OK, Paul Pasqualoni, 61, husband, father of three, is your quy, officially - the head football coach at UConn. He was introduced at a 12:30 press conference on campus today. First, some quick notes and, thoughts some of the "players" who attended the press conference, and then we'll hear from Pasqualoni off podium in the next post.
- Six candidates interviewed for the job: Mark Whipple, Norries Wilson, Ken O'Keefe, GarrickMcGee, Hank Hughes and Paul Pasqualoni and as we mentioned last night and Hathaway confirmed today, Pasqualoni was the only candidate interviewed twice.
- Several high school coaches attended the presser including Cheshire's Mark Ecke and Lou Marinelli (New Canaan).
- Hathaway said he talked a lot to former Syracuse athletic director Jake Crouthamel about Pasqualoni and interim president Phil Austin talked to former SU chancellor Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw.
- Pasqualoni said the key recruiting areas will be within a five-hour driving radius of Storrs.
- Interestingly enough, Hathaway said he only talked to Division I A coaches and NFL assistants. Delaware's K.C. Keeler never interviewed. ...very interesting.
- Pasqualoni is a big-time clamer, has his own little boat, and likes to go up to Rhode Island.
- The Cheshire native said he would be living closer to Storrs and not home.
UConn President-elect Susan Herbst on Pasqualoni [she is really nice, enthusiastic. She introduced herself and asked "Are You DC?" Uh-oh!]
"As much as he wants to win and as much as he wants a national profile for this program, he really cares about these young men and I think his background as a teacher and being in high school and watching kids develop is big but one of the nice things about hiring a person like Paul is that being at a place like Syracuse University for so long, he has the balance down. He understands kids are under tremendous pressure from all of us to succeed and to win but that their long term future is going to be determined by whether they graduate.
"I think he said it best when he said his biggest goal is to have the student-athletes be citizens, and get jobs and go in and get interviews and get the job. I meet a lot of coaches and ADs from all over with Paul it's so genuine and heartfelt. He's a terrific hire. I couldn't be happier with the athletic department."
Tebucky Jones, who's son, going by the same name, is a redshirt freshman on the team, played for Pasqualoni at Syracuse, loves the hire as well. He was huggling Pasqualoni in the Burton Family Football Complex before the press conference.
Jones played for Pasqualoni at Syracuse.
"You know how you get a teacher in high school? It's like 'Damn this teacher just won't leave me alone," Jones said laughing. "That's what it was like with him but you realize when you get older, the stuff he did, the way he used to get on you about school and other things, it made sense. That's the kind of person he is.
"You know my son still remembers him. He actually got my son skipped up a grade because he was tested and he was above where he was supposed to be but they didn't want to move him but he got him moved up."
That would explain why Jones Jr. had barely turned 17 entering college.
"When I went to Syracuse, they had just gone to the Fiesta Bowl, ranked No.2 or No.3 in the country, the next year went so-so, next Gator Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl - that's what I see with him more BCS games.
"I know they were in a BCS game a couple of weeks ago but it looked to me like the focus was somewhere else in that game, know what I'm saying? You've got those kids out there, when you go into halftime and you come out running the same stuff, you gotta make adjustments. I know all other coaches do that. Coach P would," Jones said.
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