Injuries continuing to pile up for UConn football team

Sep. 26—The UConn football team's injury woes began in the offseason, when starting placekicker Joe McFadden tore his ACL.

Top receiver Cam Ross sustained the same injury during fall preseason camp. Starting quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson tore his ACL and dynamic pass catcher Keelan Marion broke his collarbone in the Huskies' season opener against Utah State.

Return man and backup running back Brian Brewton sustained a broken finger and a fractured elbow against Syracuse on Sept. 10 and defensive end Collin McCarthy has missed the last two games with a calf injury.

Defensive back D'mon Brinson sprained his ankle in practice during the week and did not accompany the team to Raleigh for their game against N.C. State. Starting running back Nate Carter, the Huskies' most effective offensive weapon, suffered a separated shoulder against Michigan and did not play on Saturday. UConn coach Jim Mora said he is worried that Carter might not return this year.

On Saturday, the Huskies added two more names to their lengthy injured list.

Starting defensive back Kaleb Anthony was sidelined with what Mora fears is a torn ACL in the second quarter. Linebacker Ian Swenson, who has been on the roster since 2017, dealt with back spasms beginning in pregame warmups but played through it until the fourth quarter, when he doubled over in pain and had to be taken out.

"It was pretty significant. He was doubled up, and he was able to stand up and move around, but he wasn't well enough to play at that point," Mora said after the Huskies' 41-10 loss to the Wolfpack. "It was pregame warmups with about two minutes before going into the locker room and all of a sudden our starting linebacker is on the ground and no one was quite sure what happened. It was a little bit of a shocker."

Mora listed 12 players who are likely out for the season on his Zoom press conference Sunday.

"Injuries are not excuses, but they're opportunities for other guys to step in and get some playing time, and that's what we're going to do," Mora said. "We're going to make the best of it."

Brandon Bouyer-Randle, a sixth-year transfer from Texas Tech who began his career at Michigan State, took over for Swenson and intercepted NC State quarterback Devin Leary late in the second quarter. He returned it 31 yards down to the NC State 11, setting up Noe Ruelas, McFadden's replacement, for a field goal to get the Huskies on the scoreboard at halftime.

UConn continued to deploy a conservative offensive gameplan against N.C. State, throwing short, quick passes at or just beyond the line of scrimmage. Freshman quarterback Zion Turner completed 10 of his 12 pass attempts, but for only 39 yards. Even without Carter, the Huskies ran the ball on 68% of their offensive plays for a combined average of 3.8 yards per carry.

UConn had only 160 yards of total offense and went 2-for-12 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.

Freshman Victor Rosa, a Bristol Central High graduate, scored his second touchdown of the season on an 11-yard run late in the fourth quarter. It was the first time UConn reached the end zone since the third quarter against Syracuse on Sept. 10.

Rosa rushed for 43 yards on six carries (7.2 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Devontae Houston produced 38 yards on eight carries while Robert Burns had four carries for 13 yards.

"Well, we were playing one of the best defenses in college football, No. 1, on the road without our starting quarterback, without our top two running backs, without our top two receivers, so I'll start there," Mora said Saturday. "From there, we didn't do a good enough job of scheming to put our players in position to make plays. And then we made some mistakes on the field." Leary, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, completed 32 of 44 passes for 320 yards and threw a career-high four touchdowns to four different receivers. The Wolfpack recorded 29 first downs and never punted on their way to racking up 481 yards of total offense. They scored on their first five possessions and were 10-of-14 on third down conversion attempts.

UConn allowed 169 yards rushing on 33 carries (5.1 yards per carry) by eight different running backs. Michael Allen led the charge with 66 yards on 10 carries.

Mora isn't discouraged by his defense's performance, though. He believes the unit is showing signs of improvement.

"I don't think the yardage is going to reflect it at all because they had some big chunks," Mora said. "We played tighter. We changed up our our strategy a little bit on the outside and played more bump and run rather than off or bail. I thought for the most part the guys responded well."

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