SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Randy Edsall had a plan.
Still does, by the way, and everyone in Connecticut blue knows you follow the plan.
“He is by-the-book,” said UConn defensive tackle Kendall Reyes. “You’re not getting away with anything. If he says you gotta do it, you gotta do it.”
Edsall’s plan has landed the Huskies in the Fiesta Bowl, the pinnacle moment for a football program that started play in 1896 but didn’t reach major-college status until the 21st century.
But passionate devotion to your plan doesn’t keep doubt away. Doubt crept in on Edsall eight years ago. In his fourth UConn season, the Huskies blew a late lead and lost 28-24 at Vanderbilt. Edsall’s record at Connecticut dipped to 11-30.
“You wonder, can we get it going?” Edsall asked. “Can we turn it around?”
But Connecticut won three straight games against struggling opponents, then finished the season with a 37-20 upset at Iowa State. That’s the Cyclone team that started 6-1 and was ranked in the top 10.
Connecticut football has been on a steady climb ever since. A 2004 bowl game. A 2007 Big East co-championship. A 2009 victory at Notre Dame. The 2011 Fiesta Bowl. The plan prevailed.
“This is something you dream about,” Edsall said. “This is really what we’ve worked for since Jan. 4, 1999.”
Defensive coordinator Hank Hughes, in his 10th season on Edsall’s staff, said his boss is “single-minded in what he wants to do. He doesn’t waver ... doesn’t get all ruffled. He’s a taskmaster. He doesn’t deviate. He’s got a plan. He knows he’s gonna stand by that plan.”
Talk to a dozen Huskies, heck, talk to two dozen, and they all say the same thing about their coach. Runs a tight ship. Demands accountability. Believes in doing things right.
“We do it by his rules,” said star tailback Jordan Todman. “Once you buy into his system, it is successful.”
New England is not plush football country. Some thought Lew Perkins was nuts back in the 1990s, when the then-UConn athletic director proposed moving up to Division I-A. When coach Skip Holtz, Lou’s son, left for East Carolina, Perkins turned to Edsall, then Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator. Edsall grew up in Pennsylvania, played and coached at Syracuse, then joined Tom Coughlin for seven seasons, three with Boston College and four with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Edsall brought his plan, which on the gridiron stresses physicality and tough interior play, to the Connecticut hills one month after Bob Stoops was hired to rebuild at Oklahoma. While Stoops’ success came virtually immediately, Edsall went the way of the tortoise.
“I wanted to build a program that would stand the test of time,” Edsall said. “We wanted to make sure as we built it, we were building it the right way and doing it the sound way. And that’s really what we did.
“When you lay the foundation and brick by brick build it, you can do some things maybe quicker than what people would imagine ... we really never listened to other people.”
Edsall is tall — you could see him as a Syracuse quarterback, which 30 years ago he was — and younger looking than his 52 years. He’s a commanding presence. In a program that preaches team, team, team, Edsall is more than the father of Connecticut football. He’s the face, too.
“He’s got a very good reputation around the university,” said cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson. “One thing about him, the two people he doesn’t like are liars and cheaters. He’ll always tell you the truth. He’ll always tell you the right thing to do in a situation.
“Coach Edsall, what he preaches is what he lives.”
And now he’s here, in the desert, 2,500 miles from Connecticut’s snow but not one inch from his plan.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@opubco.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.
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