STORRS, Ct. – We are about one month away from UConn Huskies football, but there are still many question marks in and outside of the locker room heading into the 2024 season. One of which is the quarterback room, starring three-star transfer Nick Evers, 2023 Week 1 starter Joe Fagnano and four-star recruit of Texas, Cole Welliver. Which of whom will start in 2024? And even the better question: what is the end goal for some of these quarterbacks with the Huskies?
“College football is a quarterback sport. So, you can be a great defensive mind, you can have this great run game, but if you don’t have a guy that defenses can worry can go for 350-400 yards against you on any given week, it’s tough,” Adam Giardino of UConn Sports Network said.
Nick Evers
Evers is projected to come in and be the starter on opening day. However, there are still many question marks surrounding his play.
Evers began his collegiate career as a four-star recruit who committed to the Oklahoma Sooners. Nevertheless, he only attempted one pass in his freshman year, prompting him to transfer to Wisconsin.
Though that was more of the same. Evers didn’t attempt a single pass with the Badgers last season, lowering him to a three-star transfer. So in two years, Evers went from a talented QB at one of the bigger programs in FBS to a signal caller still competing for a starting position at Connecticut. Not quite ideal. Evers has not taken a meaningful snap in college football, bringing deja vu to Huskies fans with Zion Turner and Ta’Quan Roberson the past two seasons.
Look, there’s a reason why Evers was brought in as a Sooner and Badger in the first place. Out of Flower Mound, Texas, Evers amassed 2,366 yards and 19 passing touchdowns in his senior year of High School. Now getting to call the shots at UConn, we will see Evers reach his full potential as a college football player sooner rather than later.
Joe Fagnano
Fagnano may be the least talented of the four in this QB room going into 2024. However, he will most likely come in as the QB2 to back up Evers.
Last season, an intriguing Huskies team turned to senior Fagnano as the Week 1 starter – though that was it. Fagnano played a mediocre first game and a half before suffering a season-ending-injury in Week 2. And that’s all we’ve seen from Fagnano in FBS, playing with the University of Maine previously.
With the Black Bears, he put together a few good seasons, including All-CAA honors in 2021. Also, Fagnano did show some potential with his legs, running for nearly 300 yards on 93 carries in 2022.
In high school, Fagnano was one of the top quarterbacks in Wyoming. He won Wyoming Area Offensive Player of the Year along with All-State honors. He is a dynamic quarterback with experience, something UConn doesn’t have besides him in this QB room. It consists of freshman and first-time starters. If Evers were to go down, Fagnano’s abilities as a player but also as a leader of an offense will make him the starter in Storrs.
Cole Welliver
“UConn’s had to throw true freshmen into the mix to sink or swim and a lot of them have sunk. And I hope for UConn’s program’s sake that Welliver is this outstanding kid that lives up to everything that is being said about him as a stud quarterback in Texas,” Giardino said recently. And those words couldn’t be more true.
UConn has had to throw Turner and Roberson in as the football team’s starting quarterback due to injuries or disappointing performances. Both hadn’t yet taken a meaningful snap or any snap in college football. This season, Welliver will now to get to sit out and learn from veterans such as Evers and Fagnano.
“And then he [Welliver] comes in and gets to sit out a year, and learn and get bigger and not have to go in as a true freshman and try to figure things out,” Giardino said.
However, Welliver is the future of the UConn Huskies’ football program. It’s very rare a four-star recruit out of Texas comes to Connecticut. If he has patience and doesn’t hit the transfer portal too early, he is going to be a stud. His high school numbers speak for itself, with 4,457 passing yards, 60 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
This was one of the best quarterbacks in the state last year. He can step up in the pocket, has great pocket presence, and has an incredible deep ball. He may not play this year, but mark my words, Welliver is the future of the program.
“I think having a new face at the quarterback will be huge for this team whether it’s in terms of competitiveness or chemistry or just bringing the team together,” a student reporter at UConn Ava Inesta said recently. UConn’s got three new faces to go to, and a few of which might even be the future of this football program. As UConn eyes a Bowl Game, these four quarterbacks success will be essential to their success.
Chase Coburn
Chase Coburn is an aspiring sports reporter and journalist who's already achieved some great things in the industry. At just 13 years old, Chase has already started his own podcast, interviewing celebrities such as ESPN's Adam Schefter, Baltimore Ravens' Justin Madubuike, ESPN's Dan Graziano, and many others. Chase is even experienced in writing for his websites, chasessportsnews.com & chasecoburn.substack.com. He runs his schools broadcast department, and is also a freelance writer for The League Winners, covering Ravens football and UConn football.Chase, who resides in Fairfield, CT, hopes to continue his dream as a broadcaster, and inspire others to CHASE their dreams like he has.