UConn struggles to secure in-state football recruits

By: Kevin Duffy

Posted: 9/4/08

There's little doubt that UConn football is headed in the right direction.

In seven years, UConn has gone from a Division I-AA program to co-Big East champions. Randy Edsall has built a program on finding under-recruited players and developing them into quality starters. Tyvon Branch, the first pick of the fourth round in the 2008 NFL Draft, was a one-star recruit, according to Scout.com. UConn's all-time leading rusher, Terry Caulley, was a two-star recruit. So was Darius Butler, Scott Lutrus, Julius Williams, Cody Brown, Lawrence Wilson, and … well, you get the point.

The first step to building a successful program is uncovering gems. Edsall and his staff have clearly taken that step. The second step is bringing in some big-time talent, something that UConn has struggled to do, particularly at the skill positions.

Despite "winning" a share of the Big East championship last season, UConn's 2008 recruiting class ranked second-to-last in the Big East, and 2009 isn't looking much better.

It's unrealistic to expect the Huskies to steal away top prospects from California, Texas, or Louisiana, but when four-star recruits from Connecticut aren't even considering the Huskies, there's a problem.

New London's Jordan Reed, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound quarterback who runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, followed in the footsteps of Bristol's Aaron Hernandez and spurned the Huskies for the Florida Gators a few weeks ago.

Nothing against Tyler Lorenzen - he's a serviceable quarterback - but UConn hasn't had a signal-caller capable of putting a team on his back since Shelton's Dan Orlovsky signed with the Huskies in 2000. Reed would have been that guy.

Now, there are differences between Reed and Orlovsky. As talented as Orlovsky was, he was never recruited by a program like Florida. The national spotlight Florida plays under, coupled with its tradition and warm weather are enough to make any player flee the Nutmeg state.

Sadly, in Reed's case, there's not much UConn could have done. But then there's the Stratford trio of Torrey Mack, Dudley LaPorte and Mark Harrison.

Mack, rated a four-star recruit and the No. 18 running back in nation, turned down an offer from UConn to sign with Virginia.

LaPorte, who graduated from Stratford High in 2005 and played junior college ball at Santa Barbara Community College, wasn't even targeted by the Huskies. He signed with Utah after also being offered by Ole Miss and Nevada.

After all, what use would UConn have for a 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end who runs a 4.58 40-yard dash and was listed as Scout.com's No. 1 overall JUCO recruit? Think he could have helped solve some of the Huskies' passing problems? Apparently the UConn staff thought differently.

And then Harrison. Just soak in these numbers for a second: 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, 39-inch vertical leap, 4.38 40-yard dash. Harrison's coach at Bunnell High, Joe Bruno, says that he has the frame to add about 35 more pounds of muscle, which would make him an Antonio Gates-like specimen at the next level. UConn didn't sign Harrison - and that's not even the worst part.

He signed with Rutgers. That's right, the Huskies couldn't get Connecticut's version of Terrell Owens to make the 90-minute trip north for college. Not even considering Harrison attended the same high school as current UConn receiver Marcus Easley. Not even considering he played on the same high school team as Easley's brother, Michael. Instead, he was snatched up by the arch-rival Scarlet Knights.

For every Lutrus that UConn inks, there are three others that it lets go. Reed, LaPorte, Mack and Harrison are the most notable, but the list goes on. Bloomfield's Marcus Cooper, a 6-foot-2 receiver with 4.4 speed, committed to Rutgers just weeks before Harrison did. Cheshire Academy's Joshua Adams, a 6-foot-4 wideout who was ranked higher than Harrison by Rivals.com, verballed to North Carolina last summer.

The Huskies struggle to throw the ball down the field, and part of that is on Lorenzen and the pass protection, but a lot has to do with who he is throwing to. If that wasn't true, Darius Butler wouldn't be suiting up on both sides of the ball.

UConn doesn't have to go far to find the playmakers that will solve that problem, but time after time, it lets players like Harrison - who come along only once in a while in Connecticut - go elsewhere. And that's what makes losing those players even more detrimental.

Look at a program like Wisconsin. The Badgers are in the same boat as the Huskies in that they are the only major Division-I football school in a relatively weak high school football state. The difference between the two is that Wisconsin never lets a big in-state recruit get away.

Former Badger tackle Joe Thomas, the No. 3 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, was a native of Brookfield, Wisc. He turned down offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech to stay at home. Wisconsin's Travis Beckum enters his senior year as one of the best tight ends in the nation. He was a five-star in-state recruit in 2005. Josh Oglesby, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the class of 2007, decided to stay in Wisconsin as well.

Even Boston College, which has roughly the same pool of talent to draw from in Massachusetts as UConn does in Connecticut, never misses out on a top local prospect. Gosder Cherilus was a four-star offensive guard in 2003. He went on to become the anchor of BC's offensive line and the No. 17 pick in last year's NFL Draft. In fact, the Golden Eagles have nabbed the top Massachusetts high school player in six of the past seven years.

Since Orlovsky, the Huskies have never signed the No. 1 player in Connecticut. Before signing guard Erik Kuraczea this year, UConn has only signed one top five in-state player - Hyde Leadership's James Nixon, a cornerback who never actually enrolled in the university.

The Huskies can keep finding two-star gems, but if they continue to lose in-state prospects, they will never reach the level of national prominence that schools like Wisconsin and Boston College have.