UConn Football: Can Chase Lundt Continue Huskies Legacy?

When UConn closed out a 27-14 Fenway Bowl win over North Carolina, it was a bittersweet moment for the Huskies. It concluded their incredible season with an exclamation point against a power-conference opponent. It also came as the end of an era for many Huskies who helped build that foundation this past fall. One of them was senior offensive lineman Chase Lundt. Lundt is moving on to bigger and greater pastures, with hopes of being an NFL draft pick.

Can Chase Lundt continue the legacy of Huskies offensive linemen in the NFL?

After the win over UNC, Lundt went to X (formerly Twitter), thanking fans who had supported him throughout his collegiate career. “I’m glad I could end my time at UConn the right way,” Lundt shared. However, he announced his decision to declare for the 2025 NFL draft on his Instagram page.

“To Husky Nation, I can’t thank you enough for the support through the ups and downs,” he wrote. “I’ll miss playing at The Rent and feeling your energy through all four quarters. With that being said, I am proud to announce that I am DECLARING FOR THE 2025 NFL DRAFT.”

“He has a bright future,” Gordon Sammis, UConn’s first-year offensive coordinator, told the CT Post on his starting tackle.

What Lundt Can Provide to an NFL Roster

“He has the size, the athletic ability to be successful at a lot of places,” Sammis later added. He helped coach Lundt in his final three seasons at UConn. Sammis was as an O-Line coach for his first two seasons with UConn, as well as run game & offensive coordinator this past year.

While the transfer portal is a common asset for non-power conference program stars, Lundt has stayed loyal to Connecticut. After redshirting in his 2019 freshman season and UConn’s absence in 2020 due to COVID-19, Lundt has been a four-year starter with the program, helping them go to their first bowl game – and then an additional one this past December – since 2015.

“I’m intrigued by the athletic ability,” ESPN NFL draft Analyst Matt Miller told me after a recent interview on the Cool Sports Network. “He moves well.”

In that time, UConn’s offensive line has grown as one of the best in college football. This past year, the Huskies were 13th in sacks allowed per game, allowing just over one per game. In 2023, they were ninth in the country, and Lundt was a major part of that success.

“He’s really good at pass [protection],” Miller agreed. “It’s just a matter of developing a little bit and leveling up in terms of his technique.”

The critique Miller has on Lundt’s game is the power he generates for his 6-foot 8-inch, 305-pound frame.

“He just has to get a little bit more powerful. Big, tall guys like that, you want them to play be able to play with leverage and body power.”

However, with that said, his frame, experience, success and great combine showing still makes him “an ascending player.”

Lundt Mentored by former teammate, Seahawks’ Christian Haynes

“Christian [Haynes] is just a tremendous mentor for me,” Lundt told The League Winners postgame after the Huskies’ 48-14 win over FAU. “It’s tremendous to see the amount of growth I’ve had over the past three years with him playing next to me.”

Lundt reiterated the importance and the impact Haynes had on his first three years with UConn in a recent article done by the CT Post. He shared, “You have seen guys like Haynes, Noel (Ofori-Nyadu), Ryan Van Demark, and Matt Peart have all been in this program and set the foundation for us.

“One thing we try to do in that room is leave that foundation even stronger every single year, and I think we have done a great job of that this year.”

After two seasons as an AP All-American at UConn, Haynes played in 16 games last season in his rookie year with Seattle, and this coming season is projected to fill a starting void at left guard for the Seahawks. In CT Post’s article, it is mentioned how Lundt tries to call with him occasionally and catch up. Back in September, he also told The League Winners that he tries to keep up and follow Haynes and his NFL journey.

Lundt is Hoping to Carry the Legacy of other UConn O-Line Stars

Ofori-Nyadu, Van Demark, and Peart alongside Haynes were all anchors of this Huskies O-Line at different points throughout their careers.

Peart was a four-year starter before the New York Giants selected him in the 2020 NFL draft. Various NFL squads, including Denver, invited Ofori-Nyadu to their minicamp. And Van Demark, a four-year starter, went undrafted in 2022, though has now made a career for himself in the pros with the Buffalo Bills. Blocking in front of NFL MVP winner Josh Allen, Van Demark has played 26 games over two seasons with Buffalo.

Those stars and their success from UConn is what Lundt is trying to replicate in his journey. Now, he hopes to follow in their footsteps, with a chance to put on one of 32 hats on the biggest stage this coming week.

“I do think what they’ve done at UConn has been fun,” Miller claimed. “They’re getting higher level recruits. I think the big thing is just learning how to develop. When you get guys who have been at the NFL, they know what to look for. It seems like they’ve targeted and identified what they want out of these guys; tall, athletic. And then they’re going to coach you up. It has been really fun to watch.”

Lundt’s Projected Draft Position

Chase Lundt is going to hear his name called this week, all because of a tremendous senior campaign. He garnered attention from the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl, and was the only Husky invited to the NFL combine.

“The step he took from last year to this year was really big,” Miller shared. “He was so good this past year.”

Now, Huskies fans are desperately approaching the draft to see where their star ends up. In Miller’s most recent Mock Draft, he has Lundt going in the sixth round to Las Vegas. NFL Draft Buzz however, believes Lundt could go as high as the fifth round. Some say he could be a day two pick, though most have him positioned in the final three rounds.

“Right now I have a fourth, fifth round grade on him,” said Miller. “[However,] I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on the higher end of that than the lower.”

Wherever, the Huskies most-likely lone draft pick this coming April will make a seamless transition to the NFL. With the intangibles and size needed to thrive as an offensive lineman, it is no doubt that Lundt’s presence will only become more prominent. Except now, at the pro level.