The East-West Shrine Bowl has put two UConn players on its 2027 Preseason Watchlist, giving a first look at some of the Huskies’ emerging names with 45 days left before the 2026 college football stretch kicks off.
K’Von Sherman and Kenji Christian both made the list, adding to UConn’s recent connection with the Shrine Bowl. Skyler Bell and Joe Fagnano have taken part in the game in past seasons, and this year’s watchlist offers another early sign of who could stand out on Jason Candle’s mostly new roster.
Sherman arrives in Storrs after a huge 2025 season at Toledo. His freshman year was modest, with 11 tackles - five solo and six assisted - across eight games.
Then he took off. In 13 games last season, the 6-foot-2, 236-pound linebacker piled up 93 tackles - 52 solo and 41 assisted - and added four and a half sacks, earning First-Team All-MAC honors.
Sherman’s calling card is his speed and his ability to diagnose plays quickly, and he’ll head into his final season looking for another jump.
Christian also followed Candle from Toledo and now gets a chance to carve out a bigger role at UConn. In his lone year with the Rockets, he worked behind Chip Trayanum as the No. 2 back and still logged 105 carries for 528 yards and four touchdowns, good for five yards per carry in 13 games.
That came after a difficult stretch at North Carolina A&T, where he appeared in only three games before a season-ending injury. In 2024, the 6-foot-2, 207-pound junior ran for 256 yards and a touchdown.
With Edwards, Mel Brown, Victor Rosa and Oliver Lundberg Coleman all transferring out of UConn, Christian has a clear opening to become the new lead option in the backfield.
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Fagnano is still part of a crowded room that includes Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley and Skylar Thompson, so nothing is settled yet. But for a quarterback who spent seven college seasons and came through UConn with a strong final year, every roster move around him is worth watching, especially when it nudges him a step closer to a real opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Karaban Is Already Bringing A UConn Edge To Sacramento
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Karaban also used Summer League as an early test run for that mindset, and the results were encouraging even as he worked through the usual rookie adjustment period. He averaged 10 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, showing steady improvement as the games went on and giving Sacramento a glimpse of a player who already sounds comfortable carrying a UConn edge into his next stop. [Read more 🡒]