This week:
After winning their season opener, the UConn Huskies will host the Army Black Knights this Saturday at 12 p.m. at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.
The Line:
According to Rivals.com odds, the UConn Huskies are favored by 7.5 points. The over/under on the game is 47.5 points.
Tickets:
According to UConn Huskies ticket office, there plenty of tickets available to Saturday’s game
Getting To The Game:
Here is link for the weather report. Here is all the parking info you will need for the game, this link includes directions to Rentschler Field. Here is a Rentschler Field seating chart and here is some general information for Rentschler Field.
The parking lots will open up 4 hours before kickoff. Here is a list of the tailgating rules at the Rent.
The route for the Husky Walk as the team arrives for games at Rentschler Field this year and fans get a chance to greet the team as they get off their buses and make their way to the stadium. The Husky walk, which takes place approximately, two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff, starts in the Gray Parking Lots and the team will makes its way to the large tunnel near Gate B.
The UConn team will now do its pregame warmup in front of the UConn student section on the South End of the stadium.
Once again, FanFest takes place starting four hours before kickoff up until 30 minutes before the game between Gates A and B outside the stadium gates. The offerings change each game, but activities typically include inflatable games for children, live bands, promotional vehicles and UConn student-athletes from various teams signing autographs.
Once again this season at the end of home games, the UConn team will sing the “UConn Husky” fight song in front of the student section at Rentschler Field.
JASPER HOWARD MEMORIAL
A memorial in honor of Jasper Howard, the UConn football student-athlete who tragically lost his life five years ago, was officially dedicated on November 1. 2015 at halftime. Funds for the statue were raised in a grassroots fashion with the efforts spearheaded by UConn supporters Dan and Lisa Lowry of Prospect, Conn. The lead gift for the memorial came from former UConn head football coach Randy Edsall, who was Howard’s coach with the Huskies. Donations also came from former Husky student-athletes and fans from around the country.
Howard lost his life on October 18, 2009 – hours after UConn had defeated Louisville at Rentschler Field on Homecoming. Howard recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the contest and a fumble recovery.
Funds will continue to be raised for the Jasper T. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund at UConn, which is presented annually to a cornerback on the Husky football team who best embodies the qualities of Howard.
For information on how to contribute to that fund, please visit http://s.uconn.edu/howardscholarship.
The statue is made of barre grey granite quarried in Barre, Vt. It is a three-piece memorial that has an overall height of seven feet and weighs 3.25 tons. The top piece of granite is carved into mirror 6’s so whether viewing from the front or back it is a 6 and is colored to replicate the home jersey Howard wore.
The pedestal which the 6 sits on top of is lettered on the East and West facing sides. The east side has a quote from Jasper and is accented by 23kt gold leafed letters. The west side contains a narrative of Jasper’s life and a porcelain picture of Jasper. K. G. Keena Memorials of East Hartford, Manchester Monument Company of Manchester and Wethersfield Monument of Wethersfield designed, created and installed the piece.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:
Saturday’s game will be televised live nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Dave Ryan is on play-by-play, Corey Chavous does color and Lauren Gardner is the sideline reporter.
Radio:
The UConn IMG Sports Network is the home of Husky football on the radio. WTIC Newstalk 1080 in Hartford serves as the flagship station and is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada. The 2015-16 year marks the 24th consecutive season that WTIC is the flagship for UConn sports.
Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines.
For Saturday’s game vs. Army, the day beings early for WTIC at 6:00 a.m. with the season debut of “Ray at the Rent” with Ray Dunaway. The IMG Network pregame show with Bob Joyce and – new to the broadcast team this year — former Husky quarterback Casey Cochran at 10:30 a.m. with the game broadcast starting at 11:30 a.m. In addition, the games can be heard on the TuneIn Radio app.
Here is a full list of stations on the UConn IMG Radio Network.
The Army game will also be available on Sirius Radio Channel 118 and XM Channel 202.
Army Black Knights Radio:
WABC-770 AM serves as the flagship station for the Army Sports Network. Rich DeMarco has the call with Dean Darling (color) and Tony Morino (color). The Army Pregame show gets underway at 10 a.m. with Joe Beckerle.
Last Week:
The UConn Huskies beat the Villanova Wildcats 20-15 while Army fell to the Fordham Rams 37-35.
