ESPN College Football

UConn guard Erik Kuraczea has withdrawn from school for "personal reasons," head coach Randy Edsall told the media Tuesday. Edsall said Kuraczea plans to transfer in January.

The 6-foot-2, 319-pounder was suspended along with quarterback Cody Endres to begin the season but started the Huskies' past two games at left guard. He started five games last season as a redshirt freshman.

Mathieu Olivier will resume starting duties at left guard, where he played during Kuraczea's suspension.

Adam Masters is back as the starting right tackle after an injury. Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who underwent hand surgery during the bye week, is listed as the starter for this week's game at Louisville.

Lots of links today as I head to Cincinnati to check out the Bearcats' practice ...

• Rutgers' Mason Robinson has moved back to wide receiver to help a depleted group. The injury to J.T. Tartacoff was not as bad as feared.
• UConn guard Mathieu Olivier went through Senior Day ceremonies last season, but then decided he wanted to come back for more. Andrew Opoku has moved again -- this time to tight end.
• John Goebel is back for Cincinnati after injuries wrecked the running back's 2009 season.
• Scooter Berry says he's back for West Virginia.
• Andrew Tiller may play a bigger role for Syracuse after dropping more than 70 pounds since last year.
• Only one true freshman is expected to play this season for Pitt. For now.
• Skip Holtz and Butch Jones are among the first-year coaches Tony Barnhart expects to succeed.
• Freshman running back Bradley Battles is making an impression at South Florida. The Bulls landed an offensive lineman.
• Louisville's Victor Anderson and Bilal Powell share a tight bond, though that wasn't always the case.
• This is a couple of days old now, but the impact of a possible Big East Network is discussed.

Wednesday was an interesting day to be a backup quarterback.

West Virginia true freshman Jeremy Johnson, who caused near statewide consternation when he missed practice on Monday and Tuesday, returned to the team for Wednesday's drills. Head coach Bill Stewart said Johnson, a Texas native, was just dealing with homesickness, but there had been speculation that Johnson was looking to transfer.

"He was just a freshman who was homesick," Stewart said. "[This] tells us we have a great family here and we don't let outsiders break the family."

It remains to be seen whether Johnson will contribute to this year's team, but his return adds depth to the quarterback position, which right now includes just him, fellow freshman Barry Brunetti and sophomore starter Geno Smith, with slot receiver Coley White able to move under center if necessary.

Hopefully this week's events will just be a blip on the radar in a long and fruitful West Virginia career for Johnson.

At UConn, No. 2 quarterback Cody Endres, along with backup guard Erik Kuraczea, were suspended indefinitely for a "violation of university and athletic department policies," according to the school. No further details were given.

The Hartford Courant's Desmond Conner reports that similarly worded suspensions in the past have lasted about a month.

Endres started six games last year but is the clear backup to Zach Frazer going into 2010. Without him, the Huskies will turn to Michael Box as the second-string quarterback. They also have Johnny McEntee and intriguing freshman Leon Kinnard available.

Kuraczea started five games last year but was running behind Mathieu Olivier at left guard. His absence will hurt the depth there, but Connecticut always seems to find guys on the offensive line. Redshirt freshman Steve Greene is listed as the third-string left guard.

Want to know how Connecticut has become a team to be reckoned with? Start up front.

"It's not mirrors and tricks," said South Florida coach Skip Holtz, who used to work in Storrs. "It's the way they play in the trenches and the hardnosed brand of football they play."

Year after year, the Huskies line up with one of the biggest and most physical offensive lines in the Big East. This season is no different.

"We believe games are decided on the offensive line," senior guard Zach Hurd said. "If the offensive line can move the defensive line around, then we've got a good chance."

UConn's line paved the way for two 1,000-yard rushers last year in Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman. The season before that, Donald Brown ran for more than 2,000 yards.

