UConn Football: Now-independent Huskies look for breakout 2020 season

Kevin Mensah will look to carry offensive load again

With questions at quarterback, UConn’s offense will rely heavily on senior running back Kevin Mensah.

Mensah has rushed for over 1,000 yards each of the last two seasons and in 2019, he ran for 1,013 yards and nine touchdowns, including a school-record five touchdowns in a victory over UMass. The biggest question for the Huskies offense is who will be handing the ball to Mensah and attempting to generate a passing game.

Jack Zergiotis saw the most action under center last season playing in 10 games in which he threw for 1,782 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In order to improve, UConn will need Zergiotis to limit his turnovers or take a closer look at redshirt sophomore Steven Krajewski who played in four games, including completing 22-of-33 of his passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns in a strong performance against UCF.

At wide receiver, the Huskies’ go-to target will be Cameron Ross, who had 60 catches for 723 yards as a true freshman last season to rank fifth among freshman nationwide in receiving yards. Other options will be Matt Drayton and tight end Jay Rose who all were solid contributors in 2019.

Up front, UConn will look to replace their top offensive lineman in Matthew Peart, who was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Names to watch include Ryan Van Demark, Robert Holmes and Nino Leone.

All in all, UConn will need to improve upon a passing game that ranked 81st in the nation and a rushing attack that ranked 108th if they want to improve their win total significantly in 2020.