Dan Orlovsky had the talent. He had the bazooka arm of Drew Bledsoe and the obsessive study habits of Peyton Manning. He had the work ethic to improve his mobility and he had offers from major college football schools.

So how did he turn down Virginia, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue for Connecticut? A school that joined Division I-A football only five years ago. A school that shouldn’t have been in a Bowl Championship Series conference until next year.

Because Connecticut wanted him the most. He wanted to stay close to home. And now, as a senior quarterback – one of the best in the country – the Huskies program is his to run.

Orlovsky and the Huskies will face Syracuse on Saturday at the Carrier Dome at 1:30 p.m.

Now, it would appear everything worked out for the best. Orlovsky has won 18 of his last 23 starts at quarterback, and he is poised to be a first-round draft pick in next April’s NFL draft.

That’s not to say Orlovsky’s path was always so clear.

Orlovsky’s father, Dan Orlovsky Sr., remembers when his son made the decision to play at Connecticut. It was the summer before his senior year at Shelton High School in southwest Connecticut, a blue-collar, New York City commuter town. Orlovsky Sr. picked his son up from the airport after the younger Orlovsky returned from a football camp at the University of Virginia.

After talking for some time, Orlovsky informed his father he had narrowed his list of possible schools to three – UConn, Michigan and Purdue. As they reached home, Orlovsky had decided on UConn.

‘I thought he was joking,’ Orlovsky Sr. said. ‘Next thing I know, he was on the phone with Randy Edsall. He told him he was going to UConn. I was screaming in the background, ‘No, you’re not.’

‘I got on the phone with him, and Edsall said, ‘If we get a couple more players, we’ll be in a bowl game.”

At that point in 2000, UConn was about to begin its first season as a Division I-A Independent team. UConn was set to join the Big East in 2005.

‘I thought he would’ve been much better at a big football school,’ Orlovsky Sr. said. ‘If he was at Purdue right now, he would be Kyle Orton.’

Edsall planned to redshirt Orlovsky in 2001, allowing him to play his senior season in 2005, UConn’s first in the Big East. But starting quarterback Ryan Tracy left Connecticut days before UConn’s opening game at Virginia Tech, moving Orlovsky into the backup role. Then, redshirt freshman Keron Henry, now a wide receiver with the Huskies, was injured in UConn’s fourth game of the year against Rutgers.

Orlovsky, a true freshman, was thrust into the starting spot, and it appeared he would play four seasons for an Independent, non-BCS school.

Still, Orlovsky didn’t complain. He took the reins of his new team and has been proving to everyone that UConn is more than a basketball school.

Orlovsky’s high school coach, Joe Benanto, isn’t surprised. Orlovsky has always put others first.

‘He realizes he’s part of a team,’ Benanto said. ‘If he was the type of person who talked about himself, he realizes that would sometimes be a divisive mode on the team.

‘He’s the type of kid that if the volleyball team was playing, he’d get the football guys to go see them. He was always trying to instill Shelton pride.’

Orlovsky started every game after his freshman year at Shelton, winning 29 of 32 at the helm. As a senior, he threw for 2,400 yards and 24 touchdowns as Shelton went 12-0, winning the state championship.

Benanto said Orlovsky’s work ethic made him the player he is today. As a teenager, he worked out every day with a personal trainer, improving his mobility. At 6-foot-5, 236 pounds, it was the only real obstacle between Orlovsky and big-time college football.

‘He’s not quite Drew Bledsoe and not quite Michael Vick,’ Orlovsky Sr. said. ‘He was always tall for his age. He looked like a baby giraffe sometimes.

‘He was like a German shepherd or a St. Bernard. At first, its feet are too big, then it grows into its feet and it’s pretty graceful.’

Orlovsky Sr. said his son runs a 4.7-second 40-yard dash now. Orlovsky’s arm is the key to his success, but he is mobile enough to get by in the NFL.

After the Rutgers game in 2001, Orlovsky split time with Henry until he won the job outright in the fifth game of his sophomore season against Ball State. After Orlovsky took over as starter, the Huskies went 4-3. Last year, Orlovsky led UConn to a 9-3 record.

This season, the Huskies received a welcome surprise when the Big East invited them to join a year early. The Huskies are currently 5-2, 2-2 in the Big East.

‘I think Randy Edsall probably realizes he hit a home run when he got Dan,’ Orlovsky Sr. said. ‘I’d like to think they realize they have a diamond in the rough.’

Benanto said Orlovsky’s ability to stay humble off the field makes him unique, considering the millions of dollars he will likely see next season in the NFL.

‘There’s none better,’ Benanto said. ‘I’ve been involved in high school athletics for 44 years. He might be the best kid I’ve ever had. He’s loyal, unselfish. They just don’t make kids like him anymore.

Published on October 26, 2004 at 12:00 pm