If it wasn’t clear before the season began, it became abundantly clear on Thursday night: UConn football is going to run the ball and it’s going to run the ball a lot. Against Wagner in the season opener, the Huskies handed it off 57 times, compared to just 24 pass attempts.
UConn was down its top two receivers in Ardell Brown and Cam Ross, which contributed to that ratio. But at the same time, the Huskies’ defense -- although it showed signs of progress -- is still in rebuilding mode. It would serve UConn well to control the time of possession and in order to do that, it means running the ball. A lot. Just like it did on Thursday night.
And that’s going to lead to plenty of opportunities for Kevin Mensah and Art Thompkins.
Despite listing four backs on the participation squad, head coach Randy Edsall only utilized Menah and Thompkins in the backfield against Wagner. On Thursday night, we saw why.
Mensah toted the ball 36 times for 144 yards, and his yards-per-carry would’ve been higher than 4.0 if not for a few goal-line handoffs that only gained a few yards. But the most impressive stat for Mensah was the fact that he didn’t lose yards on a single carry all night. And that wasn’t lost on Edsall.
“He made some really tough runs and he had 36 carries for 144 and didn't lose a yard. That's a good day's work,” the coach said. “For him, the time and effort that he put in to make himself bigger, faster and stronger paid off to get that workload.”
While Mensah played the role of the bruising, workhorse back, Thompkins checked in as the change-of-pace back. The Toledo grad transfer carried the ball 17 times for 91 yards, good for 5.4 yards per carry. He was electric with the ball in his hands, making defenders miss with quick-twitch jump cuts while using a good burst to get through holes. It’s hard not to see some Dion Lewis in Thompkins.
“You know Art, he's shifty so I'm trying to take his moves and I'm trying to get take his lateral speed,” Mensah said of his running mate.
But as impactful as Thompkins was with the ball, his biggest play came without it. On third and goal from the Wagner two-yard line with the score tied at zero, quarterback Mike Beaudry got the snap under center and took a five-step drop. A Wagner linebacker came off the edge fast and wasn’t picked up by the offensive line. Thompkins sized him up and absorbed a big hit from the linebacker but managed to pull him down and slowed him up just enough to allow Beaudry to roll out away from pressure and scramble for the touchdown.
Without the blitz pickup from Thompkins, there’s a good chance Beaudry goes down in the backfield and UConn settles for a field goal. In a game decided by just three points, every point was valuable.
But for as strong as a night as the backs had, it wasn’t all positive. On the first drive of the third quarter with the Huskies leading 10-0, the offense was driving and reached the Wagner 25-yard line. With a chance to make it a three-possession game, Mensah fumbled on first down, keeping the door open for the Seahawks to stay in the game.
“He turned the ball over,” Edsall said. “We've seen him do that in practice because he just doesn't put the ball away.”
On a fourth-and-one from Wagner’s 30-yard line, Mensah was stuffed for no gain. It wasn’t necessarily the best play call, but Edsall also felt Mensah could’ve made more of the play.
“I thought the fourth down play, he should have bounced that outside,” Edsall said.
But the overall job Mensah and Thompkins did came out overwhelmingly positive, with both players grinding out yards and moving the chains consistently. And with a new quarterback at the helm and a young group of receivers, UConn will be relying on its running backs to move the ball -- especially early in the season.
While Thursday night is a small sample size -- even more so when considering the opponent -- Mensah and Thompkins showed glimpses of their ability not only to carry the offense but to potentially be the next great one-two punch in the backfield for the Huskies.
