Following a 17-3 win at Buffalo last weekend, the University of Connecticut football team returns home for a non-conference lit against Western Michigan at Rentschler Field on Saturday afternoon. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm between the Huskies (2-2) and Broncos (2-2).
Saturday's game will be televised live on SNY and can also be heard on WTIC 1080, the UConn Radio Network. For a look at UConn's weekly media release CLICK HERE.
Head coach Paul Pasqualoni held his weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, below are quotes from the coach and selected student-athletes.
Paul Pasqualoni, Head Coach: Opening Statement:
“We’ve got a very worthy opponent this week. Western Michigan played really tough last week against Illinois, had a chance to win that game. They’ve got a high octane offense. They’ll come in here wide open and throw the ball around pretty well. Defensively, they pressure a great deal. They play a physical style of football. It’s important that we have a really good week. For where we’re at right now, this will be a pretty good test for us.”
Has Johnny McEntee shown that he can step up as THE quarterback?
“There’s no question that (Johnny McEntee) stepped up last week. Buffalo was bound and determined to not let us run the ball. We had to win the game throwing the ball. We decided that in an effort to have continuity and a guy who can get familiar with all the blitz looks and the pressure looks that we left Johnny in. He managed the game very well. He identified the defense and got the ball out really quick. Those throws to (Nick Williams) were pressure throws, both of them with a guy right in his face. He did a very good job. He’s clearly moved ahead.”
How can Nick Williams continue to contribute to the offense?
“It seems like there’s hope and there’s opportunities for the Nick Williamses of the world, who aren’t the biggest guys, but they’re pretty feisty, they change direction real well, and they make plays. They have better play speed than they have 40-yard dash speed. But then you get them out on the field and they do what Nick did. Certainly we’re excited about that. The touchdown run, literally the defender was on his back. He shook the defender off and broke free and made the touchdown. We’re optimistic he can make a few more of those plays.”
Where is Johnny McEntee’s comfort level at?
“There is a learning process and a growing process that you have to go through. I think Johnny is getting a little bit more comfortable with what I would call the ‘the identification of the defense’ part of this. Johnny is getting a little bit better at that stuff. With the way we want to play in our pro style of attack, that’s pretty important to us. He’s studying. He’s learning. He’s figuring out what the commitment has got to be during the week and he’s carrying that over to the field. Now we just have to get the ball to those receivers consistently. There is steady progress being made. There was so much pressure (at Buffalo), that we felt like we should give one guy a chance to decipher it and we left Johnny in and he did a good job with it. Johnny has been coached here for a while. I think the investment that Joe Moorhead has made since Johnny’s arrival here has been a factor in this too.”
Did you see improvements in the offensive line at Buffalo?
“I like where the guys are now. We didn’t run the ball well, but I thought we did pretty well in the protections. I thought we were pretty consistent and pretty steady in the protections, which was a hard thing to manage. That’s a credit to the offensive line.”
How do you address the issues of the run game?
“When (Buffalo) has nine or 10 guys within seven yards of the line of scrimmage, you just don’t have enough people to block all those guys. You’ve got to get somebody out of there and you’ve got to get them to respect the pass a little bit, so then you don’t have to block them. We’ve got to execute better. That’s why the backs that can make something happen after the first guy hits them is so valuable.”
What progress have you seen from Yawin Smallwood at middle linebacker?
“The nice thing about (Yawin Smallwood) is it is an incremental, progressive get better each week, little bit better feel for the run game, where he belongs, and getting better and better in pass coverage. As you saw, the pick he makes is a really nice pick. He’s looking one way, sees the quarterback’s intentions, flips his hips, goes back the other way and makes the catch. I think he’s playing better football now. That position is like a work in progress. Your training is never done at that position. Everyday you’ve got to deal with all the run, the blitz, the coverage, the zones, (man coverage), all that stuff. He’s learning what it takes.”
How does the defense look without Blidi Wreh-Wilson?
“I think that, personally, Gary Wilburn is one of the best athletes on this team. I’m not so sure that Gary Wilburn couldn’t play offense and defense. I think he’s that kind of athlete. He’s an older guy. He’s a senior. This is an unfortunate deal for (Blidi Wreh-Wilson) for the next few weeks, but with that it’s an opportunity for Gary. He needs to step up. He needs to play. He’s totally capable of playing that position.”
Where does the team match up to your preseason expectations to learning your system?
“Defensively the guys are really starting to get familiar with (the system). I thought we did a better job setting some things up on Saturday night against Buffalo. We’ve got a little bit of work to do yet, certainly on offense. I think we’ve got the pieces in the right place now. We kind of know the direction we’re going at the quarterback position. I think that we are moving in the right direction now. This will be an important weekend for us.”
What do you expect from the Western Michigan offense?
“I think (Western Michigan coach Paul Cubit) would like to come in and really throw the ball around, play fast. I think you’re going to see a team that’s going to come in and run plays as quickly back to the line of scrimmage as you can run them. They’re going to try to put a lot of pressure on you covering four or five wide receivers at a time. They’re going to really be after us. It’s kind of hard to figure out what receiver is in what spot because they’re so interchangeable in that system. They’ll try to come back and run it, but I think he wants to spread you out first. So I think it might be throw first, run second.”
Can the pass game help open up the run game?
“When you can get (Western Michigan) to respect what you’re doing in the pass, you can get them to back up. I think you then have an excellent chance to run the ball. If you can’t do that then you’re going to have to be able to throw the ball. I don’t know how people perceive us right now, but we’ve got to move in that direction.”