Connecticut playing for respect

STORRS, Conn.—Connecticut considers itself the Rodney Dangerfield of Big East football.

Despite returning 19 starters from a team that went 9-4 in 2007 and won a share of the Big East championship, the Huskies were picked to finish sixth in this season's preseason media poll.

"That's a little disrespectful," said tailback Donald Brown, one of two Husky backs to rush for over 800 yards last season. "It's motivating us to play just that much harder. We feel we're right up there with everybody else. We should be up there."

Critics have called the Huskies' 2007 season a fluke, pointing out that wins over Temple and Louisville came with big assists from bad calls by officials. The Huskies also ended badly, dropping their final three games, including a 66-21 blowout loss at West Virginia and a 24-10 defeat at the hands of Wake Forest in the Meineke Bowl.

"I can't change what people think," head coach Randy Edsall said. "But I know this, (the players) see it and they've used it the right way in their own minds."

Edsall said the Huskies have had an unusually productive summer. With so many returning players, he's been able to get the offense installed early and spend less time on the basics.

"In 10 years, we've never been this far along at the end of preseason camp," Edsall said. "It's not like you've got to take a lot of freshmen and get them ready to play."

The offense is led by senior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen, who becomes the first QB to return as a starter for the Huskies since Dan Orlovsky graduated to the NFL in 2004.

Lorenzen threw for over 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns and had just six interceptions in 2007. He also ran for 328 yards. But he's been pushed in the preseason by Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazer, who has seen some time with the first team in practice.

UConn is again expected to rely heavily on its running game, which averaged over 161 yards last season. The tailback tandem of Brown (821 yards) and Andre Dixon (828 yards) returns, and redshirt freshman Robbie Frey also has impressed in camp and should see some playing time.

The biggest question mark comes at receiver. The Huskies became thinner in the offseason when last year's leading pass catcher, Terence Jeffers, transferred to Vanderbilt.

That left converted quarterback D.J. Hernandez, a senior, and junior Brad Kanuch as the only experienced members of the receiving corps. Kanuch, who had 433 receiving yards last year, has been battling a hamstring injury.

The Huskies are hoping for big things from speedster Kashif Moore, a redshirt freshman, and Ellis Gaulden, a fifth-year senior. Gaulden has spent much of his career in the trainer's room, with serious injuries to both knees, an ankle and a foot. True freshman Michael Smith is also in the mix, and cornerback Darius Butler has persuaded Edsall to let him play a few downs each game on offense. Butler also will see duty returning kicks and punts.

"Whoever we line up there I think will do a good job," Edsall said. "Those are the people. We just have to get them as productive as we can and I'm not going to lose sleep over it."

Edsall experimented with the defense during the spring in an attempt to fill the big holes left in the middle by the graduation of all-conference middle linebacker Danny Lansanah and tackle Dan Davis.

Sophomore Jarrell Miller, the biggest name recruit in the program's history, left the team after being moved from linebacker to tackle.

Outside linebacker Scott Lutrus was moved inside, and safety Dahna Deleston switched to outside linebacker. By August, however, both Lutrus and Deleston were back at their original positions. Sophomore Greg Lloyd Jr., the son of the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, won the starting job at middle linebacker.

The defense feels it has a lot to prove this year after giving up 623 yards to West Virginia and 412 to Wake Forest.

"I definitely like where we are," said Butler. "We have more talent than in years past. We have a lot of speed on defense. We have a lot of experience. We're going to be out there flying to the ball."

They also have the confidence that comes with being defending co-champions of the conference.

"Regardless of what anybody thinks, nobody can ever take that ring away that they got," Edsall said.