The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn loses top running back for season; freshman Jones making an impact
STORRS — When the week started, it was pretty much a 50/50 split between upperclassmen and underclassmen starters on the UConn football team.
However, at Wednesday’s practice the balance of power shifted to the sophomore and freshman classes for all the wrong reasons.
Senior defensive end James Atkins and junior tailback Donevin O’Reilly, who have been working with the starters throughout preseason camp, both missed practice because of knee injuries. UConn coach Randy Edsall believes that Atkins could be back at practice in about a week but that is not the case for Glastonbury’s O’Reilly, who joined the team a season ago after an on-campus tryout and became a spring game sensation several months later.
Edsall confirmed that O’Reilly, who ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns in April’s spring game, suffered a torn ACL. He is scheduled to have surgery on Friday and will miss the rest of the season. “These are the things you hate,” Edsall said. “That is the stuff as a coach that (you ask), ‘why?’ That kid put so much into it, he has worked extremely hard. He was the No. 1 tailback and to see him go down, I just feel for him. As you can imagine, he was heartbroken but sometimes we don’t have answers for why things happen, just come back stronger. He will have a role on this team and help us, do everything he can even though he won’t be on the field.”
Redshirt freshman Zavier Scott and sophomore Kevin Mensah, who led the team in rushing a season ago, are fighting for the starting tailback spot. True freshmen Dante Black and Khyon Gillespie could factor into the running back picture while walk-on Lavarey Banton has been moved from linebacker to running
back.
It remains to be seen what role the true freshmen running backs will play but on the defensive line and at cornerback, it is clear that newcomers will not only play but likely start.
No true freshman has opened more eyes than former Wilbur Cross lineman Travis Jones.
After missing the first practice, Jones has been working with the first team defense at every practice made available to the media. While he is making his presence felt in 11-on-11 drills, it is during positional drills where he displays his brute strength in overpowering even the best of UConn’s offensive linemen.
“Golly, probably one of the biggest kids I have ever seen,” UConn sophomore defensive end A.J. Garson said. “He is quick, he has some quickness to him for his size. When he gets going, it is hard to stop him.”
True freshmen aren’t available for interviews until they have played in their first game but Jones did speak to Hearst Connecticut Media at the team’s media day.
“I am going to go out and try my best, show what I’ve got and compete,” Jones said. “I am trying to be in the two deep rotation and get some playing time.”
A year ago offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark started nine as a true freshman. Jones, fellow defensive linemen Jonathan Pace and Lwal Uguak, offensive guard Christian Haynes and cornerbacks Keyshawn Paul, Ryan Carroll and Shamel Lazarus have spent time with the starters while as many at 17 true freshmen could make it onto UConn’s offensive and defensive depth chart leading into the Aug. 30 season opener against UCF.
“When you are freshmen coming in, that is all they want is to play so they are going to come in and bring that competition and try to take (starting) spots,” Van Demark said. “”Definitely getting used to the speed of college ball, getting used to schematic stuff (is the biggest challenge). It is nothing like high school. Once you get into it at camp, the three or four weeks we’ve got, there are endless possibilities right now.”
While the possibilities for Jones aren’t endless, they certainly are intriguing.
“I was like, ‘wow, that is a big defensive end,’” Van Demark said of his first impression of Jones. “He is doing well and we are all going to try to make him better.”