The Huskies usually have the heaviest O-line in the league. Last year, it often lined up with four 300-pounders, plus 290-pound center Moe Petrus. The line could be a bit slimmed down on the left side this year if the current starters hold onto their jobs. Adam Masters, who's listed at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, is listed No. 1 right now at left tackle, with Mathieu Olivier (6-6, 276) at right left guard. Pushing them are Jimmy Bennett (6-8, 301) and Erik Kuraczea (6-2, 315).

The field may tilt a little to the right side when UConn's offense takes the field. That's where Hurd (6-7, 323) and right tackle Mike Ryan (6-5, 332) roam.

Hurd, a senior, was the only guard to make my Big East Top 25 players list. He was a first-team All-Big East selection last season and is one of the biggest interior offensive linemen around.

"When I got here, I wasn't the best tackle," he said. "We had Will Beatty and Mike Hicks, so I moved to guard. I love it there. I feel like I'm able to show off my athletic ability and get to the second level to take on a linebacker. It's been a real good fit for me."

It's not always a lot of fun for opposing defensive tackles when they see Hurd line up. Cincinnati's backup nose tackle, for instance, was giving up nearly 60 pounds in last year's game.

"But sometimes it's hard for me as well, being 6-7 against a guy who's 6-foot and trying to get him out of there," Hurd said. "That's where getting low comes into play."

Connecticut's linemen aren't just big. They're extremely well-coached and have fantastic footwork, a huge emphasis by offensive line coach Mike Foley. They've also got to be in tremendous shape to run the no-huddle offense installed last season by offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.

They're also the key to why UConn is a team on the rise.

"I think we're one of the biggest lines in the nation, so we should be moving some people around," Hurd said. "If we don't, it's on us."

This could be a big year for Connecticut.

The Huskies were playing as well as anybody in the Big East down the stretch and finished the 2009 season with a victory over South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl. They bring back a wealth of starters and plenty of depth. I caught up with UConn coach Randy Edsall last week to talk about the beginning of spring practice, which starts March 16. This is part I of my interview. Check back later for part II.

First of all, you have to be feeling pretty good about where the program is given all the players you bring back from last year, right?

Randy Edsall: We do. We have a lot of guys back and we only have 12 seniors on the roster, so that bodes well for us. We're going to have more depth than we've ever had. The thing about this spring that's going to be a little different is, we're going to have a lot of guys who won't be doing things because of injuries. So we'll be able to get a lot of work in, but some of the kids won't be out there with us because of injury. But the thing I'm excited about is that we're going to give some of these young guys a lot of work to even develop more depth in the program.

Do the injuries cause a little less of a concern this spring just because you have so much experience coming back?

RE: Yeah, it really does. Just looking at our depth chart and our board ... even though Jesse Joseph is not going to go through the spring, Greg Lloyd is not going to go through the spring, Blidi Wreh-Wilson is not going to go through the spring on defense, with those guys out we still have so many guys and we know what those guys can do because they played for us. And now get some other kids more repetitions and kids we know are going to be available to play next year. For me, it's a plus for us. And we had six kids who came in at midyear, so it's another plus that those kids are going to get a lot of reps.

We're not going to be the finished product coming out of spring, because like with Jimmy Bennett and Mike Ryan on offense, they're not going to be practicing due to the injuries that they had in the fall and Robbie Frey will be limited and won't be full go. That's where in terms of the offensive line, it's going to give us a chance to work with some of our young guys and really get them a lot of reps to develop them so if they've got to get into a game, they're going to have some experience there.

Let's talk about the quarterbacks. Zach Frazer played well for you at the end of the year, but Cody Endres also played well before his injury. Is Frazer the No. 1 guy right now or is it more of a competition?

RE: As we came out of the season, we won four straight there with Zach and I thought he did some good things. Cody did, too, I think, so we're in a good situation. But as we go into the spring, Zach's the No. 1 guy and it would be his job to lose. He knows there's always competition, but he's the No. 1 guy as we start practice on the 16th.

