‘Just felt different:’ UConn football recruits explain what sold them on new coach Jim Mora (Bonjour @Hearst)

[huskymedic]

-> It wasn’t anything Donovan Branch necessarily heard that sold him again on UConn. Rather, it’s what he felt.

Branch, a three-star edge rusher from Winter Garden, Florida, recommitted after meeting new Huskies coach Jim Mora during his second trip to Storrs Dec. 3-5.

“Even though the place didn’t change, the facility is the same, it just felt different,” Branch said. “You can feel his energy.” <-

-> Thus, like Branch, Voorhis re-upped his pledge. The Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, native, who had decommitted from UConn in wake of Randy Edsall’s departure, said it was a dinner with his father and Mora the same weekend that helped him settle on a decision.

Mora not only pitched him his vision of the program and how he hopes to mirror what he built at UCLA, but also connected with him on a personal level. Voorhis still didn’t know much about Mora to that point, save for a Google search and a brief phone conversation a few weeks prior. So sitting down with him and some of his assistants face-to-face was essential in putting Voorhis’ mind at ease. <-

-> Rosa, a three-star prospect and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut, first met Mora at a UConn men’s basketball game, just days after he was hired. Rosa took an official visit to campus earlier this month and came away impressed. Members of the Husky staff — tight ends coach John Marinelli and running backs coach E.J. Barthel — also paid Rosa an in-home visit last week, ensuring him he was making the right decision by staying put.

The 5-foot-11, 193-pound Rosa had several other FBS offers, including Air Force, Army, Boston College, UMass, and Navy. He planned to wait until the February signing date to make anything official, but instead will finalize his commitment Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period. He’ll join the program as a running back but may also be used as a slot receiver.

“After meeting the coaching staff and hearing the plans they have for me, and the direction this program’s going in, they’re definitely building a monster,” Rosa said. “I loved it, so I locked in.”<-

 

[CL82]

 

[Nostical]

“After...hearing the plans they have..., and the direction this program’s going in, they’re definitely building a monster,” Rosa said.

Building a monster! Haven't heard a testimonial like that in years. Something is brewing with recruiting. We may all be clamoring for tickets next fall.

 

[RioDog]

The Irony for me is this; Is anything that Mora is doing all that complicated? Show an exciting vision of the program backed by some energy and passion, treat players and recruits with respect and have the requisite professional chops. Of the three stooges previous, I think only Diaco was incapable because he was bat-scheisse nuts. PP and FHCRE could have shown 25% what Mora is and had success here, along with longer tenures.

Hopefully the suffering their inability caused will pay off via Mora's arrival for us long-suffering UConn fans. This thread gives me hope.

 

[Exit 4]

Part of the story it seems is that Mora is far more willing to engage the primary print media and that other world of pods and online media. Always being engaging.

 

[Palatine]

The Irony for me is this; Is anything that Mora is doing all that complicated? Show an exciting vision of the program backed by some energy and passion, treat players and recruits with respect and have the requisite professional chops. Of the three stooges previous, I think only Diaco was incapable because he was bat-scheisse nuts. PP and FHCRE could have shown 25% what Mora is and had success here, along with longer tenures.

Hopefully the suffering their inability caused will pay off via Mora's arrival for us long-suffering UConn fans. This thread gives me hope.

His resume is much, much, much better than Edall's. He isn't just making promises, he has a demonstrated history of results.

 

[noeynox]

We will have to wait and see if he lands that one recruit that never would of come here under previous coaches. That may not happen this year given the late start, but so far we are just getting a lot of sizzl, which is welcomed given how moribund state this program has been in.

 

[RioDog]

Part of the story it seems is that Mora is far more willing to engage the primary print media and that other world of pods and online media. Always being engaging.

Sure enough. Would this really have been difficult for PP and FHCRE? I'm well on my way to being a crusty old f\/ck, and frankly enjoying it. But my profession | training aerospace workers and some marketing | requires a modicum of what Mora is bringing. Even if its a struggle for me sometimes I feel that best practice and professional obligation requires it. And I make a fraction of what those jacka$$es got paid.

