UConn football’s first real public look under Jason Candle is set for July 23, when the Huskies will meet the media before the start of training camp.
The timing matters because this won’t be a conference media day situation. UConn is not in a conference, so the program is putting together its own event, giving fans a chance to hear directly from Candle and the newest players on the roster in a more relaxed setting.
There will be plenty for Candle to address, even if he keeps some of the answers close to the vest before camp opens. The biggest questions start right at quarterback: who has the edge in the battle for the starting job? From there, attention turns to the backfield, where UConn has five highly-touted running backs and a depth chart that still needs to sort itself out.
The Huskies also have to figure out how to replace the production of All-American wide receiver Skyler Bell. That alone gives Candle plenty to unpack, and it’s only part of the picture.
The new staff will be another major topic. How does the coaching group come together?
How does Candle handle a roster that has gone through so much turnover in his first year? Those are the kinds of questions that should be on the table when he steps to the podium.
And it won’t just be Candle. The players will speak too, which should give fans their first chance to hear how the roster is approaching the season.
Elsewhere, UConn had a finalist in Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards, but Braylon Mullins came up short in the Play of the Year race. OG Anunoby won the award.
Mullins’ moment came on March 29 against Duke, when UConn was staring at a 72-70 deficit with 10 seconds left. The Blue Devils had led by as many as 19, and the Huskies were in serious trouble.
Then came the sequence that saved the season. Mullins and Solo Ball combined on tough defense to force a steal with 5.8 seconds left, and Mullins got the ball back with less than a second to go before burying a long 3-pointer that sent UConn to a 73-72 win and into the Final Four.
Anunoby’s play, with the New York Knicks, was less dramatic because it did not come in an elimination game. Still, his tip-in of a missed shot by Jalen Brunson with 1.2 seconds left in Game 4 of the NBA Finals put the Knicks in position to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the series.
In Other News...
EA Just Revealed How Tough UConns Jason Candle Build Really Is
EA Sports latest College Football release gives UConn a pretty clear message: this is a program with enough pieces to be interesting, but not enough polish to be easy. The games virtual Huskies come in with a roster built around names like Jake Merklinger and Kenji Christian, and the top-end ratings suggest a team that can hang around if the right players hit their ceiling. Even Jason Candles in-game profile fits that theme, with the coach tagged as a talent developer and tasked with steady, realistic benchmarks rather than instant contention.
The simulated 2026 seasons backed up that cautious optimism, with UConn averaging 7.6 wins across 10 runs and reaching a bowl in most of them. There were some encouraging highs, including a 10-3 finish and a bowl win, but the range of outcomes also showed how fragile the build can be when things go sideways. For a fan base trying to gauge what the game thinks of the Huskies, the answer is clear enough to spark debate, even if the toughest part of the challenge is still sitting just out of view. [Read more 🡒]
Purdue Just Set Up A Brutal Test Before Visiting Hilton
Purdue has finished piecing together a nonconference schedule that should give it plenty of early pressure before Big Ten play starts, and the list is loaded with the kind of name-brand opponents that tend to tell you a lot about a team by December. Gonzaga, Iowa State, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Colorado are all on the slate, part of a lineup that includes eight teams that finished in the top 100 of last seasons NET rankings.
For UConn, the most relevant piece is the exhibition tie-in, since Purdue is coming to Connecticut before the regular season begins. The matchup adds another high-profile measuring stick to a program that has spent the last year setting the standard, and it also gives the Huskies a familiar kind of early test: a chance to see how they stack up against a major conference contender before the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]