To UConn football fans, it certainly must sound like a broken record (if anyone out there actually remembers vinyl albums).
The Huskies open preseason camp Saturday without a starter at quarterback. It’s a situation that has become an unintended tradition at UConn in recent years.
“I don’t feel like it’s a situation,” first-year coach Bob Diaco said at American Athletic Conference media day Tuesday in Newport, R.I. “That word already implies, for me, an issue.”
Call it a “situation” or an “issue,” Diaco wants to have it settled somewhere around Aug. 15 – two weeks before the Aug. 29 season opener against BYU at Rentschler Field. If Casey Cochran, Chandler Whitmer and Tim Boyle are still running neck-and-neck with no further separation at that time, then the term could be “controversy.”
“I like to segment the different pieces [of the season] between now and January,” Diaco said. “You’re looking at this incredible meal, but really we’re just going to eat this part right now. So, when camp breaks, and we start our season preparation, then we’re going to talk about depth charts and we’re going to set roles.”
Coach Bob Diaco holds his first practice at UConn Saturday (Ken Davis photo)
The unusual fact about the quarterbacks is that the same three split the duties in 2013, a 3-9 season that saw Paul Pasqualoni dismissed after UConn’s bad start. Cochran led the Huskies to victories in the final three games of 2013, including a record-breaking 461-yard, four-touchdown performance against Memphis.
Diaco said the three quarterbacks will be graded every day – on every play – during preseason camp. Those grades will determine the roles assigned to each. The strengths and weaknesses of opposing defenses could play a role as well.
“They’re all going to work with all the offensive players,” Diaco said. “They’ll be forced out into leadership moments and opportunities. It isn’t going to be a decision that includes one and excludes [the others]. There’s going to be roles.
“It’s not going to be two-platoon. We’re going to have a starting quarterback. But we’re going to have more than one quarterback playing the games. Because they do things totally different well – things we’re going to need done.”
Whitmer was most impressive in the spring game, but did not win the starting role. Diaco said he was pleased with all three in the spring.
“It was great,” Diaco said of the spring competition. “Spirited; a lot of love. They take care of each other. They help teach each other the game. . . . [Now] We’re going to have an open competition for the next two weeks.”
Diaco offered the following breakdown of each candidate this week:
Chandler Whitmer: “Chandler is working on his liabilities. Very few of his liabilities have to do with his tangible skill. He’s incredibly talented. He’s fast. He’s got an incredibly strong arm. He throws great on the move. He sees the game in pictures, like you’re supposed to. He’s working on shallow, intermediate to short passing. He is working hard at that and he’s working on leading, being a great teammate.”
Casey Cochran: “Casey is your quintessential leader with the moxy and the swagger. He’s a guts guy that is going to will the group down the field. But he’s got to work on his foot speed. He had to work hard on his body composition. He probably lost almost 30 pounds. I think he weighs 217 pounds right now. When we started he was 247 or 243. He dropped his body fat probably 15-20 percent. So he’s working on his liabilities. Arm strength. Food speed.”
Tim Boyle: “Timmy is a young guy, finding his way – from a leadership standpoint, from a communications standpoint, finding his way as it relates to piecing together all the moving parts of an offense attacking the defense. But he possesses the total package as it relates to his tangible skill – he’s got touch, he’s got a hose, he can run, he can change direction, he’s fast, he’s got body, and is hard to tackle.”
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