tying for 20th in the league on the man advantage during the regular

STORRS, Conn. -- UConns Tyler Davis says hes spent a lot of time on the internet watching highlights of Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed.He was a quarterback when he came into Florida and they transferred him over to tight end, Davis said. Look at him now.Davis, who also was touted as a top quarterback prospect when he arrived at UConn in 2014 made a similar switch before this season.During UConns spring game, the redshirt freshman completed 10 of 17 passes for 83 yards, but found himself third on the quarterback depth chart behind junior Bryant Shirreffs and senior Garrett Anderson.Coach Bob Diaco said at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, Davis may be one of the top 10 athletes on the team. It just didnt make sense he said, to have someone that talented standing next to him on the sideline as a third-stringer.Diaco talked to Davis about the possibility of becoming a linebacker before deciding that tight end would be the best fit.He thought I had all the traits to do it and so far, its been working out, Davis said.Davis is third on the team in receiving, with 11 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown, a 24-yard catch from Shirreffs in UConns 31-24 loss to Syracuse.What was initially met with some trepidation ends up being, `Wow, I cant imagine that I would be doing anything other than this, Diaco said. Thats how it looks. Hes really a weapon for that position.Davis said catching the ball hasnt been an issue and hes always been a good runner. He threw for 1,092 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 1,553 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior at Mepham High School in North Bellmore, New York. But he said learning to block has not been as easy.Its a lot more than you think, he said. More technique and footwork and leverage than I ever knew. I like to think that Im getting better each and every day.Diaco also has found a way to keep Davis as a throwing option.As a holder on special teams, hes already converted two fake field-goal attempts. The first, against Navy, set up a touchdown. The second gave the Huskies a first-and-goal late in the game against Syracuse, which the Huskies failed to convert.Hes 2 of 2 for 42 yards. But Davis said while hes enjoyed making those throws, he has no plans to return to quarterback.I think Im going to stick with tight end, Davis said. Coach Diaco and myself and all the coaches really like my progress that Ive been making. Thats definitely for the future, too.UConn (2-3, 0-2 American) will need more production from Davis and the offense Saturday as it hosts Cincinnati (3-2, 0-2)The Huskies average just 350 yards a game, which ranks 104th among the 128 Bowl Subdivision teams.Theres been a bunch of plays where were just one block away from busting this thing open, Davis said. That gives us a lot of confidence knowing that were just a few inches away from really executing and really getting this thing together. Ryan Tannehill Youth Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Eddie George Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-9-Steve-Mcnair-Womens-Jersey/ .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Tennessee Titans Jerseys . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. A.J. Brown Womens Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again.(Sports Network) - The top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins will try to get off to a strong start in the Eastern Conference semifinals, as they host the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 at CONSOL Energy Center this evening. Get interactive with our Game Night Blog in the Game Tracker at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Although the Penguins cruised to the top spot in the East with a 36-12-0 record in the regular season, the Senators enter this best-of-seven series as an extremely dangerous seventh seed. Ottawa is coming off beating second- seeded Montreal in five games during the opening round and Paul MacLeans squad is eyeing another upset in Round 2. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, received a tougher than expected test from the eighth- seeded New York Islanders in the conference quarterfinals. The Penguins posted two shutouts against the Isles, but also surrendered 17 goals over the remaining four games. After outlasting the Isles in six games, the Pens find themselves in the second round for the first time since 2010, the year after Pittsburgh claimed its third Stanley Cup title. The club may have suffered a third straight first-round exit if it wasnt for a goaltender change during the conference quarters. The Pens were tied at two games apiece with the pesky Isles when head coach Dan Bylsma decided to replace Marc-Andre Fleury with veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun. After posting a shutout in Game 1, Fleury struggled mightily and allowed 14 goals over the next three games. Vokoun, who hadnt seen action in the playoffs since 2007 before this spring, recorded a shutout victory in Game 5 and then kept Pittsburgh in the game long enough to win the series in overtime of Game 6. All told, the 36-year-old stopped 66-of-69 shots in two outings for a .957 save percentage and 1.41 goals against average. Although Fleury was the No. 1 goaltender when Pittsburgh made consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 09, the 28-year-old has not fared well in recent postseasons. In his first three playoffs, a run that culminated with the 2009 Stanley Cup