Storrs — Lwal Uguak, a lifelong resident of Edmonton, is proud to be part of a pipeline of Canadian football players at UConn.

He's one of five Canadians on the roster.

And Uguak believes more players are on the way.

"I feel I have my Canadian pride," Uguak said. "At least we have some here (at UConn). ... I know there's going to be a ton more Canadian football players (playing) Division I football. I know one guy back there, he's for sure going Division I. He's my cousin."

If future recruits possess Uguak's raw talent, then UConn coach Randy Edsall might not be the only college coach to pack his passport and parka and travel the long distance to check out Canadian high school players.

Uguak, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound freshman defensive lineman, is just one of the promising young Huskies seeing action this season. He's appeared in all four games, starting the last three. He has two tackles and two pass breakups so far. He's listed as the starting defensive end on the depth chart for Saturday's game against American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati (4-0) at Rentschler Field (3:30 p.m., CBSSN).

"I was nervous in the beginning, like any freshman would be," Uguak said. "Then as I got into it, I feel like I'm fitting in perfectly. It's way better now."

When asked about the freshman on Tuesday, Edsall said he's "very pleased" with Uguak's development. He added that defensive tackle is probably the best position for Uguak in the long run.

Edsall has had good success with Canadian players during his coaching career. Besides Uguak, freshman defensive back Terrence Ganyi (Montreal), senior wide receiver Hergy Mayala (Montreal), redshirt junior kicker Michael Tarbutt (Grimsby, Ontario) and redshirt junior defensive lineman Philippe Okounam (Chateauguay, Quebec) also are Huskies.

His connections helped Edsall find Uguak in Edmonton, located about 2,500 miles from Storrs.

"We were looking for defensive lineman and we made some calls to some people that we know in Canada and researched some things and found him," Edsall said. "We went up and recruited him and, thank goodness, we were able to land him.

"... It's cold up there, though. You talk about tough to get to up there. Good family, great kid, hard worker."

Uguak has dealt with his share of adjustments after arriving in Storrs.

At first, the sticky hot summer weather bothered the newcomer.

"The biggest thing that impacted me was probably the humidity because it's really not that humid in my hometown, so I got off the plane and it was like, whoa," Uguak said.

Facing some delays due to his international status, Uguak showed up at UConn a bit later than other freshmen, arriving July 30. He trained back home with his coach to prepare.

Prior to his recruitment, Uguak knew more about Yukon than UConn.

"I knew they were good at basketball," Uguak said. "My brother (Aher) plays basketball at Loyola (Chicago) and he would always talk about them."

Uguak also had to adjust to being away from his big family — he's one of six children (five boys, one girl) — for the first time. He knew no one on the UConn roster, learning later that he once played against Ganyi in a national tournament in Canada.

There also was the transition from playing Canadian football in high school to American college football. He competed in a tournament in Texas, so he wasn't a complete stranger to the rules.

The biggest difference between the two is the physicality on the college level, Uguak added. And the weather, too.

"Canadian football is obviously way different," Uguak said. "In Edmonton, Alberta, it gets really cold. I don't know what it would be in Fahrenheit, but we played our city championship in negative 20 degree weather, and that was really cold. You have to be really tough, especially playing D line and O line with a hand in the ice and snow."

For those not Weather Channel nuts, negative 20 Celsius equals minus-4 Fahrenheit.

Like his fellow freshmen, Uguak is taking lumps in the present so he'll be better off in the future. The Huskies are becoming even younger on defense due to injuries. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Eddie Hahn is the oldest starting member of the defense.

Uguak believes they'll all benefit in the long run from the game experience this season. The other starting defensive linemen are sophomore Darrian Beavers, freshman Jonathan Pace and redshirt freshman Caleb Thomas.

"In the next couple of years, we'll be really good because we will know each other and be comfortable," Uguak said. "And we'll be a tight-knit group. With the experience that we have now, in a year, it's going to be way different. We will be way better. We will be stronger and faster."

News and notes

• Edsall abruptly ended and walked out of his weekly press conference on Tuesday after being asked about Wake Forest firing its defensive coordinator and his "philosophy on that." UConn's defense ranks last in nation in scoring defense (54.5 points per game) and total defense (664 yards allowed per game). "What does that have to do with us? I'm done. I can see where this is going. I'm done." ... Linebacker Eli Thomas (neck), defensive back Tahj Herring-Wilson (ankle), linebacker Marshe Terry (ankle) will miss Saturday's game. Wide receiver Keyion Dixon also is out while reserve running back Khyon Gillespie had season-ending knee surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn ACL.

g.keefe@theday.com