September 22, 2012 • at Western Michigan Griffin Tough At Tight End Redshirt senior tight end Ryan Griffin (Londonderry, N.H.) was a second team All-BIG EAST selection last year and is moving up the career record book. Griffin is ranked fifth in UConn history for receptions by a tight end with 89 while No. 1 is former NFL standout Brian Kozlowski (1989-92) with 159. Griffin is fifth in receiving yards by a tight end with 1,056 while Kozlowski also holds that record with 1,788. Griffin owns two of the top ten receiving seasons by a tight end in school history with 33 in 2011 (8th) and 31 in 2010 (tied for tenth).
DEFENSE NOTES Solid Experience Back As has become a yearly habit, the UConn defense returns a strong returning nucleus this season. UConn returns eight of 11 starters to this year’s unit. Senior defensive end Jesse Joseph (Laval, Que.) leads the way with 32 career starts, while senior cornerback Dwayne Gratz (Piscataway, N.J.) has 29, senior linebacker Sio Moore (Apex, N.C.) has 21 and senior defensive end Trevardo Williams (Bridgeport, Conn.) has 19. Joseph tore his left Achilles tendon in Saturday’s game and is out for the remainder of the season. Gawdy Defensive Numbers To Start The Season The Connecticut defense has quickly established itself as one of the top units in college football this season. UConn is first in tackles for loss (10.67 per game), third in total defense (174.00 yards
per game), third in sacks (4.67 per game), fifth in pass defense (123.00 yards per game), fifth in rushing defense (51.00 yards per game) and 11th in scoring defense (10.33 points per game). UConn leads the BIG EAST in all of those categories except scoring defense – where the Huskies are third. UConn has not allowed a team to score at all in the first quarter of games this year and has given up only three first quarter first downs this year. The Husky defense led to a shutout vs. UMass on August 30 and limited the Minutemen to just three first downs, three yards of rushing and 59 total offensive yards. The shutout was the first by UConn since a 38-0 win over Maine on Sept. 8, 2007 and the first over a FCS team since a 38-0 win over Buffalo on Sept. 1, 2005. The three first downs tied a school record for least allowed in a single game as UConn also gave up three vs. Navy in 2002. The three yards of rushing was the seventh lowest allowed in school history. The defense also stepped up on Saturday and limited N.C. State to seven points, 12 first downs and 54 yards of rushing. The seven points given up by UConn after two games this season was the fewest since UConn began the 2005 season with shutouts vs. Buffalo (38-0) and Liberty (Sept. 10). Trevardo Leads The Sack Attack Senior defensive end Trevardo Williams (Bridgeport, Conn.) is one of three Huskies ranked among the top 12 in sacks per game. Williams is tied for fifth in the country and leads the BIG EAST at 1.5 per game. He is also tied for 19th in the country in tackles for loss with 1.83 per game. He is the seventh-leading total tackler on the Husky team this year.
2012 Game-By-Game Starters Connecticut Offense Game WR Massachusetts Davis NC State Davis at Maryland Davis at Western Michigan Buffalo at Rutgers Temple at Syracuse at USF Pittsburgh at Louisville Cincinnati Connecticut defense Game DE Massachusetts T. Williams NC State T. Williams at Maryland T. Williams at Western Michigan Buffalo at Rutgers Temple at Syracuse at USF Pittsburgh at Louisville Cincinnati
8
WR N. Williams N. Williams N. Williams
DT Wirth Wirth Wirth
LT Bennett Bennett Bennett
LG C RG RT Greene Mateas Masters Friend Greene Mateas Masters Friend Greene Mateas Cruz Friend
DT DE Campenni Joseph Campenni Joseph Adams (DB) Joseph
SLB Moore Moore Moore
TE Delahunt Griffin Griffin
QB FB TB Whitmer Frank McCombs Whitmer Frank McCombs Whitmer Phillips (WR) McCombs
MLB WLB CB S Smallwood Johnson Wreh-Wilson B. Jones Smallwood Johnson Wreh-Wilson B. Jones Smallwood Johnson Mack B. Jones
2012 University of Connecticut Football Game Notes
S CB Brown Gratz Brown Gratz Brown Gratz