Pasqualoni will have some heavy lifting to do to keep the Huskies as a force in the Big East. Many preseason projections had them as low as seventh in the eight-team conference.
Pasqualoni’s coaching philosophy won’t change.
“This isn’t any different than the freshman team at Cheshire [Conn.] High School, the Dallas Cowboys, or the UConn Huskies,’’ he said. “You go as hard as you can as long as you can and you don’t get tired.’’
If the Huskies are to remain an elite team rather than an also-ran, Brown’s defense, which returns nine starters, will be the key.
Brown already has made an impression on the Huskies.
“When he first came in and we were in the defensive room … he’s like, ‘Gentlemen, I’d like to congratulate you on your recent success defensively, you are a good squad. I know you had your way of doing things,’ ’’ said cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson. “Then his head flopped around and he yelled, ‘But I have my way of doing things. We aren’t going to let people dictate. We are going to attack, attack, attack.’ ’’
Offensively, DeLeone might have a similar philosophy, but the question of who is going to do the attacking has been the key question of training camp.
Pasqualoni must decide which of his three quarterbacks he feels most comfortable with for the season opener Thursday night against Fordham. A fourth option, sophomore Mike Box, the only one with collegiate experience, announced last week he was going to transfer.
“They have all done good things,’’ said Pasqualoni, referring to junior Johnny McEntee, redshirt freshman Scott McCummings, and freshman Michael Nebrich. “Certainly there’s things they need to do better. They are making this a very fierce competition.’’
Pasqualoni did not discount opening the season with a rotation.
Another key to the offense is tailback D.J. Shoemate, who transferred from Southern Cal last season, but quickly fell out of favor with Edsall and never established himself. Pasqualoni said he will give him another chance.
