QB Cole Welliver enters Transfer Portal

[Buffett10]

Who, specifically, said he didn't want to compete? That's pretty damning for any athlete.

The same person that told me in December after the bowl win he probably wouldn’t be here in the fall.

 

[Jimdish255]

Unfortunate but not unexpected. No doubt Mora will talk him up and he will land somewhere he can thrive.

Was hoping that place would be right here. Disappointed like everyone else

 

[Jimdish255]

It took the best QB play in a decade to " beat out " an uninspiring and unaccomplished Evers, and even then Mora tried everything to force him on the field

Given that, do you think Welliver standed any chance of removing him from QB 2? He was given the scout team from the git go this spring and never got the chance to work with the twos.

Getting buried behind Evers after what we saw last year would make this the least surprising move he could have made. In any case I wish him well. Too talented to sit around wondering what could have been.

 

[Jimdish255]

I know this might shock you, but I can see a path to going undefeated with OR without him...

I already predicted it. Be at the FAU game to watch it happen.

 

[Jimdish255]

I'm well aware of Dan's prognostications. I was attempting to be humorous.

In my law firm, everyone laughs at my jokes. I'm now going to have to reconsider whether that's because I'm really funny or they're just sucking up to a senior partner.

Now that was a good joke!

(because all good jokes need an element of truth to them)

 

[gioff2323]

And in greater fairness, Jim came out and said Evers is starting because he was getting paid.

Go back to your drawing board

False narrative

 

[UConnDan97]

I already predicted it. Be at the FAU game to watch it happen.

I've already booked the tickets! Do you really think I would miss our first undefeated season since COVID???

 

[gsmooth]

Can be a disaster if Joe F. gets hurt , especially if it's early in the season.

Let's not write that into existence.

 

[freescooter]

I don’t worry too much about guys who leave for FCS schools.

 

[giddyup]

Ok grandpa.

Get the hell off my lawn… you damn kids

 

[AllHusky]

Interesting little mystery.
Has Welliver accepted offer from URI who has a former UConn coach on staff(as QB coach)? If so, is URI being used as a proving ground for Welliver? Have McDonald and Farrar made Welliver irrelevant? None of this is known. Went on Storrs Central, didn't see article referenced by Huskyfor Life.

 

[freescooter]

I don’t get all the angst about losing a guy who clearly isn’t in the top 2, maybe top 3 quarterbacks. And who has played exactly 0 games. Qb isn’t like offensive tackle where you can get a guy with potential a series or 2 in games. You are either the guy or you aren’t the guy. He clearly wasn’t the guy. And with the portal, if we need it we can probably pick up a guy who has equal or superior credentials to Welliver. In fact, that’s what we did last year. Now that spring practice is over there are probably 10 Cole Wellivers in the portal—guys who came out of high school with good rankings who can’t or didn’t break through at their original schools. For the most part backup G5 qbs don’t end up at places like Ohio State. They go to places like URI. Or best case Akron, with a chance to compete for a job. There are too many other guys who were G5 starters, or top FCS guys or even experienced P4 guys to compete with. It’s possible he ends up at a mid-tier P4 I suppose but it will most likely be in a similar role as he had at UConn, just with a different color Jersey.

 

[KembaKek]

This board was upset that they let Tyler Phommachanh walk. He’s struggling to play at DII Post.

 

[huskymedic]

Interesting little mystery.
Has Welliver accepted offer from URI who has a former UConn coach on staff(as QB coach)? If so, is URI being used as a proving ground for Welliver? Have McDonald and Farrar made Welliver irrelevant? None of this is known. Went on Storrs Central, didn't see article referenced by Huskyfor Life.

There is no indication he has accepted the offer from URI. It was his first posted offer shortly after announcing he entered the Transfer Portal. He tweeted out his practice film shortly after - appears he is shopping around.

 

[uconnfan68]

The same person that told me in December after the bowl win he probably wouldn’t be here in the fall.

Didn't want to compete, and not being good enough are 2 VERY different things. If they don't want to compete, they shouldn't even bother playing.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Interesting little mystery.
Has Welliver accepted offer from URI who has a former UConn coach on staff(as QB coach)? If so, is URI being used as a proving ground for Welliver? Have McDonald and Farrar made Welliver irrelevant? None of this is known. Went on Storrs Central, didn't see article referenced by Huskyfor Life.

I was a bit surprised by his tweet on the URI offer, although I don't doubt that a school of their profile would be interested in him.

From what little I have seen of both, Welliver appeared to be far ahead McDonald. This does not mean that I have a firm grasp of either of their potential nor how close either would be to seeing the field on a team at our current level (not that I am clear on where our current level exactly sits).

I wish him the best but if we can solve the QB situation long term without him I won't lose a lot of sleep over his leaving.

 

[ZooCougar]

I was a bit surprised by his tweet on the URI offer, although I don't doubt that a school of their profile would be interested in him.

From what little I have seen of both, Welliver appeared to be far ahead McDonald. This does not mean that I have a firm grasp of either of their potential nor how close either would be to seeing the field on a team at our current level (not that I am clear on where our current level exactly sits).

I wish him the best but if we can solve the QB situation long term without him I won't lose a lot of sleep over his leaving.

I saw very little. But McDonald looked better in his two appearances last season. Welliver looked a little lost like a baby deer against Merrimack.

I do find it interesting that people here have convinced themselves that he has decided to transfer to URI over one tweet.

 

[Windham4th]

This board was upset that they let Tyler Phommachanh walk. He’s struggling to play at DII Post.

