UConn football remains positive despite disappointing showing in season opener

Storrs — UConn returned to practice on Tuesday with the bad taste of a disappointing season-opening loss still lingering."That was a tough one to get over," coach Jim Mora said about a 50-7 loss to Maryland Saturday in College Park. "Obviously, Maryland is a very good football team, but we thought we would perform better as a program."It's an all too familiar feeling for the Huskies, who've had their share of rough starts in recent program history.Last year, they lost their first five games to open the season and finished 3-9 overall.Prior to that, they started out 1-4 in 2022 before bouncing back to win six games overall and earn a bowl berth.The 2024 Huskies are hoping this season follows the second of those two scenarios.Tuesday's practice was the first step in turning the program back in a positive direction."It was good to get back on the field and get the bad taste out of our mouth from Saturday's game and get focused on our next opponent," Mora said. "I think we had a good practice. We were able to go outside, which I think helped everyone's spirits. … Just getting back out on the grass today, it just washes the last bit of that away."UConn shifts its focus to preparing for its home opener against Merrimack (0-1), which is in its first season competing as a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) independent. Game time is noon Saturday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.The Huskies could be without starting quarterback Nick Evers, a Wisconsin transfer forced to leave the game Saturday after taking a hard hit in the third quarter. His playing status will be determined by the medical staff."His helmet came off and his head hit the ground," Mora said of the play. "It shook him up a little bit. He's recovering really well. He was out there today but he didn't participate in very much. … His spirits are great."We'll see where he is on Saturday. That will be a decision that doctors will make."If Evers, who went 6-for-17 for 73 yards and threw an interception in his UConn debut, is unable to play, redshirt senior Joe Fagnano will fill in. Fagnano led the Huskies on their only scoring drive versus Maryland, hooking up with TJ Sheffield on a 27-yard touchdown pass. He finished 8-for-16 for 149 yards and had an interception.The Huskies will definitely be without redshirt senior defensive back Malik Dixon-Williams (broken hand), who had surgery, and possibly redshirt junior defensive end Pryce Yates (concussion). Doctors will determine when Yates is ready to play again.Senior defensive back Rante Jones will have to sit out the first half Saturday after being ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter vs. Maryland.Mora expects a better performance from his team in game two, especially on defense. The Huskies allowed 629 yards of total offense.UConn had trouble adjusting to Maryland's speed. Poor tackling also was an issue."It was not good enough, it was below our standard," redshirt senior linebacker Jayden McDonald said. "Coach preached effort, running to the ball, tackling all camp. I just thought Maryland came out more physical than we did and paid more attention to detail."As leaders on this team and defense, it starts with me, I have to be a leader on defense and get guys to buy in and play harder. I don't feel we did that as well. But that will be fixed quickly this week."On the positive side, several transfers made an impact.Redshirt freshman running back Durell Robinson (Charlotte) led the Huskies in rushing with 34 yards and redshirt junior wide receiver Skyler Bell (Wisconsin) had a team-best five catches for a career-high 141 yards. McDonald (Troy) finished with six tackles and senior linebacker Amir Renwick (Coffeyville Community College in Kansas) led the way with eight tackles.Mora also was pleased with the play of the offensive line."Maryland is a really good football team, but that does not excuse us at all for getting beat 50-7," Mora said. "But there were some good things, just not enough and not on a consistent basis."The Huskies remain upbeat despite the lopsided loss.They have faith that they're better than the final score indicated Saturday."We all wanted the outcome to be a little different, but it is what it is," Robinson said. "Now we have a chip on our shoulder because the outsiders, they really don't know how much talent that we have in that locker room and we do. So we're just eager to show everybody what we really can do."g.keefe@theday.com