Hate Week continues with news from the players and coaches.
Like I promised last week, a few notes from today's media luncheon. Yes, as a member of the "press" I am entitled to a free meal on the university (I am resisting the temptation to write a fedora joke right now). Problem is, the food isn't that great. Almost every week I hear one of the beat writers saying how good the food is, but it's pretty much just dining hall food. I'm a little scared now to think about my consumption after I graduate.
Anywho, read what I collected from today -- including how UConn can't keep their tight ends healthy, what Darius Butler and Donald Brown think about being draft prospects, and how even the players get into Rutgers Hate Week ... just without the biblic picures, and such -- after the jump.
What can Brown do for you (when you ask a question about the NFL Draft)?
So I had a chance to sit down with Butler and Brown today and I got around to asking them about the NFL Draft. Unfortunately, they weren't too talkative when it came to this particular subject. Butler casually brushed the comments aside, saying that he doesn't think about those things during the season. Brown, on the other hand, was a bit more blunt.
Along with the Norwich Bulletin's Joe Perez, we probably asked the junior tailback about seven or so questions regarding a pro career, and each time he couldn't shoot us down fast enough. "I'm not worrying about that," Brown said. " If I had to worry about that stuff, I'd be terrible because my mind would be elsewhere, but I'm just focused on the game. It's been a childhood dream, but that's it." Here's what he said when asked if he would consider leaving for the pros after this year:"That's not even a question I'm worried about." That's not a yes or a no, folks.
I think Brown was honest when he said that he wasn't thinking about it, because that's the type of guy he is -- he's always in the moment, unconcerned about things other than football -- but he's also smart and knew not to say anything that could be misconstrued.
Tight ends down
Add Yanni Apostolakos to the list of injured tight ends. Coach Randy Edsall said Apostolakos will be out about eight weeks with a hip injury. John Delahunt will now take over as the primary backup to Martin Bedard, who was given the starter's role after Steve Brouse broke his leg against Louisville. That is perharps the most obscure tight ends I've ever crammed into a paragraph.
A rivalry brewing?
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]-->So while we here at TheUConnBlog.com are willing to fuel the fire of the UConn-Rutgers rivarly, the coaches aren't too sure about it. Edsall talked at length about how he would like it to be a rivalry, but there just isn't enough tradition there. "It's hard to start a rivalry after three or four years. It takes time to do that. I think there's certain things that maybe the Big East can do between schools, and they can play for some kind of trophy," he said. "Those are the things that help to create [them] the more you play against each other. The Big East is still in its infant stages, but hopefully things will develop into interesting rivalries."
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano pretty much echoed those sentiments: "We haven't been playing long enough," he said. "We've played close and exciting games. There's seeds for a rivalry. Will that happen? Who knows. But when people try to make something there, it doesn't work. "
Some of the UConn players, though, were pretty into it. Donald Brown was excited to come back to his home state, especially after running over the Scarlet Knights the last two years. Even though Darius Butler is fron Florida, even he was getting into the action. "It can be seen that way," he said. "I've been here for four years, I've played this team three times. It's definietly a rivalry game to me. It's always a tough game when we play these guys. I don't think we like them very much and I don't think they like us very much."
Is there really a need for a caption?
Edsall playing Ebert
So I had about three or four graphs about Edsall going to see the "Express" this weekend with his wife, but I accidentally deleted it. Here's the gist: Edsall saw it, liked it -- especially because he's a Syracuse alum -- and said the movie probably should've been made years ago.
Anyway, just to throw in my 2 cents, I assume this movie sucks. Almost every year, Disney comes out with another movie about overcoming adversity, especially racial inequality. I'm not saying that's not a good message, because it's a great one, but how about making a sports movie that isn't cookie-cutter just once? From what I've read and the reviews I heard, that's the big issue with the movie -- it focuses too much on Ernie Davis overcoming racial issues and not enough about the man himself and telling his story.
Womp-Womp, Dan. O; Womp-Womp
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UConn savior Dan Orlovsky finished a respectable 12-for-21 for 150 yards and a touchdown in his first start with the Lions Sunday -- a 12-10 loss to the Vikings -- but this play could be his legacy in the NFL. He's probably not happy about it, but I sure am.
Here's what Edsall had to say on the matter:
"He never did that while he was here," Edsall joked. "I just felt bad for him. I had a chance to see it on replay; I texted him and told him not to let one play get his confidence down. … I’m sure he’ll never do that again."
Looks like he'll get a chance to add more hilarity to the NFL world, with Jon Kitna now out for the year.
Injuries
Andre Dixon is "fine" physically, according to Edsall, and will be the No. 2 running back this week. Edsall also said he's been dealing with the lack of playing time well. ... Redshirt sophomore defensive end Mike Cox will be out a few more weeks as he recovers from knee surgery. ... After struggling with injuries in the North Carolina game, the defensive line should be all healed by Saturday.
Notes
Schiano said he considered benching Mike Teel, but also said he considers all options in situations like these. ... Schiano also said that he and Zach Frazer were in talks about the QB transferring to Rutgers when the now UConn starter was looking to transfer from Notre Dame.