Next step for UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne: ‘Perfect the pre-snap process’

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

STORRS – To those watching on the broadcast, it looked like UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne scrambled right and was leveled by a hit to the knees, downed for a loss of about six yards to the Southern Miss 44-yard line during the opening series of Saturday’s game in Hattiesburg.

In reality, as the camera operator would soon realize, Osborne had chucked the ball down the field while on the move, releasing it just as linebacker Champ Lewis wrapped his legs and dropped him to the turf. From there, receiver Shamar Porter reached behind his back shoulder with his right hand to haul it in and get into the end zone.

It was the first of four total touchdowns for the quarterback, who looked comfortable in his command of Jason Candle’s offense throughout the 48-20 road victory.

Osborne finished the game 16 of 22 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and added 32 yards and two more touchdowns on 10 rushing attempts. It was a positive response after dealing with Maryland’s defensive front in the Week 2 loss, when he took five sacks and went 10-for-21 passing with two touchdowns, the offense only converting three times in 11 3rd down situations.

“When you’re a young quarterback, it’s easy to create your own adversity,” Candle said this week, as the Huskies prepare for another road trip to Miami (Ohio). “For him, it’s just perfecting what a pre-snap process is, continuing to raise his football IQ from week to week. I think he works really hard at it, and I think the more at-bats he has, the better chances he’s going to have to have success because, like I said, he does have a pretty good process when it comes to it. So I just think that he’s going to get better as time goes on. We’ve got to continue to put him in good situations, he’s got to continue to make great pre-snap decisions, and then when you do that, that probably leads to a bit faster anticipation when the ball’s in your hand and it probably looks cleaner on offense than maybe it did Week 1.”

With 634 yards and six passing touchdowns to one interception, Osborne has the sixth-best passing grade (90.6) of FBS quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks. He also has the fifth-best rushing grade (85.8) for a QB with 152 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.

Treadway breakout game

Receiver Ryder Treadway came on as a strong contributor at Toledo late last season, breaking out with four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown when the Rockets visited Miami (OH) in November (and won, 24-3). He’s started fairly slow this year at UConn as well, but he’s found ways to impact the game, notably making an 18-yard gain on 3rd-and-11 during the Huskies’ opening drive last week at Southern Miss, his first game this year with at least three receptions.

“That was right after a penalty, after a false start, so to be able to rebound and come back… Look, he’s a very trusted guy, and I think that starts long before you ever put pads on, right? I mean, that comes from work ethic and doing the right things each and every day,” Candle said. “Great student, good human being, high-character guy that loves football, loves his teammates. And when you’re able to do that, that shines on the practice field and then ultimately that shines on game day when you’re talented like he is. He’s come a long way, he’s made a lot of plays… We’re going to continue to use him how he can be used and continue to put him in position where he can be successful. He’s gonna be a major factor for us down the stretch.”

Treadway is one of seven different receivers that have at least 70 yards this season; his 70 coming on just six catches.

“Obviously you’re going in there and you’re playing hard no matter what. I think mostly the thing that the receiver room’s got to focus on is just blocking and doing stuff without the ball,” said Treadway, a sophomore. “Because we know we can all make plays with the ball, but you only get a certain amount of targets throughout a game, so there’s a bunch of other plays where you can go make an impact for the team.”

Committing to the fundamentals

There was going to be an adjustment process on the offensive line; there always is when five new players have to learn to play together as one unit for the first time. That chemistry develops best in full-speed, game situations.

And UConn saw it start to come together last week as the run game accumulated 213 yards and three touchdowns. The Huskies were methodical and balanced in their offensive approach, and it worked.

“Those guys made a commitment to improve at the fundamental things that are going to allow them to run well. That’s a very similar situation to how I feel about Kalieb, to be honest with you,” Candle said. “The more time those guys have, the better off they’re going to be. We’ve got a bunch of new guys in there that are playing for the first time, you’ve got a new center, you’ve got a left guard who’s never started a game before this year, you’ve got a left tackle who’s never started a game before this year. Those guys are pups, so they’re gonna make some mistakes. We’ve just got to continue to create a culture here where it’s okay to make a mistake, but it’s unacceptable to make the same one over and over. So as long as they can buy into that and do that, those guys will be just fine. There should be a good progression there.”

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos