UConn sports

As surprised as I am when they’re out, I’m equally as shocked to hear both these men are back in. The UConn football team released its injury report Thursday night and, as usual, there are some surprises.

Linebacker Scott Lutrus (shoulder), who was out for the last three weeks, isn’t even on the report this week. He’s full-go for the Vandy game on Saturday.

Likewise, running back Jordan Todman (elbow) isn’t listed either. He’ll play against the Commodores, too.

Linebacker Jerome Williams, a reserve, is probable with an “upper extremity” injury. No word on where the injury came from or if it happened during his spat Monday with teammate Dave Teggart.

Two players have been ruled out, including tackle Adam Masters (arm). Jimmy Bennett will start at left tackle in Masters’ place.

Reserve Jonathan Jean-Louis is also out with an upper extremity injury.

As reported Monday, LB Yawin Smallwood (shoulder) and RB Kelmetrus Wylie (knee) will have surgery soon and are obviously out.

- Neill

Sorry for the delay in posting this. A monsoon, a live chat, a conference call and other football duties were the priority.

UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun, for the 25th year in a row, spoke at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting Thursday morning at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell.

The coach touched on a variety of subjects, though he offered mostly no comment on the upcoming NCAA hearing and UConn’s response to the allegations. Here are the highlights:

– Quickly on the NCAA front:

“We can’t control all the other things that happen around us right now,” Calhoun said. “That will be done in a couple weeks. We’ll see what happens.”

The coach doesn’t know when UConn’s response might be made public. (Apparently no one does).

– Calhoun promised the crowd his team will work hard this season.

“No one will out work us,” Calhoun said. “We’ll out work every team we play.”

However, the coach pleaded with the fans for some help along those lines.

“We need you. We truly need you,” Calhoun said.

Apparently the players have T-shirts that say “I’ve got your back.”

“We need you to have our back,” Calhoun told the crowd.

– The NCAA investigation has been used against the Huskies in recruiting, it seems.

“It’s been used against us quite a bit _ more so than I thought,” Calhoun said.

It’s about trust to Calhoun, though, which he says he found in the seven new players that joined the team (or will join) this year.

“Seven kids, including Enosch (Wolf), trusted us to sign letters of intent or are here,” Calhoun said. “When you get to recruiting, you have to trust people.”

– Calhoun explained a little of why Ater Majok abruptly left the UConn program last month. He insisted there were no NCAA issues and that the 24-year-old wasn’t “forced” out.

“No one forced him out,” Calhoun said. “He was eligible to compete so, no.”

Calhoun said Majok approached him about possibly transferring in May then changed his mind.

“He left here with a handshake and a hug,” Calhoun said. “He didn’t want to leave but felt it was time.”

– Among the other notable college basketball (and football) personalities in attendance Thursday were UConn AD Jeff Hathaway, CCSU coach Howie Dickenman, Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore, and former UConn running back (and current Hartford Colonial) Andre Dixon.

Calhoun actually had a little fun with Moore while on the podium. Moore’s team might be very good this year, so Calhoun decided to set the bar high.

“Twenty-five wins is very comfortably in the range of the number of wins you should have,” Calhoun said to Moore, his former assistant.

– Calhoun gave some brief updates from his recent players’ training camp work including Jerome Dyson (Oklahoma City), Stanley Robinson (Orlando) and Gavin Edwards (Korea).

Calhoun also said he expected more out of them _ and himself _ during their senior seasons.

“They didn’t provide the kind of leadership we needed. And I didn’t help them provide that leadership maybe,” Calhoun said. “I don’t mind saying it. … Our standards are as high as yours.”

– Calhoun lamented the frequent losses in close games that his team suffered in 2009-10.

“That doesn’t happen to us,” Calhoun said. “And it won’t happen again, by the way.”

– The current Huskies have, their coach says, spent the summer taking a total of 96 hours of classes, around 30 total courses, and have a 3.2 cumulative GPA.

As a team they missed a total of one class. The player who missed that class spent some days running at 5:30 a.m.

Calhoun gave credit to new assistants Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller for the positive results.

“This group has been so much more responsible,” Calhoun said. “When kids get a little bit older sometimes take things for granted _ and you as a staff might.”

– Apparently former UConn assistant Pat Sellers will soon interview for job with NBA’s Houston Rockets.

– Calhoun said he plans to recruit two players for the Class of 2011.

“We’re trying to get a guard. We’re trying to get a big guy,” Calhoun said.

– The coach gave a thumbnail sketch on a number of his players.

– G Kemba Walker is on track to graduate in three years, his coach says.

– G Jeremy Lamb: “At least as talented as Richard Hamilton coming in, and more athletic,” Calhoun said.

– F Niels Giffey: “He makes your team better,” Calhoun said.

– Enosch Wolf is set to be eligible to practice at UConn Dec. 17.

“Another kid from Berlin _ not the Turnpike,” Calhoun joked to the crowd.

