Roberson could have a torn ACL; Marion broke his collar bone. Both players will miss significant time.
With the regular season not even at a week old, UConn has endured two major body blows to their depth chart.
Roberson exited UConn’s season opener in the first quarter of the Huskies’ 31-20 loss to Utah State. Preliminary indications are the UConn quarterback suffered a torn ACL.
Roberson is a redshirt sophomore from New Jersey who transferred to UConn in December from Penn State after coach Jim Mora was hired. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
The Huskies had named Roberson their starting quarterback for their season opener. A quarter into the game, there’s fear his season’s over.
“My wife and I took Ta’Quan home last night after the plane landed, and there’s always this real human element to it when you’re at this level,” Mora said. “You just feel bad for the kid because you know they feel so bad.”
Marion, the team’s leading receiver last season, scored a touchdown before going down with injury. Mora confirmed the sophomore has a broken collarbone and will undergo surgery sometime early this week.
“It’s a long injury, and it’s a bone healing so there’s not a lot he can do in terms of treatment to recover from that,” Mora said. “Hopefully he’ll make it back at some point this season.”
The Huskies are already without Cam Ross, many projected him to be the team’s top receiver heading into the season. Ross is likely out for the season with a broken foot.
“We’ve lost two of our starting receivers and we haven’t even played a half of football yet,” Mora said.
With two of their top receivers on the sideline, look for UConn to lean more on their running game. In the loss at Utah State, running back Nathan Carter rushed 20 times for 190 yards. The Huskies averaged 6.3 yards per carry against the Aggies.
A strong run game is a must now with true freshman Zion Miller taking over for Roberson at quarterback. Miller went 12-for-31 against Utah State for 109 yards and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions, both turnovers were pivotal turning points in the game. However, growing pains are expected with Miller.
With UConn now preparing for this Saturday’s home-opener against Central Connecticut State, it’s the familiar mantra of “next man up”.
“He’s gonna be alright, trust me, he’s gonna be alright,” said linebacker Jackson Mitchell of Miller. “He’s a competitor, he’s a winner. Trust me, he’s gonna be in the film room tomorrow watching that game and he’s gonna get better. I expect a good performance from him next week.”
