Randy Edsall begins his 12th season as head football coach for the Huskies this year. He has led UConn to three post-season bowl victories in the past five years, including a 20-7 win over South Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl in January.
Spring practice for football began March 16, with the annual Blue and White Game scheduled for noon on Saturday, April 17 at Rentschler Field. The Blue and White Game is open to the public with free admission and free parking. The Huskies’ 2010 season begins Sept. 4 at Michigan.
Edsall sat down recently with staff writer Kenneth Best to talk about the football program.
Q When you first arrived at UConn, one of the things you said was that you pride yourself on attacking challenges head on. What’s been the biggest challenge?
A There wasn’t a football culture in Connecticut. It was a big challenge to win people over that we could be successful at the highest level in college football while still maintaining academic integrity. We also wanted people to understand the pageantry and excitement of what college football is all about; that it’s really unique and special.
Edsall on the biggest challenge
Q Is that why you continue to speak around the state about the University and the football team?
A Regardless of how successful we’ve become it’s still going to take a grassroots effort all the time. We have to continue to pound the pavement and work it the right way to create that interest. We’ve had a solid program, but it took the tragic death of one of our players, Jasper Howard, to show what our program is all about and what we’ve accomplished to date.
Edsall on promoting the program
Q You received personal recognition for the way you handled the situation after Jasper died, even describing yourself as being a father to more than 100 sons. Can you describe this relationship?
A I was compassionate with them, but realistic with them. A lot of these young men never had someone that close to them die. I’ll tell you, they helped me as much as I helped them. Unless you were in the shoes of this team, nobody will know the burden that was lifted off the shoulders of these young men after beating Notre Dame following those three tough losses after he died. It was more than just about beating Notre Dame. It was about the pressure lifted off their shoulders to honor one of their own.
Edsall on the death of Jasper Howard
Q Do you expect those returning for this year’s team to approach the season differently?
A I’ve seen that already in terms of how they’re carrying themselves and going about their business. They’re more focused as to what they want to accomplish. When you go 8-5 and lose five games by a total of 15 points last year, there’s an understanding that if we did more of the little things correctly, maybe things would have been different.
Q What’s been the hardest part of your job?
A Managing people’s expectations. That’s a tough thing to do. You want to get exposure for your program, you want it to grow, but you can’t put too much out there because what happens is that everything you say is analyzed and scrutinized. The thing I’m most proud of is that the value system I put in place when I got here in 1998 is the same today. You can have consistency and you can do things the same way over and over again.
Q With the success you’ve had, your name comes up when there are openings elsewhere.
A This program is something I started from scratch. It isn’t where I want it to be yet. There is still work to be done. I’m very happy here and enjoy what I’m doing. Anytime you’re in a profession and you’re successful, there’s going to be speculation. We haven’t finished the journey here.
Q Where do you want to take the program?
A I would hope we could win the Big East outright and get to a BCS Bowl game, which puts us in the national picture. That is what we need to get done, what I want to get done.
Q What’s been the best moment of the past 12 years?
A The best thing is seeing the growth and development in these young men that you bring into the University, and knowing you played a small part in that development and helped them on the path to be successful in life. That’s what I’m most proud of.
Q Have alumni embraced the football program?
A Alumni have been super. I hope alumni feel as much a part of our program as we feel they are a part of this program. When we beat Notre Dame and South Carolina, I hope it gave alumni a sense of pride in what their university is all about. I want to give everybody that’s a part of this program – alumni and the people in Connecticut – the feeling that this program does things the right way and they can feel proud of it.
