UConn Football: 2025 Season Preview

It is game week in Storrs, Connecticut, as the UConn Huskies prepare for a Week 1 showdown against FCS’ Central Connecticut State University to open their season. Ahead of the 2025 season, there are high expectations inside the UConn football locker room. The Huskies look back on a 9-4 finish and Fenway Bowl win in 2024, which was the most successful season for the program in 15 years.

UConn Football: 2025 Season Preview

Now entering year four under head coach Jim Mora, UConn fans are hoping that will become the expectation. While the men’s and women’s basketball programs are thriving in the Big East, the football program has fallen behind, and struggled to build out a competitive schedule as one of college football’s two independent FBS programs. The only hope for the program would be to join a power conference in a football agreement. A strong 2025 would increase those odds.

After an incredible 2024 season, UConn is set up well, with a strong group of returning pieces and veteran transfers that lead the way. Three ACC showings and some high-level MAC competition could also allow Connecticut to insert themselves on the map. But what should be the expectation going into the season? Is UConn positioned for success, or was last year a one-trick-pony season for the former laughing stock of college football?

Offensive Continuity

For the first time in the Jim Mora regime, the Huskies have significant turnover offensively, particularly at its key position groups.

Quarterbacks

The core pieces in its passing attack return. Seven-year collegiate quarterback Joe Fagnano is set to lead the offense, while former four-star recruit Nick Evers backs him up. While both led victories in 2024, Fagnano finished with one of the greatest passing seasons in program history while taking just 53-percent of the offensive snaps, per UConn reporter Adam Giardino. In a full-year under offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis, Fagnano could exceed the expectation.

“He was one of the 15 most efficient quarterbacks in the country in terms of touchdown to interception ratio,” Giardino recently told The League Winners. “And yeah, those numbers make you believe that if you extrapolate over a full season, those numbers should be competitive with even Dan Orlovsky’s best season in UConn history.”

Fagnano is far from one of the most elite signal callers in college football. Howver, he has been efficient, effective, and has a great pocket presence. His connection on deep passes with wide receiver Skyler Bell has added another dimension to the Huskies offense.

Meanwhile, Evers is set to back up Fagnano. And the likelihood is that he won’t see significant playing time unless Fagnano underperforms or suffers from injuries – which is a key reason why he has a seventh season of collegiate eligibility.

Receivers

Simultaneously, the receiving corps also looks improved. Bell is returning for his second season with UConn after entering the transfer portal and turning down a lucrative NIL offer from Michigan. He comes off of his best season at college as the top option in the Huskies offense. Bell caught 50 passes for 860 yards and five touchdowns, which included four games with 100+ yards.

On the other hand, the Huskies have also added Caleb Burton III and others to help stabilize the passing attack. Last year, the ball wasn’t thrown at a consistent enough rate to develop some traction. Although, UConn plans to have a far more balanced offense in 2025. But balanced can be interpreted in various ways.

“Balance doesn’t mean that on every game that you run the ball 50 percent of the time and you throw the ball 50 percent of the time,” Giardino claimed. “A balanced offense means that you can go out there and in the second half if it requires you to throw the ball well you can throw the ball well. In the second half if it requires you to win a game by running the ball that you can do that. That’s an idea of what a balanced offense is.”

With that said, the offense will clearly run through its ground game.

Running Backs

The rushing attack is led by upperclassmen Camryn Edwards, Mel Brown and transfer MJ Flowers, who is making his FBS debut in 2025. Last season, UConn finished 21st among all schools in rushing yards per game. They hope 2025 will bring them similar success. Durell Robinson’s departure, however, maybe opens up avenues for Edwards to become the downhill runner.

“Robinson was such a heavy runner and relished contact,” Giardino explained. “I think Cam Edwards is the guy that needs to run a little heavier and might be asked to to pick up one or two yards on third down whereas last year that was definitely more of a Durrell Robinson [job] if he was having a good day.”