– G/F Jamal Coombs-McDaniel: “He had an OK year. We expect him to be better,” Calhoun said.

– F Roscoe Smith: “An incredibly talented kid,” Calhoun said. “He’s going to be terrific in time.”

– C Alex Oriakhi is up to 247 pounds. He’s also bigger than his coach remembers.

“When they measured him the other day he was about 6-10. He had sneakers on but he’s 6-10,” Calhoun said. “He’s going to play with sneakers so to me that’s OK.

“But he had a 7-3 reach. I never realized he was that long.”

– C Charles Okwandu has also worked on his body, apparently.

“Charles was over 7-feet at 250 but he looks different,” Calhoun said. “He’s cut. I never thought Charles would be cut. I might cut him but I never thought…”

– PF/C Michael Bradley may reshirt, Calhoun said. Not only because he’s still a bit raw basketball-wise but because his degree requirements in Pharmacy seem especially daunting.

– C Jon Mandeldove could return to the team in January if he completes some academic work. It’s likely he would be a non-scholarship player, however.

– The depth in the backcourt and youth of nearly every position has Calhoun repeating his usual pre-season mantra. This time he might mean it, however.

“I think we’re going to try to use more people,” Calhoun said. “We always say that but one of the ways to hide our youth is to go fast and hard.”

- Neill

A few words from UConn football coach Randy Edsall after his chat with reporters Thursday:

– Waiting for injury report, as usual. Check back here around 6 p.m. to get the latest on Scott Lutrus, Jordan Todman, etc.

– The recent shakeups in the depth chart, including at quarterback, are nothing new to the Huskies their coach says.

“This isn’t anything that’s new. We’ve had these situations come up. It happens every year,” Edsall said. “That’s happened here. It’s happened everywhere throughout the country.”

“This is about life, too. This about teaching kids life lessons,” Edsall said.

QB Zach Frazer, who started the Huskies’ first four games but is now third-string, has apparently handled his demotion well.

“He’s been fine,” Edsall said. “That’s all you can do. If you want to be malcontent, you want to be a guy that creates disruptions, that’s not going to help you in the long run either.”

Edsall said his staff’s approach of trying to be honest and open has served them well in that area.

“Not everybody is going to agree with decisions that are made but I think if you’re always up front and you’re honest with people, and you deal with them that way, they don’t have to like it but they’ll respect it,” Edsall said.

– Scout Team players of the week: OG Tyler Bullock (offense), LB Mike Osiecki (defense), S Ty-Meer Brown (special teams)

It’s the second such honor for Osiecki, a freshman from Seymour.

It’s also the first for Bullock, who was until recently a backup.

“It’s good to see that Tyler _ he was up in the two-deep then moved down _ is down there working hard,” Edsall said. “That is encouraging. He’s going down there to get better, not just go through the motions.”

- Neill

The UConn football team’s depth chart is out for this week’s game against Vanderbilt and there is at least one shocker.

Not only is Zach Frazer no longer at the top of the chart at quarterback _ Cody Endres, as expected, is there _ but Frazer’s not even number two!

Mike Box is now listed as the backup quarterback.

There are other moves, too.

– Erik Kuraczea is now the starter at left guard, supplanting Matt Olivier.

– The starting kicker is an “OR” with both Dave Teggart and Chad Christen listed as No. 1.

– The other changes on the chart are just to catch up with what’s been happening on the field.

Lawrence Wilson is now the starting middle linebacker with Sio Moore the starter on the weakside.

Gary Wilburn (who has been the nickel back all season and played extensively but has not on the depth chart) is now listed as the backup to Dwayne Gratz at cornerback. Gilbert Stlouis is no longer on the two-deep.

Robbie Frey, as expected, is now alone as the No. 2 running back behind Jordan Todman.

- Neill

Some news from the Big East:

– UConn RB Kelmetrus Wylie will have surgery on the left knee he injured Saturday against Buffalo. He will likely miss the remainder of the season, UConn coach Randy Edsall said Monday.

The junior was hurt covering a kickoff against the Bulls.

“I’m very disappointed and sad for Meme,” Edsall said. “He’s been a program player here. This is his fourth year here and he’s made great contributions on special teams. He was going to have his opportunity to get on the field as a running back. That was all taken away from him.”

– UConn LB Yawin Smallwood, a freshman who was likely to redshirt this season, will have shoulder surgery and won’t play this season.

Apparently the surgery is related to a condition Smallwood had before his college career began.

– As most of you know by now the Big East does not have a ranked team in the AP poll this week.

It’s seemingly a down year for the league, though the coaches obviously are preaching patience.

“Let’s wait and see where things are two months from now,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “It has been a slow start, there’s no doubt about that. Everyone has their reasons.”

The Big East is 1-10 against other BCS conference teams this season.

“I think it’s way too early to judge anything. I do know that leagues go through ebbs and flows,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “Who knows what this one will be when you look back.”

“I’m tired of answering that,” West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said.

UConn hosts Vanderbilt of the SEC on Saturday.

