Storrs — Oneil Robinson was bombarded with text messages on Saturday.

Family and friends reached out to the UConn freshman defensive back following a victory over Rhode Island during which he grabbed his first career interception that also was the first one by the defense this season.

"I got about 300 or 400 text messages after the game," Robinson said on Tuesday. "I'm still replying now."

Robinson, a Class S all-state player out of Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, is yet another member of the freshmen class to make his debut this season. An injury in the secondary gave Robinson an opportunity for his first start and to see extended playing time in Saturday's 56-49 win.

He made some eye-opening plays, including his diving interception in the first half that fired up the defense. He also had two tackles and broke up a pass.

"I just looked back at the quarterback and saw him throw it and just dove for it," Robinson said. "After I caught it, (defensive back) coach (Curome) Cox told me the whole defense ran on the field. They were all hyped."

With starter Omar Fortt returning from a concussion and expected to be ready for Saturday's game at undefeated Syracuse (3-0), Robinson will serve as the backup safety.

Not everyone was impressed with Robinson's performance on Saturday.

Head coach Randy Edsall isn't ready to anoint Robinson the next great UConn defensive back.

"I saw a guy that's a freshman, a guy that's nowhere near when he needs to be," Edsall said. "He made a good play on an interception. He plays physical. But he's still got so much to learn. He's got to learn to give even more. He's got to learn how to take care of his body. He's got to learn to eat right and do things the right way.

"But I do like his aggressiveness. I do like his want-to. But he's a freshmen that doesn't know how to do everything yet. Once he starts learning and listening to the coaches to do it the way we want done all the time, he'll elevate his progress more. When I say that, I'm not trying to be critical. But I need him to grow up sooner."

Edsall added that Robinson needs to play attention to detail and do all the little things right. He also pointed out that the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder has to add weight and muscle to compete at Division I level and to avoid injury.

"Some of the things that he could get away with at Capital Prep, you can't get away with here," Edsall said.

Robinson found out in a hurry that college football is a whole different world than high school. He's made his share of freshman mistakes.

His UConn football education is still in its early days.

"It's not easy, that's what I learned," Robinson said. "Coming into college, I thought it would be a breeze because I was a star in high school. But it's even harder here. The biggest challenge is just trying to adjust to everything. ... What I need to do better is just really learn what football really is. I just can't go out there and wing it like I would in high school."

Robinson didn't expect play this season. He figured that he'd end up being a red-shirt.

A lack of quality depth has forced Edsall to play many more freshmen than he'd like to this season. Six starters on defense are either freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the depth chart this week. Five newcomers are listed as backups on defense.

This season's experience will pay off for the young Huskies in the long run.

"We've got the experience now, so next year should be even a better year," Robinson said.

This season will be full of first-time experiences for the freshman class. Saturday's game will be the first time that they'll play in a dome.

To prepare the Huskies (1-2) for the Carrier Dome, Edsall pumped in a recording of crowd noise during Tuesday's practice inside the Shenkman Training Center.

"It's definitely nerve-racking because you can never practice how the game is going to be," Robinson said. "I'm just trying to be prepared."

News and notes

• Defensive starters Tahj Herring-Wilson and Marshe Terry, who both left the Rhode Island game in the first half with ankle injuries, didn't practice Tuesday. "We've got some guys that are banged up," Edsall said. "I'm not going to get into injuries today because we'll know by the end of the week who's playing and not playing." ... Redshirt sophomore defensive back Tyler Coyle ranks second in the  American Athletic Conference in total tackles (33) and tackles per game (11.0). He's tied for 17th in the nation in the former category. ... Linebacker Kevon Jones tops all freshmen in Division I with 25 total tackles. ...  Edsall will have some decisions to make about red-shirt candidates following the Syracuse game. Freshman defensive back Terrence Ganyi, who's from Montreal, already made the redshirt list. "I've got to try to do what's best for our program but also best for the young men," Edsall said.

g.keefe@theday.com