UConn Football Picks Up Three New Commitments
After landing four commitments last weekend, the football Huskies kept the momentum going by adding three more commitments over Mother’s Day weekend. While Father’s Day weekend has traditionally been a major commitment period for high school recruits, Mother’s Day may be becoming just as significant in the transfer portal era.
WR Naiem Simmons (USF)
Simmons was a big name in the portal after the 2022 season. In fact, he was targeted by the Huskies, but unfortunately, also targeted by many other schools. Simmons began at FCS Wagner, where he had a monster 2022 season, catching 50 passes for 796 yards, including three 100+ yard games. In the 2022 portal, Simmons received many FCS offers, and FBS offers from Kent State, Marshall, Georgia State, Jacksonville State, Arkansas State, Eastern Michigan, UMass, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Old Dominion, before settling on USF. In Tampa, Simmons started seven games in 2013 while playing in every game. He caught 39 passes for 637 yards, second on the team in each category, buoyed by a single-game USF record 272 yards against Rice. He suffered a knee injury and missed the entire 2024 season, and will look to get back to 100% at UConn.
DT Marquis Black (Gardner-Webb)
Black has had a well-traveled college career, enrolling at Nebraska in 2020, playing three seasons in Lincoln before transferring to Western Kentucky in 2023. After a year in Bowling Green, he committed to Gardner-Webb for the 2024 season before ending his career with the Huskies. At Nebraska, he did not play in 2020 or 2022, and played in just two games in 2021 in wins over Fordham and Buffalo. At WKU, he didn’t see any game action either. Black did get playing time at Gardner-Webb, totaling 27 tackles and two sacks in 451 snaps and 12 games. Out of HS, Black was a three star recruit, choosing the Huskers over offers from Arizona, BC, ECU, Georgia Tech, K-State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.
LS Tashi Crofut (Boise State)
Crofut has less fanfare than the other two, being a long snapper and a freshman, but he has an interesting story nonetheless coming out of Lake Oswego, OR. Athleticism runs in his family, his father a former pro skier, and mother an All-American in field hockey. His family also has brought a few teammates under their roof when they needed some help, and Crofut earned the inaugural “Heart and Soul” award at Lakeridge HS. The Huskies have returnees Zach Christinat, grad student Kyle Vaccarella on roster.