History:
Saturday’s game will be the seventh meeting between UConn and Army and the Huskies lead the series by a 4-2 count and have won four of the past five meetings in the series. The UConn Huskies lost last year to Army 35-21 in a game played at Yankee Stadium.
Connections:
There are 10 New York natives on the UConn roster – RSr. John-Luke Bogue (New Rochelle), Fr. QB Tyler Davis (Bellmore), RSo. DL Folorunso Fatukasi (Far Rockaway), RSo., OL Thomas Hopkins (Hawthrone), RSr. S Junior Lee (Brooklyn), RSr. DS Dominick Manco (Lagrangeville), RJr. DT Mikal Myers (Newburg), Fr. OL Matt Peart (Bronx) and RSo. LB Cameron Stapleton (Staten Island) and Fr. Taj-Anthony Wilson (Long Island).
There is one Connecticut native on the Army roster – freshman linebacker Zach Maxwell (Southington).
UConn assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Don Patterson is a 1973 Army graduate and served on the cadet honor committee and was named to the highest-ranking cadet staff while at West Point.
UConn Notes:
Here is a transcript of some UConn head coach Bob Diaco’s remarks from the pregame press conference.
UConn head coach Bob Diaco made his UConn and collegiate head coaching debut on August 29, 2015 vs. BYU. Diaco served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the past four years and the assistant head coach for the past two. He was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award.
Here is UConn’s roster and 2015 schedule.
Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.
The captains of the 2015 UConn Huskies football team are Marquise Vann, Julian Campenni, Andrew Adams and Andreas Knappe.
Starting with the 2015 season, the home field of UConn football will be known at “Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field” – instead of just “Rentschler Field” as it was known for since it opened in 2003.
UConn has an all-time record of 51-28 at Rentschler Field and a 28-13 mark in non-conference games.
The Huskies were picked to last in the eastern division of the American.
UConn is now 10-4 in season openers since making the jump to then-Division I-A in 2002. UConn has won 10 of its 13 season openers at Rentschler Field (2003-Indiana, 2004-Murray State, 2005-Buffalo, 2006-Rhode Island, 2008-Hofstra, 2010-Texas Southern, 2011-Fordham, 2012-UMass, 2015-Villanova) and also downed Duke, 45-14, in Durham, to open the 2007 season and Ohio University,23-16 in Athens, to open 2009.
Connecticut boasts a 47-30 record against non-conference op- ponents in the regular season since making the move to the FBS in 2002. The Huskies have won 20 of their last 32 regular season non-league games overall.
UConn defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter and former All-American linebacker John Dorsey are on the 2016 National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame ballot. The announcement of the 2016 Class will be made on Jan. 8, 2016.
Here is a breakdown by class of current Husky players who saw their first collegiate action last season:
True Freshmen, now True Sophomores (10)
TE Alec Bloom, LB Luke Carrezola, OL Ryan Crozier, LB Vontae Diggs, TE Steve Hashemi, TB Ron Johnson, CB Brice McAllister, RB Arkeel Newsome, OL Trey Rutherford, CB Jamar Summers.
Redshirt Freshmen, now Redshirt Sophomore (9)
DL Folorunso Fatukasi, OL Tommy Hopkins, LB Junior Joseph, WR Thomas Lucas, RB Joshua Marriner, TE Tommy Myers, LB Cole Ormsby, LB Cameron Stapleton, LB Jalen Stevens
Redshirt Sophomores, now Redshirt Junior (5)
C Kyle Bockeloh, OT Andreas Knappe, DL Sean Marinan, WR Nick Vitale, P Justin Wain
UConn used a total of 51 players in its victory against Villanova last Thursday. The youth in the lineup was impressive as the 11 Husky starters on offense were comprised of seven redshirt sophomores or true sophomores with three redshirt juniors or true juniors. On defense, the UConn starting 11 had four redshirt sophomores or true sophomores with two redshirt juniors.
Two true freshmen made their collegiate debuts last Thursday in wide receiver Tyraiq Beals (East Orange, N.J.) and kicker Michael Tarbutt (Grimsby, Ont.).
Lombardi Award Watch List
LB Graham Stewart
LB Marquise Vann
Rimington Trophy Watch List
C Ryan Crozier (out for season with injury)
Presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football.
