What's Next for UConn Football
College football is a year round sport. While UConn Football fans may want to think about something else for a while, the coaches are already working to make sure 2018 is better.
UConn wrapped up its 2017 football season, and within 24 hours of that final whistle at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati after a heart-breaking ending, coaches were all on airplanes. They weren't flying home to decompress, but flying across the country to start the next step in the process. The 2018 season started Sunday morning November 26th, 2017, and that's what the rebuilding of the UConn football program is going to be, a process.
The formula for rebuilding this program includes some cliches, but they are realities. The coaching staff needs to "find hidden gems" and "leave no stone unturned." They have to "outwork their opponent," and "discover the diamonds in the rough." That's a lot of pressure on a staff, to know you don't have much room to miss on a prospect. You have to trust your eyes and trust your gut.
I do know this: The man at the forefront of the program is as motivated as I have ever seen him. I have had many conversations with Randy Edsall over my 19 years of knowing him, but the one I had with him recently may have been his most passionate. He's always cared about the UConn program, but I believe the challenge that lies ahead of Coach Edsall is more enticing to him now that the original one when he took over in 1999. His care for UConn, not just the football program, as an institution, as a community, as his heart's home, is at an all-time high. I don't think, I know, he and his staff are going to succeed on the recruiting trail.
UConn is a young football team, that often was athletically out-manned in games last year. Their primary focus is to upgrade the bottom line of just that, their athleticism. They need to go get a bunch of big, fast and strong kids. At the moment, some of those kids may not be the polished football players, but if they athletically stand out on the field, UConn should want them.
I alway believed Coach had an incredible ability to find the guy who was two years away as a player. The guy that wasn't there yet, but with good coaching, a great work ethic, and a college weight training program, he could become a good player. I saw it countless times during my four years at UConn. I saw a kid named Alfred Fincher walk into our locker with me as a freshman and think to myself "this kid will never play a down here." Coach Edsall said to me one day in summer camp, "give this kid a little bit of time, he will be a good player." 357 tackles and a 3rd round draft pick later, it turned out he was right. Those are the kind of guys they need to find--the overlooked guy who has good athleticism, a chip on his shoulder, a great work ethic and is hungry. If UConn can find a bunch of Alfred Finchers, the future becomes very exciting.
For the players, the 2017 season was undoubtedly a tough experience. I have been on bad teams, and had long seasons, they suck. You get to a point where you just want it to end. I remember ending the 2001 season, my freshman year, at Temple. I don't remember the exact score, but it was a blowout. I couldn't wait to get back to campus and just be done. But, within a couple days, sorrow turned to a motivation to never experience anything like that again.
My hope is that the returning UConn football players have that same mindset. They should know that their coaches are out on the road for two reasons. To go find players to help the team get better, and find players to replace them. Yes I said replace them, it may be harsh but its the truth. That harsh truth, however, needs to be part of their motivation and drive. With a new coaching staff, even a starter can lose his job to someone new. They can't waste a day, because someone better may be coming. Every single thing they do needs to have purpose to it, needs to have fear behind it. Fear that if they don't get bigger and faster and stronger and better, someone else is going to be on the field besides them. There needs to be a mindset shift from all the players of attacking everything they do. A refusal to allow what happened in 2017 to be accepted.
The weight room and practice facility has to be their best friend and their worst enemy. The place that will make them better than they ever thought, and push them farther than they want to go. When winter workouts start, the intensity and accountability need to go to a different level. The standard for effort needs to rise. If they truly want to enact change, when the players have extra time, it's not to be spent being a college student. It's time to do extra work. Who is going to be the leader to make this attitude commonplace, to make this the culture for this program? Will it be David Pindell or Matt Peart or Ryan Van Demark? Will it be Omar Fortt or Tahj Herring-Wilson or Ryan Gilmartin? The players need to work in the dark, so when the lights come on, we see a different football team. Again with the cliches, these players will get better one way, "working incredibly hard."
When UConn got really good at football, people like myself, Coach Edsall, and Donald Brown received a lot of the credit. But many of us would point to a lesser known name: strength coach Jerry Martin. As responsible to our success that the coaches and players were, Jerry Martin, in my opinion, had the greatest impact. He worked us harder than I could ever articulate, and we loved him for it. That why strength coach Eric Klein has an incredible opportunity. The person that will far and away spend the most time with the players over the next few months is Coach Klein and his strength staff. They can be the catalysts that facilitate change, both culturally and physically. As the coaches are out on the road looking for bigger, faster and stronger, Coach Klein and his staff will be working tirelessly to make the existing players just that. Coach Klein has the greatest chance to make the same impact on this team as Jerry Martin did for mine.
It seems like there is a long time until its "football" time again. For the fans and their tailgating thats true. For the UConn Football team, coming off a 3-9 season, and with the hopes of going back in time, 24 hours a day isn't enough. College football is a year round sport; the 2018 campaign has started already.
Be sure to follow Dan Orlovsky on Twitter and Instagram! You should also check out his previous articles for Storrs Central, a review of David Pindell's performance against UCF and what the BC rivalry means for UConn Football players.