What did you like about the way Frazer played at the end of the year?

RE: I thought he really just played within himself. I thought he was relaxed, he was poised and I thought he made a lot of good decisions He wasn't forcing the ball; he was taking what the defense was giving and throwing the ball where it should have been thrown. And when it wasn't there, he threw the ball away as opposed to trying to make a great play, squeeze a ball into somewhere you shouldn't. I really thought he did a good job of what we asked him to do in the game plans we had for those games.

People may forget that you put in a new offense last year, and there must have been some adjustments along the way.

RE: You could see the improvement as the season went on with what we did offensively, and I think one of the keys this spring is now the kids are going to be more comfortable in the offense. There are going to be some things that we're able to do to add or to tweak where we think it will make us better. But I was pleased with the development of the offense as the season went along. Our point production and passing yardage was up from a year ago, and we maintained what we wanted to do in the running game.

It took two guys to replace Donald Brown, but that's fine. And we want to keep building on the positives we had last year and keep moving forward, and the good thing is we only lost Andre [Dixon], and we still have Jordan Todman coming back. We lost Brad [Kanuch] and Marcus Easley, but we feel we have receivers to step in and do the job. And up front the only guy we lost was Mike Hicks. We really feel good about the guys we have coming back and what we can do to improve upon the production and the output we had a year ago.

(Read full post)

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

My colleague Ted Miller out in the wild, wild west of the Pac-10 had a really fun post earlier this week. He looked back on that conference's 2006 recruiting class. Players who signed that year should be seniors or redshirt juniors now, so it's a perfect time to judge the class on actual results, not promise.

And so, I figure that's a good idea to steal and apply to the Big East. Pittsburgh had the 16th-best recruiting class in the nation that season, according to our Scouts Inc. experts, while Louisville ranked 21st. No other Big East team cracked the top 25.

Let's take a look back and see how things have turned out, shall we?

Cincinnati

Class: 22

ESPNU top 150 players: 0

Expected major contributors in 2009: 7 -- LB John Goebel, LB Robby Armstrong, CB Marcus Barnett, TE Ben Guidugli, DL Ricardo Matthews, RB Jacob Ramsey, S Aaron Webster

Misses: DT Oren Wilson

Verdict: Mark Dantonio's final full class contained some players who have already contributed, like Ramsey, Guidugli, Barnett and Webster, and some who should assume bigger roles this year, like Armstrong and Matthews. But overall, this lacked the quality of the deep '05 bunch that formed the core of last year's Orange Bowl squad. Receiver Jamar Howard, who was part of the '06 class but didn't qualify in 2006, is back this year after a stint in junior college.

Connecticut

Class: 24

ESPNU top 150 players: 0

Expected major contributors in 2009: 11 -- WR Brad Kanuch, S Robert Vaughn, K Desi Cullen, OL Zach Hurd, LB Scott Lutrus, CB Robert McClain, LB Lawrence Wilson, DE Lindsey Witten, OL Mathieu Olivier, DT Alex Polito, DE Mike Cox

Misses: CB Jamie Nixon

Verdict: As usual, Randy Edsall's '06 class didn't draw much attention nationally. But he found a whole bunch of players who exceeded their star rankings and became key pieces for the Huskies. Lutrus is one of the best linebackers in the Big East, while Vaughn is a top safety and Witten has NFL potential. UConn could use a breakthrough from the oft-injured Kanuch.

Louisville

Class: 30

ESPNU top 150 players: 2

Expected major contributors in 2009: 7 -- DE Rodney Gnat, DT L.T. Walker, LB Brandon Heath, WR Josh Chichester, CB Johnny Patrick, WR Troy Pascley, OT Jeff Adams

Misses: DT Aundre Henderson, DT Kareem Crowell, QB Emmanuel Francis

Verdict: Bobby Petrino's final class at Louisville looked great on paper but was hit hard by attrition and misevaluations, which is part of the reason why the Cardinals have been so thin the past two years. Some problems were unforeseen; promising defensive end Peanut Whitehead had his career ended after just a season by a back injury. Henderson decided he didn't like football and quit. Running back Anthony Allen transferred. Several others were dismissed for disciplinary reasons or never panned out.

