All head coach Jim Mora wanted was a timeout.
Right as the play clock hit zero with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter, Mora tried to call his first of three second-half timeouts. Despite signaling for a timeout, the referee on the sideline never granted that request. The UConn football team suffered a delay of game penalty.
A sideline warning soon followed. The 63-year-old head coach pleaded his case over the timeout that nobody acknowledged to multiple referees in an almost two-minute tirade. It ended with the University of Washington alum feeling stunned over what had just transpired.
Now that penalty, Mora’s second in as many bowl games with the Huskies, did not affect the final outcome. Connecticut scored three first-half touchdowns in a 27-14 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
The former Atlanta Falcons head coach once talked about the texts he had with his father, Jim E. Mora, following each Huskies’ game. Mora did not only channel his father’s fury at Fenway Park that Saturday afternoon, however.
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Watching the Los Angeles native wish for something he never got was eerily similar to seeing Dan Hurley argue a foul call. The fury-laced theatrics from the two-time national champion in those situations garnered national attention in Hawaii.
But the comparisons go much deeper than how either coach reacts.
UConn’s bowl victory over the Tar Heels secured only their third nine-win season in the program’s history. The 9-4 mark was the Huskies’ best record since their last winning campaign in 2010. No team in the program’s FBS era scored as many cumulative points at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field as the 2024 squad did.
Exclude a disastrous trip to Maui, and the UConn men’s basketball team had themselves a fantastic 366 days in 2024. Hurley’s Huskies won their sixth national title, captured both Big East championships and sent four players to the National Basketball Association. Connecticut had six times as many double-digit victories (24) as losses (four) in the calendar year.
Each program followed nearly the same road to reach its current position. Both teams possessed a plethora of veteran talent—such as Ian Swenson, Jalen Adams, Jackson Mitchell and Christian Vital—from the team’s previous administration. Rather than highlight those loyal individuals, however, I want to focus on what each coach infused in their respective programs.
Both coaches are phenomenal recruiters at the high school level. Mora’s best recruits may only be three-star athletes, but they provide an impact within a few years. The former UCLA head coach’s most significant hits on the recruiting trail have come at two positions: running back and offensive line.
Over the past three seasons, one of either Victor Rosa or Cam Edwards has led the Huskies in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Both Connecticut natives have multiple seasons with 500+ yards and 10+ total scores in that span.
As for the trench play that Gordon Sammis guides, Brady Wayburn, Carsten Casady and Ben Murawski started at right guard during the 2024 campaign. They contributed to a line that allowed just 14 sacks (14th-fewest in the FBS) and finished 20th in total rushing yards.
Elsewhere, D’Mon Brinson (Class of 2022) and Cam Chadwick (2023) have become key members of the secondary. Zion Turner started 12 of UConn’s 13 games during the 2022 season. Justin Joly was the Huskies’ leading receiver and one of the nation’s top tight ends in 2023 before transferring to North Carolina State.
Hurley’s latest three recruiting classes, including next fall’s, have all earned top 10 marks in Rivals’ national recruiting rankings. His 2023 and 2025 squads both hold top five rankings, with the former finishing third and the latter currently in fourth. The three-person 2024 group, meanwhile, ranked ninth.
Stretch it further to 2019, and the 2024 Big East Coach of the Year has produced seven consecutive 247 Sports top 50 classes. Out of the nearly 20 players in those first six classes, six have gone on to the NBA and six have received All-Big East honors.
With Jayden Ross filling in for Liam McNeeley recently, 14 players across that span have started at least one game for the Huskies. Rahsool Diggins and Corey Floyd Jr. have each earned starts themselves, though both did so at other schools in New England.
Even without the championships, Hurley and his coaching staff excel at attracting top talent. Capturing back-to-back titles, though, has caused five-star prospects to consider UConn as much as they might have during the Jim Calhoun era.
Loosened regulations have made the transfer portal much more chaotic than it initially was. How each coach attacked the portal over the past three years has significantly aided their program’s rebuild.
