Connecticut
Connecticut’s Travis Jones Could Give The Green Bay Packers A Dominant Defensive Line
Observe: The NFL Draft begins April 28 and the Inexperienced Bay Packers have the 22nd and 28th decide within the first spherical. Because the begin of the month, I’ve evaluated 20 gamers the Packers would possibly take.
At the moment marks participant No. 20, Connecticut defensive finish Travis Jones.
TRAVIS JONES, DE, CONNECTICUT
THE SKINNY
Began 32 video games throughout his three years with the Huskies. Connecticut did not play in 2020 on account of COVID-19 issues.
Jones misplaced greater than 30 kilos throughout his time in Storrs and diminished his physique fats from 30% to 13%. He completed his UConn profession with three-year totals of 8.0 sacks, 19.0 tackles for loss and 133 tackles.
In 2021, Jones began all 11 of video games and had 47 tackles, with 7½ for loss and a team-high 4½ sacks. He missed one sport in September with a foot damage.
Jones was one of many stars of the Senior Bowl, although, and thrust himself up draft boards and into the dialogue of potential first rounders. He adopted that with a stable mix, as properly.
MEASURABLES
Top: 6-4
Weight: 325
Bench press: —
40-yard sprint: 4.92
Vertical bounce: 28 1/2”
Broad bounce: 9’2”
Arms: 34 1/4”
Fingers: 10 1/4”
SCOUTING REPORT
Whereas some see Jones as strictly a nostril deal with, he does have large athleticism and will play defensive finish in a 3-4 scheme.
Jones is extraordinarily stout in opposition to the run and infrequently out of his hole. Jones has energy, mass and a excessive soccer IQ. These qualities imply he can tackle double-team blocks and is basically immovable by single crew blocks.
Whereas stopping the run is Jones’ greatest attribute, he can push the pocket on passing downs. He can even energy by means of the sides and put strain on quarterbacks.
His effort stage at Connecticut was inconsistent, although. And plenty of scouts marvel if the actual Jones is the one they watched at Connecticut — or the one who was sensational on the Senior Bowl?
PACKERS’ PREDICAMENT
Inexperienced Bay has an elite nostril deal with in Kenny Clark. For years, although, Clark hasn’t had high notch assist.
Dean Lowry is a stable participant coming off a 12 months during which he had a career-best 5.0 sacks. The remainder of the group contains veteran Jarran Reed, second-year man T.J. Slaton and undrafted Jack Heflin.
Inexperienced Bay’s secondary and linebacking items may rank among the many greatest in soccer this season. If the Packers added one other dominant piece up entrance, their protection might be particular.
THEY SAID IT
NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah on Wyatt’s Senior Bowl: “I used to be speaking to a crew that simply had him in (for a pre-draft go to), and we have been discussing him. The tape was good from the autumn. It wasn’t nearly as good as he was within the Senior Bowl. He placed on a present down there. It is laborious to seek out guys which might be that large and that highly effective and that athletic. He adopted that up with an impressive mix.
“He is most likely helped himself by means of the method as a lot as anyone has. Should you return once more and simply return to the tape, you’d most likely be somewhat bit upset, need somewhat bit extra, need him to dominate somewhat bit extra. However you realize it is all there. It is all in his physique.”
Jones on his spectacular Senior Bowl: “Coming from UConn we don’t play big-time colleges each week and I needed to go down there and present I may dominate anyone within the nation. I had a chip on my shoulder and I really feel like I went down there and did my job.”
Dennis Dottin-Carter, Jones’ place coach at UConn: “My private hope for him was that when he obtained to the Senior Bowl, that he would simply open up everyone else’s eyes. We already knew what he was able to doing, and I feel he did precisely that.
“He took that chance, and I believed he knocked it proper out of the park. He did an impressive job, and he did an impressive job simply being precisely who he’s. He did not have to vary. He did not wish to change. He simply did what he does each single day. He was simply Travis Jones, and now everyone is aware of who Travis Jones is.”
PREVIOUS PLAYERS SPOTLIGHTED
• Ohio State huge receiver Chris Olave
• Central Michigan offensive deal with Bernhard Raimann
• Arkansas huge receiver Treylon Burks
• Purdue exterior linebacker George Karlaftis
• Boston Faculty offensive deal with Zion Johnson
• Georgia defensive deal with Devonte Wyatt
• Minnesota exterior linebacker Boye Mafe
• Penn State huge receiver Jahan Dotson
• Northern Iowa offensive deal with Trevor Penning
• North Dakota State wideout Christian Watson
• Houston defensive finish Logan Corridor
• USC huge receiver Drake London
• Michigan security Daxton Hill
• Georgia huge receiver George Pickens
• Texas A&M offensive lineman Kenyon Inexperienced
• Iowa middle Tyler Linderbaum
• Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith
• Florida State exterior linebacker Jermaine Johnson
• USC exterior linebacker Drake Jackson
Connecticut
Tractor-trailer carrying thousands of gallons of fuel catches fire on I-91 in Wethersfield
A tractor-trailer hauling thousands of gallons of fuel caught fire on Interstate 91 North in Wethersfield on Friday morning.