Pittsburgh

Class: 27

ESPNU top 150 players: 2

Expected major contributors in 2009: 9 -- TE Nate Byham, OT Jason Pinkston, CB Aaron Berry, OL John Malecki, CB Jovani Chappel, OL Joe Thomas, S Elijah Fields, DE Greg Romeus, CB Ricky Gary

Misses: QB Kevan Smith, CB Aaron Smith, DT Scott Corson

Verdict: Overall, this was a deep, solid class that will form the backbone of this year's team. Add in the fact that star left tackle Jeff Otah was part of this group as a junior college transfer, and it becomes all the more impressive. Byham, Pinkston, Berry and Romeus are All-Big East-caliber players with pro futures. Pitt hasn't seemed able to figure out what to do yet with once highly-rated prospect Dorin Dickerson. Running back Kevin Collier could contribute this year.

Rutgers

Class: 27

ESPNU top 150 players: 0

Expected major contributors in 2009: 9 -- RB Kordell Young, WR Tim Brown, LB Antonio Lowery, DT Blair Bines, LB Ryan D'Imperio, DB Zaire Kitchen, TE Shamar Graves, FB Jack Corcoran, DT Charlie Noonan

Misses: TE Jeff Minemeyer, LB Sorie Bayoh

Verdict: The best player from this class, Kenny Britt, was a first-round NFL draft pick in April. Combine that with a high number of contributors, and Greg Schiano had a pretty good batting average with this class.

South Florida

Class: 30

ESPNU top 150 players: 0

Expected major contributors in 2009: 11 -- WR Carlton Mitchell, OL Zach Hermann, S Nate Allen, DB Jerrell Young, OL Jeremiah Warren, LB Sabbath Joseph, DL Aaron Harris, DL Craig Marshall, K Delbert Alvarado, WR Ed Alcin, OL Kevin McCaskill

Misses: DT Leslie Stirrups, WR Jason Sherman, DE Joseph Jackson

Verdict: Surprisingly, some of the Bulls' highest-rated recruits in the 2006 class are the ones who didn't pan out, while the lesser-regarded names have gained regular playing time. The best player so far of this group is Allen, who should have an NFL future. This is a good class that just needs a little more star power.

Syracuse

Class: 22

ESPNU top 150 players: 1

Expected major contributors in 2009: 9 -- TE Andrew Robinson, RB Delone Carter, OL Jim McKenzie, OL Ryan Bartholomew, OL Tucker Baumbach, OL Jonathan Meldrum, DE Jared Kimmel, LB Derrell Smith, WR Mike Williams

Misses: WR Andrey Baskin, S Derek Hrinya

Verdict: Several players from the '06 batch will start this year, including nearly all of Syracuse's offensive line. But this class, like most of Greg Robinson's efforts, is short on all-conference caliber players. Baskin was the Orange's biggest recruit, but he failed to qualify and never made it to campus. Robinson was the starting quarterback two years ago before switching to tight end this spring.

West Virginia

Class: 16

ESPNU top 150 players: 0

Expected major contributors in 2009: 6 -- DT Chris Neild, WR Wes Lyons, LB Anthony Leonard, C Eric Jobe, S Franchot "Boogie" Allen, LB J.T. Thomas

Misses: S John Maddox, CB Robert Williams, OL Eric Rodemoyer, CB Greg Davis

Verdict: The Mountaineers had a small class in '06, and they could have handed out half the scholarships and gotten the same results. Only eight 2006 signees are on the current roster. Several from that class are expected to take a step up this year, including Neild, Lyons and Allen. Still, only getting six major contributors from any class is a hard pill to swallow.