asked me the following question. What kind of team will head coach Bob Diaco have with the UConn Huskies football team?

Here’s what coach Diaco had to say that question at the American Athletic Conference Media Day:

“The team is going to be intense. The team is going to love each other. The team is going to love football. The team is going to work to eliminate the things that cause losing, pre-snap penalties, errors with the football, mistakes like that (lack of control and emotional control mistakes). The team is going to display their passion. They’re going to play hard and give great, great effort.”

Doesn’t that remind you of what he said on Monday when he was asked about what expects from the team against BYU?