It Is Cody's Time To Shine

Cody Endres will enter this Saturday's game at Heinz Field making his third consecutive start for the UConn Huskies.  After faltering the second half against North Carolina, Endres has gotten the job done as quarterback of the UConn Huskies.

Endres, who will be going back in his home state of Pennsylvania, has really taken his opportunity to lead the Huskies and ran with it.  With Frazier still out due to injury as long as Endres remains healthy and keeps winning football games, this could be his job for the remainder of the season.

We already know the Huskies have a solid defense, and with a new offense in place there is a lot of potential for this passing game to rise to the occasion.  The Huskies certainly were getting the ball up and down the field vertically against the Rams of Rhode Island.

Michael Smith was the first UConn receiver to catch eight passes in a game since Keron Henry did it in the Motor City Bowl all the back in 2004.  He and his counterparts Dwayne Dwifton and Michael Lang have tremendous speed on the outside and in the slot.

There is no question Senior Brad Kunuch has become a solid and dependable wide receiver for the Huskies.  He may not make the big play down the field, but his hand skills are unquestioned.

The list of weapons that Endres has goes on and on.  It is pretty nice when you have two extremely talented backs behind you.  Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon are two of the best backs in the Big East.

So much for all the critics that said UConn was going to have a tough time replacing Donald Brown who went to the Colts in the first round of the NFL Draft.  The offensive line of UConn has experience and leadership.  The blocking they provide up front is what fuels the success in the rushing attack.

Dating back to last year when Endres led the Huskies against eventually BCS Bowl bound Cincinnati he has been a reliable quarterback.  He's big and tough and when he doesn't turnover the football the Huskies are always in it at the end of the game.

Much of the success this weekend in front of a nationally televised audience will be put squarely on the shoulders of Cody Endres.  Personally, I think Cody enjoys that feeling and knows what he has to do to get the job done.

He is not afraid to throw the ball up when given the opportunity.  He put it up 42 times last year in a win over Cincinnati and 37 times in a lost to West Virginia.  If the Huskies go out there and establish the run, watch out for the play action pass.

This will be his first hostile crowd against a Big East opponent.  Both games last year were at home and this is a totally different environment.  Endres has gained some confidence in his play over the last few weeks.  It is going to be essential that he uses it early on and establishes himself against Pittsburgh.

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding both of these teams.  The Big East as a whole is considered to be a pretty open race as far as the BCS Bid is concerned.  His team is going to get a chance to beat each other up.

Saturday it all starts with Connecticut going into Pittsburgh, led by redshirt Sophomore Cody Endres.  Cody is young and talented, and Coach Edsall knows he has the potential to lead this team to big victories.

Cody, it's your time to go out there and get the job done.  Prove to the nation what UConn Huskies football is all about.