ESPN College Football

Is UConn becoming an NFL factory?

The Huskies had four players selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft last year and had some players give impressive performances during their pro day on Wednesday.

Cornerback Robert McClain turned heads with a time of 4.43 in the 40 before tweaking a hamstring. He also posted a 38.5-inch vertical. Those numbers will get him some attention.

Defensive end Lindsey Witten was also impressive with a 4.65 time in the 40. Here's a full list of all the 40 times from the Hartford Courant.

Receiver Marcus Easley, who had a great showing at the NFL Combine, did not run the 40, but he showed off a 36.5-inch vertical. It looks more and more like he'll get drafted, which is amazing considering he was a walk on until last April.

Others, like offensive linemen Dan Ryan and Mike Hicks, are hoping to go the free-agent route. On thing teams know for sure is that players who learned under Randy Edsall will be fundamentally sound and prepared.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Zach Frazer won the Connecticut starting quarterback job after a competition in the spring and fall camp with Cody Endres. But Frazer hurt his knee against North Carolina in Week 2, opening the door for Endres to take over.

Frazer is healthy enough now to play. But Huskies coach Randy Edsall said at his weekly press conference Tuesday that it's still Endres' job, and that he told both the quarterbacks that on Monday.

"It's unfortunate Zach was No. 1 coming out of the spring and then in the fall and gets injured," Edsall said, as quoted by the Hartford Courant's Desmond Conner. "Cody has played well, just look at the numbers, he has performed very, very well and better than Zach has. I told Zach his job is to be ready mentally and physically to go. He's a play away. I still think he's a bit rusty after watching him on Sunday."

It's hard to argue against the numbers. Endres has completed 66.3 percent of his passes and has three touchdowns and no interceptions. Frazer has completed 51.2 percent with two touchdowns and four picks.

Edsall also said linebacker Scott Lutrus, who returned last week after a three-game absence only to suffer another stinger injury, is doubtful for this week's game against Louisville. Jory Johnson would start in his place. Freshman Erik Kuraczea will start at left guard over junior Mathieu Olivier, and sophomore Mike Ryan is the No. 1 left tackle ahead of senior Dan Ryan.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Let's look back (not in anger) before we look forward:

Team of the week: West Virginia. The Mountaineers scored the revenge they so desperately wanted against East Carolina and notched the Big East's best nonconference win to date.

Best game: Not a lot of instant classics in Week 2. North Carolina's 12-10 defeat of UConn had the late drama, though it wasn't pretty most of the time.

Biggest play: Dan Ryan's holding call in the UConn end zone with 1:32 left proved the difference in the North Carolina game. Two things to remember about that, though. One, Moe Petrus's bad snap put the offense in a bad position to start with. And two, the way UConn's offense had been playing, it's quite likely the Huskies would have still lost that game, either in overtime or after punting in regulation. To his credit, Ryan owned up to the mistake after the game.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Jarrett Brown, West Virginia. The Mountaineers quarterback was marvelous against East Carolina, throwing for 334 yards and four touchdowns. His 58-yard scoring strike to Tavon Austin between three defenders might have been the prettiest play of the week.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): Lindsey Witten, Connecticut. The defensive end claims this award for the second straight week. He was credited with three sacks for the second game in a row against North Carolina, though his official stats now only give him five on the year. Regardless, he's among the nation's leaders in the category.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati. Gilyard was known for his kickoff returns for touchdowns last year. This season, he added a punt return for a score, bringing one back 53 yards against Southeast Missouri State. It was Cincinnati's first punt return touchdown since 1997. That was part of a four-touchdown day for Gilyard.

Worst Hangover: UConn. It was a crushing loss, at home, and now the Huskies have to go on the road to Baylor without injured starting quarterback Zach Frazer.

Strangest moment: Rutgers tried -- and executed -- a fake PAT after going up 23-0 on Howard. I guess the Scarlet Knights thought that extra point would come in handy during the 45-7 win.

Now let's look ahead to Week 3, which is by far the most interesting week in the Big East thus far. Six games that bring at least some intrigue. Here's what's on tap, in descending order of interest and importance:

Cincinnati (2-0, 1-0) at Oregon State (2-0): The Bearcats are all the way up to 17th in the AP Top 25, and going cross country to beat a good Pac-10 team would only improve their rep. This should be an entertaining game filled with playmakers on both sides, including Gilyard and the Rodgers brothers.

West Virginia (2-0) at Auburn (2-0): Both teams have looked pretty good offensively early on, and it's a chance for the Big East to get another win in SEC country. The last time a Big East team went to the Plains, South Florida won. And of course the Mountaineers beat the Tigers last year in Morgantown.

Navy (1-1) at Pittsburgh (2-0): The Panthers steamrolled Navy in Annapolis last year, but the Midshipmen looked good against Ohio State in Week 1 and should never be underestimated.

Northwestern (2-0) at Syracuse (0-2): Last chance for the Orange to get a Big Ten conference victory. Wait, they're not in the Big Ten?

