Spring Break
McEntee the future of Husky offense
Kevin Meacham
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Sports
Rooting for UConn football is two parts crushing disappointment and one part optimism for the future.
Last year, for instance, UConn knocked off the Big East's BCS representative at home; they then cornered the markets on interceptions, dumb turnovers and special teams mistakes in games against North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and so on.
As always, though, April is the time for unbridled optimism. Saturday, The Huskies put a newish offense on display in the Blue-White Spring Game. And given the circumstances (and limitations) of spring football, they performed well, according to the delightfully esoteric Modified Edsall Scoring System.
That said, it became quickly clear that the battle between starting quarterbacks-to-be, Cody Endres and Zach Frazer was a dud. Neither was all that impressive Saturday, though they both had high points.
Endres was decent in the first quarter, but finished 9-for-19 for 68 yards; Frazer was shaky early, but picked it up to finish 13-for-22 for 115 yards and a nifty TD pass to Marcus Easley. Both quarterbacks - facing no threat of being hit by large gentlemen on the defensive line - overthrew wide-open receivers with frightening regularity.
Decent. Nothing earth-shattering. Pretty much what we've come to expect from UConn quarterbacks. Given April's status as the month of optimism, I spent some time Saturday trying to figure out exactly how I would rationalize another year of inconsistent play under center.
"Man, that Jordan Todman's pretty good … offensive line looks pretty strong … Hey, look - Desi Cullen hit a couple of field goals!"
And then, in a flash of light, the answer to all of our hopes and dreams stepped onto the turf at Rentschler Field. The alleged crowd of 7,000 didn't take much notice. Neither did I. But Johnny McEntee had arrived.
Suddenly, as the second half began, competence flooded the field. McEntee, a walk-on from Fullerton, Calif., took the snap, dropped back, passed the ball to the area in which a wide receiver would eventually be. The wide receiver caught it.
Last year, for instance, UConn knocked off the Big East's BCS representative at home; they then cornered the markets on interceptions, dumb turnovers and special teams mistakes in games against North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and so on.
As always, though, April is the time for unbridled optimism. Saturday, The Huskies put a newish offense on display in the Blue-White Spring Game. And given the circumstances (and limitations) of spring football, they performed well, according to the delightfully esoteric Modified Edsall Scoring System.
That said, it became quickly clear that the battle between starting quarterbacks-to-be, Cody Endres and Zach Frazer was a dud. Neither was all that impressive Saturday, though they both had high points.
Endres was decent in the first quarter, but finished 9-for-19 for 68 yards; Frazer was shaky early, but picked it up to finish 13-for-22 for 115 yards and a nifty TD pass to Marcus Easley. Both quarterbacks - facing no threat of being hit by large gentlemen on the defensive line - overthrew wide-open receivers with frightening regularity.
Decent. Nothing earth-shattering. Pretty much what we've come to expect from UConn quarterbacks. Given April's status as the month of optimism, I spent some time Saturday trying to figure out exactly how I would rationalize another year of inconsistent play under center.
"Man, that Jordan Todman's pretty good … offensive line looks pretty strong … Hey, look - Desi Cullen hit a couple of field goals!"
And then, in a flash of light, the answer to all of our hopes and dreams stepped onto the turf at Rentschler Field. The alleged crowd of 7,000 didn't take much notice. Neither did I. But Johnny McEntee had arrived.
Suddenly, as the second half began, competence flooded the field. McEntee, a walk-on from Fullerton, Calif., took the snap, dropped back, passed the ball to the area in which a wide receiver would eventually be. The wide receiver caught it.
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