Note: This article reflects all incoming transfers who, according to Rivals, committed to the UConn football team on or before January 16, 2025.
Head coach Jim Mora posted on X last November 15 that the UConn football team would be “open for Portal/NIL business” starting December 9. That Monday, fittingly, was the first day when the transfer portal opened for the 2024-25 postseason/offseason.
In the 38 days since then, the Huskies have operated their transfer portal department at a sensationally high level.
As of 12 p.m. Thursday, Rivals ranks Connecticut’s 18-person transfer portal class as the 37th-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Only one team that made the College Football Playoffs, the Indiana Hoosiers, has a higher ranking at 27.
Now the Huskies have the fewest commits among schools in Rivals’ top 40 without a five-star or four-star addition. How UConn earned their current ranking, though, requires a deep dive into their acquisitions.
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Losing Jayden McDonald and Tui Faumuina-Brown, the Huskies’ two leading tacklers, significantly hurts their linebacker corps. Despite the losses, Mora’s coaching staff ensured that the position would remain one of Connecticut’s strengths.
Temple transfer Tyquan King headlines the incoming class as Rivals’ 202nd-ranked portal player. King collected a season-high 15 total tackles and forced a fumble when he last set foot inside Rentschler Field. It was one of six instances where the West Haven native recorded at least 10 total tackles in his 11 games last year.
Only two other players in the American Athletic Conference had as many as King’s 111 total tackles (t-27th in the FBS). If that productivity carries over to East Hartford, Connecticut, the 6-foot-2 linebacker could be one of the nation’s elite tacklers in 2025.
Kansas State transfer Terry Kirksey Jr. and Washington transfer Bryun Parham could turn into next season’s version of Marquez Bembry and Ian Swenson. Kirksey Jr., a former Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragon, recorded 80 tackles during his NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American campaign in 2022. Parham’s production plunged in Seattle, but he could be a sleeper threat if he replicates his 106-tackle 2023 campaign.
The Huskies’ secondary, similarly, loses some key players in Malik Dixon-Williams and Rante Jones. While D’Mon Brinson and Cam Chadwick should be integral pieces on next season’s team, Mora vastly improved the position’s depth.
Sammy Anderson Jr. and Kobi Albert come from different academic backgrounds but are both three-star studs in the top 750. Albert recorded a tackle for a loss at each of his first two stops, Kentucky and Mississippi State. The Alabama native’s experience against nine different SEC offenses, though, could yield massive results in East Hartford.
Anderson Jr. spent his first four seasons with the Cincinnati Bearcats before transferring to Austin Peay University. No one could stop the Dayton native in September; he snagged an interception in all four games that month with three tackles for a loss.
Kolubah Pewee Jr. (Georgetown), Devin Pringle (Grand Valley State) and Kamo’i Latu (Wisconsin) provide further reinforcement. Pringle and Pewee Jr. are both prolific at swatting passes and stopping plays; they combined for 10 pass breakups and 70 total tackles in 2024. Latu, meanwhile, forced his first career fumble in three games with the Badgers.
As for the defensive line, Vincent Jackson (Nebraska), Ben Smiley III (Virginia) and Trent Jones II (Iowa State) will all likely start next season. Jackson should have a breakout campaign after being a part of the Cornhuskers’ rotation in the trenches last year. Smiley III has 50 career tackles in six collegiate seasons while Jones II, a former walk-on, collected three sacks in 2023.
UConn’s offense should be as potent as it was last season. Chris Parker, who led Central Michigan with 29 catches, 360 receiving yards and three touchdowns, could become the Huskies’ next TJ Sheffield. Skyler Bell’s withdrawal from the portal likely relegates the 6-foot-3 wideout to a secondary role. Like Sheffield, however, Parker’s veteran experience could help him thrive.
Former Auburn Tiger Caleb Burton III and former Arizona Wildcat Reymello Murphy could become consistent slot weapons. Burton III and Murphy caught two passes apiece last season and combined for 87 yards. With more targets at their third FBS school, both two-time transfers could have the same impact as a flex player.
Louis Hansen and Alexander Honig will likely both return for their senior seasons. Adding Javonte Vereen from NC State, though, significantly strengthens the tight end position. Vereen was behind former UConn tight end Justin Joly on the Wolfpack’s depth chart but did not catch a pass in 2024. Nicknamed Juice, the North Carolina native could develop into a top-tier tight end in East Hartford.
Connecticut’s ground game should remain extremely potent in 2025. Victor Rosa’s redshirt junior revenge tour alone should make up for the production lost from Durell Robinson’s departure to Auburn. Even then, adding redshirt junior MJ Flowers fortified the Huskies’ strongest position.
Flowers comes over from Eastern Illinois, where he earned First Team All-Big South/Ohio Valley Conference honors after an 865-yard sophomore campaign. As a first-year student, the Cincinnati native finished second in Jerry Rice FCS Freshman of the Year Award voting. If Flowers turns into another Mel Brown, UConn’s rushing attack could become much more relentless.
Brown transfer Hayden Bozich is the key addition to the Huskies’ stout offensive line. Despite allowing 20 sacks in 10 contests, the Bears’ front five significantly helped the offense average an Ivy League-leading 421.5 total yards per game. The 6-foot-7 junior earned Honorable Mention All-Ivy honors as their anchor. Bozich, the heir apparent to Valentin Senn at left tackle, should blossom into an All-American lineman under offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis’ leadership.
Now players will have another chance to enter the transfer portal before the summer. More individuals can enter the portal during the 10-day spring window starting on Wednesday, April 16. It is highly likely that Mora could add more top-level players to the program around that time.
Transfer portal pickups played a pivotal role in Connecticut’s 9-4 finish last year, their best since the 2010 campaign. The Huskies faced all four of the bowl-eligible teams on their 2025 schedule in 2024. If at least 60% of the transfer portal class pans out, it is possible that UConn posts a second straight nine-win season next fall.
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