STORRS — For years, the complaints have centered on the UConn quarterbacks. They were never good enough to satisfy.
Running concurrent to those complaints were the laments about the Huskies not having any reliable receivers. The latter, of course, was partly responsible for the former. There's at least the hope that will change this year.
If it does, it's a good bet that receivers Nick Williams and Geremy Davis will have a lot to do with it. Williams' versatility and Davis' size make them a good underneath-deep combination that was fully on display last week in the opener against UMass.
The key is to make the display a consistent one.
"We use it as motivation," the soft-spoken Davis said about the criticism the receiving corps has taken in recent years. "We want to be the receiving corps that everybody talks about. I'm sure we can be a group everybody talks about."
The talk might not always focus on Davis, but Williams will certainly be a part of it. The 5-foot-10, 184-pound senior slot receiver racked up 143 all-purpose yards against UMass. Most of those came on kickoff and punt returns, but he rushed three times for 24 yards and caught a pass for 16 yards.
His work is done mostly underneath, in front of the linebackers, where he can get the ball and use his quickness to spring himself. Davis, at 6-foot-1, 214 pounds, played the role of big receiver, catching five passes for 79 yards. He had six receptions all of last season.
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Davis' performance was good enough to earn him a starting spot this week against North Carolina State, moving past Shakim Phillips. In Davis and Williams, and the rest of the receivers, the Huskies have the opportunity to open up a passing offense that has been mostly predictable since the 2005 season.
"I believe in that this year," said Williams, who is rapidly gaining cult-hero status among UConn football fans. "Since I've been in the room, it's the deepest wideout corps we've had. Geremy's big and is strong as an ox. Shakim is big and strong. We have Tebucky Jones, Mike Smith.
"We have a pretty good chance to be talented receivers and blockers this year."
Since 2004, no UConn receiver has caught more than 60 passes. Most of the time, the receiving "corps" consisted of one go-to guy, such as Marcus Easley or Kashif Moore. Finally, the Huskies have some depth at receiver. It's unlikely one of them will catch 60 or more passes, but it's hoped that the lot of them can secure 35 or more apiece.
Certainly, the competition steps up this week against North Carolina State and a secondary that led the country last year with 27 interceptions. Quarterback Chandler Whitmer will have to be more precise this week and the receivers will have to be more expert in their running of routes.
But if nothing else, the Huskies put something on film last week that they haven't shown in recent years: deep and intermediate threats at receiver thanks to the work of Davis and Williams.
"You'd like to say there are 'x' amount of opportunities for a guy like Nick," UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said. "You have to identify who can be productive for you and get that guy touches. ... Nick does those things. We're trying to get these guys in positions where they can make plays and score touchdowns."
Williams, based on his return abilities and a small sampling at receiver last year, was expected to make plays. The coaching staff hoped Davis would be able to do it, adding a complementary big receiver to the experienced Smith.
Davis, a product of Lawrence, Ga., spent the summer on campus, working an untold number of hours every day to run more precise routes, improve his blocking, get bigger, stronger and faster, catch hundreds of balls shot from the rotating wheels of a Juggs machine.
There isn't much pressure on Davis because of the presence of Smith and the hoped emergence of Phillips, a transfer from Boston College. But that's the point. There are bodies there and that hasn't always been the case.
Davis just appears to have been doing more than his share of work to be foremost among the bodies.
"He's strong as an ox," Williams said. "He has an almost 400-pound bench press and he's an impressive athlete. When you combine being an impressive athlete with work ethic, you get a pretty good player."
Time will tell but the early returns are promising.
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