Football team ready for spring practice

After a season in which the Huskies ranked 116th out of 119 Division I schools in passing efficiency, offense - more specifically the passing game - will be the major focus of this year's spring practices.

With a new offensive coordinator who specialized in the spread offense, Joe Moorhead, and a four-star quarterback in junior Zach Frazer, UConn has high hopes to formulate a new offensive attack before spring practice is over.

"We have a sense of urgency to change up the offense, but we also have to show some patience," said coach Randy Edsall. "We have a plan set as to what we want to do and I don't foresee any problems with our kids picking it up. We need to be aggressive but smart about how much new material we install and go from there."

A few weeks ago, despite not having played a snap under the new offensive scheme, Frazer made the bold prediction that UConn's new spread offense would be similar in firepower to what the Texas Tech Red Raiders run. Frazer's confidence starkly contrasts with the numbers he put up last season when he started four games in place of the injured Tyler Lorenzen. Frazer completed 55 percent of his passes in 2008 but threw only two touchdowns compared to six interceptions.

"Of course what he said came across my desk so Zach was in my office shortly thereafter," Edsall said. "It's great to have that confidence, but there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. You need to keep yourself in control and let your production speak for you."

Despite the many predictions that Frazer would be the surefire starting quarterback come August, both Cody Endres and Johnny McEntee will get reps with the first-team offense.

"Zach, Cody and Johnny will all be fighting for that spot," Edsall said. "Nobody has the position sewn up. It's up to the players. If there's a guy that goes out there and shows himself to be No. 1 by the end of the spring, then we'll go with that. The sooner, the better, for us ideally, but we aren't going to force the issue."

In addition to the change at the quarterback position after Tyler Lorenzen's graduation, Edsall has taken it upon himself to shift UConn's front five to produce a group more adept at pass blocking. Sophomore guard Moe Petrus, who was named a freshman All-American after last season, will slide over to center to replace the graduating Keith Gray.

"In the offensive line we're trying to find our five best guys and put them into positions that we think they're suited for," Edsall said. "Last spring we had Moe at center and we thought he had the athleticism and intelligence to do the things at center that we like."

Competition for starting spots is expected to be fierce for all the offensive positions. With three of UConn's top five receivers graduating in Donald Brown, D.J. Hernandez and Ellis Gaulden, returning players as well as new recruits will need to step up to fill their roles. While much of the talk has focused on incoming four-star recruit Dwayne Difton, Edsall made it clear that there was much more talent.

"It's going to be an open competition and I'm excited to get all the guys out there," Edsall said. "We have more talent and more speed this year than we've ever had. I expect dogfights not just for starting spots but for backups too. It's encouraging for me to have that competition."

Though the Huskies were sixth in the nation a year ago in total defense allowing only 278 yards-per-game, there are still issues that Edsall said the team needed to work on during the spring.

Defensive ends Julius Williams and Cody Brown, who combined for 17 of the team's 35 sacks last year, are both graduating leaving two gaps on the defensive line that need to be immediately filled. Lindsey Whitten and Marcus Campell are the top candidates for the job, according to Edsall. Also in the mix are redshirt freshman Ted Jennings and A.J. Portee.

"I really fell good about who we have coming back," Edsall said. "Lindsey [Whitten] is really developing into his own and has done a good job strength training wise this offseason. Marcus Campell is the fastest guy we have on the defensive line, even when Julius and Cody were around. So we have two guys coming back who have both played."

Early on, perhaps, the most compelling story will be the return of Andre Dixon to the team and how he fits in with the offense. After leading the Huskies in rushing in 2007 with 828 yards, including 167 in UConn's win over South Florida their first victory over a ranked opponent, Dixon ran just nine times for 42 yards in 2008 after suffering from an ankle injury and being arrested for DUI. Nipping at his heels for the starting spot is sophomore Jordan Todman who collected 296 yards as a true freshman in 2008.

"It's going to be a tremendous competition," Edsall said. "Jordan showed us some things last year and now Andre is back with a terrific work ethic. We have lots of options and I'm very satisfied with how we will be able to incorporate them on the offense."