Edwards is coming off of a few productive seasons at the pro level. Mel Brown enters his second year with Connecticut as a top option as well, a twitchy runner whose usage should increase. Flowers has all of the physical tools to fit into the equation as well. However, it’s running back Victor Rosa that may surprise some and return near his 2022-level, where he was a star freshman on the Husky offense.

Giardino remains positive about what Rosa can provide because of his, “freshman numbers where he came on and he was outstanding,” he claimed. “Victor Rosa is a guy that I think deserves the opportunity to be in that mix. Even if you know the numbers last year, they were obviously hampered by injury.”

Last season, the Huskies threw the ball less than 20 times in three contests. In those three games, the rushing attack ran for almost 1000 yards. The ground game does the dirty work offensively.

Year Two Improvements Under Gordon Sammis

UConn saw a significant improvement in offensive efficiency, effectiveness and pace in year one under Gordon Sammis, who previously was the offensive line coach. Last season, the Huskies improved their pace of play by about 3.5 seconds, working faster while huddling less, according to Giardino. They finished 43rd in the country in pace of play, which helped them put up astronomical offensive numbers compared to the year before.

Now into his second year, and Sammis could have the UConn offense improve during the 2025 football season. Many of its core pieces from a season ago return with perhaps more consistency at quarterback. “This offense is even more capable of beating you through the air,” Giardino said. UConn very rarely used its passing attack as the driving force to a win. Into 2025, and Sammis could find similar per-play success on the ground with more dependability through the air.

The conversation remains: will the offense take a step back? With major strides comes major anticipation on whether the success can be replicated. However, Giardino believes the offense will again thrive under Sammis. “I think that UConn’s offensive numbers weren’t fluky,” he claimed. “With this opposing schedule, I don’t see why they would be outside the top-50 in a lot of these significant indicator categories that led success for them last year.”

New-look Defense

While the offense is returning its same group of players, the defense led by second-year coordinator Matt Brock has a brand new group. In fact, Giardino estimates nine of its eleven starting defensive players will be newcomers.

2024 Success

“I think the proof is in the pudding with what he was able to do last year,” Giardino explained.

Last year, the Huskies defense wasn’t just one of the best in program history since moving to FBS. It was one of the most productive in all of college football. No team forced three-and-outs on a more frequent rate than Huskies, which left some leeway for its inconsistent offense. The Huskies defense also finished top-20 in the country in opponent third down conversion and opponent red zone conversion.

However, there’s a possibility that the same story isn’t told this year. Most of its 2024 pieces have departed. Linebackers Jayden McDonald and Tui Faumuina-Brown have graduated. Defensive lineman Pryce Yates transferred to North Carolina. Its fundamental pieces in the secondary (D’Mon Brinson, Malachi McLean, Malik Dixon-Williams) have also since graduated, too. Instead, it’s a new group of transfers that hope to pave the way to success.

Newcomers

Defensive linemen Vincent Jackson, Stephon Wright, and Trent Jones II have all transferred to Connecticut, and come with solid experience. Jackson and Jones come from power-schools, while Wright comes from Texas Southern after previous stints with SMU and Arizona State. So the front seven should be fine, if they can all play their part.

However, the secondary is also made up of entirely new pieces. Defensive backs Kolubah Pewee Jr., Devin Pringle, Tyrece Mills and Kamo’i Latu all come to Storrs with one year of eligibility remaining. They’re experienced vets who hope their success in previous collegiate seasons will pay dividends in their new role.

On paper, the defensive roster again looks stacked. Couple that with a simple yet effective system under Brock, and the defense should do fine. Maybe they’re not what they were a year ago, but somewhere close.

However, there’s an opportunity that all goes wrong. The defense in Connecticut fit together right out of the gate a season ago. A dominant Week 4 carried into a strong rest of the season. If the defense isn’t cohesive early, the Huskies will suffer the consequences.

