Nothing’s guaranteed until you sign on the line.” “I can’t speak for any other recruits, but I think they’re trying to do their due diligence with Victor and keeping that relationship strong. “They’re in a tough spot,” Bristol Central coach Jeff Papazian said of UConn’s lame duck staff. UConn has nine commits in 2022, including two from in-state: Bristol Central dual-threat quarterback Victor Rosa and Loomis Chaffee offensive lineman Brady Wayburn. With that in mind, Spanos and his assistants are trying to keep next season’s recruiting class intact. The Huskies, losers of 31 of their last 38 games, are careening toward their 10th straight sub-.500 season, with nothing to show except a glimmer of hope that things can’t get much worse. It’s a critical component.”Įdsall inherited a mess from Bob Diaco, and his inability to nail down top local talent - the Huskies have 19 Connecticut natives on their roster - only made matters worse. That’s a big part of what we need right now. “We’re going to need someone who has the want-to, to get out in the state and this community and really sell our program and get people engaged. “We’re going to need someone who doesn’t look at (engagement) as being a burden or something they don’t want to do,” Benedict said. Then we never saw him again.”īenedict told Hearst Connecticut Media in September that the next hire needs to connect with the state, especially since interest in the program has been dipping. “Randy (Edsall), when he first came back (in 2017), was visible to an extent. Whoever gets the job, they’re going to have to do that if they want to win the high school coaches over. That’s impressive the head coach would come down and visit. “He’s saying, ‘Look, I’m here, I want to know who your players are, I want to help.’ He wants to get to know the coaches in the area and be more visible. “He’s hoping to get an interview to be the head coach,” said New Canaan’s Lou Marinelli, whose team Spanos visited. The interim head coach spent a portion of the team’s initial bye week at different schools across Connecticut, with hopes of forming a more collaborative partnership with high school coaches in his own backyard.