UConn’s quarterback competition finally produced a winner, and the nod goes to Toledo transfer Kalieb Osborne.
Multiple sources reported that head coach Jason Candle has tabbed Osborne as the Huskies’ starter for Saturday’s season opener against Lafayette. The 6-foot-4 junior beat out Tennessee transfer Jake Merklinger and returning senior Tucker McDonald after a fall camp battle that stayed tight deep into August.
Merklinger entered the race with plenty of buzz. A former four-star recruit and the No. 11 quarterback in 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2024 class, he was the pick many around the program expected to land the job, including The Athletic. Instead, Osborne emerged from the pack and will take over the offense at Rentschler Field.
Candle originally recruited Osborne to Toledo as a three-star prospect out of Waterford Mott in Michigan. Osborne redshirted his first season with the Rockets, then spent last year backing up Tucker Gleason. He appeared in seven games, mostly in mop-up duty during early blowouts, before getting the start in the Boca Raton Bowl against Louisville.
In that bowl game, Osborne went 17 of 28 for 167 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 77 yards. That mobility is part of what makes him such a different look for UConn, which is moving on from Joe Fagnano at quarterback. Osborne gives the Huskies a much bigger threat on the ground and fits the true dual-threat mold.
His running résumé goes back to high school, where he piled up 1,865 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns during his senior year at Waterford Mott.
Candle had made it clear he wanted the decision to drag as long as possible, hoping one of the three quarterbacks would separate himself. Even as late as Monday, he said all three were still in the mix.
“Nobody has eliminated themselves, and that is why it has been going the way it has,” Candle said. “I’m proud of them for that, and it makes it a hard decision.”
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