STORRS, Conn. -- Connecticut changed football coaches this week.
Next week it plans to change quarterbacks.
Interim coach T.J. Weist took the red shirt off highly touted freshman Tim Boyle Tuesday and announced that Boyle would start over Chandler Whitmer when the Huskies next play on Oct. 12 against South Florida (0-4).
"We're open to playing him," he said before the decision was announced. "We know we have an off week. We're honestly open to playing any freshman."
Whitmer, a junior, has completed 71 of 129 passes for 896 yards, with five touchdowns and six interceptions. But he has led an offense that ranks 119th out of 123 bowl subdivision programs and, more importantly, is 0-4.
Calls for a change began before this week's firing of Paul Pasqualoni. And the former coach, speaking to reporters on Monday night, said the switch to Boyle already was in the works.
"We made that decision last week that that would be the direction to go in," he said. "We tried to give Timmy some time to develop, give him an opportunity to be on the road and experience the whole thing, get as much practice in under his belt before we threw him in there."
The 6-foot-4 Boyle, who originally committed to Boston College before switching to UConn, passed for almost 2,500 yards as a senior at Xavier High in Middletown.
UConn is off this week. Weist says he'll use that time to evaluate all his personnel and determine what other changes may be needed. He said whatever moves he makes will be designed to show that UConn is planning to win this year.
That is something athletic director Warde Manuel said is a must, if the interim coach wants to be a candidate for the job on a permanent basis.
AP Photo/Al BehrmanCincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville on returning to practice after the death of redshirt freshman Ben Flick: "I have not known how to handle it. There is no right or wrong way. It's just that you hear the old adage: Time heals all."CINCINNATI -- The first practice after the accident was unforgettable.
Unforgettable for the silence in the Cincinnati Bearcats' locker room and weight room. Unforgettable for the emotion of young men trying to deal with the death of a teammate and the serious injury to another.
"The first day after the accident, I'll always remember the locker room was the most eerie thing," senior offensive guard Austen Bujnoch said on Tuesday. "I didn't hear one word the entire day. We lifted, had practice -- I didn't hear one word.
"But we're pushing through it."
The Bearcats (3-1) are coming off a bye week filled with mourning. Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Ben Flick of Hamilton, Ohio, was killed in a traffic accident on his way back from a 14-0 victory over Miami of Ohio in nearby Oxford on Sept. 21.
There were four students in the car. The driver -- an 18-year-old Miami student who was friends with the Cincinnati players -- also was killed. Two redshirt freshman receivers were injured.
Mark Barr of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., remains in serious condition in intensive care at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, coach Tommy Tuberville said on Tuesday. Javon Harrison from suburban Dayton was treated at the hospital after the accident.
As redshirt freshmen, the players didn't dress or travel with the team to the game, so they were traveling on their own.
STORRS, Conn. -- Connecticut changed coaches this week. Next week, it may be changing quarterbacks.
Interim coach T.J. Weist said Monday he is considering taking the redshirt off freshman Tim Boyle and starting him over Chandler Whitmer when the Huskies (0-4) play host to South Florida (0-4) on Oct. 12.
"We're open to playing him," Weist said. "We haven't made any decisions yet from that standpoint. We know we have an off week. We're honestly open to playing any freshman."
Whitmer, a junior, has completed 71 of 129 passes for 896 yards, with five touchdowns and six interceptions. But the Huskies' offense ranks 119th out of 123 bowl subdivision teams overall and dead last in rushing at just under 46 yards per game.
Calls for a change began before Monday's firing of Paul Pasqualoni. And the former coach, speaking to reporters Monday night, said the switch to Boyle already was in the works.
"We made that decision last week that that would be the direction to go in," he said. "We tried to give Timmy some time to develop, give him an opportunity to be on the road and experience the whole thing, get as much practice under his belt before we threw him in there."
The 6-foot-4 Boyle originally committed to Boston College before switching to UConn.
Early Offer: OSU and LeBron wow recruits 
Just watched Lebron James give a pre-game speech in the team room, so sick. #buckeyes This is the real deal
— MG (@mikegesicki) September 28, 2013
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2. Oregon has won its last 15 road conference games, the longest such FBS winning streak. The Ducks have won their last game at every Pac-12 opponent save Utah (in 2003, when Utes were in MWC. Does that count?) Alabama has won nine straight road SEC games. Stanford and Texas A&M each have won their last five road conference games. The Cardinal lost to Washington in 2012 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. However, with the victory at that stadium Saturday over Washington State, Stanford has won its last game at every opposing venue in the Pac-12.
3. Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds will announce today that he is retiring next August after 32 years. All Dodds, a former track coach, has done is transform Texas into the premier sports program in the nation. It took him three coaching hires to find Mack Brown, but 150 wins and one BCS championship in 16 seasons indicate Dodds got that one right. It’s a measure of the resources and the expectations that Dodds has raised that fans wonder why the Longhorns don’t dominate every sport in which they compete.
nullnullThe Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:
Mrs. Murphy: "May I help you boys?"
Elwood: "You got any white bread?"
Mrs. Murphy: "Yes."
Elwood: "I'll have some toasted white bread please."
Mrs. Murphy: "You want butter or jam on that toast, honey?"
Elwood: "No ma'am, dry."
Jake: "Got any fried chicken?"
Mrs. Murphy: "Best damn chicken in the state."
Jake: "Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke."
Mrs. Murphy: "You want chicken wings or chicken legs?"
Jake: "Four fried chickens and a Coke."
Elwood: "And some dry white toast please."
-- Aretha Franklin, Dan Akroyd and John Belushi, "The Blues Brothers"
Hollywood director and producer Steven Spielberg knows white bread when he sees it.
Spielberg, who had a bit part in John Landis'1980 film "The Blue Brothers," also can recognize a disaster.
