Coach Candle Introductory Press Conference 12/8/25 @1230. Streamed live on UConn+ | Page 3 | The Boneyard
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Coach Candle Introductory Press Conference 12/8/25 @1230. Streamed live on UConn+

Jetskies said:
watching the press conference rn... i like candle so far.
for those of you who know his track record better... do you guys see him as a guy purely using UConn as a quick, 2-year stepping stone to his P4 gig? or does he seem to be someone who may desire to have (and sustain) success here with us?

I know he did many years at toledo, which I like.
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I can't say I know better than anyone else, but from what I have read and heard about him he is extremely loyal including keeping his staff together. Hard to draw conclusions on his stay in Toledo or Mount Union as he was coaching in his home state which no doubt influenced his decision; however, he did turn down high end P4 OC jobs while at Toledo. In reality, assuming he is successful, UConn really only needs to hold their breath for 4 years for the 2030 realignment everyone has been banking on. At that point UConn will either find itself in a major conference and should be able to hold onto him for a longer term vision or have been snubbed once again and there likely would be pretty significant changes to the AD as a whole. Hoping this is the start of a long and illustrious career.
 
Liked the quiet confidence of being able to sign kids in multiple eras of recruiting (and calling out the "traditionalists" who think its "the kids" that have changed). That said, he made special emphasis about how he's been successful of retaining kids and filling in with new high school grads. I sometimes wonder if NFL experience (like Mora had) with managing a salary cap, is a skill/experience set that is uniquely suited to thrive in the portal era, rather than the traditional high school recruiting philosophy. Hoping Candle succeeds in both.
 
What a refreshing and believably honest guy.
I said in another post that I was shocked (with Diaco's insincerity) when I watched "red pants" remarks at his press conference and now have to say how impressive Candle is.
He had no hints of BS in his remarks and exudes knowledge of how to do what must be done to continue the rise in fortunes of UConn football AND do it the right way.
Hallelujah!
Great Christmas present for all Huskies fans!
 
Jetskies said:
watching the press conference rn... i like candle so far.
for those of you who know his track record better... do you guys see him as a guy purely using UConn as a quick, 2-year stepping stone to his P4 gig? or does he seem to be someone who may desire to have (and sustain) success here with us?

I know he did many years at toledo, which I like.
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I don't believe he's a two to three year then move on guy. If he was he wouldn't have spent ten years at Toledo.

Will he remain here forever? Only if the program can be built to something far greater than what it currently is. If it can't, I still believe six to eight years minimum before he decides to move on, unless for example Michigan wants him. Then it would need to be the right school.
 
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My take is that he had no unforced errors. He said all the things you would expect him to and made no mistakes. He seemed a little more nervous than I would have expected. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I read that as this job being important to him.
 
I appreciate the professionalism and the program building that Mora accomplished. This is a continuation of that. Candle exuded quiet, calm strength. I think that demeaner will really keep the program at this level, and hopefully a long tenure into a power conference. A+ again DB.

Benedict is seriously one of the best in the biz. He outperformed getting Mora, and nailed this. In addition to the HOF hire of Danny.
 
Scrutineer said:
What a refreshing and believably honest guy.
I said in another post that I was shocked (with Diaco's insincerity) when I watched "red pants" remarks at his press conference and now have to say how impressive Candle is.
He had no hints of BS in his remarks and exudes knowledge of how to do what must be done to continue the rise in fortunes of UConn football AND do it the right way.
Hallelujah!
Great Christmas present for all Huskies fans!
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His style is definitely much more in the Penders/Cavanaugh realm then it is in the Hurley/Auriemma realm. Probably a good thing. 😀
 
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storrsroars said:
I think he answered competently and maturely, but they were softballs.

Nobody asked about Sammis or other coaches.

Nobody asked if he plans on bringing Toledo players/recruits with.

And shockingly, nobody asked if he'd had pizza yet.
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The media was embarrasing with those questions. But overall first impression of coach is positive.
 
HuskyFan16 said:
Liked the quiet confidence of being able to sign kids in multiple eras of recruiting (and calling out the "traditionalists" who think its "the kids" that have changed). That said, he made special emphasis about how he's been successful of retaining kids and filling in with new high school grads. I sometimes wonder if NFL experience (like Mora had) with managing a salary cap, is a skill/experience set that is uniquely suited to thrive in the portal era, rather than the traditional high school recruiting philosophy. Hoping Candle succeeds in both.
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I wouldn't worry about him not being prepared for the portal. If DB didn't make him aware the bulk of our recruiting comes from hte portal he should be fired. Our portal budget probably dwarfs Toledo's.

It's not like he is averse to the portal either. His 2025 class had 17 portal players (11 from P5 teams). Includes Trayvon Rudolf who had 38 receptions this year, Kenji Christian a 500 yard RB, Chip Trayanum a 1000 yard RB, Jacob Peterson a tight end who had 22 receptions. Not sure about the defensive side of the ball.
 
The host was Adam Giardino, a broadcaster. You can click the link to watch the video again

You guys are brutal. The guy just got here today. He probably doesn't know the exact answer to a lot of questions yet, such as recruiting vs portal and coaches. This was in introduction, not a deep dive into what will happen in 2 months

 
I didn't hear any mention about retaining any members of the current staff, but I did miss a portion of it. Any word on that or the contract details?
 
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CL82 said:
My take is that he had no unforced errors. He said all the things you would expect him to and made no mistakes. He seemed a little more nervous than I would have expected. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I read that as this job being important to him.
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Agreed on the no-errors part. I was able to attend in person and my impression is that that specific form of public speaking is not his strong suit. Probably fine in after-game interviews and pressers when he can focus specifically on football. I do agree he seemed a little nervous, fiddling with his note sheet at the podium before he started speaking. He came across as genuine and likeable. Overall impression was positive. He said he can't wait to get to work- I can't wait to see his recruiting class! Good luck to HCJC- let's kick some @-$-$!
 
storrsroars said:
I think he answered competently and maturely, but they were softballs.

Nobody asked about Sammis or other coaches.

Nobody asked if he plans on bringing Toledo players/recruits with.

And shockingly, nobody asked if he'd had pizza yet.
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This is an entirely new regime... even though we wish we could have some sort of guarantee that coaches we liked under JM stick around... Those questions will be addressed at the right time though I'm sure
 
storrsroars said:
I think he answered competently and maturely, but they were softballs.

Nobody asked about Sammis or other coaches.

Nobody asked if he plans on bringing Toledo players/recruits with.

And shockingly, nobody asked if he'd had pizza yet.
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Nobody is going to ask about current assistants and he wouldn’t answer anyway. Nor will he answer about brining players from Toledo. My guess is he won’t go out of his way to bring any for 2 reasons. 1 he made a point of keeping players at Toledo. Now going to take guys seems counter to his style. 2, we swim in a deeper pool than the MAC. Not a knock and we could likely use some of his guys but I think over all we are looking for a different level of player.
 
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