Breaking down UConn’s recruiting class
UConn football coach Jim Mora has been working hard on the recruiting trail, and he’s not done yet.
The first batch of 2022 signees were introduced Wednesday morning in Storrs, the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.
Here’s what Mora had to say about them:
DONOVAN BRANCH
School: Foundation Academy (Winter Garden, Fla.)
Hometown: Chicago
Position: DL
Height/Weight: 6-2, 234
You should know: Three-star rated by 247Sports as the top recruit in UConn’s class, 67th nationally at his position. … Had 56 tackles (20 for loss) and 11 sacks as a senior.
What Mora says: “He’s a guy that’s a playmaker that can come off the edge and create havoc in the backfield. He’s also a good run-stopper. He was a guy that was decommitted and came right back in when he saw the vision that we have for this football team.”
D’MON BRINSON
School: Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Hometown: Miami
Position:
DB
Height/Weight: 5-9, 172
You should know: Other FBS offers included Middle Tennessee and South Carolina.
What Mora says: “He’s a savvy football player. He’s got speed, he’s got ball skills. When you watch a cornerback play, you’ll see a lot of guys that can get themselves in position to make a play, but then they can’t find the ball in the air or they can’t complete it, they can’t win the 50-50 ball. At the moment of truth, they don’t make the play. D’Mon is a guy that makes the play. … D’Mon is not the biggest man, but he’s a fearless tackler. He’ll come up and he’ll strike you.”
BO ESTES
School: Northeast Oklahoma A&M
Hometown: Tulsa, Okla.
Position: TE
Height/Weight: 6-2, 224
You should know: JUCO transfer had three catches for 28 yards as a freshman.
What Mora says: “He’s a tremendous athlete who can work in space and create matchup problems for our opponents. He can also get on the wing and do some things blocking down on double teams, blocking out on outside linebackers. We like his athleticism; we like his ability to work in space and the matchup problem that he presents.”
KYLISH HICKS
School: Mergenthaler Vocational-Tech (Baltimore)
Hometown: Baltimore
Position: WR
Height/Weight: 6-0, 174
You should know: Played both wide receiver and safety as a senior. … Had 10 tackles and four interceptions in the state championship game.
What Mora says: “This guy is a wide receiver as we see him now, but when you watch his film, you see him equally adept at playing defensive back and corner. He’s an explosive playmaker, just a guy that when he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s dynamic. He makes people miss; he makes plays happen. He gets the ball to the house.”
MATT HOFFMAN
School: Cheltenham (Cheltenham, Pa.)
Hometown: Cheltenham, Pa.
Position: DL
Height/Weight: 6-4, 214
You should know: Three-star recruit, ranked the nation’s No. 92 tight end by 247Sports. … Previously committed to Virginia Tech, also had offers from Eastern Michigan, Temple, and Albany.
What Mora says: “Matt was a two-way player in high school that we see as a defensive end for us in the future. I think Matt has a bright future and can develop into a really good player.”
JUSTIN JOLY
School: Iona Prep (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
Hometown: Brewster, N.Y.
Position: TE
Height/Weight: 6-3, 215
You should know: Named Offensive MVP of the New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association championship game. … In three seasons on varsity, had 123 catches for 1,827 yards and 22 touchdowns. … Flipped commitment from Delaware.
What Mora says: “Just a tremendous athlete, still has a ways to go in terms of developing his body. But when you watch him move in space and you watch him catch him the ball, high point, use his hands, set people up on his routes, and then his run after the catch, you say, ‘Wow, this guy’s really got special traits.’ He’s a guy that could come in and contribute right away.”
DENZEL MOUNTALI
School: Loomis Chaffee (Windsor)
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Position: ATH
Height/Weight: 6-3, 224
You should know: Also had offers from Marshall, Columbia, Fordham, and Yale.
What Mora says: “Denzel is another big-bodied, athletic guy that played both sides of the ball. He fits the mold of Justin and Bo in terms of being the H position. He can be a displaced type of tight end body that’s a matchup problem, but he’s also got linebacker traits — outside linebacker traits to be specific. When I watched Denzel play, he reminded me of … Anthony Barr. I’m not saying he’s Anthony Barr, but the traits, the traits that he showed on film and his personality, his work ethic, his high character, those were things that reminded me of Anthony.”
BEN MURAWSKI
School: St. Thomas More (Oakdale)
Hometown: Harleysville, Pa.
Position: OL
Height/Weight: 6-6, 344
You should know: Three-year varsity starter and team captain as a senior. … First Team All-Conference and All-Area, Second Team All-State.
What Mora says: “He’s a massive man. He’s 6-foot-6. He’s listed here at 344, he’ll probably play around 320, 325. … He just swallows you up. He’s got size 18 feet.”
TIM PASSMORE
School: Cocoa (Cocoa, Fla.)
Hometown: Cocoa, Fla.
Position: DL
Height/Weight: 6-1, 298
You should know: Was the first player in UConn’s class to commit, announcing on June 10.
What Mora says: “This guy is an inside defensive lineman who can be one-gap player or a two-gap player. He’s got strength at the point; he can hold the point. He can do some things in pass rush as well. He’ll occupy one of those inside spots.”
VICTOR ROSA
School: Bristol Central (Bristol)
Hometown: Bristol
Position:
RB
Height/Weight: 5-11, 187
You should know: Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year rushed for 2,728 yards and 41 touchdowns as a senior.
What Mora says: “You watch this guy’s film, there really isn’t anything he cannot do. We plan to use him as a running back/slot, a guy that we’re going to try to get matchups. We’re going to try to get him matched up on a linebacker, on a safety. We want to get him the ball in space so that he can use his speed, his athleticism, and his quickness to his advantage and to our advantage. He’s a returner, he played some safety. He may figure into the return game. He’s an offensive player for us and one that we’re really excited about. When you went to the games that he played in high school … it was usually Victor to the left, Victor to the right, Victor up the middle, Victor return, Victor make the tackle. He was all-everything.”
DEREK SPEARMAN
School: Loomis Chaffee (Windsor)
Hometown: Davidson, N.C.
Position: DB
Height/Weight: 6-3, 185
You should know: Was the first landed by Mora, announcing on Dec. 5. … Other FBS offers included Miami, Purdue, Nebraska, and UMass.
What Mora says: “Derek is a long, wide-shouldered athlete. Right now he’s listed at 6-3, 185, but I think this guy could end up being a 6-3, 225pounder with ease, and without losing any of his athleticism. We have him listed as a defensive back and that’s what he’ll start out as, but he’s a guy that will adjust. Whatever his position becomes named, it’s dependent on what we want to do schematically.”
NATE VOORHIS
School: Stroudsburg (Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Hometown: Stroudsburg, Pa.
Position: DL
Height/Weight: 6-3, 229
You should know: First Team All-Conference defensive end, Second Team All-Conference tight end as a senior.
What Mora says: “He can be a guy that rushes off the edge, he can drop into space a little bit. He may grow into a defensive tackle; we’ll see where his body goes. We think that he’s a young man who can come in and help us immediately, and put pressure on the quarterback, which is obviously something we need to put an emphasis on.”
BRADY WAYBURN
School: Loomis Chaffee (Windsor)
Hometown: Gastonia, N.C.
Position: OL
Height/Weight: 6-5, 303
You should know: All-Founders League First Team and honorable mention All-NEPSAC. … Was a team captain.
What Mora says: “Another really big man. He’s probably an interior lineman, a guard, but he’s a 6-foot-5, 300-plus guy that loves football. (He’s) a big, broad-shouldered, athletic guy that we think is really going to help us on the interior.”