Wuerffel Trophy
OT Andreas Knappe
Presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach Florida. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team Nominee
OT Andreas Knappe
The Good Works Team recognizes players from across the country who exemplifies a superior commitment to community service and volunteerism.
Notes from this week’s opponent Army:
Jeff Monken is in his second season as the head football coach at Army. He served as the head coach at Georgia Southern from 2010-13 and led the Eagles to three-straight appearances in the FCS playoff semifinals from 2010-12. He was the running backs and special teams coach at Georgia Southern from 2010-13 and the running backs coach from 1997-2001. He also coached at Hawaii (1989-90), Arizona State (1991), Buffalo (1992-94), Concordia (Ill.) (1996), Navy (2002-07) and Georgia Tech (2008-09).
Here is the transcript from Army head coach Jeff Monken’s pregame press conference.
Here is Army’s depth chart for the game.
Here are Army’s 2015 roster and 2015 schedule.
Sean Callahan, 12, who the Army football team adopted through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundaon, passed away on August 22. Head coach Jeff Monken, his staff and the upperclassmen aended his services in Mahopac, N.Y.
Army athletics underwent a complete rebrand this past spring.
The Army football team will continue to honor the U.S. Army this season, wearing helmet stickers for the below divisions – 9/12 at UConn Huskies 7th Infantry Division
Senior fullback Ma Giachinta and junior linebacker Jeremy Timpf have been named team captains for the 2015 season following a vote by their teammates in the spring. Timpf is the first underclassmen to hold the role since Stephen Anderson in 2009.
Army West Point head coach Jeff Monken has also instituted a team leadership council. The group includes players from all four classes and includes frequent meetings with Monken and staff to determine team issues like uniforms, discipline and goal setting.
The 2015 Leadership Council includes: Jeremy Timpf, Matt Giachinta, Chris Carnegie, A.J. Schurr, Kelvin White, Matt Hugenberg, Andrew King, Joe Walker, Scott Washle, John Voit, Calen Holt, Luke Langdon and Darnell Woolfolk.
Army has a pair of brothers on its 2015 roster. Junior Edgar Poe and his freshman brother Christan are both wide outs, while junior Lofi Tomasese and his freshman brother Riko are offensive linemen.
Junior linebacker Andrew King will offer a blog during the season, called King in the Middle, providing insights into the Black Knights. King’s entries can be found at www.GoArmyWestPoint.com.
2015 Preseason Awards and Honors:
LOTT IMPACT TROPHY WATCH LIST
• LB Jeremy Timpf
ROTARY LOMBARDI WATCH LIST
• LB Jeremy Timpf, OL Matt Hugenberg
NAGURSKI AWARD WATCH LIST
• LB Jeremy Timpf
RAY GUY AWARD WATCH LIST
• P Alex Tardieu
RIMINGTON TROPHY WATCH LIST
• OL Matt Hugenberg
BEDNARIK AWARD WATCH LIST
• LB Jeremy Timpf
WUERFFEL TROPHY WATCH LIST
• LB Kyle Ricciardi
COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS PRESEASON
• FIRST TEAM: LB Jeremy Timpf, DB Chris Carnegie, P Alex Tardcieu
• SECOND TEAM: RB Joe Walker, TE Kelvin White, OL Matt Hugenberg, OL Drew Hennessy, K Daniel Grochowski, DL T.J. Atimalala, LB Andrew King, DB Josh Jenkins
Thursday UConn Football Links:
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Video: Diaco Says UConn Huskies Football Team Needs To Improve Self-Control [trueblueuconn]
UConn Huskies QB Bryant Shirreffs Wins Gold Helmet Award [trueblueuconn]
UConn hoping last year’s Army game will be valuable lesson [jim fuller – new haven register]
Could Oak, Walsh join Myers as new starters for UConn vs. Army? [jim fuller – new haven register]
UConn Football Insider: Game Day Is Where It Matters, Practice Is Where It Starts [hartford courant]
UConn Football Notebook: Army matchup a measuring stick for Huskies [the hour]
Next Week:
The UConn Huskies head out to SEC country where they’ll take on the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, MO next Saturday at 12 p.m.
*information compiled from UConn and Army’s game notes.
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