The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UConn’s recruiting class dominated by defensive linemen and receivers
While UConn football coach Randy Edsall and his coaching staff received commitments from every offensive and defensive position group, it was rather evident that wide receiver and defensive line were priority positions.
The Huskies received commitments from each of those positions Wednesday, bringing the number of signees to 20.
Matt Drayton, who helped Raines High School in Jacksonville, Fla., win the Florida 4A title, became the fourth receiver to sign with UConn on Wednesday, joining former Seton Hill star Ardell Brown as well as Kevens Clercius and Cam Ross. Then defensive lineman Dal’Mont Gourdine announced in a ceremony at Garrett Academy of Technology that he had committed to UConn over Coastal Carolina and Tulane. Gourdine, who has seven sacks as a senior, was named South Carolina’s Class 2A Lower State Lineman of the Year.
The UConn recruiters ventured into some new territory while putting together their incoming recruiting class.
Four of the 20 players signed by the Huskies are graduate transfers, including two from the Division II ranks, with quarterback Mike Beaudry and Brown among seven players to sign with the Huskies on Wednesday.
Beaudry, a Canadian native whose family moved to Florida when he was 11, quarterbacked West Florida
to the 2017 Division II national championship game when he completed 55 percent of his passes for 3,215 yards with 29 touchdown passes. He played just one quarter in the 2018 opener before suffering a seasonending foot injury.
Brown had the fifth-most receiving yards in Division II during the 2018 season as he caught 81 passes for 1,267 yards and nine touchdowns for Seton Hill.
They join former Toledo running back Art Thompkins and former Columbia defensive lineman and captain Michael Hinton as the graduate transfers joining the UConn program.
Defensive lineman Jeff Woods also signed Wednesday. Woods, who had seven sacks as a senior at Trinity
Christian School in Fayetteville, N.C., is currently enrolled at UConn, as is Thompkins and fellow true freshman defensive lineman Eric Watts.
Drayton had six touchdown receptions as a senior, while Ross earned multiple national player of the week honors after hauling in seven catches for 200 yards and four touchdowns in St. John’s College’s win over Christian Brothers College High School.
UConn lost five of the 10 players with more than one reception during the 2018 season with the graduation of Hergy Mayala, Tyraiq Beals, Aaron McLean and Kyle Buss, and Tyler Davis’ decision to play his final season at Georgia Tech, so there is a chance for immediate playing time for the incoming receivers.
A pair of Connecticut natives who project to play linebacker highlighted UConn’s list of early signees, as Ridgefield High School All-Stater Jackson Mitchell and Bloomfield native Dillon Harris, who played the last two seasons at Lackawanna College, have a chance to step in and play immediately at a position of need for the Huskies.
UConn also signed quarterback Jack Zergiotis, tight end Jayce Medlock, offensive linemen Rayonte Brown and Chase Lundt, defensive lineman Justin Moore and defensive backs Myles Bell, Malik Dixon and Winston Jules during the early signing period.