Connecticut (1-1) at Baylor (1-0): Robert Griffin put on a show last year at UConn, but the Huskies got the win. Baylor might have the edge this year at home.

Louisville (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0): Means a lot to people within the state, but not much elsewhere this year. Steve Kragthorpe looks to avoid going 0-3 against his chief rival.

Florida International (0-1) at Rutgers (1-1, 0-1): Former Greg Schiano assistant Mario Cristobal will bring the Golden Panthers to Piscataway. Hey, we're stretching for storylines here.

Charleston Southern (0-2) at South Florida (2-0): South Florida beat Wofford 40-7 in the opener. Charleston Southern lost to Wofford 42-14 on Saturday. This is not going to be pretty.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

That one's going to leave a mark for UConn and Dan Ryan.

The Huskies had a 10-0 lead on North Carolina going into the fourth quarter and had been dominating defensively. The Tar Heels rallied to tie it up late, and then Ryan was called for holding in his own end zone in the final two minutes to give the Heels a 12-10 lead. A bad snap on an earlier play put UConn in the poor field position. Still, it's going to be a long week for Ryan.

UConn recovered the onside kick but couldn't get into field goal range.

Tough, tough loss for both the Huskies and the Big East as the No. 19 Tar Heels were on the ropes. But Connecticut, which is normally so fundamentally sound, made too many mistakes on offense. And until the passing game gets some semblance of respectability, the Huskies are going to have a hard time scoring points against good teams.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

T-minus two weeks until the season begins ...

• No alarms and no surprises for Cincinnati this preseason, and coach Brian Kelly feels good about his team, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

• Syracuse is pinning its placekicking hopes on walk-on Ryan Lichtenstein, Donnie Webb writes in the Syracuse Post-Standard

• Defensive back Jarred Holley has been a training camp standout at Pitt, John Grupp writes in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

• Redshirt freshman J.D. Woods is ready to contribute at receiver for West Virginia, Jack Bogaczyk writes in the Charleston Daily Mail. (And won't that be confusing when the Mountaineers play Cincinnati, which has a receiver named D.J. Woods).

• Dan Ryan won the UConn left tackle job, but he'll be better from being pushed by Jimmy Bennett, Desmond Conner says in the Hartford Courant.

• Here's what Jim Leavitt had to say about Jason Pierre-Paul's South Florida practice debut, according to Gregg Becnel in the Tampa Tribune:

"He looked good in a jersey and helmet running out. He looks like a football player," Leavitt said. "It's going to take him a while. I don't expect much for maybe four weeks, really, to be honest with you. Will we play him in the first game? I don't know. It depends on if he can get ready or not."

• Louisville's newly-named rover linebackers will be busy this season, C.L. Brown reports in The Courier-Journal.

• Quarterback Dom Natale had his first "Mike Teel moment" during practice on Thursday, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Connecticut Huskies 2008 overall record: 8-5 2008 conference record: 3-4 Returning starters Offense: 6, defense: 6, kicker/punter: 2 Top returners: LB Scott Lutrus, CB Jasper Howard, S Robert Vaughn, C Moe Petrus, RB Jordan Todman, DT Kendall Reyes, DT Twyon Martin, DE Lindsey Witten, LB Greg Lloyd, LB Lawrence Wilson, P Desi Cullen Key losses RB Donald Brown, OT Will Beatty, CB Darius Butler, DE Cody Brown, DE Julius Williams, QB Tyler Lorenzen, C Keith Gray 2008 statistical leaders (*returners) Rushing: Donald Brown (2,083 yards) Passing: Tyler Lorenzen (869 yards) Receiving: Kashif Moore* (273 yards) Tackles: Scott Lutrus* (106) Sacks: Cody Brown (11) Interceptions: Jasper Howard* (4) Spring answers 2009 Schedule Sept. 5 at Ohio Sept. 12 North Carolina Sept. 19 at Baylor Sept. 26 Rhode Island Oct. 3 BYE Oct. 10 at Pittsburgh Oct. 17 Louisville Oct. 24 at West Virginia Oct. 31 Rutgers Nov. 7 at Cincinnati Nov. 14 BYE Nov. 21 at Notre Dame Nov. 28 Syracuse Dec. 5 South Florida Up comes Frazer: Zach Frazer didn't exactly run away with the quarterback competition. But he played well enough that coach Randy Edsall named him No. 1 on the depth chart ahead of Cody Endres after spring drills. Frazer will have to continue to perform well in the summer and fall camp to hold onto the job, but at least UConn has someone to rally around during that time. Hurry-up Huskies: New offensive coordinator Joe Moorehead installed a high-tempo, no-huddle attack this spring, a vastly different philosophy than what UConn had employed in the recent past. While the execution wasn't always sharp, the players embraced the style of play and started getting used to that pace. Defensive depth: Edsall felt pretty comfortable with his 11 starters on defense going into the spring and was able to focus on building depth on that side of the ball. Even with some standout players like Cody Brown, Julius Williams and Darius Butler gone, the Huskies should be solid defensively, especially up the middle with tackles Kendall Reyes and Twyon Martin and their linebacking corps returning intact. Fall questions Catch me if you can: Receiver was a sore spot for the Huskies last year and needs to be vastly improved to make Moorhead's offense click. Some progress was made, but the fact that walk-on Marcus Easley had the biggest spring game of any wideout tells the story. UConn needs guys like Kashif Moore and Brad Kanuch to step up and to get some contributions from incoming recruits like Dwayne Difton. Brown out: How will Connecticut replace the nation's leading rusher from a year ago, first-round pick Donald Brown? Sophomore Jordan Todman and former starter Andre Dixon give the Huskies some strong options, but it remains to be seen if either can come close to matching Brown's incredible production. And how the running game fits into the up-tempo offense will be interesting to watch. Line dancing: UConn returns one of the league's most experience offensive lines, but there's still some upheaval in store. Moe Petrus moves to center after a freshman All-American year at center, while Dan Ryan and Jimmy Bennett are competing to replace all-conference left tackle Will Beatty. Edsall's post-spring depth chart listed co-starters at all five offensive line positions, which seems to suggest some competition will continue there into the fall.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Fear not, Big East football fans. In less than a month, South Florida will be back on the practice field, with the rest of the league teams starting their spring drills shortly afterward.