 

[giddyup]

Could you imagine having dinner with Edsall? I wouldn’t even want that. I’d want to stick a fork in my eye to stop the boredom. Energy, enthusiasm and vision matter.

 

[RioDog]

His resume is much, much, much better than Edall's. He isn't just making promises, he has a demonstrated history of results.

No argument there, and in no way am I apologizing for PP or RE. But both of them had some previous successes they could point to, and anyone with the will can work on being engaging. It ain't rocket science. Heck Dan Rather took smiling lessons.

 

[SubbaBub]

Here's a hot take. Mora has reached rungs on the coaching ladder that none of our previous coaches can barely understand let alone achieve. If he has the passion to bring that level of effort to this job, then DB really hit a home run. I just hope the disadvantages of being a northeast program don't weigh him down. The bar couldn't be lower, though.

 

[HuskyFan16]

We will have to wait and see if he lands that one recruit that never would of come here under previous coaches. That may not happen this year given the late start, but so far we are just getting a lot of sizzl, which is welcomed given how moribund state this program has been in.

I think we’re already seeing some steak amidst the sizzl. Spearman may have been the type of recruit that came here once upon a time… but certainly not in a few years.

 

[ZooCougar]

I couldn’t be happier at this point. Already have season ticket deposits in all the way from KC.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Here's a hot take. Mora has reached rungs on the coaching ladder that none of our previous coaches can barely understand let alone achieve. If he has the passion to bring that level of effort to this job, then DB really hit a home run. I just hope the disadvantages of being a northeast program don't weigh him down. The bar couldn't be lower, though.

Right. Mora is first HC UConn had who is part of the club. Whatever that is or how you define it.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I truly believe we are going to see Mora turn this program around soon rather than later. There is just seems to be a different feel to the program we've never seen at UConn for football. I think the piece are there for a relatively successful season next year. I'm feeling a bowl game next year.

 

[Nostical]

Anyone with the will can work on being engaging. It ain't rocket science.

It’s not rocket science but it’s not that easy. The genuine nature of Mora’s interactions were not born of him learning how to be engaging. PP and Edsall could have trained for years and not achieved a comparable result.

 

[Viet Vet]

We will have to wait and see if he lands that one recruit that never would of come here under previous coaches. That may not happen this year given the late start, but so far we are just getting a lot of sizzl, which is welcomed given how moribund state this program has been in.

There may be an Orlovsky or Donald Brown out there. Not necessarily in CT, but perhaps among the portal candidates. Building from the Frosh up will be a difficult long-term challenge, given the fans' (me too) impatience for near-term results. Mora will scour the portal for the disappointed, but talented, bench warmer who could not progress at his P5 school, but would welcome an opportunity to burnish his CV at a program known for developing pro candidates well above its weight.

I'm all in, with enthusiasm.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

I truly believe we are going to see Mora turn this program around soon rather than later. There is just seems to be a different feel to the program we've never seen at UConn for football. I think the piece are there for a relatively successful season next year. I'm feeling a bowl game next year.

I am hoping for a bowl game next year, but in 2023, I want a major bowl game, against Oklahoma for the national championship.

 

[DoctorWho85]

I am hoping for a bowl game next year, but in 2023, I want a major bowl game, against Oklahoma for the national championship.

Doubt we'll see OK in the playoffs for a very long time. Especially once they enter the SEC seeing as they'll be in the west with LSU, Alabama and Auburn.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Doubt we'll see OK in the playoffs for a very long time. Especially once they enter the SEC seeing as they'll be in the west with LSU, Alabama and Auburn.

Not that I know what the SEC is thinking or that OK would then have a cake walk but wouldn't it make geographic sense to move Missouri to the west and Auburn & Alabama to the east once Texas and Oklahoma join.

 

[coachcap]

Not that I know what the SEC is thinking or that OK would then have a cake walk but wouldn't it make geographic sense to move Missouri to the west and Auburn & Alabama to the east once Texas and Oklahoma join.

Since when is there common sense in college football?