STORRS — Seymour's Mike Osiecki has left the UConn football team. Whether it is a permanent departure is up to him. Coach Paul Pasqualoni said Tuesday that he granted Osiecki a few days to return home to think about school and football and whatever else might be on his mind.
Osiecki, a redshirt sophomore, played last year as a backup linebacker, but was moved to fullback in the spring.
He was having a good preseason with the Huskies and stood a good chance of being the backup fullback to starter Reuben Frank.
"I gave Mike permission to go home for a couple of days," Pasqualoni said following Tuesday's practice. "He wanted to go home and settle down and just think about what he's doing, being here and football. I told him to go home, relax for a couple of days, and we'll go from there."
Osiecki was arrested and charged with shoplifting from the UConn Co-Op in April 2010 toward the end of his first season with the Huskies. He was held out of spring practice by then-coach Randy Edsall, but returned in the fall, only to redshirt.
He was part of the linebacker rotation in 2011, but played mostly on special teams, where he was a solid performer. His father, Sandy, played in the NFL and his older brother, Ryan, is the starting quarterback at the University of New Haven, transferring there after a year at Louisville.
Osiecki might eventually decide to transfer and play with his brother, but the UConn coaching staff hopes he returns to the Huskies.
"I've left the door open for him," Pasqualoni said. "We like Mike. He's a great kid. (We) like his family, but I want to do what he wants to do. Whatever it is he wants to do, I'm here to help him."
UConn has other fullbacks to back up Frank, but none with the game experience of Osiecki. Jazzmar Clax and Wyatt Vinci are both freshmen out of New Jersey who will compete for playing time. Clax is a monster at 5-foot-11 and 250 pounds. Vinci goes 6-1, 223.
Osiecki had proved in his short time at fullback that he could be a reliable blocker and catch passes, almost a carbon copy of former UConn standout Anthony Sherman.
The return: Quarterback Scott McCummings, who missed the first week of practice due to an excused absence to deal with family issues, returned to the team Saturday. On Tuesday, he did some early solo work with quarterbacks coach Shane Day but eventually did quite a bit of work with the first- and second-team offenses.
Pasqualoni said McCummings didn't skip a beat, but the quarterback had a different assessment.
"I'm definitely feeling a little behind," he said. "I'm working to catch back up. It seems like everybody is ready for the NFL already with all the stuff they're doing. I obviously have a lot of stuff to learn."
At the moment, McCummings is third on the depth chart behind Chandler Whitmer and Johnny McEntee. In McCummings' case, the depth chart doesn't mean much. He will be used as the wildcat quarterback again, though the coaching staff has other wildcat plans it doesn't want divulged.
Extra points: Defensive end Ted Jennings took some snaps at defensive tackle Tuesday. Pasqualoni said he wants the defensive linemen to know all four positions up front, thus the move ... Pasqualoni said defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (sprained knee) is making progress, though Stephen remains on crutches and isn't moving well on the crutches ... OG/OT Tyler Bullock watched practice with a boot on his left foot. He was able to remove the boot to do some work on the stationary bike and is walking without a limp. The injury doesn't appear to be serious ... Freshman quarterback Casey Cochran was in full pads and doing some work with the offenses. He had a small splint on his surgically repaired left thumb ... Former UConn running back Andre Dixon attended practice ... The practice was open to the public. The third and final open practice takes place from 8:45 to 11:15 a.m. Saturday.
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