Most USF fans know that Skip Holtz’s coaching career includes a stop at Connecticut — his first job as a head coach was in Storrs from 1994-98, while the Huskies were at the FCS level (which was known as Division I-AA back then). This Saturday’s game is also a homecoming for defensive ends and special teams coach Vernon Hargreaves, who played for UConn from 1980-83 and was a defensive assistant there for 13 years. Hargreaves, a native of New Haven, caught up with Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times about his time playing and coaching there:
"I was there for a long time," said Hargreaves, who still has siblings and many friends in Connecticut. "It’s been a while, but we had some good times, won some games, did some good things. I played with some good guys, still have some real good friends there."
So… it was good, then.
Neither Holtz or Hargreaves have ever coached in UConn’s current stadium, Rentschler Field, which opened in 2003. The Huskies were still using their tiny on-campus facility, Memorial Stadium, up until then. In the two coaches' first matchup against the Huskies last December in Tampa, the Bulls fell 19-16 on a late field goal by Dave Teggart after USF erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit behind backup quarterback Bobby Eveld.