STORRS — The period from late November, when UConn secured its ninth victory of the football season, the coaching change, the chaotic run-up to the Fenway Bowl to the beginning of 2026, was quite a swirl of emotions for players caught in it.
“You know, it was tough, initially a lot of the guys who were on the old team were down in the dumps about going to the same bowl, a lot of guys who had played a lot of games thought about transferring in general before hand,” said Ty Chan, who eventually reupped with UConn. “Having that transition was definitely tough for me, but I definitely wanted to see what things were like here and see what the new staff was offering and I definitely was sold. Being here is something I’m very grateful for.”
Chan, an offensive linemen from Boston, met with new head coach Jason Candle and was one of a handful of Huskies who have stayed on to bridge the Jim Mora years with the Candle era, which began with spring practices this week. There are more than 70 new players, including a large influx from Toledo, who followed Candle here.
Sign up here to get UConn sports news straight to your inbox: UConn Alerts
So any culture shock must be processed quickly, as two cultures are molded into one. There is common ground, as both UConn under Mora and Toledo under Candle are underdog programs where overlooked or undervalued players often found homes.
“Coach Candle and Coach Mora, the way they recruit, I think they recruit the same type of player,” said defensive lineman Matt Hoffman, who chose to stay put at UConn. “Players who might have been doubted, but aren’t afraid to do hard work, so that automatically makes it easier to mix as a group.”
Receiver Shamar Porter, who had transferred from Kentucky last year, also chose to stay. Candle, a former receivers coach, figures to bring an offensive approach to his liking.
“Before the bowl game, I met with him,” Porter said, “we had an hour-long conversation and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know much of him, I knew a little bit about his history. We definitely had a good introduction, he told me what it was going to be like if I decided to stay here. The basics, he broke it down for me how a receiver is supposed to do everything.”
As players arrived, or returned to campus in January, the bonding process began, in the weight room, in the training facility. Now they’re beginning light practices which will culminate in a spring game on April 11 at Rentschler.
“The two (groups) bonding was something that took a little bit, at least for the first two weeks,” Chan said. “We had a good amount of captain-leadership guys meet up and do things together that could help the team, the guys who joined the team this year and the younger guys who might develop. The blending of that is something we’re working on currently and developing throughout spring ball, day by day, one percent better.”
Of the Huskies holdovers, most are from the Northeast. Chan was at Notre Dame for three seasons before transferring to UConn and playing regularly, starting nine games, at right or left guard, so he figures to be an achor of the new offensive line. For his last year of eligibility, he has been joined by a former high school teammate at Lawrence Academy, tight end Matt Ragan, who transferred from Boston College.
Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: Jersey football royalty finds way to UConn; Shea on Geno’s magic and more
Receiver Jediyah Willoughby, who missed much of that year with a leg injury, was one of the dozens to follow Candle to Connecticut, where he can help those new to his coaching style learn the standards.
“The first meeting with Coach Candle, you can tell he’s a guy you want to be around,” Willoughby said. “The way he coaches you, the way he’s on you every day, it’s hard to explain but when you know, you know. I feel like a lot of guys here understand the process of transferring and coming into a new program, so they know they have to work to come together.
“I feel like everybody’s getting along. I see a guy from UConn working, it’s only going to make me want to work and vice versa. I feel like the locker room, we have a good relationship right now. Everybody’s here to compete.”
Linebacker K’Von Sherman, who was in on 93 tackles for Toledo last year, is another who followed Candle to Connecticut.
“When you have players from (the coach’s) previous school, it kind of makes the transition a little easier,” Sherman said. “The guys I was around, players and coaches, Coach Candle has a really good system and I knew it was the right place for me. The way he has us prepare, he’s more on the mental side, taking advantage of walk-through. … One of the reasons I came here, I knew they were going to need someone who could come here and lead.”
Virtually every room in the Shenkman Training Center will have Toledo vets, UConn vets and newcomers. If things go as planned, the melting pot will yield a productive, well-organized UConn football team by summer.
“(The UConn holdovers) have a lot of sweat equity in this place and it means a lot to them,” Candle said. “It’s important to them, and we’re trying to get everybody to where it’s as important to them as it is to those guys when we kick the ball off in September. It’s critical that they set the foundation for what we’re trying to do; you mix that with some of the guys we brought from Toledo and I think they understand the expectations. There have been great organic conversations amongst the team about it, and they’ve handled it really, really well.”