Mora reaped the rewards of his portal acquisitions in 2024. Charlotte transfer Durrell Robinson, now an Auburn Tiger, finished as the Huskies’ second-leading rusher with 731 yards and eight touchdowns. Former Wisconsin Badger Skyler Bell became Connecticut’s best wideout in decades, leading the team with 860 receiving yards and five scores.
Redshirt junior Mel Brown and graduate student TJ Sheffield each became critical pieces in two different areas. Brown was the Huskies’ third-leading rusher with 673 yards and two touchdowns. Sheffield caught 54 passes that he turned into 505 receiving yards and three scores.
Each veteran also made their mark on special teams. The former Gardner-Webb Bulldog turned his 17 kickoff returns into 495 yards and a kick-six against the UMass-Amherst Minutemen. The grad transfer from Purdue, meanwhile, gained 241 yards off the 34 punts that he caught.
Former Troy Trojan Jayden McDonald took over as UConn’s play-stopping machine. McDonald led the Huskies in all three tackling categories, and his 125 total tackles were ninth in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Just one player, Tui Faumuina-Brown, had more sacks than the graduate linebacker did. Former Kansas State Wildcat Jordan Wright also stood out with a memorable fumble-six and four pass breakups.
During the 2022 offseason, Hurley brought in four veteran guards to replace his key losses. Consensus First Team All-American Tristen Newton (East Carolina) turned into the Huskies’ best point guard since Shabazz Napier while setting a school record with four triple-doubles.
Reigning Big East Sixth Man of the Year Hassan Diarra (Texas A&M)went from X-factor to superstar at the same position. Nahiem Alleyne (Virginia Tech) and Joey Calcaterra (San Diego) both became reliable bench pieces with a three-point stroke. All four transfers helped UConn capture their fifth national championship in Houston, Texas, in 2023.
Only three transfers entered the program over the next two offseasons. Former Rutgers Scarlet Knight Cam Spencer blossomed into a fan favorite last year with his relentless aggression and boundless energy. Tarris Reed Jr., once a Michigan Wolverine, continues the Huskies’ line of talented centers. Saint Mary’s transfer Aidan Mahaney, meanwhile, can shoot proficiently from the floor when opponents might not expect it.
Going back further, Hurley nailed the acquisitions of guards RJ Cole (Howard) and Tyrese Martin (Rhode Island). More likely than not, a player coming in from another school will pan out under the New Jersey native’s tutelage.
Culture played an equally important role in how each program made statements in their respective postseason.
There is a championship standard associated with UConn basketball, both on the men’s and women’s sides. From the moment he came over from the Ocean State nearly seven years ago, Hurley has incorporated his vision of competing for national titles. It involves acquiring tough-minded individuals who are resilient and can hold themselves responsible for their actions. Modeled after Basketball Hall of Famer Jay Wright’s system, the 2024 Naismith Coach of the Year has created a team-minded powerhouse with phenomenal depth.
Mora’s culture, meanwhile, requires just one word: brotherhood. That mindset has produced several wonderful moments for the Huskies’ football program over the past three seasons. From upsetting the then-No. 19 Liberty Flames to their recent bouts with Atlantic Coast Conference programs, UConn has overcome several obstacles. Their greatest challenge, however, is surviving the tampering the 2004 NFC Coach of the Year has accused other schools of executing. Withstanding that onslaught could do wonders for a program back on the rise.
The University of Connecticut has become an “everything school” since returning to the Big East Conference in 2020. Part of that has to do with athletic director David Benedict’s home-run hires since arriving in Storrs in 2016.
Laura Valentino led the UConn softball team to a Big East regular season championship in 2022 and 2023. Her 141 victories in five seasons are the second-most in program history behind Karen Mullins. Paul Caddy and Margaret Rodriguez, both promoted to head coach during Benedict’s nine-year tenure, captured a Big East Tournament title last fall.
Basketball and football are the university’s two biggest revenue generators, though. The two coaches Benedict hired in those sports have taken similar paths in bringing their programs back to prominence.
In the new age of college athletics, other universities should look at these coaches as the standard-bearers of how to successfully rebuild.
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