What to expect from new OC Charlton
New UConn offensive coordinator Nick Charlton has taken a rapid drive-by look at the football wreck that fans in Connecticut were exposed to in real time. He watched every Huskies’ game from this past season, a necessary step toward understanding the physical traits of players he will now coach.
That footage can be erased — maybe not yet from everyone’s mind, but immediately from every coach’s computer.
“There’s a misconception, because of what happened in the past here, that there’s not talent on this team,” Charlton said. “I said it to the offense right before they left for break. I was very honest. I said, ‘Men, we’re not watching last year together.’ I’ve watched that on my own, the staff has, and we’ve evaluated guys. But I have no interest in watching that tape. To me, it is all about moving forward and developing these guys and finding out who is able to play and what they do well.”
The framework is as follows: Charlton will call the offensive plays, as he did the previous four seasons at Maine, three as head coach. The Huskies will run a no-huddle offense. Some staples won’t be put in place until spring practice or preseason camp because Charlton isn’t married to a particular style. Charlton said, in a general sense, the NFL offense his tends to most resemble is that of the Rams.
With the Black Bears, Charlton ran a pro-style offense with a pure pocket passer when he was coordinator for the team’s 2018 run to a Football Championship Subdivision national semifinal. As head coach in 2019-21, with more mobile quarterbacks, Charlton ran an offense heavier on runpass options.
At UConn, the product will be tailored to what he identifies as strengths. The offense will operate quickly. Some basic plays and formations will have a lot of window dressing. There will be a lot of movement in an effort to create matchup advantages.
But with a coach who is just getting to know his players, and with players who don’t yet have a basic understanding of that coach’s philosophies, it is impossible to describe with much accuracy what a
team’s specific style will be. The Huskies have decisions to make at every position, including quarterback.
“We’re very multiple in what we do,” Charlton said. “We talk about ourselves as a hybrid offense. We’ve been able to implement a number of pro-style schemes and also a number of spread ones. I have a system, we have terminology, all those things that everybody has but, ultimately, it’s all about the players. So our quarterback, our skill players, who (we) have up front, whatever our team does best is what we are going to do. I’m not coming in and saying, ‘This is what we’re doing because this is what I like to do.’ There are obviously things I like to do, but it’s about the players and what they do well. We will institute a number of different things and we’ll be a little more spread.”
With many of the pages turned on Jim Mora’s first recruiting class — the 100mph focus of every assistant thus far — Charlton can move on to personnel analysis and teaching.
UConn is coming off a 1-11 season and is 7-41 the past four seasons. The Huskies, with a turnstile at the quarterback position due to injuries and sub-par performance, were dreadful on offense in 2021. Of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, they were ranked 129th in scoring offense, 128th in total offense, 123rd in rushing and 116th in passing.
“Whatever happened here happened and I wasn’t a part of it,” Charlton said. “So for me and the coaches, it’s all about explaining to these guys, ‘Hey, this is the direction we’re going and this is what you’re going to be a part of.’ The perception, you can see it very early and very fast that it’s changing. It really hasn’t taken too much time and that’s a lot of hard work, mostly on Coach Mora, and putting things out there to the public to see what’s actually happening here, who we’re bringing in, what the staff is like, what the energy is like in the building. That’s going to reflect with the players, too. You want your players to want to be there.”
Charlton, 33, initially wanted to be in the political arena. He grew up in Salem, Mass., part of a military family. His father, Scott, was a Navy diver, both of his grandfathers served in the armed forces and both of his brothers were in the Army.
He was recruited to play football at Division II St. Amselm College in New Hampshire but chose to attend Boston College as a political science major, later switching to philosophy. At BC, he missed football and considered transferring but instead became a studentmanager under coach Steve Addazio and offensive coordinator Ryan Day, now coach at Ohio State and still among Charlton’s most valuable resources and mentors.
Charlton, a married father of three, met wife Maria, who grew up in Madison, at BC. After spending three years as a graduate assistant with the Eagles, he was hired as a Maine assistant in 2015, coaching wide receivers. In 2016, he also coached special teams for the Black Bears — who nearly upset UConn in the opener at Rentschler Field.
With the score tied and 6:25 remaining, Maine’s Pat Leonard had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked by Mikal Myers. UConn won, 24-21, on Bobby Puyol’s 37-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining.
Charlton was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018 and, two days after this 30th birthday in 2018, was named head coach. Like his predecessor, Joe Harasymiak, who was hired at age 29 in 2015, Charlton became the youngest coach in Division I. He was 14-13 at Maine, which clinched a winning record Nov. 20 with a victory over rival New Hampshire in the season finale.
Later that day, a connection he and Mora share called him about the job at UConn. Charlton interviewed with Mora several times and was named UConn’s offensive coordinator Dec. 1. He headed to Storrs to host official visits. He traveled the country to recruit. He listed his Maine home for sale. He plans to live in Coventry.
“It starts with a more rudimentary level, with a relationship with players,” Charlton said. “There is nothing more important. Football-wise, we’re going to be diving into that and finding out what they do well but this is a relationship business. These guys need positive relationships and familiarity with their coaching staff, but also know they’re going to get coached hard and that we have a high level of expectation — because we’re here to win. That’s why I took this job.”
The new UConn staff has won the initial P.R. surge, becoming visible and remaining vocal about recruiting in the state, embracing the transfer portal and creating a positive vibe.
“You want to sell things to recruits and the public, because they’re based in authenticity,” Charlton said. “The energy around the program is important. It’s not just some Twitter thing. It’s for recruits, but it’s for your own players and it’s for the fans, the general community.”