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St. Paul quarterback Logan Marchi didn’t waste much time making his college decision.

After visiting with Temple, Boston College, Rutgers and Oklahoma earlier this month and getting offers from at least Temple and UConn, St. Paul quarterback settled back in-state for UConn’s football camp last week.

Just a few days later, on Saturday night, Marchi announced he’d decided to accept UConn’s offer.

Officially committed to the University of Connecticut ! #huskies

— Logan Marchi (@lmarsh7) June 16, 2013

Marchi, a 6-foot-1 175-pound, pro-style quarterback who has put up big numbers at St. Paul in three years, is the first verbal commitment for the Huskies 2014 recruiting class.

“I know the place real well, and I’ve known some of the coaches there for a long time,” Marchi told Kevin Roberts of the Bristol Press on Sunday night. “It’s close to home. It was the most comfortable college that I’ve been to.”

A Winsted resident, Marchi has completed 50 percent of his passes for 6,482 yards, 74 touchdowns against 35 interceptions during his three-year career. He threw for 2,935 yards and 38 touchdowns against 10 interceptions as a junior last year. St. Paul was 3-7.

According to John Silver of the Manchester J-I (via SNY), it’s becoming rather crowded at quarterback for UConn. This year, the Huskies will have six QBs on the roster: Incumbent junior starter Chandler Whitmer, redshirt freshman and Masuk/New London product Casey Cochran, junior Scott McCummings, and newcomers Tim Boyle of Xavier, Plano-Texas’ Richard Lagow and Atlanta’s Kivon Taylor.

Incidentally, Boyle spoke with Rivals.com over the weekend about his recruiting process and decision to switch from Boston College to the Huskies.

Further reading:
St. Paul’s Marchi heading to UConn — Bristol Press
Huskies nab in-state QB — SNY

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On the day the AAC unveiled its new logo, commissioner Mike Aresco spent a half-hour on a media teleconference, addressing a wide range of issues related to his league.

Some key points:

AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco (AP)

*It appears the AAC will decide on postseason basketball sites within a week or two — or sooner. Aresco said the choices have been narrowed down with “a handful” in the mix. He added that the league is likely to sign one-year deals with the respective postseason venues and then “re-examine things as the year goes by.”

“We might even wait to see how the tournaments pan out next year before we make a decision on the longer-term plan,” Aresco said.

Mohegan Sun has been reported to be a favorite for the women’s tournament. Aresco said there is no concern about playing in a casino.

“As you know, several conferences have had their tournaments either in Las Vegas or even on a casino property,” he said.

*The AAC has no current plans to expand. Aresco said he’d only consider expansion with “schools that would really make significant impact on our conference.” He added that there are only “a few” out there capable of doing so.

“As a commissioner once said, you’re always alert,” Aresco said. “But at this point we don’t have any plans.”

When Navy joins in 2015, the AAC will have 12 football members.

*The commissioner re-affirmed that the league will retain its automatic NCAA tournament bid in basketball. In addition, the conference has a BCS automatic qualifier for the upcoming season. Obviously, with the change in bowl format, there will no longer be a BCS automatic qualifier after this year.

*Aresco believes the league will hold more than five bowl-tie ins (it’s current number). The AAC would also “like the flexibility of running its own bowl.”

“We think we could find a good opponent,” Aresco said.

*The implementation of a logo is “another important step in the re-branding of our conference,” Aresco said. He called the logo “bold, simple and elegant design that is aspirational in nature with the star.”

*Keeping records in this new league could get a little tricky.

“One of the things we’re going to sort out is how we’re going to keep records and deal with that because obviously it’s a little bit complicated with having had schools in the Big East that aren’t there,” Aresco said. “We’ll figure that out.”

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The Big East as we once knew it all but kaput now that the last spring champions have been crowned.

It’s all about the new era. The American Athletic Conference, which will be known as ‘The American,’ is just about born.

The Big East website, while still there, nudges you toward ‘The American’ website . A visit there trumps up a July 1 launch date and comforting words: Strong. Stable. United. Competitive. And about to write a new chapter in the history of college athletics.”

The Big East’s twitter feed switched its handle to @American_Conf and a new logo was be unveiled today.

At the stroke of midnight, we got the first glimpse.

USA Today and its staff broke out The American’s logo online via Twitter, complete with a comprehensive story by Dan Wolken, complete with quotes from American commissioner Mike Aresco.

According to the paper, the logo was designed by MadCreek Advertising in Montclair, N.J., which won the approval by league officials over another firm.