State police said state troopers responded to I-91 North near exit 24 around 7:42 a.m. and found the cab of a tractor- trailer carrying 7,500 gallons of fuel on fire.
The driver was able to get out of the truck and was not injured, according to state police.
The fire departments from Wethersfield and Rocky Hill responded to the scene to extinguish the fire and troopers shut down I-91 North and South as well as oncoming traffic from Route 3 to I-91 South.
Because the truck was hauling fuel, troopers worked to move drivers who were nearby, state police said.
I-91 South reopened shortly after the fire was out.
The left two lanes of I-91 North have been reopened and the state police Fire & Explosives Investigation Unit is also responding to assist with the investigation.
State police said the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection later responded to the scene.
Connecticut
Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to $1 million
A Connecticut couple has been charged in connection with an elaborate two-month theft spree at Lululemon stores across the country that an investigator with the retailer estimates netted about $1 million worth of product.
Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on Nov. 14 in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota suburb of Woodbury. The couple, from Danbury, Connecticut, were charged with organized retail theft after a Lululemon retail crime investigator contacted local authorities in Minnesota.
But Lululemon’s investigator said evidence shows their crimes go back to September and took place in states like Utah, Colorado, New York and Connecticut, according to the criminal complaint.
Attorneys representing Richards and Lawes-Richards did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Thursday.
Richards claimed he was racially profiled, complaint says
Richards and Lawes-Richards were stopped after exiting the Lululemon store in Roseville, Minnesota, on Nov. 14 when the security alarm went off, according to the criminal complaint. Richards allegedly claimed store employees racially profiled him and the two were allowed to leave afterward.
The Lululemon investigator later alleged the two visited the store the day before on Nov. 13 with an unidentified man and stole 45 item valued at nearly $5,000. That same day, the pair had allegedly conducted four other thefts in Minneapolis, Edina and Minnetonka.
Officers arrested the couple at the Lululemon in Woodbury. The two denied any involvement in the theft, with Lawes-Richards allegedly claiming they were staying with her aunt and had only been in Minnesota for a day.
Officers found several credit and debit cards on the couple, as well as an access card to a Marriott hotel room. Using a search warrant, officers found 12 suitcases in their room, including three filled with Lululemon clothing with tags attached worth over $50,000, according to the complaint.
In all, the company investigator estimated the couple has taken up to $1 million in stolen product, according to the complaint, which does not detail how he arrived at the high figure.
Couple blocked cameras among other tactics: Investigator
The Lululemon investigator said one of the couple’s alleged tactics was for one of them to distract associates while another stuffed product in the clothes they were wearing, according to the complaint.
Another technique involved the two strategically exiting the store, with one of them holding a cheap item they had bought and the other carrying more expensive products that had sensors, according to the complaint. When the alarm would sound off, only the person with the cheap, purchased item would stay behind and show a receipt, while the other would keep walking with the stolen product, the complaint says.
The pair are accused in eight Colorado theft incidents between Oct. 29 and 30, and seven thefts in Utah on Nov. 6 and 7, according to the complaint.
The pair are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in Minnesota, court records show. Their next court appearance is set for Dec. 16.
Connecticut
Connecticut readers get the shaft from newspaper’s vulgar Jets headline blunder
Ouch!
A newspaper in Connecticut had an unfortunate typo involving Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley’s herniated disc on Monday.
This past Monday, The Chronicle, a newspaper covering Eastern Connecticut, published an AP story on the front page of its sports section in the print edition that referred to Mosley’s “herniated d–k.”
Mosley has missed the Jets’ four games with the injury — the one in his neck, that is.
In the copy, Mosley’s injury was not shafted, getting described correctly in the nut graph.
The unfortunate phallacy did not go unnoticed: in an extra twist, the error went viral when it was posted on the X account of David Coverdale, the 73-year-old singer of Whitesnake.
An editor for The Chronicle told The Post that the newspaper would be issuing a correction in the paper.
Last week, prior to the Jets’ loss to the Colts, Mosley spoke about how he hoped to return after the Jets’ bye, when they host the Seahawks on Dec. 1.
“That’s definitely the goal,” he said. “I’m in a position where I’ve played a lot of football. Me missing this time won’t hurt me as much as another guy that might need this opportunity. It’s about safety at the end of the day. When I go home, I’m Clint Mosley. I’m C.J. I’m not the football player.”
Mosley said the birth of his daughter, who arrived the week after his injury, put things in perspective for him.
“I had a full week of having a normal neck and ever since then every time I’m looking down, my neck’s hurting,” Mosley said. “It puts things in perspective. There’s a lot of life after football. When I’m done playing, I want to make sure I’m 100 percent.”
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