UConn is heading into 2026 with a very different feel after the Jim Mora era came to a close in 2025.
Mora leaves behind a program that had found real traction, stacking back-to-back 9-3 seasons and reaching the Fenway Bowl twice. In his final year, he pushed the Huskies to nine wins and picked up two notable victories against Power 4 opponents Duke and Boston College before taking the Colorado State job.
The on-field engine for that run was quarterback Joe Fagnano, who finished with 3,448 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and only one interception. His favorite target was Skyler Bell, and the two hooked up more than 100 times for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. UConn also had a reliable hammer in the backfield with Camryn Edwards, who ran for 1,240 yards and 15 scores.
That 2025 season served as proof of concept for the Huskies as an independent, smaller-market program. Now the challenge falls to new head coach Jason Candle, who inherits a roster that has been heavily stripped down. Fagnano and Bell are off to NFL teams, while Edwards transferred to Michigan State, leaving the offense in need of a major reset.
Candle spent the spring trying to patch those holes and brought in 61 new Huskies, including a number of players who followed him from Toledo, where he last coached. Even with that influx, 2026 looks like a transition year while the new staff settles in.
Quarterback remains unsettled, with a battle ongoing between redshirt freshman and Tennessee transfer Jake Merklinger and returning junior Tucker McDonald. Merklinger arrives as a 3-star transfer, while McDonald is coming off a season in which he saw garbage-time action in two games.
At receiver, the Huskies lost most of last year’s depth. Only one player from that group is back, though Shamar Porter tested the portal as a 4-star and ultimately withdrew. Porter is expected to take on a bigger role as the lead receiver this fall.
Candle also brought in former Syracuse quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile as offensive coordinator. Another familiar name for Orange fans is Emmanuel Ross, the former 4-star Syracuse wideout who also joined UConn.
Syracuse has already handled UConn twice in the Fran Brown era, and with the Huskies retooling on offense and adjusting to a new coach, the Orange should like this matchup. The prediction here: Syracuse goes to Connecticut and wins 30-10.
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Syracuse Recruiting Board Just Got More Complicated For McNamaras Next Build
Syracuses 2026-27 recruiting board has already started to shift, and not in a way that makes the next build any simpler for Adrian Autrys staff. Several high school prospects the Orange have been tracking are on the move to new programs, a reminder that the evaluation process now stretches well beyond one school year and one gym. Rowan Phillips, Kevin Wheatley Jr., Zion Green, Will Brunson, Payton Jones, Isaiah Hamilton and Xavier Skipworth are all changing scenery, with each player carrying some level of Syracuse interest or an offer on the table.
For a staff trying to map out the next wave of targets, those transfers matter because the new settings will change who sees them, how often they play and how quickly their stock can rise. Syracuse also recently extended scholarship offers to Isaiah Clarke and Ahmed Nur, adding two more names to a board that is getting crowded fast. The Orange are still early in the process, but the constant movement in the prep ranks means the picture around McNamaras next class may not settle anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Two Syracuse Transfers Could Shape Fran Browns 2026 Turnaround
Syracuse has spent the portal cycle trying to give Fran Brown a deeper, sturdier roster for the push toward 2026, and two additions stand out as the kind of pieces that can matter quickly. Linebacker Chris D'Appolonia arrives from Toledo with two years of eligibility left and a reputation for helping stabilize a defense, while running back Ahmad Miller comes over from Jackson State with the kind of rushing background that can help an offense looking for more punch.
The fit matters because the Orange are also working to replace lost playmakers on offense, which puts extra pressure on the backfield to hold up early. Miller gives Syracuse a chance to keep the run game moving, and D'Appolonia offers another layer of help on the other side of the ball as the team builds toward its Sept. 5 opener against New Hampshire at the JMA Wireless Dome. [Read more 🡒]