by By Neill Ostrout STAFF WRITER , Connecticut Post Online

Osiecki is a quarterback, the same position dad Sandy played for Ansonia High, Arizona State University and the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. Sandy set quite a precedent for his offspring, and Ryan's not the only one facing it.

Younger brother Mike Osiecki, a linebacker, is entering UConn in the fall and will join the Husky football team. Even youngest brother Jack Osiecki, who will be playing Pop Warner football in the fall, has some big shoes to fill.

If things had gone differently, Mike could have been joining Ryan on the UConn roster.

"We always talked about that. That would have been a perfect situation," Ryan Osiecki said of chats with his brother. "But you have to move on. I've gotten past it and I'm OK with it."

Ryan was once thought to be the most talented player ever in the Osiecki family -- and still could be. But his path to actually playing college football has been a circuitous one.

Ryan is on his third stop since leaving Seymour High in 2007 -- the first a prep school season at Milford Academy and the second a redshirt season at Louisville -- and is just starting his college football career at the University of New Haven. After a January transfer down to Division II, he's doing it very close to home, and coaches and fans are eager to see him in action again after an extended absence

Osiecki is one of the young players charged with helping the UNH restart in style. The school will field a football team for the first time since 2003, a group that will likely lean heavily on the 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman quarterback.

"It feels like I haven't played in a whole year," Osiecki said this week. "Being at Louisville, I was just on the sidelines. It's been killing me to get on the field and actually play."

After seeing him progress through spring practice and offseason workouts, New Haven coach Peter Rossomando can't wait either.

"He's got incredible arm strength, about as good an arm as I've seen in my 15 years of coaching," said Rossomando, a former Boston University lineman who was an assistant under Tony Sparano at UNH from 1994-98. "He's a bright kid and he knows football ."

As for the pressure of being Sandy Osiecki's son, Rossomando sees a young man who can handle it.

"I'm sure there's a little pressure there but (Ryan) has big talent and he's got broad shoulders," Rossomando said. "He can withstand a lot of pressure."

Ryan Osiecki certainly doesn't see the situation as a negative.

"It's definitely a bonus," Osiecki said. "To have him on the side, to actually give me some motivation to get to where he was, it definitely helps me out. I don't look at it as something negative."

Sandy Osiecki is as involved as any college football parent. But he's no more intrusive than the average dad is, either. He attended most of the Chargers' practices this spring, but never went so far as to interrupt Rossomando's workouts.

"I try to do it through Ryan or Michael," Sandy Osiecki said. "I try not to harp on things, but there are things I see at practices -- I've seen all of Ryan's spring practices -- and I would tell him certain things. I leave it at that."

Ryan Osiecki didn't need too many tips for on-field issues. His classroom efforts from high school, however, needed coaching.

Poor academics kept Osiecki away from UConn as coach Randy Edsall pulled his scholarship offer during Osiecki's senior year.

"I'm not going to lie, I should have put more time into schoolwork in high school," Osiecki said. "I learned a lot from actually not doing that. Now I know what I need to put in as far as school."

But after enrolling at Milford in New Berlin, N.Y., in 2007, Osiecki still had suitors. Rossomando even tried to recruit Osiecki at the time, but Osiecki said his plan was still to play Division I football .

"I said, 'That's fine. If it doesn't work out, give me a call,'" Rossomando said.

Still hoping to play for a BCS team, Osiecki decided to walk on at Louisville. He had a great time after arriving on campus in August and thoroughly enjoyed training camp at college football's highest level.

"But when the season came along with school and everything, it kind of got tough," Osiecki said. "We had eight quarterbacks and I was the eighth guy. And I was a walk-on. It was tough because I had been used to playing all my life."

He dressed for home games, but it was clear Osiecki wasn't in the Cardinals' long-term plans.

"Halfway through the season, I figured I should make a move to get out of there," Osiecki said. "I tried to find the perfect spot -- not too far from home and one that would give me a shot to play right away."

When Osiecki got the itch to leave Louisville, he contacted Rossomando.

"In October, he sent me an e-mail saying, 'I'm not happy. I really want to talk to you about coming to New Haven,''' Rossomando said. "I said, 'Get a release from Louisville and we'll talk.'''

Rossomando received a release the following day and soon a visit was scheduled for Thanksgiving break. A verbal commitment from Osiecki to his new coach came soon after.

A player who took calls from Big Ten and ACC coaches while in high school may have to swallow his pride slightly to make a move to Division II football .

"A little bit. I've been dreaming of playing D-I football my whole life," Osiecki said. "To go down to D-II, it kind of hurt a little bit. But I want to play right away, it's a great school and we're playing a lot of good teams. What else could I ask for besides that?"

He could, theoretically, ask for the starting quarterback job. Osiecki hasn't, of course, and Rossomando hasn't guaranteed it. Both, however, are pretty sure it's going to turn out that way.

"He's put a good stranglehold on the job," Rossomando said. "But I wouldn't declare him the starter on September 5th. I want to see how the summer goes and how he does in fall camp. But he's had a great spring. I can't fault the kid for going out and working his tail off and earning the respect of his teammates."

New Haven opens its season Sept. 5 at Lincoln (Pa.) University . The Chargers' home opener is Sept. 19 against Bentley.

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