“It’s another step in reinventing the conference, and it’s a big one,” Aresco told the newspaper.

The conference will be showing off its fleet of logos today.

For now, We only have a snippet that USA Today allowed to be seen on its site. But what do you think?

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Four Huskies figure to come off the board in this weekend’s NFL Draft, pushing UConn’s total to 20 draftees since 2005.

Not bad.

Of the past 16 picks, only offensive tackle Will Beatty (Giants) and safety Tyvon Branch (Raiders) are considered safe bets as opening day starters.

Perhaps this year’s crop — Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Sio Moore, Dwayne Gratz and Trevardo Williams — will join them.

So which former Husky will have the best career? My vote goes to Wreh-Wilson. Place yours below.

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2013 UConn spring football scrimmage

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It was just a glorified practice, not a game by any stretch of the imagination. But for UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni, it was another opportunity to try and get better.

With injuries to several key players, Saturday’s Blue-White spring game at Rentscheler Field became a scrimmage with “back to the wall” plays, “red zone” plays and regular scrimmage plays. An estimated 3,000 came and supported the Huskies, who ended their five-week run of 15 spring practices and will now set their sights ahead to fall workouts and the 2013 season opener against Towson on Aug. 29.

“I think spring practice went well,” said Pasqualoni, who is coming off back-to-back 5-7 seasons and will be looking to get the Huskies bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010. “We had a lot of guys that we either held out (today) or weren’t able to practice. That gave other guys an excellent opportunity to get some quality reps. We’ve had quite a few guys make significant improvements, especially when you talk about the younger guys and the need to develop depth.”

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New UConn uniforms

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Update: The new football uniforms were also unveiled above.

Update: UConn released its official new ‘Jonathan’ husky logo just a little while ago. It’s the same one as below, but with red trim.

According to the official university release:

The two major changes will be the use of “UCONN” across the front of every uniform worn by each team, and a new look for the Jonathan Husky logo. The new look is part of a new institutional branding and marketing program announced in early April by President Susan Herbst that uses “UCONN” as the primary mark of the University in all signage, publications, advertising and marketing activities.

A new Husky dog logo was also developed as part of a review of all athletic team logos and marks, which in recent years had moved away from a consistent look on team uniforms.

Naturally, two of the school’s major coaches were quoted by UConn as being on board with the change:

“This logo is everything that a Husky is supposed to be – powerful, aggressive, determined,” women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said in the statement. “It is looking right through you and saying ‘Do not mess with me.’ This is a streamlined, fighting dog, and I cannot wait for it to be on our uniforms and court.”

“I absolutely love this new Husky Dog logo,” men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie said in the statement. ”It looks fantastic on our uniforms and I know that our fans will love it as much as we do. Our new identity is a look that I know I will be proud to wear.”

What do you think?

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Original post:

Someone may have let the Husky out of the bag.

Is this UConn's new logo?

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UConn is in the midst of a rebranding campaign, which is supposed to include a new, tougher looking Jonathan the Husky.

The logo is scheduled to be released next week, but photos leaked online today may have spoiled the surprise.

Of course, this could be completely fake. It wouldn’t be the first time.

If this is the real deal, it represents a dramatic departure from the old Jonathan.

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H/T: SB Nation’s The UConn Blog

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The UConn Huskies have just passed the halfway point in spring practice this week as they through practices seven, eight and nine – they are allowed 15 total workouts – before the annual Blue-White Spring Game on April 20 at Rentschler Field.
And at the halfway point this Tuesday, Huskies head coach Paul Pasqualoni talked about what he’s seen so far.

“I like the effort, I really do,” the coach said. “They come out and they practice hard every day. One of the things I like is we’re making progress getting back to running the ball. I’m pleased with what we’re doing from a ‘run the ball’ standpoint. I’m pleased with the quarterbacks and their approach. It’s seems like they’re gaining confidence being more familiar with things each day.
“We’ve got to continue to keep working defensively up front. Last year we had to replace Kendall (Reyes), we had to replace Tywon (Martin). This year we have to replace Ryan Wirth. We’re not practicing with Shamar (Stephen) right now so it’s like that same scenario last year. Shamar is recovering from some shoulder surgery that we did, so we’re going to give him the maximum amount of days. He doesn’t have to prove to us that he can play. He was a good player last year. Obviously, Jesse’s (Joseph) not practicing (Achilles surgery), so younger defensive guys are having to step up. We’ve got a lot of young guys on the defense, so that’s one of the areas of concern right now.

