Connecticut football has officially made the big time.

After two seasons playing under conditional NCAA Division I-A status, the Huskies have served their time in limbo and are now a full-blown I-A school. Their statistics and records will officially be recognized by the NCAA.

But just earning Division I-A status and being able to compete with the Notre Dames and Florida States of the world are two different things. The road will be tough. UConn will serve out three more seasons as an independent and begin play in 2005 as a member of the Big East Conference, where its basketball program -- which won the 1999 national championship -- has been a kingpin for years.

During the last two seasons in I-A purgatory, the Huskies of coach Randy Edsall have won three and two games, respectively. In 2000, Edsall and the Huskies entered their first season in I-A with 48 freshmen and sophomores on a roster of 70 scholarship players. It was a challenge that Edsall relished, and still does.

"I pride myself on taking advantage of opportunities and attacking challenges head on," said Edsall, who took over the program in 2000. "I see this as a great opportunity. An opportunity to take a program to the Division I-A level and being able to put my stamp on it. We want to build something that the entire University of Connecticut can be proud of.’’

Edsell, the 27th football coach at UConn, brought 20 years of coaching experience to the program, including 16 seasons at the Division I-A level and three in the National Football League. He completed the 1998 season as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, where he helped the No. 14-ranked Yellow Jackets complete a 9-2 season and earn a New Year’s Day victory in the Gator Bowl over Notre Dame.

Edsall spent three seasons as secondary coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. He began his coaching career in 1980 at Syracuse, his alma mater. A former quarterback for the Orangemen, Edsall was a graduate assistant from 1980-82, In 1983 he became coach Dick MacPherson’s running backs coach. He coached running backs for three seasons and the tight ends in ’85 before switching to defense.

From 1987-90, Edsall coached the Syracuse defensive backs. The Orangemen were ranked among the national I-A leaders in pass defense.

In 1991, Edsall moved to Boston College to work for head coach Tom Coughlin. He coached the Eagles’ defensive backs for three seasons (1991-93) and had his secondary ranked among the national top 20 in pass defense two of those three seasons. He then moved with Coughlin to the NFL.

Before the spring game, UConn elected seniors Tommy Collins , Greg Smoot , and Jamal Lundy tri-captains for 2002.

"It means a lot to me," Lundy said. "The players see something in me. They see that I’m a positive person and have the leadership we need to be a successful team. I guess they see that I go out there and make good decisions on and off the field. I can help them make other decisions, too, whether those are dealing with football or not."

The Huskies opened the 2001 season with sophomore Keron Henry (6-2, 198) at quarterback. He suffered injuries throughout the season that allowed sophomore Dan Orlovsky (6-5, 226) to take over the starting role. Both quarterbacks were inconsistent and entered spring practice still in a battle for the starting nod. Freshman Jermell Williams (6-1, 1810 also joined the competition after red-shirting a year ago.

Henry started five of the first six games before suffering a hip pointer against Rutgers. He also suffered missed playing time with an injured knee and a knee sprain before getting back in the lineup against Middle Tennessee State. Henry completed 41-of-106 passes for 478 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Orlovsky started six games last year and became the first freshman to start at quarterback at UConn since 1992. He completed 128-of-269 passes for 1,379 yards and nine touchdowns. He was intercepted 11 times. Orlovsky scored two rushing touchdowns.

Williams red-shirted last year after starting three years at quarterback at McArthur High in Hollywood, Fla. He set school records for touchdown passes (6) and yards (397) in a game.

Orlovsky finished the second spring scrimmage with eight completions on 22 attempts for 104 yards and one touchdown, while throwing one interception. Williams had three touchdowns as he went 7-of-16 for 89 yards with one interception. Henry left early after hitting a nerve in his arm.

Gone is Taber Small, one of the most prolific scorers in UConn history, leaving the tailback position wide open.

Early indications point to either sophomore Chris Bellamy (6-1, 204) or junior Chandler Poole (5-11, 208) as the front runners. Junior Evan Benson (5-7, 198) will also be in the mix.

Bellamy appeared in nine games last year and started at tailback against Utah State. He gained 237 yards on 61 carries and broke the longest run in 2001 with a 39-yard carry against Eastern Washington. Bellamy also caught nine passes for 102 yards.

