In 2003 , UConn ranked 116th-best in punt returns , out of only 117 teams in Division I-A . Taylor played in the first game of the 2004 season , against Murray State , where he returned five punts for 74 total yards , averaging 14.8 yards per punt return . The longest return went 58 yards . Taylor would continue to return punts and a limited number of kickoffs through the game against Temple , where he returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown but sprained his ankle , forcing him to miss the next two games . In UConn 's final regular season game against Rutgers , Taylor returned a kickoff 43 yards ; this return set up the touchdown that gave the Huskies the lead for good in the game . On the regular season , Taylor averaged 12.3 yards per punt return , third-best in the Big East Conference , and 28.7 yards per kickoff return , which would have led the Big East except that Taylor was two returns short of qualifying for the statistical lead . UConn improved from next-to-last in Division I-A in punt returns to 27th overall thanks to Taylor 's performance . In the 2004 Motor City Bowl , the first bowl game in Connecticut history , Taylor returned a first-quarter punt 63 yards for a touchdown and averaged 44.5 yards on two kickoff returns
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Larry Taylor (gridiron football)