Endres Will Have Shoulder Surgery

By Chip Malafronte, New Haven Register, Conn.

Nov. 1--EAST HARTFORD -- Cody Endres will undergo shoulder surgery this morning, in all likelihood e n d i n g t h e UConn quarterback's season.

Endres was injured during the Husk i e s ' t h i r d offensive series of Saturday's loss to Rutgers. He was tackled as he threw an incomplete pass and landed on his left shoulder.

"(UConn trainers) told me it was the same thing Sam Bradford did at Oklahoma," UConn coach Randy Edsall said.

Bradford, the Heisman Trophy winner last season, had a procedure last week to repair ligaments in his acromioclavicula joint, commonly known as the AC joint. He won't return this season.

Zach Frazer, the starting quarterback to begin the season, took over Saturday and is expected to remain the starter. True freshman Michael Box is third on the depth chart, and Edsall said earlier this fall they would like to keep him out of game action to preserve a fifth season of eligibility.

Frazer injured a knee in the home opener against North Carolina on Sept. 12. Endres filled in well enough to remain the starter even after Frazer was cleared to resume playing about a month ago.

Frazer had problems against Rutgers, throwing two interceptions in his first five attempts and three on the day. But he also engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives that helped UConn overcome a 21-10 halftime deficit and briefly take the lead before the Scarlet Knights came back to stun the Huskies.

"It took a while to get my rhythm," said Frazer, who finished with a career-high 333 yards on 21-of-46 passing.

Robbie Frey, who had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first half, also left the game with an injury and did not return. The extent of Frey's injury was unclear, though Edsall said he didn't believe it was as serious as the one to Endres.

REMEMBERING JAZZ

Kashif Moore and Andre Dixon, two of Jasper Howard's closest friends on the UConn team, led the Huskies onto Rentschler Field prior to the game.

Moore carried Howard's blue No. 6 jersey; Dixon held Howard's football helmet.

The two trotted to the far corner of the stadium, stopping a few yards in front of the wall. There, a large white banner hung with blue lettering. It read "R.I.P. Jazz. Play every play like it's the last play you'll ever play," Howard's motto and words he spoke in his final interview, just hours before he was fatally stabbed on campus in the early morning hours of Oct. 18.

Signs are usually forbidden at Rentschler Field, but those rules were relaxed on Saturday. Fans were issued cards with the No. 6 at the gate and were raised in unison.

Moments later, a clip of Howard stripping a Louisville player of the football and recovering it during his final game two weeks earlier, was shown on the video board.

The stadium went silent in a "moment of respect" for Howard, a junior cornerback who was buried Monday in his hometown of Miami, before the 37,045 began chanting "Jasper Howard".

It was the first home game for the Huskies since Howard's death, and the scenario was part of a moving tribute to his memory.

Several hundred fans had lined up outside Rentschler hours earlier to shake the players' hands as they entered the stadium. Most fans and all the players wore blue T-shirts with No. 6 on front and back.

Even coach Randy Edsall wore one over black dress pants on his way into the stadium, and kept the T-shirt on beneath his white UConn polo shirt during the game.

HARRISON'S HOMECOMING

Stratford's Mark Harrison made his first two receptions in Rutgers' win at Army a week earlier. On Saturday, the true freshman wide receiver out of Bunnell High made his first touchdown catch in his home state.

Harrison's 20-yard touchdown catch with 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the first half gave the Scarlet Knights a 21-10 lead. It was his only reception of the game.

Chip Malafronte can be reached

at cmalafronte@nhregister.com.

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