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Edsall Keeping UConn QB Choice A Mystery

Storrs — Chances are, Randy Edsall will have made a decision on his starting quarterback long before UConn visits No. 16 Rutgers for Sunday night's nationally-televised Big East game (8 p.m., ESPN).

Heck, his mind may already be made up.

As of Tuesday, however, the head Husky's official stance was an old football standby — game-time decision — although he admitted a little gamesmanship might be involved before announcing whether Matt Bonislawski or D.J. Hernandez will trot out with the first unit to face the unbeaten Scarlet Knights (6-0, 2-0).

“You have to understand there are certain things I can say and I can't say,” Edsall said when asked whether his non-committal stance Tuesday was based on not wanting to tip his hand to Rutgers. “We're going to play one of the two. We'll let people know at the end of the week right there at the game.

“Let people try to figure out what we're going to do.”

Either way, Edsall also knows the Huskies (3-4, 0-2) need a higher level of play regardless of who starts. Bonislawski struggled during last Friday's 37-11 loss to No. 4 West Virginia, completing just 8 of 20 passes for 58 yards. He was also sacked twice an intercepted once.

Hernandez, who started the first three games before Edsall decided to give Bonislawski a chance to revive UConn's stagnant offense, replaced the senior late in the third quarter and was 7-for-14 (one interception) for 57 yards while rushing for 29 yards and a touchdown.

“With D.J.,” Edsall said, “it's high risk, high reward.”

The fourth quarter of the West Virginia game was a perfect illustration of Hernandez's Jekyll and Hyde play.

Just one minute, 34 seconds into the quarter, the sophomore from Bristol Central was driving the Huskies when he was forced out of the pocket under pressure. Instead of just taking the sack, however, he tried to force a pass near the sideline and was picked off by WVA's Vaughn Rivers at the 6.

Then a little more than five minutes later, Hernandez took off around the right end on a fourth-and-four call from the West Virginia 5, spun away from a defender and dived into the end zone for a touchdown, UConn's only TD of the night.

Bonislawski doesn't possess the athleticism to make a play like that, but he does have the savvy to avoid a mistake like Hernandez's interception.

Still, Edsall made the move against West Virginia because he felt Bonislawski's “decision-making wasn't as sharp as what it normally is.”

“He was holding the ball a little bit too long in some cases and was a little bit apprehensive to let the ball go on time,” Edsall said. “If we have the balls delivered on time, maybe there's not as many hits on the quarterbacks.”

That will be critical against a Rutgers defense that is second in the nation in total defense, allowing just 223.4 yards per game, and third in scoring defense, giving up just 8.6 points per game.

“We could play one ... we might play two ... but we won't play three,” Edsall said. “But either way (Bonislawski and Hernandez) both have to be ready to go. We'll use the one that gives us the best opportunity to win.”

• Offensive guard Donald Thomas has been suspended for two games after being arrested Sunday in a fight at a local restaurant.

Coach Randy Edsall announced the suspension in a news release, e-mailed to members of the media several hours after his weekly news conference on Tuesday.

The school said it would have no further comment on the suspension.

Thomas, a senior from West Haven, was charged Sunday with misdemeanor assault and breach of peace, after allegedly striking a restaurant employee during an altercation at Wings Over Storrs, according to a campus police report.

Thomas, who backs up Matt Applebaum at left guard, will miss Sunday's game at Rutgers and the Nov. 11 game against Pittsburgh.

Thomas' suspension is the latest in a series of off-field problems for the Huskies this season. Earlier this month, Edsall dismissed five players for bringing beer into a hotel during a road trip to South Florida.

In September, starting safety Marvin Taylor was arrested and kicked off the squad for buying items with a stolen credit card number.

Taylor also was one of five players arrested in a pellet-gun shooting that broke a car window outside a Willimantic convenience story in May 2005. Those players were suspended from the team, but not dismissed.

Wire report included

c.banning@theday.com or 701-4441

Source: www.checkhotnews.com

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