While the entire state of Connecticut enjoys the afterglow provided by the second of back-to-back national championships for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team, as well as another Final Four appearance by the women’s team and a trip to the NCAA regionals for the baseball squad, the football team at the state’s flagship university finds itself trying to garner positive headlines of its own.
An offense that ranked 104th in yards per play combined with a defense that was even worse (106th) in the same category resulted in a disappointing 3-9 season for the Huskies in 2023. It was not the encore head coach Jim Mora wanted in his second year after taking the team bowling for the first time in seven years in 2022.
This offseason, the Huskies welcomed more than 20 transfers through the portal in an attempt to quickly bounce back. Combined with several pieces that saw significant playing time for UConn last season, who are the Huskies’ top 10 returners in 2024?
UConn Huskies Top 10 Returners in 2024
10) Valentin Senn, OT
Valentin Senn started every game at left tackle for the Huskies over the past two seasons (25 games) after transferring to UConn from Colorado. Standing 6’7″ and weighing over 300 pounds, Senn is a towering figure who is better in pass protection than in the run game. He’s originally from Austria and did not start playing football until high school.
9) Chris Freeman, K
Chris Freeman transferred this offseason from Indiana to UConn, where he will be the starting kicker. A former soccer player who walked onto the football team in Bloomington, Freeman was a kickoff specialist who took over field-goal duties for the first time last season. He made 10 of 14 field-goal attempts, including a long of 50 yards, and went 29 for 30 on extra points.
8) Nick Evers, QB
After beginning his college career at Oklahoma, Nick Evers spent the 2023 season at Wisconsin but didn’t see any game action. He’s now the likely starting quarterback at UConn with a chance to live up to the scouting report that made him a consensus four-star prospect coming out of high school in Texas.
Evers threw for nearly 5,000 yards and 44 touchdowns while rushing for 18 more scores across his junior and senior seasons at Flower Mound High School.
7) Cam Edwards, RB
Cam Edwards was recruited as a running back out of high school. He briefly played cornerback as a freshman with the Huskies in 2022 but was able to redshirt after appearing in only one game.
Then, Edwards burst onto the scene as he returned to the backfield by leading UConn with 618 rushing yards last season. Edwards also added 15 catches and 132 yards as a receiver to prove he’s a constant offensive threat.
6) Brett Buckman, WR
After transferring to UConn from Delaware ahead of last season, Brett Buckman ranked second on the team with 46 catches to go along with 488 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
A former walk-on with the Blue Hens, Buckman brings an unflinching gritty persona that perfectly represents his home state of New Jersey.
5) Julien Simon, LB
Julien Simon is a transfer portal addition to UConn by way of Tulsa and USC. He played in 12 games for the Golden Hurricane last season and finished second on the defense in total tackles (58) while adding 10.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.
Simon’s instincts alone make him an ideal inside linebacker, and it’s easy to see why he played on both sides of the ball in high school. Assuming full health, it’s likely that Simon will lead the Huskies in tackles this fall.
4) TJ Sheffield, WR
TJ Sheffield transferred to Storrs this offseason after spending the last five seasons at Purdue. He left the Boilermakers after catching 118 passes for 1,209 yards and 11 touchdowns in 45 career games.
Most of that production came over the past three falls, including career-highs in catches (46) and receiving yards (480) in 2022 and a career-best in touchdowns (five) in 2021.
3) Pryce Yates, EDGE
Pryce Yates has shown to be an absolute menace on the defensive line, evidenced by his team-leading 14.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. Yates isn’t a one-trick pony either, as he added two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery during his sophomore season.
Now a 6’4″ and 265-pound junior, Yates will anchor a defensive front that might ultimately be the strength of the team.
2) Victor Rosa, RB
A former Gatorade Connecticut State Player of the Year recipient (2021), Victor Rosa has already proven to be a jack-of-all-trades for the Huskies. As a freshman, Rosa led the team in rushing yards and scored a team-high 11 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he improved his yards-per-carry average and more than doubled his receptions total.
Rosa would likely win a foot race with any player on his team, but he actually seems to get faster with the ball in his hand. His quickness means defenses can’t give him an inch of daylight in the open field because he’s a constant threat to take it the distance.
Rosa is a slippery runner with the agility to break through arm tackles. With added size going into his junior season, he should continue to be UConn’s biggest offensive threat.
1) Chase Lundt, OT
At 6’8″ and 305 pounds — with the footwork of a ballroom dancer — Chase Lundt has the building blocks necessary to be a starting NFL tackle.
Entering his senior year, Lundt has started and played 36 games at right tackle for the Huskies over the past three seasons. He’s the anchor of an offensive line that, despite its changing parts, has done well to protect the quarterback.
UConn was 29th among FBS teams in sacks allowed per game (1.38) in 2022 and improved that ranking to ninth (1.00) a season ago.
Lundt already has the proper posture and foot speed to extinguish rushers off the edge. If he improves his hand usage and fills out his frame, we could be looking at a player who rises up the draft board come next April.