A rich chapter in the UConn football history books officially came to a close on Saturday as the Huskies, without a number of key figures who helped engineer the program’s turnaround, fell to Army in the Fenway Bowl, 41-16.
New head coach Jason Candle looked on from a stadium suite as the team and the fanbase played and sat through freezing temperatures for one last game before the former Toledo coach officially takes the reins.
UConn was overmatched by Army, as the Black Knights were at near full-strength and the Huskies started a freshman at quarterback, were without their All-American wide receiver after the first series and had several other key players opt out.
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After the final whistle, interim head coach Gordon Sammis became the new offensive coordinator at TCU, defensive coordinator Matt Brock once again became the DC at Mississippi State and several other coaches and staffers will move on to follow former head coach Jim Mora to Colorado State or head elsewhere.
Behind the scenes, Candle has been at work authoring the initial pages of his new chapter.
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Here’s a look at the moves that have already been made since Candle was handed the keys on Dec. 6 and what is next for the program in the coming weeks:
Candle gets his coordinators
UConn has already identified its new coordinators, according to multiple reports.
Nunzio Campanile, the Syracuse quarterbacks coach, is set to become the Huskies’ new offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Campanile comes from a family of New Jersey football royalty and coached eight years at the high school level before dipping his toes into the college coaching waters at Rutgers. (Sound familiar?)
He coached running backs and tight ends before earning interim head coaching roles at both Rutgers and Syracuse, where he spent the last two seasons coaching quarterbacks Kyle McCord and Steve Angeli.
Thamel reported Saturday that the Huskies also found their new defensive coordinator in former Pittsburgh linebackers coach, Ryan Manalac, who played at Cincinnati and then with the Buffalo Bills before getting into coaching under then-defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi at Michigan State in 2011.
Candle also reportedly hired an offensive line coach and yet another strong northeast recruiter in John Morookian, a Providence native who played for him at Toledo and has coached at Michigan, Charlotte, Iowa State, Kansas and Akron.
UConn is also reportedly set to hire Sacramento State’s Zach Potter as general manager, Kerry Dixon as receivers coach and AJ Harrison as director of recruiting with more positions likely to be filled as bowl games conclude.
Portal options to watch
UConn will presumably be one of several suitors going after running back Cam Edwards, who starred with 108 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries in the Fenway Bowl, once the transfer portal officially opens for a two-week window beginning Jan. 2.
The list of current Huskies to enter the transfer portal was 21 names long as of Sunday morning and could continue to grow, though many will keep the option open for a potential return. The door is presumably closed for only offensive linemen Ben Murawski and Carsten Casady, as well as quarterback Nick Evers, who left the team before the bowl game.
Candle could make a run at keeping some of the top impact players, like linebacker Oumar Diomande, defensive back Cam Chadwick, receiver John Neider or tight ends Juice Vereen, Alex Honig and others, though relationships with members of the UConn staff could pull them elsewhere. By the same token, there could be some current Toledo players who make their way to Storrs.
Pro potential?
Skyler Bell, UConn’s first-ever consensus All-American, is without a doubt the Huskies’ top NFL Draft prospect. He was ranked the 15th-best receiver in the class by Bleacher Report and recently accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl along with quarterback Joe Fagnano. Bell was also invited to the Panini Senior Bowl.
Fagnano and his agent heard enough from NFL scouts to hold out of the Fenway Bowl and the seventh-year pro style passer could wind up as the program’s first QB drafted since Dan Orlovsky went in the fifth round in 2005. Linebacker Bryun Parham, top-10 nationally in sacks, should also draw some NFL attention, among others.