To be fair to Tyler, their website is terrible and it's hard to trust data accuracy on it...

No offense if any of you are the person in charge of Post's website... just maybe polish up the ol' resume

 

[Waquoit]

I do find it interesting that people here have convinced themselves that he has decided to transfer to URI over one tweet.

Yeah, what's up with that?

 

[ZooCougar]

Yeah, what's up with that?

Typical Boneyardin’

 

[ec33]

I saw very little. But McDonald looked better in his two appearances last season. Welliver looked a little lost like a baby deer against Merrimack.

I do find it interesting that people here have convinced themselves that he has decided to transfer to URI over one tweet.

He could have acknowledge the offer just to be polite to a coach he knows after that coach contacted him regarding his next move.

 

[Husky25]

I don’t get all the angst about losing a guy who clearly isn’t in the top 2, maybe top 3 quarterbacks. And who has played exactly 0 games. Qb isn’t like offensive tackle where you can get a guy with potential a series or 2 in games. You are either the guy or you aren’t the guy. He clearly wasn’t the guy. And with the portal, if we need it we can probably pick up a guy who has equal or superior credentials to Welliver. In fact, that’s what we did last year. Now that spring practice is over there are probably 10 Cole Wellivers in the portal—guys who came out of high school with good rankings who can’t or didn’t break through at their original schools. For the most part backup G5 qbs don’t end up at places like Ohio State. They go to places like URI. Or best case Akron, with a chance to compete for a job. There are too many other guys who were G5 starters, or top FCS guys or even experienced P4 guys to compete with. It’s possible he ends up at a mid-tier P4 I suppose but it will most likely be in a similar role as he had at UConn, just with a different color Jersey.

Whether the rumors of wanting to compete are true or not, I get Lagow vibes here. The only difference in the early going is that Welliver stuck it out for a season.

Remember when Lagow was supposed to be the 2nd coming and save "Coach" Pasqualoni? He was a 3* Texas QB who won a state championship...in glorified flag football. If memory serves, his 11-on-11 team went 6-4 and missed the State Tournament. He cooled on UConn around the time Tim Boyle flipped. Then we were hanging on every tweet and arguing with Lagow Senior (allegedly, and I'll reiterate my regret in posting a handful of replies), who claimed his son was too sick (Again, IIRC) to dial a fax number.

What happened to him? He never enrolled at UConn, went radio-silent as far as his 100% commitment to the Huskies, redshirted at OSU as a 100% committed Cowboy (all the while Calling everyone there his brother, IIRC), hopped to Cisco Community College (in order to not waste a year of eligibility as it was set up in those days...9 years ago), before abandoning his JC brothers and landing at the Big Ten football powerhouse of Indiana. He evidently hooked up with the Chiefs as an UDFA, but didn't play a regulation down in the NFL.

I don't know anything about Welliver, only to say that I hope he is satisfied with his decision(s).

 

[ZooCougar]

This guy has 0% to do with Lagow and no similarities.

How do you think Fagnano and Evers got here. The portal. They also are nothing like Lagow.

The reality is that there is a market for QBs and it doesn’t make sense for him to stay and ride the pine.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I saw very little. But McDonald looked better in his two appearances last season. Welliver looked a little lost like a baby deer against Merrimack.

I do find it interesting that people here have convinced themselves that he has decided to transfer to URI over one tweet.

I'm not sure that you and I saw the same Merrimack game (I was there, in 241).

McDonald did appear to have the deer in the headlights body language while Welliver appeared to be our most poised QB in years. The only concern in had with Welliver was that he needed to add a good amount of weight.

 

[Husky25]

This guy has 0% to do with Lagow and no similarities.

How do you think Fagnano and Evers got here. The portal. They also are nothing like Lagow.

The reality is that there is a market for QBs and it doesn’t make sense for him to stay and ride the pine.

Just the vibe I'm getting at the moment from some of the posts in this thread. Pining for a player, as @freescooter stated, "who clearly isn’t in the top 2, maybe top 3 quarterbacks. And who has played exactly 0 games."

 

[PAGS]

Interesting little mystery.
Has Welliver accepted offer from URI who has a former UConn coach on staff(as QB coach)? If so, is URI being used as a proving ground for Welliver? Have McDonald and Farrar made Welliver irrelevant? None of this is known. Went on Storrs Central, didn't see article referenced by Huskyfor Life.

You’ll see some discussion about the QB situation in the transfer portal message board thread…you’ll find your answer there

 

[Jacks5556]

Someone screenshot this.. Welliver will go no later than the 4th round in 2029-2030

 

[Palatine]

The only thing that burns about this was how how they kept starting Evers even though it was clear that Fagnano was #1. It makes me question someone’s judgement or reasoning.

It will be funny if Cole ends up where I think he might. Not the good kind of funny.

My guess is that Mora thought that Evers had a much higher ceiling and was force feeding his development. After UAB it was impossible to ignore the effect that Fagnano had on the offense.


Nothing wrong with that approach. But it proved to be incorrect (at least in the short term).

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Someone screenshot this.. Welliver will go no later than the 4th round in 2029-2030

Nice to see you on the board Mrs. Welliver!

 

[freescooter]

Yeah, what's up with that?

I think some think he is heading there because why would you tweet it if you are really not that into it more or less. I used it as a placeholder for the likely level he will end up at this time around. Is it possible that he’ll be starting for Ohio State in 2026? I suppose it’s possible. But it’s more likely that if he leaves an FCS program it will be for another G5.