There will be no shortage of situations to follow during the spring. There's a new head coach at Syracuse, new coordinators almost everywhere and no fewer than five teams seeking a new quarterback.

We've got all the story lines covered here in our team-by-team spring primer:

Cincinnati Bearcats

Spring practice starts: March 31

Spring game: April 25

What to watch:

• Defense, defense, defense. Safety Aaron Webster is the only returning defensive starter from 2008, so this spring will be about finding out who's ready to step into bigger roles. Several backups have experience, including linebacker Andre Revels and defensive end Curtis Young. But all jobs should be open. And with this week's firing of defensive coordinator Joe Tresey, the Bearcats could be working under a new scheme.

• Cincinnati brings back quarterback Tony Pike, receiver Mardy Gilyard and its top two rushers in Jacob Ramsey and John Goebel. But the spring will be time to find new playmakers as well. Isaiah Pead averaged 6.6 yards a carry in limited duty as a freshman and should see his role increase. The bubble wrap will come off promising redshirt freshman Quentin Hines. Receiver D.J. Woods had a solid freshman season and will need to build upon that to help replace Dominick Goodman.

• You don't normally pay much attention to punters in spring practice, but this is an exception. The Bearcats have to find a suitable replacement for two time All-American Kevin Huber.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Rutgers: Looking to spark his slumping offense, coach Greg Schiano made several changes to his offensive line last week at West Virginia. Only two starters, left tackleAnthony Davis and center Ryan Blaszczyk, remained at their original positions. Kevin Haslam moved from left guard to right tackle, Mike Gilmartin switched from right tackle to right guard and split snaps with true freshman Art Forst, and Kevin Haslam went from right tackle to left guard. Schiano was non-committal this week when asked if we would use that alignment again after the Scarlet Knights mustered only 72 yards rushing in Morgantown.

West Virginia: With senior Reed Williams shutting it down and planning for a medical redshirt, the Mountaineers have turned to sophomore Anthony Leonard at middle linebacker. Leonard made his first career start last week versus Rutgers and recorded a team-high nine tackles. He is the fourth different player to start at that position in five games for West Virginia. Meanwhile, a handful of Mountaineers are dealing with head injuries, including quarterbackPat White, center Mike Dent and defensive lineman Pat Liebig.

Louisville: The competition is on again for the Cardinals' backup quarterback spot. Matt Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, has returned from his four-game suspension and split reps this past week withTyler Wolfe . Head coach Steve Kragthorpe said he would decide on a No. 2 signal-caller the day before Friday's game at Memphis. Although starter Hunter Cantwell has recovered well from his ankle injury against Connecticut, Louisville would like the peace of mind of having a reliable backup.

Connecticut: After Bruce Carter blocked three straight punts against UConn on Saturday, North Carolina coach Butch Davis said his team exploited the Huskies' new personal protector. That would be linebacker C.J. Marck, who filled in for injured tight endSteve Brouse . But Connecticut coach Randy Edsall said after watching the film that Marck wasn't to blame, and that it was another player who failed to execute his technique. He declined to identify which player was at fault. With Brouse out several weeks,Martin Bedard has moved into a starting role, and backup offensive lineman Dan Ryan has switched to No. 88 to play tight end in some packages.

Pittsburgh: One reason for the Panthers' resurgence this season is that they have avoided a rash of injuries that's plagued the program in recent years. Linebacker Adam Gunn (neck) is the only serious, season-ending injury that has struck the team through five games. Linebacker Shane Murray, who hurt his knee in preseason, hasn't played a lot of snaps this season but is nearing full strength. With a bye this week, Pitt should be close to full health as it heads into the final seven games.