UConn’s defense is built to come out swinging this fall, and the heart of that identity is a veteran front seven that has impressed Jason Candle all through camp.
The Huskies are headed into Saturday’s season-opener against Lafayette with a defensive line and linebacker group packed with older players who have already logged plenty of snaps elsewhere and now get a chance to apply that experience in Ryan Manalac’s system. Candle has seen enough to believe the group can be a force.
Avery Dunn is right in the middle of it. The defensive end started his career at Michigan State, joined Candle at Toledo last year, and now arrives at UConn as one of the team’s captains. He said the group’s shared background is already paying off.
“It’s our chemistry,” said defensive end Avery Dunn, who began his career at Michigan State before joining Candle at Toledo last year. “We have a lot of veteran guys on the D-line and overall we have a lot of experience.
A lot of us come from different places, but overall, we have a lot of plays under our belts so I think that allows us to play much faster and aggressive. Ultimately, I think for the D-line, our biggest motto is to play violent and fast, and also be intelligent.
Chemistry helps with the intelligent part and just being violent and playing fast is what makes it all come together.”
Dunn’s role should be prominent as UConn shifts away from the 3-3-5 look fans got used to over the past two seasons under Matt Brock. He was one of four players named team captain, joining Ty Chan, K’Von Sherman and John Lista.
He’s also part of a defensive line that should stay fresh because of the rotation available behind him. Esean Carter, another Toledo transfer, brings production from last season after playing all 13 games at defensive tackle and finishing with 36 combined stops, 3.0 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass deflection.
The Huskies have more depth coming in behind that group, too. Andrew Laurich arrives from Colorado State after posting three fumble recoveries in one game last season, while Joshua Mickens came from Ohio State, Tahjae Mullix from Oregon State, Desmond Aladuge from Duke and Shamar Riser-Pressley from Buffalo. Texas transfer Melvin Hills III is in the mix as well, along with Matt Hoffman, who had 22 tackles off the edge for UConn last year.
Dunn said the competition on the edge is already pushing the unit.
“Especially off the edge, we have a lot of competition there and that allows us to just get better every day. I think you’ll see, as the season goes on, that we’ll continue to excel and just get better throughout the whole season,” Dunn said.
The linebacker group brings its own experience. Sherman and Lista are the headliners, with Lista coming in as a UPenn transfer. Luke Murphy also adds proven production after making 94 tackles at Eastern Michigan in 2024 before spending last season at Coastal Carolina, and Rickey Williams is another Toledo transfer in the room.
UConn also has pieces that can move around and fill a hybrid role. Jayden Davis, a fifth-year player from Fresno State, is expected to fit into the linebacker/safety spot, and Kylish Hicks could also slide into that kind of usage after beginning his UConn career at receiver, switching to linebacker and spending most of 2024 on special teams.
The back end is less seasoned, but there are still names to know. Braedyn Moore, a safety Candle helped develop at Toledo, played in all 13 games for the Rockets last season. Saxton Suchanic is entering his second year in Storrs, and Moussa Kane brings a resume that includes two interceptions and a sack as a junior at Duke.
There are also players trying to carve out bigger roles, including corners Tyler McKinstry and CJ Bell and safety Tracy Revels.
Suchanic said the system gives the defense room to think and react on its own.
“Manalac’s defense allows for a lot more freedom,” Suchanic said. “I think they trust the players a little more to make our own checks.
At the end of the day, we’re the ones that are out there, so we might see things differently than coaches and I think they give us a lot more freedom to give our own suggestions. It’s a very flexible defense… Our job on the back end, all I care about is making sure we get right from a communication standpoint and an execution standpoint so we can cover and let our guys up front get home.
I love seeing them eat. They’re a very big, physical, fast, aggressive group, so expect big things out of them.”
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