Randy Edsall on Players Who Impressed and Offseason Plans
UConn Football's organized spring activities in the first year of the new Randy Edsall era reached their conclusion Friday night with the Spring Game, played under the lights at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Husky fans got their first look at the new schemes on each side of the ball and gained a sense for a couple of playmakers who may emerge in what could be a more interesting season than national analysts are predicting.
Next up for Edsall and the staff is to hit the recruiting trail. They're off to a good start with two in-state linebackers and a D-line transfer. Given how great of a job they did signing a solid 2017 recruiting class under massive time constraints, there could be more excitement in store for the 2018 haul.
The current roster is certainly not bereft of talent, though. After the Spring Game, Edsall mentioned running back Arkeel Newsome and wide receivers Quayvon Skanes, Keyion Dixon, and Hergy Mayala as offensive players who stood out.
"I thought Quayvon did some good things with the ball in his hands and thought Keyion did some things," he said. "Hergy's been really steady and Arkeel does some really good things in there with the ball in his hands in certain situations."
He also called out two redshirt seniors defensively for consistency and toughness.
"The one guy that's been really consistent on defense is Junior Joseph. He's been really consistent on defense all spring," Edsall said. "Gotta get him to be a little bit more vocal.
"The other guy I thought had a good spring was Cole Ormsby," he added. "He's got a little bit of toughness about him, and kind of grew on me as we've gone through the spring."
Though Edsall is excited about the talent on the roster, he's also realistic about the existence of some weaknesses.
"Some positions, we're gonna have to stay healthy," he said. "Because right now we're a little thin."
Edsall later added that the freshmen and other newcomers could have a chance to break into the two-deep.
"We're gonna go back and evaluate all 15 practices," he said. "And know where we are with the guys and know what we feel that, this group that's here right now, what they can and cannot do and then make decisions as to whether or not we feel as though we might have to have the freshmen coming in and put them in position to get snaps."
Quarterback David Pindell, a junior college transfer, and running back David Williams, a graduate transfer from South Carolina, were both big additions by Edsall and his staff. Pindell will be a leader for the starting quarterback job once on campus and Williams could be the 1A to Arkeel Newsome's 1B or vice-versa.
There will be some brand new faces contributing this season, and Edsall knows it.
"We're gonna have about 20 new guys coming in to help us," he said.
Other candidates for early playing time out of the 2017 recruiting class are defensive backs Omar Fortt, an early-enrolee who has earned praise from the staff and other players, and Ian Swenson, a Chicago-area product who was among the highest-rated players in the class. Both committed to Bob Diaco's staff and maintained their commitment through the coaching change. Fortt could see time at cornerback while Swenson could make his way into the safety rotation.
Among the freshman additions to the recruiting class by Edsall's staff, Robert Holmes, a 3-star offensive lineman from Florida who had an early offer from Auburn, and Timothy Gardner, a 3-star linebacker who flipped his commitment to UConn from Boston College, are the most likely to see early playing time—Holmes because of the continuous weakness of the offensive line and Gardner in large part due to the schematic shift.
Video by Ian Bethune