Speaking at USC last week, Spielberg was asked to identify his favorite disaster movie. "The Washington State game," he answered.
Ouch.
The Bottom 10 wonders what Spielberg thought about Saturday night's 62-41 loss at Arizona State? We know what USC athletics director Pat Haden thought about another ugly Trojans loss; he fired coach Lane Kiffin only a few minutes after the Trojans returned home to L.A. early Sunday morning.
While Kiffin's offense was about as exciting as white bread, at least he could recruit and evaluate talent. USC twice denied Spielberg admission to its film school, forcing him to settle for Cal State Long Beach! USC later awarded him an honorary degree and made him a trustee.
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut athletic director Warde Manuel says he's looking for a football coach who can bring more excitement, passion, and above all wins to UConn.
Manuel fired coach Paul Pasqualoni on Monday, with his team 0-4 and coming off a 41-12 loss at Buffalo.
Pasqualoni, in his third season at UConn, finishes with a 10-18 record. Associate head coach George DeLeone, who coached the offensive line, also was let go.
"I'm changing now because we have to have different leadership to get different results," Manuel said. "I'm not comfortable with losing."
The school said it will pay Pasqualoni $750,000 to buy out his contract.
The Huskies are off this week before hosting South Florida on Oct. 12.
Offensive coordinator T.J. Weist, whose energetic style is a contrast to the more reserved Pasqualoni, will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The 48-year-old Weist, who played at Alabama, came to Connecticut in the offseason from Cincinnati, where he coached wide receivers.
Weist also has worked at his alma mater, Michigan, Southern Illinois, Tulsa and Western Kentucky.
At UConn, he's overseen an offense that ranks last in the bowl subdivision in rushing, and 119th out of 123 teams in total offense.
Weist said the team is taking the approach that it is starting at 0-0 entering conference play.
"I definitely think I'm prepared for this, and I'm ready for it," Weist said. "And I want it."
Manuel said Weist would have to show he can win to have "any shot" at becoming the team's permanent coach.
Manuel said he will not be contacting active coaches at other programs about the job until after the season. He said the school will be fiscally responsible in hiring a new coach, but will not take a step back when it comes to being competitive in paying its coach. Pasqualoni was to make $1.6 million this year.
With firings, timing can be everything
Lane Kiffin and Paul Pasqualoni have joined an exclusive club.
On Monday, Connecticut fired third-year coach Pasqualoni, two days after the Huskies fell to 0-4 following a 41-12 loss to Buffalo.
A day earlier, USC fired fourth-year coach Lane Kiffin only hours after the Trojans were blasted 62-41 at Arizona State, dropping their record to 3-2.
Such early-season firings are rare, but not unprecedented. Since 1998, only four head coaches at BCS schools had failed to coach their teams past the sixth game of the season: Arizona's Mike Stoops (2011), Clemson's Tommy Bowden (2008), Arizona's John Mackovic (2003) and Auburn's Terry Bowden (1998).
We've seen two such firings in the last 48 hours, and the calendar hasn't even turned to October.
"It's disturbing to me," Baylor coach Art Briles told reporters on Monday. "It makes me thankful when I walk into my office that the chair's there."
But Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said Connecticut and USC made the right decisions if the schools didn't think they were going to bring their coaches back next season. After Florida lost at Mississippi State 38-31 in the seventh game of the 2004 season, Foley decided to fire coach Ron Zook and begin the search for his replacement immediately.
"Obviously, we've been down that road ourselves," Foley said. "I understand why it's done. If it's not working, there's no reason to wait. It gives those two universities time to get their ducks in a row."
Kansas gets combine standout Hartzog
Hartzog, who has an Oct. 18 official visit to Lawrence, Kan. scheduled, was recruited by Jayhawks defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt.
He originally committed to Houston in June, switched to Utah later that month but dropped the Utes in August.
Arkansas State, Iowa State, Lamar, McNeese State, Northwestern State, Texas State, Tulane and UTSA also extended scholarship offers to the 5-foot-11, 182-pound prospect.
Hartzog posted outstanding combine figures this spring on the Nike circuit. His marks included an electronically-timed 4.49 40-yard dash, 4.16 20-yard shuttle, 37.4-inch vertical, 37-foot power throw and 110.91 SPARQ.
The Jayhawks now have nine players on board for 2014. Their class includes two ESPN 300 recruits, one four-star and six three-stars.
Stephen Morris calls USF 'dirty team'
Miami quarterback Stephen Morris called South Florida a "dirty team" Saturday following a 49-21 win in Tampa, Fla., accusing the Bulls of twisting his injured right ankle in a pile.
Morris left the game in the second quarter after reinjuring his ankle, which he hurt last week against Savannah State.
According to The Palm Beach Post, Morris said, "South Florida's a dirty team. When you're down and tackled and everyone's on top, they're going to try to go for your ankles. We were up three, four touchdowns. Ain't no point for me to mess with these guys who are going to play dirty.
"It is what it is. I wanted to score 70 points on them. They disrespected us, so I had no respect for them. At that point, I felt like we should just keep pushing it, keep killing them."
Morris had thrown for 222 yards and two touchdowns to put Miami ahead 21-7 when he left the game. For the second straight week, Ryan Williams replaced Morris. Williams finished with 153 yards on 8-of-14 passing, with a touchdown and an interception.
South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, but Mike Davis scored three TDs to help South Carolina beat UCF 28-25.
Video: Miami 49, South Florida 21
Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns before leaving Miami's 49-21 win over South Florida with an injury.
Sean Galvin kickoff for 11 yards returned by Bruce Ellington for 31 yards to the UCF 15.
Sean Galvin kickoff for 11 yards returned by Bruce Ellington for 31 yards to the UCF 15.
