The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
No Huskies among early entrants
Only three from AAC leaving early for NFL draft
Perhaps there will be some departures from the UConn football program following the change of head coaches, but it won’t come by players leaving early to declare for the NFL draft.
The NFL announced that 103 players with remaining eligibility have declared themselves eligible for the draft, but the only American Athletic Conference players are Tulsa receiver Keevan Lucas, South Florida running back Marlon Mack and Houston defensive back Howard Wilson.
UConn’s junior class could have as many draftable prospects as any group of Huskies in recent memory and perhaps the record of five former Huskies taken in the 2013 NFL draft could be challenged in 2018.
Defensive back Jamar Summers is the UConn non-senior who has generated the most buzz and the CBSsports.com draft database lists Summers as the No. 10 rated free safety prospect in the Class of 2018. He is one of seven UConn rising seniors to be listed among the top 35 at their respective positions. Foley Fatukasi is the 12th rated defensive tackle, Tommy Myers and Alec Bloom rank 22nd and 33rd among tight ends, Luke Carrezola is 23rd among defensive ends, E.J. Levenberry is the 24th ranked outside linebacker and Junior Joseph the 29th rated inside linebacker. There are 20 UConn non-seniors listed in the database, although running back Ron Johnson has recently posted via social media that he intends to transfer and linebacker Jalen Stevens took part in UConn Senior Day festivities indicating that he would be not returning.
The last UConn player to declare early for the draft was linebacker Yawin Smallwood, who was taken
in the seventh round by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2014 NFL draft.
The 2017 NFL draft is set for April 27-29. The 2016 draft was the first one since 2006 when no UConn players were selected, although Andrew Adams finished with 46 tackles after being signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.
In the 2017 draft database, Obi Melifonwu is the seventh-ranked strong safety, Andreas Knappe is 24th among offensive tackles and Noel Thomas is the 43rd rated receiver. Knappe and Thomas can help their draft stock in Saturday’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl as they will be teammates on the American squad. The game will be televised live on FS1 beginning at 4 p.m.