“I think we need a win for ourselves. I think we need a win for the Big East,” Edsall said.

– Stewart was fond of one-word answers on the Big East’s conference call Monday.

Among them: Was LSU’s Tiger Stadium the toughest venue you’ve ever played in?

“No.”

– UConn linebacker Sio Moore didn’t receive the defensive game ball from his coaches (that honor went to S Jerome Junior) but the sophomore was honored by the Big East Monday as its defensive player of the week.

Moore, who was making his first career start against Buffalo, had a game-high 16 tackles and an interception. He’s made some big strides since arriving at UConn.

“He’s just matured more as a player and as a person,” Edsall said. “He understands the bigger picture, how you have to prepare and how hard you have to work.”

– UConn RB Jordan Todman, who did not play last week, slipped to fifth nationally in rushing yardage (149.3 ypg).

– UConn is 9th nationally in interceptions (9).

– UConn is 102nd nationally in net punting (32.53)

– Syracuse is 3-1 for the first time since 2003, even though two of its wins have been over Division I-AA (FCS) opponents.

– UConn leads the Big East in both scoring offense (33.2 ppg) and total offense (394.0 ypg) though both of those numbers are largely due to one colossal blowout of Texas Southern.

– Pittsburgh, which has played the toughest schedule of anyone in the league, is next-to-last in the league in total offense (314.3 ypg) and also seventh in total defense (350.3 ypg).

– Rutgers continues to rank first in the league in scoring defense (10.3 ppg) and last in scoring offense (21.0 ppg).

– Cincinnati had 461 yards of total offense against Oklahoma in defeat.

“There are no moral victories. We didn’t get it done at the end,” Cincinnati coach Butch Jones said.

– Pitt LB Dan Mason (knee) is out for the season. He was hurt in the second half of the Miami game last Thursday.

If you watched the game and saw the play, you knew the prognosis wouldn’t be good.

– West Virginia RB Noel Devine (foot) was limited against LSU and might be as the Mountaineers go forward.

“He’s getting two treatments today. He’s sore as can be,” Stewart said. “Hopefully he can heal up in a couple weeks.”

– Louisville WR Doug Beaumont had surgery on his knee and will be out indefinitely.

The senior is the Cardinals’ leading receiver this season, catching 16 passes for 244 yards.

– Some TV info for Oct. 9:

Syracuse-South Florida is the Big East game of the week and will start at noon.

Memphis-Louisville is a 2 p.m. start, while Miami (Ohio)-Cincinnati will begin at 7 p.m. Both of those games will be seen on espn3.com.

- Neill

The league’s weekly award winners:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK _ Delone Carter, RB, Syracuse. Carter ran for a career-high 172 yards on 14 carries and matched his career high with four rushing touchdowns in Syracuse’s 42-7 win against Colgate. Carter scored on touchdown runs of 24, 9, 12 and 18 yards and registered his eighth career game with at least 100 rushing yards.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK _ Sio Moore, LB, UConn. Moore had a game- and career-high 16 tackles with an interception in his first career start to lead Connecticut to a 45-21 win against Buffalo. Moore led a Connecticut defense that limited Buffalo to seven second-half points, allowing the Huskies to break open a game that was tied 14-14 at halftime.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK _ Terrence Mitchell, PR, South Florida. Mitchell averaged 47 yards on two punt returns, including a 67-yard return that led to a key second-half touchdown in USF’s 24-12 win against Western Kentucky.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati — Completed 23 of 38 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a 31-29 loss to No. 8 Oklahoma.

JK Schaffer, LB, Cincinnati — Had 13 tackles and an interception in the Oklahoma loss.

Robbie Frey, RB, Connecticut — Came off the bench at halftime to rush for 112 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Scott Vallone, DT, Rutgers — Had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in a 17-13 loss to North Carolina.

Demetris Murray, RB, USF — Rushed for a career-high 115 yards on 15 carries against Western Kentucky.

- Neill

UConn football coach Randy Edsall spent a few minutes with reporters Sunday, briefly looking back at the Huskies’ 45-21 win over Buffalo Saturday at Rentschler Field.

– The coach repeated what he said on Saturday to start.

“It was a good win,” Edsall said. “But there’s things we still have to work on.”

– Jonathan Jean-Louis, who appeared to injure his left shoulder Saturday, actually switched positions, too. He’s moved from running back to outside linebacker last week.

– Game Balls: RB Robbie Frey (offense), S Jerome Junior (defense), FB Anthony Sherman (special teams)

– In case there was any confusion, OG Erik Kuraczea did not play in the game. No offensive time or special teams.

– LB Greg Lloyd is on the bench, for now. Sio Moore will be a starter going forward, if there was any doubt.

“Between him and Lawrence (Wilson), they were our two best linebackers. There was nothing more than that,” Edsall said. “We think we’ve got our best 11 on the field doing it that way.”

The coach wouldn’t admit that Lloyd’s knee was still a concern or at least could be slowing him down. It seemingly is, though.

- Neill