Storrs - Saturday is a day to sleep in for many Americans. No work until Monday, no need to bolt out of bed.

The UConn football team was awakened by an air horn Saturday at 7 a.m.

"Every day is full, from wake-up, which is shocking for them today with the air horn," new UConn head coach Bob Diaco said. "Yeah. It's fun.

"Like anything else, they'll get used to it."

Saturday was the first day of training camp for Diaco and his Huskies. They worked inside due to the rain. Music played as they practiced. It was a big difference from the first day of spring practice, Diaco said.

"They came to work excited," Diaco said. "They understand that is absolutely a baseline expectation.

"I definitely think you'll hear them say that we have a very player-friendly environment here, but it is very, very disciplined and very, very detailed. There are things that they have to do that they're not used to. … Their water bottles are checked, the Powerade is checked, as they enter the meeting, and they're checked on the exit. It has to be consumed. It has to be full, and it has to be consumed in full. There's small things, like I said. I can name another 200 of them."

One of Diaco's main points of emphasis on Day 1 was ridding the Huskies of their bad habits, namely turnovers and penalties. They were among the worst in the Football Bowl Subdivision in interceptions (1.5 a game) and turnovers (2.1).

"We want to see winning," Diaco said. "We don't want to see the things that cause losing. It's pretty well documented, because I don't mind saying it, that the program is a long way away. We're closer now. So practice one (of) fall camp was in sharp contrast to practice one of spring football."

Defense is Diaco's speciality, and five starters return on that side of the ball for UConn.

The Huskies' offense is the unit that needs serious help after being in a perpetual malaise last season. They went through three quarterbacks, all of which return - Casey Cochran, Tim Boyle and Chandler Whitmer. Diaco has said that he will play two this season with one being the starter.

One of the better indicators of success is a team's yards per play. Fiesta Bowl champion Central Florida, one of the American Athletic Conference's kingpins, ranked 11th in yards-per-play (6.4) in the FBS.

Cincinnati was voted No. 1 in the AAC's media poll last week. It ranked 40th (5.8).

UConn finished tied for 113th with 4.4 yards per play.

Note that the FBS had 125 teams last year.

"We want to play a physical brand," Diaco said. "We're going to run the ball, and we want to throw the ball deep down the field. A lot. Catch just a few of them. That's all you need to do.

"I don't think you can effectively throw the ball if you can't run. I'll say this, from the defensive perspective - when I was a player, the defensive coordinator at Iowa, his name was Bill Brasher. ... If you ask (former Wisconsin coach) Barry Alvaraez who is mentor was, he'll say Bill Brasher. … You ask (Oklahoma coach) Bobby Stoops who his mentor was, he'll say Bill Brasher.

"Coach Brasher used to say, 'Bobby, don't forget - if the team throws the ball for 300 yards, you still may win. You still have a chance. If the team runs the ball for 300 yards, you've got no chance. Game over."

n.griffen@theday.com