NHR- Shirreffs, Newsome and Thomas shine in UConn's 2nd Scrimmage at the Rent
* According to my VERY UNOFFICIAL STATS I had Shirreffs was 12 of 17 for 128 yards and two touchdowns while Boyle was 8 of 15 for 76 yards (although he would have been close to 100 yards had the officials counted a pass to Brian Lemelle. Lemelle took a few steps with the ball before losing control and fumbling it out of bounds. Both quarterbacks had two touchdowns with Boyle throwing an interception.
* Other than Summers with the interception, linebackers Graham Stewart and Marquise Vann had sacks as did Cole Ormsby. I was really impressed with what I saw from Kenton Adeyemi, especially early in the scrimmage. True freshman David Ryslik continues to make his presence felt at defensive tackle and he crashed through the line for a TFL as he stuffed Johnson for a 6-yard loss at the 1 to force a punt. With how impressive Luke Carrezola has been and with Julian Campenni and Foley Fatukasi forming a dynamic 1-2 punch up front, seeing Adeyemi and Ormsby look as good as they did today could be a great sign.
Courant- Bryant Shirreffs Looking More Like The No. 1 QB In UConn's Offense
* Head coach Bob Diaco wasn't quite ready to name his starting quarterback following the second scrimmage in a week at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field Thursday, but he was more than ready to make a statement about Newsome: "I see Arkeel as a starter … I don't see him as a No.2. Does it mean he'll be in the first team as much as ( Ron) Johnson? ......The offensive line looked better. As the scrimmage wore on, the group opened holes for Johnson and Newsome no problem.
* Dhameer Bradley didn't compete in the scrimmage because of an undisclosed injury- When he returns to full strength Bradley rejoins a unit that is becoming awfully good led by (Noel) Thomas and bolstered by three fearless freshmen in Tyraiq Beals, Hergy Mayala and Aaron McLean. It looks like all three of are going to play and they should.
* Diaco said both kickers are going to play. Highly regarded freshman kicker Michael Tarbutt (39, 43 and 23) was 3-for-3 on field goals and made both of his extra points even though was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Junior Bobby Puyol made a 30-yarder and missed from 46.