Poole played fullback in 2001 and gained 100 yards in his first career start against Middle Tennessee St. He rushed 22 times in that game before having to leave with a sprained left ankle. Poole led all rushers in the second spring scrimmage with 13 carries for 41 yards.

Benson started last year against Cincinnati and Temple. He gained 163 yards on 66 carries and caught five passes for 50 yards.

Returning at fullback is junior Terry McClowry (6-2, 246), who played in 10 games last year. He returned four kickoffs for 47 yards.

UConn was inexperienced at wide receiver last year, but after another season of experience, this position should be a team strong point in 2002.

Headlining the returnees is junior O’Neil Wilson (6-3, 183) at split end. He worked into the receiver rotation with four starts last year, catching 14 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

At flanker, junior Cliff Hill (5-10, 167) returns after two solid seasons of playing time. He started every game last year, hauling in 40 receptions for 397 yards. He also had 101 yards on 28 punt returns and led the Huskies in all-purpose yards with 498.

Hill will be joined by sophomore Matt Cutaia (5-10, 177), one of the fastest Huskies. He played in all 11 games, earning one start. Cutaia caught 11 passes for 87 yards and led the team in kickoff returns with 12 for 239 yards and a 19.9 average that ranked third among the Huskies.

Also expecting playing time are sophomore Jasen Ridley (6-0, 186), junior Shaun Feldeisen (6-1, 204), and red-shirt freshman Jason Williams (5-11, 166).

Ridley started seven games last year and was second on the team with 27 receptions for 255 yards and one touchdown. He had a career-high seven catches for 47 yards against Ball State.

Feldeisen caught nine passes for 107 yards last year. Williams was red-shirted last year after an all-state season at McKeesport (Pa.) High School.

The tight end will be tri-captain Collins (6-3, 240), a talented and experienced player. He was hampered by injuries his first two seasons but came through last year with 12 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. He started two games when UConn opened in a double tight-end set, but was mainly the reserve behind Rashad Drayton.

Anchoring the line will be sophomores Ryan Krug (6-4, 283) and Brian Markowski (6-2, 287), who started 11 games at left tackle and center, respectively, in 2001.

Krug won the left tackle spot during spring practice in 2001. He red-shirted in 2000 after a standout high school career at Toms River South High School in Daytona Beach, Fla. Markowski also earned a starting spot during spring drills and like Krug red-shirted in 2000.

Junior Laurence Oliver (6-3, 273) will be the starter at left guard. He played in eight games last year and started six. The starter at right guard will be sophomore LeAndre Dupree ( 6-2, 303), who started every game last year.

Returning to handle the place kicking duties is senior Marc Hickok (6-0, 182). He was 18-of-19 on extra-point kicks last year and 12-of-17 on field goals.

Hickok was 4-of-4 on field-goal attempts from 40-49 yards and made a career-long game-winning 47-yarder with 3:04 remaining to give UConn its first ever victory over a Big East opponent last year at Rutgers.

Tri-captain Smoot (6-3, 266) will anchor the defensive line from one tackle position. He started 11 games last year and made 26 tackles, six for losses. He also had 3.5 sacks and recovered a fumble against Eastern Michigan.

Junior Sean Mulcahy (6-6, 269) will start at the other tackle spot despite missing spring practice with an ankle injury. He made 41 tackles last year and intercepted a pass at Rutgers. He made a career-high eight tackles against Virginia Tech.

Providing depth at tackle will be sophomore Warren Spivey (6-0, 284) and junior Chris Clarke (6-0, 262).

At defensive end, junior Ryan Bushey (6-4, 255) took over for Hakeem Kashama (6-5, 251) last year. Kashama had not completely recovered from a season-ending knee injury in 2000.

Bushey started 11 games last year after sitting out the season before after transferring from Auburn. He made 22 tackles, six for losses. Kashama re-injured his knee the second game last year and missed the rest of the season.

Also competing for playing time at end will be seniors Matt Jackson (6-3, 237) and Frank Quaglino (6-3, 236), junior Uyi Osunde (6-4, 241), sophomore Tyler King (6-6, 243) and red-shirt freshman Deon McPhee (6-1, 274).

