Ready For Some Football? Blue-White Game Today

When does a game that means absolutely nothing mean a whole lot?

When it’s the UConn Blue-White spring football game. With a new coach. New offense. New defense. New quarterback. New running back. New linebacker corps. OK, pretty much just new everything. We’ll leave it at that.

The Blue-White game is today (5 p.m., Rentschler Field) and while it is only officially recognized as a scrimmage and the final day of spring practice, it means a whole lot more to this UConn team.

Last year’s spring game? Not all that meaningful. We knew Zach Frazer was likely to be the starting quarterback. Jordan Todman was going to take over as the feature back. And the head coach had been here for a decade. The only thing really worth noting was the offensive coordinator, and even he had been at UConn for a year already. So, realistically, the game was meaningless.

Not so this year. This will be the first time UConn fans get a chance to check out new head coach Paul Pasqualoni in a game situation. And maybe more important, we will get to see new offensive coordinator George DeLeone.

Not to put the pressure on before the season even begins, but DeLeone will be the make-or-break piece for the Huskies in Fall 2011. And he doesn’t have a lot of experience to work with.

In some ways that is a good thing.When Joe Moorhead came in two years ago he was working with a team put together by Randy Edsall and former offensive coordinator Rob Ambrose. It wasn’t built to his style and we never really got to see the team Moorhead would have wanted (if Edsall even would have let him, but that’s a another column). DeLeone has nothing to work with from the previous regime.

That means we’ll get a look at who the new quarterback will be for the first time. Outside of a very brief look in Louisville last year, we don’t know much about sophomore Michael Box. We know even less about redshirt freshman Scott McCummings and true freshman Michael Nebrich. We might also get a look at senior Johnny McEntee (he of the trick shot video that made the rounds earlier this year).

What can I tell you about any of them? Not much. All I know is one of them better show something. This spring game may be the most accurate chance to assess their in-game abilities before opening against Fordham (though, granted, that’s a scrimmage too).

If the pickings are slim at quarterback, the running back situation looks like a buffet line after the offensive and defensive lines go through. The fact that D.J. Shoemate looks like the best option isn’t exactly encouraging. Todman left a gaping hole at a position that Edsall inexplicably failed to recruit for in the past couple years.

To put it mildly, there will be no All-American this year, like two of the last three seasons. In fact, it likely won’t even be as balanced as the middle year, when Andre Dixon and Todman formed a nice combination. Lyle McCombs might be the most talented guy, but he’s returning from a suspension that ate up most of his spring. Again, you know the drill. Somebody show something.

So that’s the theme for this year’s Blue-White scrimmage – somebody (anybody) had better step up on offense and show they want to be not just a contributor, but a leader. You’ll get some of that on defense with Kendall Reyes , Twyon Martin, Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson. It’d be nice if the player wearing No. 6, Kashif Moore, could be that guy, but honestly, wide receivers are rarely leaders.

In Moore’s case, being a leader won’t mean much if he has no one to throw him the ball.