A pair of reserves, quarterback Dennis Brown and tight end/long snapper Derek Rich, have decided to leave the UConn football program, coach Randy Edsall confirmed Thursday.

Brown, a 6-foot-3, 196-pound redshirt sophomore from Miami, Fla. — and Tyler Lorenzen's backup during the 2007 season, will transfer to Norfolk State, while Rich, a 6-4, 255-pound redshirt freshman from Gainesville, Ga., will return closer to home and attend the University of Georgia, although Edsall said Rich told him doesn't plan to play football.

“Both of these young men informed me over the last two days of their intentions to move on,” Edsall said. “I respect their decisions and wish them nothing but luck.”

Brown, according to Edsall, will be eligible to play next season at Norfolk State, a Football Championship Subdivision program (formerly I-AA) and member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. He will enroll in time for the upcoming semester and have two years of eligibility remaining.

Norfolk State went 8-3 last season, the Spartans' most wins since 1984, but will graduate starting quarterback Casey Hansen. One of Norfolk State's losses in 2007 came against Rutgers (59-0).

Brown played in four games in 2007 for the Huskies, completing 5 of 9 passes for 48 yards and one touchdown. He was redshirted in 2006 after starting two games as a true freshman in 2005 when starters Matt Bonislawski and D.J. Hernandez were both sidelined with injuries.

In those two games — losses to Rutgers and West Virginia — Brown completed 28 of 54 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns (he was intercepted twice).

Edsall chose Lorenzen as his starting quarterback following a spirited battle with Brown during the spring and preseason. Lorenzen went on to lead the Huskies to a 9-4 record, a share of the Big East championship and the school's second bowl bid, where UConn lost to Wake Forest, 24-10, in last Saturday's Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

Quarterbacks Lorenzen and freshman Cody Endres will return along with highly touted Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazer, a former high school All-American who sat out this season but will be eligible to play in the fall.

Rich saw action primarily as a long-snapper and on special teams for the Huskies in 2007.

c.banning@theday.com or 701-4441

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