O-Line improvement

HARTFORD - Following the Huskies triumphant slaughter of Toledo in the Motor City Bowl, reality slowly began to set in for most of the UConn faithful. That was the last time that fans would ever see Dan Orlovsky calling the signals in UConn blue and white, and it would be the last time they would see big Ryan Krug throwing pancake blocks with his veteran offensive line. The fans were nervous. What would become of the Huskies' offense?

But all hope was not lost. coach Randy Edsall had a solution for his wounded team - he could rebuild them. They have the technology. Bigger, faster, stronger. Wednesday afternoon at the Goodwin Hotel Edsall introduced the next generation of the UConn offense.

One of the biggest goals and obstacles that Edsall and the Huskies faced during the offseason was rebuilding the offensive line.

"The overall size and athletic ability and speed of this group of people we were able to sign has made us a better football team in that regard," Edsall said.

The Huskies were able to sign an incredible six offensive linemen to letters of intent Wednesday. A massive group, the six linemen weigh in at an average 296 pounds and range in height from 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-8. Led by Connecticut native Dan Ryan, who has been attending UConn camps in recent years, the new crop of offensive linemen are quick on their feet and extremely athletic.

"I am very impressed with Dan as a leader. He's the type of guy that can do a lot of things for you," Edsall said.

Joining Ryan on the offensive line will be fellow in-state product Mike Hicks out of Seymour. Weighing in at an impressive 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, Hicks will compete with Ryan over the course of the season to fill the void left by this year's senior class.

"Mike is a young man that can do a lot. At his size he is just going to get stronger," Edsall said.

However, Edsall wasn't just satisfied rebuilding his offensive line. He was determined to help solidify his future team's leaders by inking two quarterbacks: Billy Cundiff and Dennis Brown II. Both QBs seem to have the potential to challenge for the starting job next year.

Hailing from Uniontown, Ohio, Cundiff was a second team all-state performer this season in addition to playing in the annual Ohio North-South all-star game. According to Edsall, Cundiff will give the Huskies a quarterback who can roll out of the pocket and scramble in addition to possessing a strong arm.

Brown took a different route in his arrival at UConn. Hailing from Miami, Fla., UConn coaches originally gave up on Brown because of their belief that he would be attending North Carolina next season. However, at a practice Brown sought out UConn scouts giving them a video tape of his performances. Impressed by what they saw, Brown became a natural fit for the Huskies.

The final piece of the UConn offensive puzzle came in the presence of Don Brown. At a school with a number of talented running backs, the rich keep getting richer. Hailing from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, Brown committed to UConn, but at the 11th hour was getting hounded by coaches from some football powerhouses.

"Virginia called him [Brown] last Thursday and offered him a scholarship. Their head coach called him like five times last week and threw some assistant coaches at him until he told them not to call him anymore," Edsall said.

Wednesday afternoon Edsall introduced the future of the UConn offense and that future is looking very bright. While it's not likely that all these freshmen can or will make an immediate impact, there is always the possibility of finding a Larry Taylor or Terry Caulley in any freshman class.