College notebook: Mail Arrives on time at UConn
Dec. 23—Chris Hudson announced his commitment to the UConn football team July 4th.
The Windsor native made things official Wednesday morning.
Hudson was one of 13 members of the Huskies' 2023 recruiting class to sign letters of intent on the first day of the early signing period.
Hudson, a 5-foot-10, 172-pound cornerback, was a three-year starter at St. Thomas More School in Montville. In his senior season with the Chancellors, Hudson had 48 tackles, two interceptions and broke up 12 passes.
Hudson attended Kingswood Oxford in West Hartford starting in sixth grade before transferring to St. Thomas More and reclassifying into the Class of 2023 following his sophomore year.
In his first season with the Chancellors, Hudson finished with 41 tackles, three interceptions and broke up eight passes.
Simsbury native Jackson Harper also signed his letter of intent Wednesday.
The 6-foot-1, 187-pound wide receiver started all four seasons he played at Avon Old Farms. Harper made 37 catches for 898 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He was the All-Founders League Co-Offensive Player of the Year and a first team All-Founders League honoree.
The early signing period runs through today. Other players that signed Wednesday were:
—Carsten Casady — Freshman, Offensive Tackle, 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, Rolesville, NC/Rolesville High.
—Cameron Chadwick — Freshman, Safety, 5-foot-10, 174 pounds, Plainfield, NJ/Immaculata High.
—Nader Chirchi — Freshman, Tight End, 6-foot-6, 248 pounds, Alexandria, VA/Edison High.
—Cleto Chol — Freshman, Defensive End, 6-foot-5, 233 pounds, Salem, MA/Proctor Academy
—Oumar Diomande — Freshman, Inside Linebacker, 6-foot, 210 pounds, Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy High.
—Zackary Drawdy — Freshman, Wide Receiver, 6-foot-1, 183 pounds, Yulee, FL/Yulee High
—Toriyan Johnson — Freshman, Offensive Tackle, 6-foot-7, 320 pounds, Boston, MA/Proctor Academy
—Jarvis Jones — Freshman, Wide Receiver, 6-foot-1, 168 pounds, Plainfield, NJ/West Orange High.
—Brandon Kelley — Freshman, Defensive Line, 6-foot-5, 222 pounds, Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts High.
—Tucker McDonald — Freshman, Quarterback, 6-foot-1, 189 pounds, Holden, MA/Wachusett High.
—Toluwanimi Tunde — Freshman, Offensive Tackle, 6-foot-5, 268 pounds, Ilofa, Kwara State of Nigeria/Royal Imperial Collegiate (Ontario, Canada).
Football schedule set
The Huskies announced their finalized 2023 schedule Thursday. Game time and television information will be announced at a later date.
UConn opens the campaign at home Sept. 2 when it welcomes NC State to Pratt & Whitney stadium in East Hartford. The Huskies fell to the then 12th-ranked Wolfpack 41-10 in Raleigh this season.
The Huskies also welcome FIU (Sept. 16), Duke (Sept. 23), Utah State (Sept. 30), South Florida (Oct. 21) and FCS foe Sacred Heart (Nov. 18) to Pratt & Whitney Stadium next season.
UConn will also travel to Georgia State (Sept. 9), Rice (Oct. 7), Boston College (Oct. 28), Tennessee (Nov. 4) and James Madison (Nov. 11).
The matchups with Georgia State, Rice and Tennessee are first-ever meetings for the Huskies while the game against James Madison is the teams' first meeting as FBS schools.
The Huskies close the season against UMass in a neutral site game Nov. 25. The game's location will be announced at a later date.
Under first-year head coach Jim Mora, the Huskies finished the 2022 season 6-7, losing to Marshall in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
Haynes returning
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Christian Haynes announced Thursday he will be returning to the Huskies for his final year of eligibility next season.
"First off, I would like to thank UConn Nation for accepting me for the past five years," Haynes said in a post on his Instagram page. "I've been blessed to be around the amount of talent that goes through Burton Family Football Complex. Everyone in the program has helped push me in becoming a better man, leader and teammate. I will never forget the memories made from the 2022 football season and how stellar Husky Nation was at the Rent all year!
"With much consideration and talking to my coaches, family, my inner circle of friends and my Lord and savior, I have decided to use my final year of eligibility to come back to UConn. I can't wait to help lead my teammates to a great year and see Husky Nation pack the Rent next fall."
Haynes, a 6-foot-3, 305-pounder from Bowie, Maryland, was a Sporting News second team All-American and a third team Associated Press All-American this season.
He was the third Husky in the FBS era to earn All-American status and the first since Jordan Todman in 2010.
Toscano Ice Forum opening
The new Toscano Family Ice Forum at UConn will be officially opened Jan. 12 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The arena will be in use the first time the following night when the Huskies women's ice hockey team welcomes Hockey East foe Merrimack (6 p.m.).
The women play again Jan. 14 when they host Vermont (2 p.m.) while the men take the ice for the first time in the new arena that night when they welcome Northeastern (7:35 p.m.).
General admission tickets for the remaining six women's home games this season will be available. Meanwhile, men's season ticket holders have been assigned seats in the Toscano Family Ice Forum for the remainder of the season.
There will not be tickets available to the public for the final five games of the year.
Rink tours will be held Jan. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those interested in a self-walking tour through the facility will need to claim a ticket through UConnTickets.com by Jan. 9.
Eastern baseball ranked 7th
The Eastern Connecticut State men's basketball team was ranked seventh in the Collegiate Baseball preseason NCAA Division III top 40 poll, which was released Thursday.
The Warriors had 270 points. Salisbury claimed the top spot with 298 points. Eastern went 49-3 last year en route to winning the fifth national title in program history.
The Warriors swept Salisbury in the best-of-three championship series.
