UConn received 22 signed letters of intent this offseason and it was made official yesterday on college football’s “holiday” of National Signing Day. The Huskies will bring in a diverse class of athletes under Bob Diaco’s first go around of recruiting for the team.
Let’s take a look at how UConn did at each position and hand out grades accordingly.
QB: B+
Tyler Davis – 6’3 – 214 – North Bellmore, NY
Davis is already enrolled at UConn and has had extra time to build chemistry with the team. Ranked by ESPN as the fifth-best prospect out of New York, Davis will come into a three-way battle for the starting job. Tim Boyle has the early edge over Davis and transfer Bryant Shirreffs, but Davis is already making an effort with his early enrollment to be a part of the team and could make a big impact immediately, if not the near future.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldSqsdh2LOs]WR: A
Frank Battle – 6’5 – 190 – Miami, FL
Tyraiq Beals – 6’0 – 180 – East Orange, NJ
Hergy Mayala – 6’1 – 200 – Montreal, Que. / Trinity Pawling (NY)
Aaron Mclean – 6’6 – 210 – Southborough, Mass
What is a quarterback without his weapons? With the departure of the two top receivers in Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx, it was crucial to bring in both speed and size as offensive playmakers. The first thing you should notice is the size of both Battle and Mclean at 6’5+. Seriously, check out Battle’s tape and watch him catch the ball with two, three and even four defenders on him. He’s a one-on-one nightmare too with how he high points the ball.
The speedier receivers in Beals and Mayala both spread the field and have deceptive strength to win jump balls. I’m actually a little more excited about this duo than the aforementioned Battle and Mclean. After watching tape on Mayala, I was just as impressed on his talent at cornerback as I was at his pass catching. It speaks up to his athleticism if anything. I would nominate Battle to supply immediate help to complement Noel Thomas and and Thomas Lucas, and Beals would be my next choice with his explosive speed. Either way, it was a good haul of receivers for the Huskies.
Tyraiq Beals of East Orange, about to sign with @UConnFootball @Beals_14 #NSD #huskypups pic.twitter.com/UqoC4AVRr9
— Mike Gurnis (@MikeGurnis) February 4, 2015
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Ian Campbell – 6’5 – 225 – Pompton Plains, NJ
Zordan Holman – 6’6 – 235 – Portland, ME
Chris Lee – 6’7 – 225 – Severna Park, MD
The trio of tight ends all share something in common — standout size. However, in the degree they will be used is a different story. Holman and Lee are more of blocking tight ends than receiving, and they could add depth to an offensive line that needs it. Both are two-star recruits that can catch the ball, but have a lot of work to do to move up the depth chart that is topped by Seth McQuillan and Alec Bloom.
The tight end position was sparingly used in Diaco’s first year, but Campbell is another big target that is a tough matchup for most linebackers. This group of tight ends will see limited playing time unless it’s on the offensive line and we’ll have to wait to see how they develop to fully assess them.
OL: B-
Bryan Cespedes – 6’7 – 260 – New London, CT
Matthew Peart – 6’8 – 265 – Bronx, NY
UConn addressed their weakness at offensive line by signing two offensive tackles, one whom is the lone in-state recruit of the 2015 class* (Five preferred walk-ons are in-state products as well). With added weight, the New London native could be a future starter in coming years. Cespedes stands out in his tape, but he is still raw talent that needs some direction.
There would have been a third offensive tackle in the mix, but Michigan flipped the two-star Nolan Ulizo just last week. Thanks Harbaugh. With four returning starters on the front five, the offensive line wasn’t exactly a need going into the offseason, but help would is much appreciated as a new crop of pass blockers will be needed going into the future.
