College Football Blitz: Randy Edsall returning to UConn, FSU lands five-star RB

UConn is turning back the clock to try and turn their football program around, and Florida State snagged one of the best players in the nation

The UConn Huskies recently fired head football coach Bob Diaco after three seasons with the program and a 3-9 season in 2016. Well it appears that they had a plan in place for a replacement ready to roll, and they didn’t waste time in executing said plan to try and right the ship.

This is where we begin the College Football Blitz for Wednesday, Dec. 28.

UConn goes back to square one with Randy Edsall

We all assumed that the college football coaching carousel had come to a complete stop, but on Monday the UConn Huskies started the ride up all over again with their move to fire Bob Diaco. Given the timing of the move, some assumed that they already had a replacement in mind, although it’s one that sort of blindsided us all.

We first heard word on Tuesday that former Huskies head coach Randy Edsall was a candidate for the job, and on Wednesday, ESPN’s Brett McMurphy was the first to report that the school will indeed be bringing back one of the more successful coaches in program history. The school later confirmed the news.

Edsall held this position for UConn from 1999-2010, before departing for the Maryland job, a move that didn’t turn out the way many had expected it would. But during his time in Storrs leading the Huskies’ football program, he compiled a respectable 74-70 record, and that includes a trip to the Fiesta Bowl in 2010 prior to his leaving for Maryland.

He’s made this program respectable once before, now it’s time to see if he can do it all over again.

Final Thought: You know, this might not be the worst move by the UConn program here. Sure, things didn’t work out in the Power Five with Maryland for Edsall, but trying to turn this program around here again at the AAC level might just be right up his alley. He has a chance here to somewhat repair his reputation that was damaged a bit by his failures at Maryland.

Florida State may have landed Dalvin Cook’s immediate replacement

This Friday night when Florida State takes on Michigan in the Orange Bowl, it will be the last time that one of the best backs in Seminoles history, Dalvin Cook, will take the field. He will be departing for the NFL in 2017. However, Jimbo Fisher and the ‘Noles may have snagged a young man out of Mississippi who not only can immediately replace Cook next season, but maybe has the chance to be even better by the time all is said and done.

During a live streaming broadcast on Tuesday night, Cam Akers out of Clinton, Mississippi made it official that he will be heading to Tallahassee. According to Scout, Akers is the No. 2 running back in the 2017 class and the No. 4-ranked player overall.

Now if you need a visual to convince you that Akers could be even better than Cook –as unbelievable as that may seem to some people, considering just how impressive Cook has been the past three seasons– just watch this jaw-dropping highlight video.

That is a terrifying talent right there, and when you add him to the mix of returning players Jimbo Fisher has already for 2017, then Florida State might be ready to inch back into the national title conversation.

Final Thought: Really, the biggest takeaway for me here is the fact that Hugh Freeze let this once-in-a-lifetime talent exit the state of Mississippi. Freeze has been lauded for his recruiting efforts at Ole Miss the past few seasons, but this is a serious blow to that reputation. In the eyes of most Ole Miss fans, whiffing on this one is simply inexcusable.

You also have to wonder with this just how much the Notice of Allegations Ole Miss was recently slapped with is affecting recruiting.

Next: Best college quarterback born in every state

Bowl game stat of the day
Cactus Bowl – 14 catches, 226 yards, two touchdowns

Sweet baby Jesus, did KD Cannon ever put on one of the more memorable bowl performances that we have ever seen on Tuesday night.

Baylor came into the Cactus Bowl on Tuesday night against a 10-2 Boise State team on a six-game losing streak, so naturally, it seemed out of the realm of possibility that Baylor would snap that streak.

Well, Cannon wanted to have a say about that, and he got his words in more than once. The junior wideout finished the Bears’ statement win with an incredible 14 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns. And one of those scores was one of the best catches that we have seen all season long.

Cannon has put on some amazing performances since his freshman year in 2014 in a Baylor uniform, and he saved one of his best collegiate performances for last. With this outing alone, the Mount Pleasant, Texas native may have raised his NFL Draft stock significantly.