EAST HARTFORD – Jim Mora didn’t come away with as many positive thoughts as one might expect after a 59-13 victory to open the UConn football season.
The Huskies’ fourth-year head coach wasn’t happy with the sloppy start – five penalties and a special teams turnover in the first 10 minutes of the game – but he was able to find some positives in the team’s response. That answer came quickly after CCSU capitalized on a botched long snap to get on the scoreboard first, when receiver Skyler Bell took a screen pass 80 yards into the endzone on the next drive and electrified the stadium.
The explosive plays kept coming as UConn took over the game, allowing Mora to test out his depth early.
“I think that experience is gonna benefit us down the road. We played three quarterbacks, we played five running backs, we probably played seven or eight receivers, and that experience is really important for those guys,” he said.
The Huskies will now take a step (or two) up in competition when they travel to Syracuse on Saturday for their first game of three against ACC opponents.
“I believe we have pretty good playmakers,” Mora said. “It’ll be a true test this week when we go against a team like Syracuse, who, even though the score (31-24) was close last year, I felt like they beat us pretty handily. We scored late to make it a seven-point game, but the way that game started was not good for us. So having some guys that have some confidence coming out of this game that we’ve seen be able to make real big plays, I think that’s a real positive for us.”
Who’s dragging down Jackson Harper?
Simsbury native Jackson Harper, an Avon Old Farms alum, was one of the receivers who got involved late and shined. Harper caught a screen pass from Evers early in the fourth quarter and made a few cuts before offensive lineman Tamarus Walker came to give him an assist.
“Now we’ve reached a point, I believe – hopefully I’m right here – that we can have different players in and not have to worry about who’s in because we feel like there’s enough depth that those guys can go out and produce in any situation,” Mora said.
With Walker providing a boost from behind, Harper carried a group of CCSU defenders into the end zone for the first touchdown of his career.
“I’m always happy for Jackson Harper,” said Arizona transfer Reymello Murphy, who caught four passes for 26 yards and scored his touchdown just before halftime. “He got his touchdown. He got carried in the end zone for like five yards, that turned me up of course.”
Malachi McLean heads to hospital
Defensive back Malachi McLean, one of the players who was with the Huskies last season and is now counted on in a starting safety role, was slow to get up after CCSU’s touchdown play in the first quarter and never returned.
It wasn’t clear exactly what the injury was, but McLean was transported to the UConn Health Center in Farmington to be evaluated. Mora clarified that the injury wasn’t to his head and that it isn’t life-threatening, but he is concerned.