Bryan Cespedes commits to Huskies. He came to NL with the goal of going to UConn. Goal accomplished! Whaler Pride! pic.twitter.com/6nAOL8pHcy — New London Football (@WhalerFootball) February 4, 2015
DL: B+
Felton Blackwell (DT) – 6’2 – 323 – Egg Harbor, NJ
Connor Freeborn (DE/OLB) – 6’6 – 225 – Wilmington, Del
Kevin Murphy (DT) – 6’2 – 270 – West Chester, PA
Philippe Okounam (DE) – 6’5 – 265 – Chateauguay, Quebec / St. Pauls School (NH)
David Ryslik (DE) – 6’3 – 292 – Freehold, NJ
The Huskies added a few three star athletes in their defensive line haul. One of the first recruits of the class was Kevin Murphy, who had offers from Army, Navy, Western Michigan and Cincinnati before choosing UConn. After playing every defensive line position in high school, he’s being recruited as a nose guard to fit into the offensive scheme at UConn.
Fellow three star defensive lineman David Ryslik played a majority of his snaps as a defensive tackle in a system similar to Diaco’s, but he’ll transition to defensive end. His combo of size and strength is exciting and promising. It will be interesting to see where he ends up on the line in the future.
The depth keeps on going with Connor Freeborn who was ranked by ESPN as the second-best prospect in the state of Delaware. To commit to UConn, Freeborn had to decommit from playing lacrosse at Navy. His size and speed says defensive end, but he actually played a bit of linebacker in high school and that is what he is being recruited as. I think it will be exciting to see him come from the edge as a pass rusher, and with the loss of recruit Kirk Livingstone who flipped to USF, he’s a step closer to being on the field and providing much needed pressure to opposing offenses.
He takes a mean selfie too.
Pre signing selfie #huskytie pic.twitter.com/wfYfsfxMuJ — Connor Freeborn (@cfreeborn11) February 4, 2015
LB: C+
Dallas Parker – 6’5 – 235 – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
William Richardson – 6’3 – 220 – Washington, D.C.
Nazir Williams – 6’3 – 225 – Bridgeton, NJ
With a 3-4 defense installed at UConn, hybrid defensive ends and outside linebackers were the main target in this year’s recruit class of linebackers. These three players all fit the common thread of big athletes as a part of Diaco’s recruiting plan.
It’s hard to fully understand how these guys will fit into the system at UConn without any tape of them at the position, but with great size and the ability to recruit outside of the northeast, the linebackers and the school will get a plus in my book for that. It will be a transition for the group to step into a playmaker role for the type of defense UConn wants to run, but with time and coaching we should see some sort of building blocks for the future.
DB: B
Aaron Garland (CB) – 5’11 – 190 – Oak Park, Ill.
John Robinson (CB) – 6’2 – 185 – Englewood, NJ
Marshe Terry (S) – 6’4 – 190 – Columbus, NJ
If you didn’t know by now, Diaco loves to recruit out of his own home state of New Jersey. Both North Jersey recruits Robinson and Terry have interesting stories of why UConn was the right fit for them, but either way, they fit the recruiting bill again with outstanding size. Robinson was sold on the school of agriculture and Terry almost didn’t want to give up playing on the offensive side of the ball, but was convinced otherwise.
Garland is a three star cornerback who was drawing interest from midwest schools but made if official with UConn yesterday. Out of all the DB’s, Garland’s tape was my favorite (perhaps because he’s a big hitter), but he also has some work to put in to his fundamentals.
Let’s gooo #huskynation pic.twitter.com/guNHWtbaLr
— Aaron Garland (@AaronGarland26) January 25, 2015
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K: A+
Michael Tarbutt – 6’0 – 180 – Buffalo, NY
Let’s just say out of any recruit listed, Tar-Boot has the highest chance of seeing action next year right out of the gate. He hit a school-record 60-yard field goal in the state championship game and was the offensive MVP of the game. When offensive drives get jammed up between the 30 and 40-yard line, it will be Tarbutt’s time to prove himself. It’s not often I, or anyone else for that matter, gets this excited over a kicker. Let’s embrace it.
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