-> One of the most highly touted players on a Panther football squad that featured a slew of high-level talent, Suchanic was somewhat left out when it came to NCAA Division I programs seeking his services. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound defensive back was a three-star recruit, according to Rivals.com, but his college offers came from mostly non-Power Four schools.
It wasn’t until the middle of basketball season that Suchanic,
who earned a spot on the Pennsylvania Football Writers' PIAA Class 6A all-state team, started to field the offers that he was hoping would come. In total, Suchanic received 22 offers from schools such as Iowa State, Kent State, Towson, Navy, Buffalo and Akron. When an offer came from UConn in early May, Suchanic quickly took an official visit and fell in love with the school and program coached by Jim Mora Jr <-
-> In the end, it came down to a decision between Storrs in Connecticut and Ames in Iowa, home of Iowa State.
“The OV (official visit) really confirmed that UConn was the place for me, and everything was easy, you know? I took that OV, but I still took the official visit to Iowa State just to be sure, because those were my top two schools. Coming back from Iowa and then comparing UConn as a place, I knew it was the place for me. It felt like home.”
The experienced and diverse staff at UConn played a major impact on the decision for Suchanic. Led by Mora, who recently helped rebuild the UCLA program and has coached 31 years at the collegiate and NFL levels, Suchanic left Storrs impressed with where the program is and, more importantly, where it is going. “You could tell that their culture is very strong and very supportive of each other,” Suchanic said.<-
-> While Suchanic, who played a big part in Central York’s run to the state championship in boys’ basketball, was singing the praises of Mora, his high school basketball coach couldn’t stop raving about what he thinks Suchanic will do when he gets to UConn next year.
“I love it,” Panther basketball coach Jeff Hoke said. “He's the kid who could play anywhere in the country, in my opinion, for college football. I coached Bryce Hall in high school basketball, and Bryce is playing for the Jets now after he went to the University of Virginia. He’s still playing in the NFL, and to compare the two would seem astronomical, but I've seen them both. They play both sports, and, you know, I think Saxton has got a real shot. That's how good I think he is. But it's just ... on top of that, he's a hard worker, greatest kid, unbelievable leader, selfless, always smiling.” <-