“[If UConn is] a couple wins too short of what they would hope [for] in the regular season, that would have a greater chance of being a defensive issue rather than offensive issue,” Giardino commented. “I think the floor of the offense is higher than the floor of the defense.”

Upperclassmen Run the Team

One noticeable change in the recent years has been the Huskies prioritization on proven talent. Or at least, experienced talent with more to prove. That has been the transfer strategy for the Mora regime. The Nick Evers, Skyler Bell, Durell Robinson, MJ Flowers, Caleb Burton’s of the world. All are world-class talents who came to UConn a few years into college. But only a handful turn into the talents that run the program. Some have been home runs, and others have been strikeouts.

But touchdowns will come from a group of juniors, seniors, redshirts, and graduate students looking for exclamation point to cap off their collegiate experience. The 2025 UConn football roster has 32 seniors, redshirt seniors or graduate students as well as ten others who are playing a fourth season, according to the Connecticut Post. This includes seven returning starters from their Fenway Bowl win over North Carolina. It’s a combination of strong continuity and experience that is shaping this version of the UConn Huskies.

“There’s gonna be some grad students that people aren’t thinking of that are going to [have major roles] on this defense,” Giardino shared. “And just because their new faces to this program [and] people aren’t maybe as familiar with them, they will be by week two, three and four.”

Many of the strong offensive pieces are rounding out their careers in Storrs, including Fagnano. A lot of their transfers share a similar story. UConn is leaning on experience. And it will either lead to an overachieving season that puts them on the map, or a letdown for a program on the incline.

ACC Competition

While UConn has some traditional ‘sit-ups’ on the docket in 2025, they’ve scheduled football games that will be circled at the beginning of the week for many. They face Syracuse on the road in Week 2, head to Boston College a few weeks later, and play Duke late in the year. All three are power-school programs who are projected to be competitive groups in an improved ACC.

If the Huskies are able to collect a win or two – unlike their 0-4 regular season record against P5 schools a season ago – the narrative around the program will shift. And that’s not out of the realm of possibility.

“If they beat Syracuse in week two, there is a very reasonable path to be 6-0 heading into the game against Boston College,” Giardino said. “Now, do they go and beat Syracuse? But if you do get that win in Week 2, I think the confidence is gonna be really high heading into a game against Delaware State on the road.”

Last season, the Huskies won all of their ‘sits-ups.’ They cemented themselves as superior than the lower-level FBS programs in the country. They proved they should no longer be classified in such tier. However, they also are far from a power-school after their showings against them last year.

A 50-7 loss in Maryland was a damper to open the season. However, tight losses at Duke, Wake Forest, and Syracuse were the story. They later picked up a win against North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl, though the Tar Heels rested most of their players and were switching regimes. It’s not a great way to judge how the Huskies will compete with high-level competition.

That will be the conversation for the Huskies. Can they overcome their previous challenges in the cruelest of environments?

UConn Football: 2025 Season Projection

I recently did a full game-by-game breakdown of what to expect from the Huskies in 2025. If things go right the Huskies could be nationally ranked.

On the contrary, if they are inconsistent and never build a strong rapport defensively, they’ll be fighting for bowl eligibility. That seems to be the floor, however. They are too talented, and have too easy of a schedule outside of their ACC affairs, to become a three-win team again.

However, making a third bowl game in four years isn’t the goal for the Huskies. And it circles back to the original goal for the program: joining a power conference.

UConn can only go so far as an independent. A 6-6, 7-5 season with their strength of scheduling following an overachieving 9-4 year would be a disappointment. According to ESPN win percentage, the Huskies are projected for eight wins. The oddsmakers have them at 7.5.

Anything short of an eight, nine win season won’t warrant them an opportunity at becoming a football-only school in a stage of conference realignment that is as chaotic as it’s ever been. Is a nine win season in store? Well, it sure is possible.