Practice Update: Huskies Feel Edsall's Bite

STORRS -- Offensive guard Zach Hurd felt the full wrath of UConn football coach Randy Edsall on Tuesday. On the first day of full pads for the Huskies football team, Edsall was quick to bark at anyone who drew his ire. Hurd jumped offside during the Huskies’ 2-minute drill and Edsall quickly called in his backup, Alex LaMagdelaine.

As Hurd walked off the field and he veered away from the beat-red faced coach to start his punishment lap. Edsall pounced.

“Where are you going? Over to the reporters? Are you going to do an interview?,” Edsall screamed. “Concentration. Those are the types of things that kill us.”

LaMagdelaine lasted about four plays before he was flagged for a false start. He knew exactly where he was going, a lap around the practice field.

“Get me a right guard!” Edsall said. “Get me a right guard!”

Mathieu Oliver eventually emerged from a busy huddle.

Edsall isn’t going to let anything by him.

“We had some issues with offsides and false starts,” Edsall said. “Those are the things that will kill you and that is what we avoided last year. I won’t allow those things to not be dealt with. The expectation level is high, they have to meet my expectation level, not me come down to theirs'."

No one was immune on Tuesday, not even “starting” quarterback Tyler Lorenzen. Lorenzen was banished early in practice as Edsall went with redshirt sophomore Zach Frazer after a series of poor throws and poor reads from the incumbent senior captain.

Frazer wasn’t expecting the call, but was generally impressive finding the open receivers and moving the offense. There was almost a half dozen drops by a struggling wide receiver corps, but the results generally pleased Edsall.

Frazer hasn’t played a full-game in almost three years. He is going to make the most of this chance.

“Everyday you have to compete. Its practice and you want to get better, but you are also competing,” Frazer said. “My goal is to play. I want to play .Everyone takes camp seriously and people just want to get out on the field. I just want to play, and then I’ll be happy.”

Is there a quarterback controversy brewing in Storrs? Not yet, but things can change in a hurry. Lorenzen is perhaps the most respected player on the team and if his job isn’t safe, no one's is.

“We have depth and if people are performing on the field and someone else isn’t then we will take a look at them. No position is etched in granite,” Edsall said. “They need to come out and work and perform and do things on the field that allows is to move forward and get better. You have to earn your position.”

That was perhaps the lesson of the first day in pads that Edsall wanted to make – earn your job every day. If you don’t, it could be gone tomorrow.

“It could be a one-day thing, a two-day thing or who knows how long,” Edsall said. “It depends how on the field things are going.”

Kanuch misses out

Wide receiver Brad Kanuch missed practice on Tuesday with an apparent leg injury. Kanuch had a wrap around his left leg and seemed to be favoring his hamstring. Kanuch had a quad injury in the spring that kept him out for the entire spring practice schedule.

The loss of Kanuch didn't deter Edsall.

“I am not worried about the guys on the sidelines,” Edsall said. “We will go with who we have and get guys ready to play and get ready for August 28th. If someone gets hurt, it’s someone’s obligation to step in.”

Ellis Gaulden participated with practice but he will be limited to once practice a day and sit out the second of two-a-days starting on Wednesday. The Huskies will scrimmage Thursday.

Edsall didn’t want to comment on freshmen receivers Michael Smith, Brian Parker and Gerrard Sheppard. He said he wanted to see some more out of them before they figure out whether any of them can have a role.

Husky Notes

* Jordan Todman had all legal charges dropped against him relating to his arrest at his high school senior prom. Todman and his date were arrested after alcohol was found on a private bus. Twenty students were not allowed into the prom related to this incident. Todman’s date became unruly according to press reports and she and Todman were arrested.

*Defensive end Oliver Bernsen, son of actor Corbin Bernsen, has left the team and returned to California. Bernsen redshirted last season as a walk-on.

* UConn football Sports and Information Director Leigh Torbin will leave the university at the end of August to take a position in the athletic department at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.