UConn Football Class of 2023 NLI Early Signing Day Thread/Info (12/21/22>12/23/22)

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[freescooter]

Early signing day is great! It’s like having Christmas in December!

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Waquoit]

Can anyone who follows this give us their opinion on how we're doing so far?

 

[ATLDYKA]

Disappointed to hear about Ricky Lee changing and going to UAB. Got a chance to watch him in the State Championship game down here in GA and he was the best player on the field. Super athlete who played WR, DB and PR during the game and did a little bit of everything. The announcer calling the game was impressed. Oh well.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Disappointed to hear about Ricky Lee changing and going to UAB. Got a chance to watch him in the State Championship game down here in GA and he was the best player on the field. Super athlete who played WR, DB and PR during the game and did a little bit of everything. The announcer calling the game was impressed. Oh well.

That felt like a bad loss.... until I heard Mora say that they didn't lose anyone that they wanted to send in paperwork today. Sounds like they were ok with his flipping...either for academic or other reasons.

 

[freescooter]

I’ve heard the quarterback they landed, McDonald, is going to surprise people. This from a friend who coached at D3 so he knows football. He has seen McDonald a couple of times and says he thinks he is a legit quarterback. Not in 2023 probably but after a redshirt year. Runs well, throws well and makes good decisions. Not just a scout team player.

 

[huskymedic]

Alternate access link here <<

-> The Huskies expect to have additional signees to announce before the end of the early signing period, according to the team’s release. <-

-> Mora noted Wednesday that 12 of the 13 had already made their commitment before the season, the only late addition was Oumar Diomande, a linebacker from the Bronx who committed after a visit prior to the bowl game.

The only notable change in commitment was two-way athlete Ricky Lee III, who announced Tuesday night that he would instead be attending UAB. <-

-> “In the NFL you want to build through the draft and you want guys that come in as rookies and spend most of their career with you,” he said. “But you always need to supplement through free agency when you have areas of need on your team.

“For us, we want to build our team through recruiting high school athletes because we get to know them better before they become a part of our program, and we’ll make fewer mistakes that way, but we always have to supplement through free agency, through the transfer portal.” <-

 

[UConnJim]

I’ve heard the quarterback they landed, McDonald, is going to surprise people. This from a friend who coached at D3 so he knows football. He has seen McDonald a couple of times and says he thinks he is a legit quarterback. Not in 2023 probably but after a redshirt year. Runs well, throws well and makes good decisions. Not just a scout team player.

I think McDonald's upside is tough to predict based on his stats and game performance. His high school is classified as D1 in Massachusetts, but they play most of their games against lower division schools with half the enrollment and they crushed them. Against D1 schools, they were 2-2 including a 1st round playoff loss to a Catholic school.

People who have worked him out will have a much better idea of what he is capable of and you have to be excited that Rutgers offered after they worked him out. And, he is very athletic and a 3 sport athlete which is unusual for a top recruit these days.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[giddyup]

That felt like a bad loss.... until I heard Mora say that they didn't lose anyone that they wanted to send in paperwork today. Sounds like they were ok with his flipping...either for academic or other reasons.

Whatever the reason, he’s dead to me. Moving on and his loss. Just passed up on ticket to ride the train.

 

[RSTuthill]

Now the waiting for surprises and addition portal movement begins...

Both outbound and inbound.

 

[RSTuthill]

I’ve heard the quarterback they landed, McDonald, is going to surprise people. This from a friend who coached at D3 so he knows football. He has seen McDonald a couple of times and says he thinks he is a legit quarterback. Not in 2023 probably but after a redshirt year. Runs well, throws well and makes good decisions. Not just a scout team player.

Ah, the luxury of a freshman redshirt year for a QB. Very under rated.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Welcome to all the official new Huskies!

Mora talking about the portal like a draft is really great in my opinion. Shows he understands the opportunities it can provide for immediate impact players.

 

[SubbaBub]

I see a recurring theme of beef and speed in this class.

 

[BHusky]

I think McDonald's upside is tough to predict based on his stats and game performance. His high school is classified as D1 in Massachusetts, but they play most of their games against lower division schools with half the enrollment and they crushed them. Against D1 schools, they were 2-2 including a 1st round playoff loss to a Catholic school.

People who have worked him out will have a much better idea of what he is capable of and you have to be excited that Rutgers offered after they worked him out. And, he is very athletic and a 3 sport athlete which is unusual for a top recruit these days.

The catholic school they lost to, Xaverian, is a perennial powerhouse football program in MA and has been for the last 25-30 years. The Catholic schools in MA have consistently been the best programs in the state for decades which include Xaverian, St John’s Prep, Catholic Memorial and several others which have pretty large enrollments (900+ all boys grade 9-12). Central MA football isn’t the greatest but that schedule is pretty good.

 

[UConnJim]

The catholic school they lost to, Xaverian, is a perennial powerhouse football program in MA and has been for the last 25-30 years. The Catholic schools in MA have consistently been the best programs in the state for decades which include Xaverian, St John’s Prep, Catholic Memorial and several others which have pretty large enrollments (900+ all boys grade 9-12). Central MA football isn’t the greatest but that schedule is pretty good.

The MIAA rates teams' football schedules and Wachusett Regional was ranked 25 out of 28 in Division 1. My point was, Wachusett was blowing out lower division schools by scores like 48-0, 40-0, 42-6, 47-13, 61-30, so his stats are somewhat distorted by the lower competition. And yes, Xaverian is a power in football and a legitimate Division 1 team.

 

[Nostical]

Another Winged Beaver. They're standouts!