UConn starting quarterback Casey Cochran is out with an injury and Chandler Whitmer is in to take his place Saturday when the Huskies host Stony Brook.
Huskies coach Bob Diaco said on his weekly radio show on WTIC-1080 that Cochran will miss the game with an upper-body injury he suffered in the Huskies’ season-opening loss to BYU.
“Casey Cochran will not participate in Saturday’s game,” Diaco said to show host Joe D’Ambrosio. “He will not be cleared for participation on Saturday afternoon.”
Diaco also said Cochran went four days before mentioning his injury to the UConn coaches or medical staff.
“He sustained an upper body injury during the BYU game that was brought forward mid-week. Casey is tough. He’s a competitor. He’s a grinder. He’s everything you want to be and in this case he waited four days to let anybody know what was really going on,” Diaco said. “That puts the lion’s share of the work on Chandler. He’s prepared himself to take on that role and we’re excited about it and don’t expect anything but great play.”
The New London Day reported Cocharn suffered a concussion on the final play of last week’s loss to BYU. It would be Cochran’s third concussion at UConn. A redshirt sophomore who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut at Masuk, Cochran started the last four games of the 2013 season and led UConn to wins in its final three games. He was named the starter after a competition with Whitmer throughout the spring and summer pre-season camp.
Whitmer won’t be stepping a situation he has not seen before and should benefit from a step-down in competition. He has started 16 games over the previous two seasons including all 12 games in 2012. Cochran started against BYU and was 17-of-31 for 171 yards and an interception, and took 47 total snaps. Whitmer (8-of-17, 113 yards) was in for 36 plays.
On Saturday, UConn hopes to use Whitmer for the entire game and save the redshirt of sophomore Tim Boyle, who started four games as a true freshman last season. Diaco said he would not hesitate to use Boyle if something happens to Whitmer.
Stony Brook lost its season opener, 13-7, at home to Bryant. Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore is in his ninth season at the school and has led the Seawolves to the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2011 and ’12.
It’s an important game for UConn, which would undoubtedly like to get the first win of the Diaco era under its belt sooner rather than later. The Huskies are meeting Stony Brook on the gridiron for the first time and then host Boise State on September 13.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
