6′ 6″ WR Aaron McLean is Latest to Commit for 2015
UCONN received their 7th commitment for the 2015 class Friday from WR Aaron McLean who is entering his senior year at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA.
McLean is a big target, standing at 6’ 6” and weighing in at 215 lbs. One future Husky was excited to have him on board.
“I talked with [quarterback] Tyler Davis, who committed before I did,” McLean said Friday evening over the phone. “He’s a very nice person and we talked about how excited we are to get to UCONN and start working.”
For the standout receiver, who caught 10 touchdowns a year ago and was named to the All-New England Class C team as a junior, UCONN was an easy decision for him.
“UCONN has been my top school for a while,” he said. “I always liked UCONN growing up watching their basketball team and how successful they were. I can’t wait to get down there and meet a lot of new people. I feel like I will fit in really well there.”
McLean’s size alone means he’s going to get a lot of targets and his success has meant defenses have been keying in on him.
“I get a lot of jump balls in the red zone,” he said. “My size definitely helps a lot. I saw a lot of double and triple teams from defenses last season. My coach has really helped me with that by moving me around a lot, lining up in different places. I’m always moving, never really stopping before the play too much.”
Offensive line coach Mike Foley was his main recruiter during this process.
“Coach Foley was great,” McLean noted. “It just seemed like the entire coaching staff, from being there for camps, they teach their kids, rather than scream at them. At all times, it’s instructive criticism and I really like that a lot. They also let me know that I really can play this game.”
McLean, who also plays basketball at St. Mark’s at a very high level and received a scholarship offer from St. Peter’s, decided to focus his recruiting efforts on football and for good reason.
“I had a lot more options in football than I did in basketball,” he said. “A lot better schools in general. At St. Mark’s our academics are very rigorous and in the recruiting process, that was something that I wanted to focus on, find a school that is strong athletically, as well as academically. I also grew fonder of the game of football over the years as I played more and more.”
He’s not kidding, Harvard, Cornell, Penn and Dartmouth were all after McLean, as was Boston College, UMASS, Villanova and Bryant.
Location also played a large role.
“Going to UCONN, my family is very happy,” he exclaimed. “It’s close enough for them to be able to come see me play every week.”
McLean received the offer on Tuesday, immediately after he left camp, which caused him to take a U-turn and head straight back to campus; he also camped at Texas, Texas A&M and Syracuse. He accepted the offer from Coach Diaco in person.
“He [Diaco] is a really nice guy, someone that knows a lot about the game,” McLean said. “In the years to come, he is definitely someone I can definitely learn from. He was at Notre Dame when wide receiver Michael Floyd was there, a big guy like me, who is now playing in the NFL. It’s something I’m very excited about.”
Before it was over, McLean had a message for the fans.
“What they’ll see is a lot of effort and a lot of energy,” he promised. “I’m going to always do my best and continue to do so when I’m there. I’m no slouch, that’s for sure.”
The same can be said of every commit Coach Diaco has brought in for 2015, as all are not just great football players, but great people as well, something that the fans and leaders of this program can be proud of.
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