When asked – again – about the lack of production last season from the run game, Pasqualoni again spoke about the lack of consistency.

“It just seemed like it was at times it was the offensive line, at times it was the (missed) fullback’s block, at times the back could have made a better decision,” Pasqualoni said. “It just seemed like there were games when we were fine but overall, it just wasn’t consistent enough. On the other side of the coin, this offensive line has been together now so there should be more consistency on offense. I think there are some signs of that.”

What signs, coach?

“Just getting back to having guys not trying to do too much. I think a year ago, there were was some frustration there and at times Lyle (McCombs) tried to make a cut that wasn’t there,” Pasqualoni said. “Maybe a little less pitter-pattering and more going. He seems to be well-focused on that. Joe (Williams) and Max (DeLorenzo) have just got to keep working.
“What I like about Joe is he’s gotten a more focused approach to things. He’s been a much more consistent player in practice. He’s done it for seven practices but we’ve got 15 practices here and then 29 more in the preseason. But if he can keep up … he’s got the speed. I want him to play in the game as hard as he’s been playing in practice. In practice he’s been pretty good about just putting the pedal down and going. When he does that, he’s pretty good.
“The same thing with Max, he’s got to not do too much. Max has got some wiggle to him, so I don’t want to see too much of that stuff, I want to see … put your foot down and go. Make a cut and go.”

Are we going to see an more wide-open offense this fall?

“No, I don’t think so,” Pasqualoni said. “We’re going to run our offense and if we run the ball 35 or 40 times, that fine and if we have to pass it 35 times, that’s fine too. I think that will depend on what we’re seeing (from the defense) and what we feel we can get done. Take what the defense will give us and go. Make good decisions, which all goes back to the quarterbacks. If we run it, we run it and if we throw it, we throw it.”

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This just released by the UConn Athletic Communications department.

Former University of Connecticut assistant coaches Sam Rutigliano and Dave Adolph along with former players Dave Lalima and Stan Rajczewski will serve as honorary coaches for the UConn Blue-White Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 20, 2013, at Rentschler Field. Admission and parking are free with a noon kickoff, parking lots opening at 9:30 a.m. and stadium gates opening at 10:30 a.m. with a FanFest inside.
Rutigliano was the defensive backs coach at UConn in 1964 and 1965 and went on to a successful career in professional football. Rutigliano was also an assistant coach at Tennessee and Maryland before joining the staff of the Denver Broncos of the American Football League in 1967. He was an assistant coach in the professional ranks until he became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1978. Rutigliano was the NFL Coach of the Year in 1980 as the Browns won the AFC Central title. He later served as the head coach at Liberty University from 1989-99.
Adolph was on the UConn staff from 1965-68 and worked with both the offensive and defensive lines. Adolph also served as an assistant coach at Ohio State, Illinois, Kentucky and Akron. He spent his entire pro coaching career (21 years) in the AFC, including 14 years as a defensive coordinator and 12 seasons in the AFC West, making 11 career playoff appearances in the process. Prior to joining the Chiefs, Adolph spent two years (’97-98) as linebackers coach for the Oakland Raiders. He signed on with Oakland after a two-year stint (’95-96) as defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. During his three-year tenure as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator from ’92-94, the Chiefs made three straight playoff appearances.
Adolph originally came to Kansas City after spending three seasons (’89-91) as defensive coordinator for the L.A. Raiders. He spent the ’86-88 seasons as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns. Adolph began his NFL career as the Browns defensive line coach in 1979. He took over the club’s linebackers in ’81 before assuming duties as defensive coordinator midway through the ’84 season when Marty Schottenheimer was named head coach. He then spent one season (’85) as an assistant for San Diego before rejoining the Browns in ’86. He later returned to the college ranks as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego.
Lalima, a native of East Longmeadow, Mass., was a halfback and defensive back, who lettered for the Huskies in 1964 and ’66. After graduating from UConn, Lalima earned a law degree from Boston College. He served as regional counselor for social services in the state of Massachusetts during his career. In retirement, Lalima spends two week a year in Uganda working with a medical team to provide care to poverty-stricken residents of that country.
Rajczewski, a native of Stamford, Conn., was an offensive lineman for the Huskies and was an All-Yankee Conference selection in 1968. He lettered from 1966-68. Rajczewski had a long English teaching career from 1972-2003 at Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School, the same high school that former UConn men’s basketball start Ben Gordon attended. Rajczewski was an assistant football coach at Mount Vernon and also was the strength and conditioning coach. He currently resides in Newtown, Conn.