HCJM & Co. giving offers to multiple prep school athletes can have benefits for both sides. For UConn it offers easier inroads to local prep athletes who might otherwise sign with out of state schools. Randy was famous for shunning local preps.
We strongly disagree on two of the offers you said you like (won’t say names). Their hudl highlights looked like FCS players to me. I also really like Spearman as a safety.
Prep schools are on fire in CT for football.
This is why I am glad offers are going out to prep school kids like crazy. I know Coach Marinelli is saying there are no “political offers” but seeing some of the highlights of a few players I don’t believe that and I think that is absolutely fine for this class. Build those relationships with all of the CT Prep Schools who send lots of kids to FBS.
Agree. I think people are underestimating the talent at the prep schools in Connecticut and not all of the kids are from Connecticut: Taft, Loomis Chaffee, Choate, Avon Old Farms, Suffield, Cheshire, St. Thomas More, Kingswood-Oxford,...
Agreed. Some of these are political offers - it has to be - but of course you can't acknowledge that anywhere. There is room on this roster for the "right kind" of developmental kid. Not sure how many slots....just a few.
Many have an extra year of development since the preps, at least those mentioned above, are academically advanced by about a year. A common route is to repeat the junior year. Some do accept PG's, but others do not.
Without question, especially since they are likely bringing in 32 kids this year and next.
Nothing wrong with taking the first step. Hoping JMs leadership helps bridge a divide that has been in place for far too long.
Absolutely. I am interested to see his strategy and how it plays out. If he misses out on a lot of portal players then it’s time to get worried.
Right now, there are >55 players from Connecticut (HS or Prep which inflates the numbers) that are playing FBS football not including UConn. UConn has 19 including walkons, so that's >75 kids playing FBS football from Connecticut. So, I think the number of Connecticut kids going FBS is 15 to 20+ each year (don't rely on the recruiting services with CT players as they miss many of the preps) so I think getting to 7 to 8 to go to UConn each year is an achievable goal. Look at the Connecticut QBs playing out there: Will Levis at Kentucky, Drew Pyne at Notre Dame, Tyler Van Dyke at Miami, Taisun Phommachanh at Clemson, Tyler Phommachanh at UConn, David Summers in the portal at Syracuse.
What an indictment of the Coach, things like that tick me off to be honest. A coaches role should be to guide a student athlete through the process, not shut off a school because you don’t like the coach.
I like Cam Edwards. I'm not saying he is or will be Kory Sheets but his running style reminds me of him. Idk if he will even play RB here but he's a good athlete
From his highlights I don’t see him playing running back at the fbs level. I do see him possibly developing as an in the box safety.
What's funny is that since 2004, UConn has had 28 players drafted by the NFL, so I'll call them our best players. Of the 28, 14 are from New England, 2 others had CT ties but went to HS in other states, and 7 were from NY, NJ, and PA. Also, of the 28 kids drafted, only Yawin Smallwood was considered one of the top 30 historical recruits to go to UConn by 247 Sports. Granted the rating system has changed over time with more grade inflation for recent recruits, but recruiting rankings for Northeastern kids has not been a good historical indicator of talent that has gone to UConn.
I think most of the quotes I've seen envision him as a defensive back.
You can argue the point all you want (and I’m not advocating his view), but this has been THEE common view amongst local HS coaches. You can look back and be mad; I like looking forward. And I like JM leading by example.
I think it’s a poor reflection on the coaches, that’s all.
Isn't it great? A coach playing the game to win instead of coming up with excuses.
