UConn recruits drawn by Mora’s passion, drive
It wasn’t anything Donovan Branch necessarily heard that sold him again on UConn. Rather, it’s what he felt.
Branch, a three-star edge rusher from Winter Garden, Florida, recommitted after meeting new Huskies coach Jim Mora during his second trip to Storrs Dec. 3-5.
“Even though the place didn’t change, the facility is the same, it just felt different,” Branch said. “You can feel his energy.”
Mora’s arrival has revitalized the psyche of a program and fanbase demoralized by a decade of losing, and the recruits who hope to be part of that transformation are starting to notice.
“It definitely feels different being up there the second time with a new staff,” said Nathan Voorhis, another three-star edge rusher. “It was just brand new, a lot of energy. A lot.”
Thus, like Branch, Voorhis re-upped his pledge. The Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, native, who had decommitted from UConn in wake of Randy Edsall’s departure, said it was a dinner with his father and Mora the same weekend that helped him settle on a decision.
Mora not only pitched him his vision of the program and how he hopes to mirror what he built at UCLA, but also connected with him on a personal level. Voorhis still didn’t know much about Mora to that point, save for a Google search and a brief phone conversation a few weeks prior. So sitting down with him and some of his assistants face-to-face was essential in putting Voorhis’ mind at ease.
At UCLA, Mora resuscitated a fluttering program that had only one winning season in five years, and went to four bowl games in six years. Mora was 46-30 overall, including 29-11 his first three seasons. Thirty UCLA players were drafted into the NFL during his tenure, more than any other Pac-12 program over that span.
“He’s done this at a high level,” Voorhis said. “He’s seen what it looks like. He’s sent plenty of guys to the NFL. He knows what a winning team and winning program looks like.”
Mora’s credentials certainly grabbed the attention of Bristol Central dualthreat quarterback Victor Rosa and Loomis Chaffee offensive lineman Brady Wayburn. Both reaffirmed their commitments.
“I saw that he went to UCLA and turned that program around, so why can’t he do it here?” Rosa said. “I’m ready to turn this program around with him, the coaching staff and all my teammates. I’m ready to go to work.”
UConn went 1-11 this past season and has lost 36 of its last 37 games against FBS opponents. Because of that, attendance at Rentschler Field has plummeted and calls to drop down to the FCS level or flush the program altogether are intensifying. The program’s inability — or some say, reluctance — to recruit in-state has also been a point of contention.
But Mora, 60, is working hard to change that, hoping to turn UConn into a destination for local talent. He not only was able to keep Rosa and Wayburn home, but also managed to reel in two of Wayburn’s high school teammates: safety Derek Spearman and tight end Denzel Mountali.
Rosa, a three-star prospect and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut, first met Mora at a UConn men’s basketball game, just days after he was hired. Rosa took an official visit to campus earlier this month and came away impressed. Members of the Husky staff — tight ends coach John Marinelli and running backs coach E.J. Barthel — also paid Rosa an in-home visit last week, ensuring him he was making the right decision by staying put.
The 5-foot-11, 193-pound Rosa had several other FBS offers, including Air Force, Army, Boston College, UMass, and Navy. He planned to wait until the February signing date to make anything official, but instead will finalize his commitment Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period. He’ll join the program as a running back but may also be used as a slot receiver.
“After meeting the coaching staff and hearing the plans they have for me, and the direction this program’s going in, they’re definitely building a monster,” Rosa said. “I loved it, so I locked in.”
Branch, ranked 62nd at his position by 247Sports, is the top-rated recruit in UConn’s class. He also had offers from Army, Central Michigan, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Navy and Syracuse and recently visited Auburn. He had decommitted from UConn in October.
“It was stressful, but it was a good stress,” Branch said of the recruiting process. “It takes a lot of patience. You just have to know when to make a decision, when not to. At least I was blessed enough to have a school to go to.
“They know how to lay out the red carpet for people (at UConn).”
Ultimately, it was Mora who lured him back.
“It was his passion,” Branch said. “It’s not exactly what he told us. He has a drive to turn this program around. When a person has that, you can feel it.”