The Syracuse Orange’s potent offense found a spark just one snap into their bout with the UConn football team on November 23, 2024. Quarterback Kyle McCord found a wide-open Darrell Gill Jr., who turned the catch into a 53-yard reception. Syracuse grabbed a 7-0 lead on the very next play.
That connection was the only passing play where the Huskies surrendered 50+ yards over their last 11 games during their 2024 campaign. Incorporate every opposing rushing snap, and it was one of just two plays of at least 50 yards the defense allowed in that span.
Part of those lockdown efforts involved a line featuring battle-tested veterans such as Jelani Stafford, Pryce Yates, Jack Barton and Dal’Mont Gourdine. Each defensive lineman recorded 3.5+ tackles for a loss, and all but Stafford secured at least one sack. The linebacker corps, the focal point of the Huskies’ defense under head coach Jim Mora, also delivered devastating blows. Jayden McDonald and Tui Faumuina-Brown led the team with 116 combined tackles, 20.5 of which were for negative yards.
But the brunt of the defensive damage Connecticut caused, specifically in the passing game, came from its sturdy secondary.
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For starters, the Huskies allowed just one team, the Georgia State Panthers, to make at least 60% of their passes during their six-game homestand. UConn’s defensive backs contributed to coordinator Matt Brock’s unit forcing 1+ turnovers in all but one of those 11 contests.
Malik Dixon-Williams and Rante Jones stood behind both senior linebackers at the top of the total tackles leaderboard last season. Dixon-Williams’ return against the Duke Blue Devils in mid-September helped cut down the number of 40-yard plays the defense conceded. Jones, now a defensive analyst with the program, backed up his energy and resolute mindset with three quarterback hits. Former Kansas State Wildcat Jordan Wright complemented both homegrown Huskies with 46 total tackles, four pass deflections and a memorable 96-yard fumble-six.
Those three defensive backs were among the handful of noteworthy players who departed during the offseason. Graduation and the transfer portal ravaged the defensive line and the linebackers corps. But the secondary returns more of their starters than the other two units do.
Even if it was not by default, how the cornerbacks and safeties perform in 2025 is paramount to Connecticut's defensive success.
Stopping the run remains crucial, but highlighting the importance of the position best involves focusing on the aerial attack. The Huskies face five teams this year that possessed a top-65 passing offense (among FBS programs) in 2024. Out of those schools, only the Florida International Panthers return their leading passer, Keyone Jenkins, from last season. Even with these changes under center, the responsibilities for UConn's secondary remain reasonably high.
Senior D’Mon Brinson should step right into a leadership role. The Miami native posted career highs in total tackles (48), tackles for a loss (3.5) and passes deflected (four) while picking up one interception. Malachi McLean, who also had 48 total tackles while breaking up four passes, should get more snaps as a senior.
Only four Huskies stopped more plays than both defensive backs did. Cam Chadwick entered the top 10 in that category with a strong back half to his redshirt freshman campaign. Across his last seven games, the New Jersey native collected 35 total tackles, broke up four passes and hauled in two picks.
Brinson, McLean and Chadwick should each be viewed as the faces of the secondary and the primary threat in an opposing wide receiver’s way. It will be more than just those three spearheading the unit, though. Mora brought in several significant players from the transfer portal who can strengthen the defense’s most important squadron.
Devin Pringle and Kolubah Pewee Jr., both of whom have one year of eligibility remaining, highlight the incoming transfer class. Pewee Jr., who transferred in from Georgetown, broke up five passes and had 26 tackles in 11 games. Pringle, a former Grand Valley State Laker, earned 2024 D2CCA First Team All-American honors behind his 44 tackles.
Graduate student Jeremiah Lomax should also secure some consistent snaps in his last collegiate campaign. Lomax recorded 45+ tackles and exactly two interceptions for a third straight season at Limestone last year while deflecting four passes. Tyrece Mills (Penn State), Diandre Harris (Georgetown), Diondre Glover (Gardner-Webb), Kobi Albert (Mississippi State) and Kamo’i Latu (Wisconsin) all provide vital depth.
If half of those portal additions pan out, then the offseason moves Mora made for Connecticut's most critical defensive unit will have paid off. So could a successful conversion from wideout to defensive back for redshirt junior Kylish Hicks (three catches and a touchdown in 2023). A quality campaign from Chris Hudson (seven total tackles in 13 games) would further bolster the Huskies’ strength in the department.
UConn’s personnel changes in their interior defense might give opposing quarterbacks more time in the pocket, especially early in the season. The Huskies’ secondary must step up in those situations and prevent some of those throws from reaching their target.
Connecticut’s defensive backfield cannot stop every pass, but they have the potential to hold their foes below a cumulative 60% completion rate. Should that happen, then the Huskies can potentially steal one, if not two, games against a power conference foe. That alone would further help UConn’s stellar 9-4 campaign in 2024 look like the start of an era of consistent success.
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