crown, Fleury was 31-18 with a 2.45 GAA and .915 save percentage. In four playoff years since then, he is just 14-16 with a 3.15 GAA and .881 save percentage. Not surprisingly, Bylsma is sticking with Vokoun, who is 5-8 with a 2.30 GAA in 13 career playoff games. The Czech will start Game 1, while Fleury begins the second round on the bench. "Whatever happens, its all about the team," said Fleury. "Ive been a part of this team for a long time and I want this team to do good. This organization has been great. So if Im in the net or on the bench, I want this team to win. Thats the bottom line." Scoring is never a problem for the Penguins, who led all teams with 25 goals in the opening round. However, Pittsburgh has surrendered a whopping 47 goals over 12 playoffs games in the last two seasons, an average of 3.92 goals per contest. Evgeni Malkin led all Pittsburgh players with 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in six games against the Isles, while Pascal Dupuis paced the club with five goals. Captain Sidney Crosby missed the first game of the playoffs due to a fractured jaw that caused him to sit out all of April, but he still managed to finish second on the Pens with nine points (3G, 6A) in five games against New York. All told, the Pens had seven players register two goals or more in the opening round. That is, of course, a testament to Pittsburghs tremendous scoring depth up front, but defensemen Kris Letang and Douglas Murray also managed to chip in two goals apiece. Jarome Iginla, one of a handful of marquee names acquired by Pittsburgh at this years trade deadline, recorded two goals and seven assists in the opening round. Brenden Morrow, the former Dallas captain, was another player added during thiis season, but he managed just one assist against the Isles and was a minus-3 in six games.dddddddddddd Pittsburghs power play is extremely dangerous and the Pens managed to score on one-third (7-of-21) of their chances in the opening round. They also finished the regular season with the second-best power-play numbers in the NHL, but Ottawa had the leagues top PK in 2013. Ottawa finished fourth in the Northeast Division this season -- seven points behind the Canadiens -- but there was no question who was the better team in the conference quarterfinals. The Sens outscored the Habs by a combined score of 20-9, posting a pair of 6-1 victories to help make quick work of the division champions. The Senators may have been seeded higher if not for losing over 200 man-games to injury this season, including absences by some big names. At this stage, however, all the key names are back healthy except top centerman Jason Spezza, and even he could be back sometime in the second round. Ottawas most important player, defenseman Erik Karlsson, sat out 31 games during the regular season due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered when Pittsburghs Matt Cooke stepped on his leg during a Feb. 13 meeting. The injury was originally expected to end Karlssons season, but last years Norris Trophy winner came back in late April and he tied for the team lead with six points in the opening round. Karlsson had one goal and five assists against Montreal, tying him with captain and fellow Swede Daniel Alfredsson, who had two goals and four assists. Playing behind Karlsson and the D-men is goaltender Craig Anderson. The 31- year-old was a leading Vezina candidate in the early going this season before missing over a month of the season from Feb. 23-April 2 due to an ankle injury. Anderson went 12-9-2 with a 1.69 GAA and .941 save percentage in 24 games during the regular season and his first-round numbers were stingy as well. The American netminder stopped 171-of-180 shots in five games against the Canadiens, posting a 1.80 GAA and .950 save percentage. For his career, Anderson is 9-9 with a 2.16 GAA and .938 save percentage in 18 playoff games. Ottawas scoring depth could get a big boost if Spezza is able to return in this series. He recently participated in a full practice for the first time since undergoing back surgery. Spezza hasnt played since the fifth game of the season, but he is a proven playoff performer and could be ready to go as early as Game 3. The 29-year-old center has 51 points (17G, 34A) over 53 career postseason games. Ottawa scored on 24 percent of its power-play opportunities (6-of-25) in the first round after tying for 20th in the league on the man advantage during the regular season. After finishing first in the NHL during the regular season with an 88-percent penalty kill rate, Ottawa stopped Montreal from scoring on 16-of-19 chances (84.2 percent) in the first round. This series pits the leagues best offense against the second-ranked defense, as Pittsburgh led the NHL with 3.38 goals per game in 2013 and Ottawa was second in defense with an average of 2.08 goals surrendered each tilt. The Penguins won all three meetings with Ottawa during the regular season. Fleury was 2-0 in those games and Vokoun also posted a victory for Pittsburgh. Anderson started all three tilts for Ottawa and was 0-2-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .909 save percentage. Ottawa was able to slow down the Penguins power play, however, as Pittsburgh scored once on 15 chances with the man advantage over the three meetings. This will be the fourth all-time playoff series between the clubs. Ottawa won the first encounter in the 2007 conference quarterfinals, before Pittsburgh ousted the Sens from the first round in 2008 and 2010. Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Friday in Pittsburgh. ' ' '