Senior Razul Wallace (6-1, 224) returns after two standout seasons at middle linebacker. He led the Huskies with 72 tackles last year and made eight tackles for a loss. Wallace had a dozen tackles in back-to-back games at South Florida and Ball State.

Sophomore Alfred Fincher (6-1, 218) will be looked to as he adds depth to the position.

Sophomore Maurice Lloyd (5-10, 207) put up impressive numbers last year after taking over the "Will" linebacker position when Kamari Stroman suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Tri-captain Lundy (5-11, 212) returns for his second year in what was a new position in the UConn defense last year -- the Husky, which is a hybrid of the safety and linebacker positions. His backup will be Kinnan Herriott (5-11, 197)

Lundy has started 27 consecutive games for the Huskies. He made 88 tackles last year, and had three sacks and broke up six passes. Herriott was a key part of the secondary last year. He played in eight games.

Also back is three-year starter Roy Hopkins (5-9, 178), who played last year after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2000. He made 48 tackles.

Hopkins is one of five returnees in a secondary that includes junior safety Chris Meyer (6-0, 190), who led the team in tackles in 2001 with 94.

Junior safety Terrance Smith (5-10, 187) and sophomore corner Justin Perkins (5-10, 166) will also be back. With nine pass breakups, Perkins led the team in that department in 2001.

Back to handle the punting will be junior Adam Coles (6-5, 228), who punted 81 times for an average of 39.2 last year.

Coles averaged more than 40 yards per punt in six of UConn’s 11 games. Of his 81 punts, nine traveled 50 yards or more, and he pinned the opposition inside the 20 on 32 occasions.

Receiver Hill led the Huskies last year in punt returns with 28 for 101 yards. His longest return was 34 yards.

Cutaia, also a receiver, will be back to return kicks. He led the Huskies last year with 12 returns for 239 yards.

In fact, the five top kick returners are all back. Joining Cutaia will be Hopkins (10 for 182), Dellaselva (10 for 267), Perkins (9 for 212) and McClowry (4 for 47).

Edsall and his staff signed 19 players last February.

"We are thrilled about this class of student-athletes," Edsall said. "Our objectives were to go out and find players with speed and to find immediate contributors on both sides of the ball. We think we have done that with this class and improved the overall depth of our team at many positions. There are several players in this group who have a chance to help right away. That can only help us as we prepare to play the toughest football schedule in the history of the University of Connecticut."

The class features four players each from the states of New Jersey and Maryland, three players from Canada, two players from Pennsylvania and Florida and one student-athlete each from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Connecticut will play a demanding schedule featuring games against four 2001 bowl participants, six teams from Bowl Championship Series conferences and the final six games in the history of 50-year old Memorial Stadium.

The 12-game schedule will feature Connecticut taking on three members of the Big East and opponents from the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12. The Huskies will play 11 Division I-A opponents and one Division I-AA foe. The schedule features six home games and six road games and consists of six first-time opponents for UConn in football.

"I am extremely excited about our 2002 schedule," Edsall said. "We have said for the past several years that we welcome the opportunity to measure our program against the best teams and best conferences in the country. This is a challenging and competitive schedule that gives us that chance.

"It will be an exciting year for our team and staff and for the fans of Connecticut football. I think this is an aggressive schedule that continues to send the message that UConn is serious about football."

The defense will be the strength for the Huskies.

"The one thing I’m pleased with is the effort and the playing speed of our defense," Edsall said after the second spring scrimmage, "I thought our offense made strides from last Saturday to this one. We’re still nowhere near where we need to be, but it’s still good to see we made strides. Overall, I thought it was a good day. We’ve got to continue making progress though."

After the spring game, Edsal once again praised the defensive unit.

UConn is serious about football. This year will mark the 50th and final season in Memorial Stadium for the Huskies, who will open play in 2003 at 40,000-seat Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. The new stadium is on schedule for completion in time for the inaugural game against Rutgers on Aug. 30, 2003.

The Huskies have a new affiliation and are soon to move into a new stadium, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be competitive in I-A just yet. The schedule assures another long season, but long seasons will be a fact of life as the program tries to catch up to its future Big East brethren, who have been doing the I-A thing for a long time.