There could not be a better end to a season that has been a breath of fresh air for Massachusetts native Ty Chan.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound UConn offensive lineman fell in love with football again throughout the fall, leading the 9-3 Huskies to bowl eligibility for the third time in the last four years. Chan, from Lowell, Mass., was at the center of it all in Storrs, a fixture in the trenches in front of Heisman Trophy candidate signal-caller Joe Fagnano.
The redshirt junior spent three years at Notre Dame before transferring to UConn this season. When Chan and the Huskies take to the field Saturday (2:15 p.m.) at historic Fenway Park in the 2025 Wasabi Fenway Bowl, it will mark a fitting moment in Chan’s latest football chapter that began in the Highlands section of Lowell.
“Being able to say that you played in such a historical place being a local kid is awesome …being a local guy has definitely been something that’s so cool about the experience,” Chan said.
Chan and UConn will be in search of a 10th win to cap off a season that has yielded plenty of excitement to the New England school. UConn is riding a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s kickoff with Army on ESPN. The Huskies have only lost three games, all in overtime. UConn topped North Carolina 27-14 in last year’s Fenway Bowl.
UConn will need a big game from Chan to achieve the program’s second double-digit win in history.
Chan was a highly touted prospect out of Lawrence Academy who was regularly tabbed the No. 1 player in Massachusetts by many recruiting avenues, including 247Sports.com, Rivals and ESPN.com in what was an unconventional rise to stardom.
Chan picked up a football in sixth grade, but was primarily interested in basketball. He started as a tight end and was hesitant to play during his freshman year at Lowell High. He ultimately joined the team late in October and finished the season in the JV ranks.
But Chan started as a sophomore under head coach John Florence and started to raise eyebrows around the area.
Still, Chan envisioned himself on the basketball court. His size and strength certainly fit that bill.
“I sometimes joke that I should have just shot more free throws,” Chan said with a laugh.
But those close to Chan instilled confidence in him that football was his calling card. He listened.
“I had a lot of people in my circle saying that I got a shot,” Chan said. “I was pretty skeptical at first because I didn’t even really know if I really enjoyed it as much as basketball.”
It all happened very quickly from there. He repeated his sophomore year at Lawrence Academy and began to pile up the offers. In 2021, he was named the ISL and NEPSAC Lineman of the Year. Chan remembers receiving his first offer from William & Mary when the Virginia school insinuated it would be the first of many.
“I was kind of talking to them, and I was like, ‘What do you guys mean?’ ” Chan recalled. “They were like, ‘You’ll know what I mean later.’ ”
Offers only snowballed. He garnered offers from Boston College and Penn State, among others, before choosing Notre Dame. He spent three years in South Bend and spent most of the team’s run to the national title game in 2024 as a special teamer, appearing in 12 games.
“I think being at such a prestigious academic school as well as a football school definitely showed me how advanced I’d have to be in order to become a great player,” Chan said. “Learning on the fly there was definitely great.”
He loved playing at Notre Dame. His teammates and the aura of the iconic institution were hard to leave. But a chance to see the field more — and to return home to be close to an urgent family situation — is something Chan couldn’t pass up.
His niece, Olivia, was diagnosed with leukemia. He wanted to be there for her. Chan said she is doing well with treatment.
“I just wanted to be around for my family and around for her but also be able to play around them and show that I was doing well,” Chan said.
Chan has checked both boxes, stationed roughly 90 minutes from home while enjoying a breakout season that featured another homecoming at BC, where UConn played to a 38-23 win on Oct. 18. UConn would go on to finish the season with wins over Duke, Air Force and Florida Atlantic.
“It was definitely eye-opening to see that we could compete with the big dogs,” Chan said.
Chan has always been a big dog himself, even if he didn’t know it. Perhaps a return home with a renewed sense of appreciation for the game has unlocked a whole new playing field.
“Falling in love with the game again this past year has definitely been something I’m very grateful for,” Chan said. “It’s a blessing, and being able to be around high-level people within the sport is definitely life-changing.”