If there's one man in the UConn football program who is consistently overlooked, it's the DJ at Rentschler Field.
That's right, the guy up in the booth playing the tunes that pump up the crowd. Take a second and give this dude some credit.
"O, Fortuna," coupled with the steam-generator outside the tunnel, is the perfect song for the team to run onto the field to. And "Welcome to the Jungle" on crucial third downs - does it get any better than that?
With nearly a month in between the Huskies' last home game and their next (Oct. 25 versus Cincinnati), the sound crew has made one major addition to the line-up: The 2001 Dr. Dre classic "Forgot about Dre."
The song is slated to play at the end of the first half, when Andre Dixon trots into the locker room without a drop of sweat or single grass stain on his No. 2 jersey. It will also play following every two-yard out-pattern that Zach Frazer throws to Anthony Sherman on third and long. "Forgot about Dre" will blare over the Rentschler Field speakers for the final time when Dixon and his disturbingly immaculate uniform head for the showers at the conclusion of each game.
After all, if there's anyone as underappreciated as the Rentschler Field DJ, it's Dixon.
No reporters talk to him anymore. No students marvel at spotting him on campus. For all intents and purposes, the UConn community has completely and totally forgot about Dre.
It's sad, really. Students remember Larry Taylor's phantom fair catch against Louisville last season. They remember that we beat the Cardinals. But few remember how.
In short, the "how" was Dixon. Incumbent starter Donald Brown was bothered by an ankle injury. Dixon was taking his job right before his eyes, and there was little Brown could do about it. Early in the third quarter, Brown got a chance to earn his spot back. He took a handoff to the left sideline, got upended and fumbled the ball. Louisville defensive tackle Earl Heyman scooped it up, stumbled 32 yards for a touchdown and consequently put the Huskies in a 17-7 hole. Brown ended the game with five carries for eight yards. Dixon, who scored the winning touchdown with 1:32 to play, finished with 157 total yards.
The next week, Dixon went for 209 yards from scrimmage in a program-changing victory over South Florida.
By this point, Dixon was the face of UConn athletics. Fans showed up to Rentschler with posters of Dixon and his lion-like mane of hair. Some even bought wigs and extensions so they'd look like him. When he wasn't on the field, Dixon was on the jumbo-tron going nuts on the sidelines. Everyone loved his intensity and enthusiasm nearly as much as they loved his flowing dreads. For a brief three-week stretch, Jim Calhoun, AJ Price, Jeff Adrien, Maya Moore and Brown took a backseat to the football team's dread-locked phenomenon.
But my, how times have changed. Brown is No. 1 in the nation in rushing and Dixon is No. 9 on his own team. Brown has rushed for 453 times more yards than Dixon, who has been limited to two yards on two carries partly due to an early-season ankle injury. The man who was once a celebrity has turned into a serious afterthought, not just among fans, but for his own coach.
Granted, it's difficult to criticize Randy Edsall for anything he's done this year. His coaching has been nearly flawless. I hate to be a downer, but despite the Huskies' 5-0 record, they still haven't faced a legitimate team. Louisville is far from being the cream of the crop in the Big East, and Virginia may be the worst team in the country. When UConn squares off against North Carolina, South Florida and West Virginia (yes, they still are somewhat dangerous), Edsall's rudimentary offense of "Brown left and Brown right" might not cut it.
What happened to the screen passes to Dixon that bailed UConn out of countless third-and-longs last season? What happened to Edsall's plan to use both Dixon and Brown at the same time? What happened to the man who was essentially the difference between a bowl game versus Wake Forest and one versus Ball State?
At this point, Dixon's absence has nothing to do with injury. Time and time again, Edsall has alluded to the fact that Dixon is healthy and explained his lack of playing time by saying "we went with what gave us the best chance to win."
Brown is the most dominant running back in the country right now, just as USC's Reggie Bush and Arkansas' Darren McFadden were in previous years. Well, guess what? Bush always had LenDale White and McFadden always has Felix Jones. Brown has a similar sidekick, but Dixon is being severely underutilized to a point that White and Jones never were.
As Heisman-worthy as Brown is, Dixon is superior in several areas. Recently, a UConn player told me "Man, Don can't catch at all." Dixon, on the other hand, is an exceptional receiver; he averaged 11.7 yards per catch last season. He gained a good deal of weight and strength in the offseason, and spent spring practice dragging defenders on his back down the field. In watching the two, I'd contend that Dixon is a better between-the-tackles runner than the shifty Brown as well.
Am I asking 50/50 split in carries? Absolutely not. But it is absurd that Dixon has fewer rushing yards than Darius Butler, DJ Hernandez and back-up fullback Anthony Davis.
I'm asking all of you - the fans, the media, the student body and most importantly, the coaching staff - do not forget about Dre.
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