04-09-2009, 01:38 AM
Basketball season is over. It was a successful year for UCONN basketball. Now it is football's turn.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigeast/0-4-1...dsall.html
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigeast/0-4-1...dsall.html
Quote:Spring Q&A: UConn coach Randy Edsall
April 8, 2009 8:00 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
There are few coaches who are more respected in the Big East or anywhere else than Randy Edsall.
Edsall has taken Connecticut from a start-up FBS outfit to a perennial bowl contender without the benefit of a bountiful home recruiting base. His teams are known for being rock solid in their fundamentals of the game.
The Huskies coach took some time out in the midst of spring practice to participate in our weekly Q&A series:
How has spring practice gone so far?
Randy Edsall: I've been pleased with practice so far. I think our kids have done a good job of picking up all the intricacies of what were doing offensively and executing those things. We could be better at executing, but I've liked the way they've picked it up. You can see it all starting to come together.
Has it been fun for you to put in a new offense this year?
RE: The biggest thing is, the running game's still the same. We're doing the same things in the running game, but the passing game is different. And what we're just trying to do is achieve balance in our offense. And that's the thing that's been good because I see us doing it. Anytime I think you change things up a little bit, there's always some excitement to it.
Time to ask the question on a lot of people's minds: what's the status of your quarterback competition?
RE: We've got great competition there. Cody (Endres) and Zach (Frazer), those are the two guys determining what's going on right now. There are things each of them is doing well and there things with each of them we're working on. I don't think that we'll see a guy being named as the starting quarterback by the end of spring practice. But, again, I'm looking for those two guys to progress with each practice we have, and I would hope by April 18 they would have a very good grasp of what we're doing and we can see a lot of positive results.
You had a lot of good senior leaders last year. Who do you see assuming that role this season?
RE: Well, the way I look at it is, we're going to have 12 seniors, and I don't know if there's anyone who's really distinguished themselves there. But I know this: as a group of 12, they're doing a good job of leading. That's one of the things I'll have to determine toward the end of spring practice. We might be a team that will just go with game captains and utilize our seniors. I like what our senior group has done as a whole, maybe more than one or two from an individual standpoint.
You went into Florida this year and got some big-time recruits for really the first time. Is that a sign of how the program is developing?
RE: I think what has happened is, we've had success here now, and kids see it. And when we get them up here and show them the facility and they understand we're probably going to have four guys taken in the first two rounds on the first day (of the NFL Draft) and probably have eight or nine guys sign contracts this year ... So anything a kid wants to become, he can do it here. And I think now once we get the kids on campus, they see exactly what we're all about and they see, hey, you can come to a place like UConn and the coaches are going to develop you to be a lot better than what you were when you came here. I think that's the one thing we've been able to do is, we get kids to come here and they get better. They improve quite a bit. So kids are starting to uncover that diamond in the rough we have up here.
You have done a remarkable job of developing players. Why is that? I know you redshirt a lot of guys. Do you do a lot of coaching and teaching when they're in their redshirt years?
RE: You're coaching them all the time. But I think the basic principle we have is, we're going to develop the football players and we're going to develop them fundamentally. And really get them to understand how to play technique football and how to utilize their technique to make them better. I think that's the thing we do -- a lot of things fundamentally -- and if we can get them to understand the techniques and fundamentals that they have for their positions, then we can play any scheme we want to play.
For me, football just comes down to blocking and tackling and catching the ball and running the ball. And what you've got to do is get these kids to where they can be fundamentally sound and they can execute the seven to 10 techniques that you might have for them at their position. We just try to continue the development of kids each and every year, get them stronger, and I think we do a pretty good job of teaching them football in terms of how to study film, what to look for and all those different intangible things. You try to develop them into the best all-around football player that he can be can be rather than just developing one area, maybe.
At the same time, are people undervaluing the recruits you sign? You've won with several kids who weren't anywhere near the four- or five-star grading scale.
RE: We just try to go out and find the kids we think can fit into our system and who can fit into the kinds of kids that we have here in our program. I don't ever get hung up on how they're rated, because the only opinion that matters is my opinion and my staff's opinion of what we think of the young man. This is what we do for a living. Other people do this to make money; we do it for a living.
Take a look Darius Butler. It was us and Florida Atlantic. Cody Brown. It was us and Iowa State. With Will Beatty, it was Shippensburg State and us. And Donald Brown, nobody thought he could be a running back. Everybody else thought he was a defensive back. So my whole thing in recruiting is don't ever worry about what anybody else thinks. It's about what you think when you go put on the film and ask questions of his high school coach and people in the school.
You've got two superstar basketball coaches on your campus with multiple national championships under their belts. How is your relationship with them, and does their success help your program in terms of exposure?
RE: I have a good relationship with Jim (Calhoun) and Geno (Auriemma), and they've always been supportive since the day I got here. We used their name and programs when we first got here because we didn't have anything to sell. But we had to make a name for ourselves, and we can go out and sell our own product now. We can live off what we've done on the field and the facilities we have here.
But it's also great to know that when our kids come to visit, we've got the ability to take them to watch those games and be a part of that excitement when the men and women do play. Initially, that helped us and we really needed it. But kids are coming here to play football; they're not coming here to come and watch basketball games. And I would think our program has kind of helped them a little bit, too, from the standpoint that now they can bring kids in on recruiting visits during the fall to our home games. That's probably exciting for their recruits to see us play.
Since you're a Syracuse alumnus, I wonder what you thought of the Doug Marrone hire and what you know of him.
RE: I think it was a good hire for Syracuse. Doug was a player there when I was coaching. I'm sure Doug will do a good job. I'm sure he's got a plan he has in place that he wants to implement there. His background speaks for itself.
You're on the football rules committee. What issues do you see out there right now from a rules standpoint? Perhaps clock rules or celebration penalties?
RE: The rules that are going to be in place for this year will be in place for two years because they changed the operation of how they do that. So there won't be any rules changes for next year after this year. That's going to allow people on the rules committee to really take a look at our game after this year and see what we can do to make the game better. It gives you a little more time to talk about it and get people on board with what maybe needs to be done.
I think the clock rules have been great with what's taken place with the latest changes. The emphasis this year will be on sportsmanship in terms of excessive celebration and things along those lines. And we're always going to be looking into the game to see if we can do anything to make the game safer for the players, because ultimately that's the number one thing. You want to make it as safe as you can but still not take away from what the game of football is all about.
Do other Big East coaches call you about rules they don't like?
RE: A lot of times, the guy that's the chairman of the rules committee hears it a little bit more. I always try to tell coaches in the Big East that, 'Hey, if there's something you guys want to look at or try to implement, let me know.' I'm in close contact and spend a lot of time talking to Terry McAulay (the Big East supervisor of officials). You know, a lot of times coaches maybe don't put as much thought into it like some of the officials. Terry and I have had numerous discussions on what we think will make the game a little bit better.