| |
The University of Connecticut football team completed its No. 1 goal in the off season - more competition at quarterback.San Marcos Palomar Community College quarterback Tyler Lorenzen
officially became a Husky after faxing in his National Letter of Intent
to UConn on Thursday.Lorenzen, named a J.C. Gridwire All-American, will enroll at UConn in
January for the spring semester and will battle for the starting
quarterback job against incumbent junior D.J. Hernandez and redshirt
sophomore Dennis Brown.
"I'm very excited that Tyler is
going to join the UConn program," UConn coach Randy Edsall said in a
statement. "I am looking forward to him being here in January to get
his academic program in motion and also be involved with our team both
in weight room and on the field, something which will enable him to
compete for the starting quarterback job. He is a talented athlete who
has very good arm strength, good feet and all of the intangibles that
you look for in a quarterback. His athletic ability and his
understandings of the game, plus intangibles, is what attracted us to
him."
Lorenzen, 6-foot-5, is from Eddyville, Iowa and began
his college career at Iowa State. Lorenzen was switched to wide
receiver when he was a freshman and transferred after two seasons to
San Palomar. He has two years of eligibility left.
Lorenzen
completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,960 yards and 26 touchdowns
with only three interceptions in 332 attempts. He also ran the ball for
836 yards and eight touchdowns in leading San Palomar to a No. 24
national ranking.
Lorenzen will have ample opportunity to
win the job for the Huskies, who struggled at the position with
Hernandez and Matt Bonislawski.
Hernandez started six games
and passed for 849 yards and nine touchdowns with nine interceptions.
In wins over Rhode Island and Pittsburgh, Hernandez accounted for 313
yards and six touchdowns.
In his other five appearances,
four starts, Hernandez threw nine interceptions to three touchdowns and
536 yards. He also lost three fumbles.
Dennis Brown sat out the season as a redshirt and made two starts as a true freshman in 2005.
Edsall said at the completion of the season that the quarterback
position was up for grabs. Lorenzen hadn't committed yet, but it was
clear that the message sent was that he would have every opportunity to
take over the quarterback position during spring practice.
The Huskies also have Washington, Pa. Trinity quarterback Cody Endres
in the fold. Endres is a highly touted prospect and gave a verbal
commitment to the Huskies in the summer. He can sign a Letter of Intent
on Feb. 7 and will enroll in the fall.
|
| | Posted 1/4/2007 10:41 AM - 8 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
- recommend
  - recs0
- share
- email
 - sent0
|
