UConn Football Q&A Mailbag: January 26th Edition
The UConn Report takes your questions and provides the answers in our mailbag feature.
What's on your mind with the UConn teams or recruiting? We tackle it and provide you with the answers.
How is Nick Charlton still employed? (@V_La_Silv)
The UConn Report: The first question asks why Nick Charlton is still employed. Nick Charlton has a contract with the University of Connecticut through January 15th 2026. He is entitled to all personnel benefits as currently provided by the University to similarly-situated bargaining members of the American Association of University Professors not in a tenure track. In the event the University terminates this agreement for any other reason than just cause, he receives his salary less any compensation from a new job. That’s all to say it would be expensive to fire him, and more importantly, Jim Mora seems to like him. Prior to the 2022 season, he said Charlton was an “offensive genius.”
Why do we not have a defensive coordinator? (@wyattwendry2023)
The UConn Report: Jim Mora and AD David Benedict have not hired one yet. To better answer, Mora is down to three candidates for the position, so keep an eye in the coming weeks.
Who’s the most impactful transfer on UConn’s roster? Most impactful incoming freshman? (@CalhounColonel)
The UConn Report: Lastly, the good Colonel asks a real question.
Let’s start with the most impactful transfer. I’m looking to Julien Simon, LB from Tulsa. A former four star recruit, Simon committed to USC out of HS, then transferred to Tulsa with his brother, Jayden, who has also committed to UConn. Simon had 58 tackles last season for the Golden Hurricane, and looks to be Jackson Mitchell’s replacement. It wouldn’t be fair to expect one to step in and have three straight 100+ tackle seasons, but Simon can provide leadership and a steady presence, and others need to step up. It’d be better for UConn to have three LBs with good production than just one with great production.
With the transfer portal, there are fewer HS recruits the past couple of seasons, but there are still some impact players coming in. Long-term, I like QB Cole Welliver and DE Cooper Ackerman to be high impact players, but in the short-term, I like Dominic Toy. A TE from Chester, PA, he’s a great athlete and produced at a high level. With Justin Joly transferring to NC State, the position opens up for him. He’s a different type of TE than Louis Hansen or Alex Honig, and if Charlton wants to continue running a scheme with a Y back, Toy could be the guy.
Thanks to all who submitted a question. Keep sending them in via our message board here or our Twitter account here.
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