Official Visit Preview - Weekend #2
After hosting six recruits last weekend, including one who was already committed, the football Huskies will host 13 recruits this weekend, including committed DB Jordan Rich, the first commit in this class. Check out the visitors below:
Bridges-Brooks, from Keyser, West Virginia, but attends school in Upper Marlboro, MD, has a slew of P4 offers, including BC, Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, UNC, Oregon, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. UConn offered back in February, and based on his Twitter, does not have any other OVs set up. He is a solid 3 star recruit according to both 247Sports and Rivals, and is the 22nd best prospect in Maryland according to Rivals, and 28th by 247Sports. You can check out his highlights from this spring’s Rivals camp below.
Hailing from Waverly, NY, Watson had a breakout season this year for the 13-1 Waverly HS team, that won their first ever state championship. Watson caught 62 passes for 917 yards and 17 TDs, averaging 14.8 yards per catch. Watson has offers from Air Force, Army, Bethune-Cookman, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Maine, Navy, New Hampshire, and Temple. Now, not to put pressure on the young man, but at 6’4” 205, he fits the profile of another productive, but lightly recruited HS receiver out of NY that went on to be pretty darn good.
Dodd is a great example of this staff being in the hunt with a higher caliber player than in the past. Dodd, a 4 star recruit by Rivals, and a high 3 star from 247, currently has offers from P4 schools South Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, but also several G5 offers from schools like App State, Arkansas State, ECU, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Liberty, Miami (OH), and Troy. He officially visited UVA last weekend, his birthday weekend, and will visit Virginia Tech next weekend, so UConn will have to top that experience. He had 48 tackles last season, including 24 TFLs and 12 sacks, so he lives in the backfield, something that UConn needs.
Similarly to Dodd, Mack is another solid prospect according to 247Sports. He is rated 86, and has P4 offers from Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Louisville, NC State, and West Virginia, and has several G5 offers. He had a very productive junior season, totaling 68 tackles, 12 pass breakups, 4 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception for his Edgewater (FL) team that made the Florida 3M finals. He will be visiting NC State next weekend, so it appears UConn and the Wolfpack are his top two for now. He would add a hard-hitting safety to secondary, which will be losing Rante Jones and Malik Dixon-Williams after this year.
Cook, from Snellville, GA, has P4 offers, including Indiana, Kansas, and Maryland, plus G5 offers from App State, Bowling Green, ECU, JMU, Memphis, Troy, and Tulane, among others. He has visited Bowling Green, and was supposed to visit Kansas last weekend, but it is unclear if that visit materialized. He will visit ECU next weekend. Last season, he caught 13 passes for 276 yards and 2 TDs in 8 games, and is also a track athlete. He ran a time of 7.00 in the 60 meter dash, and 11.33 in the 100 yard dash. He has the athleticism and height at 6’1” that the receivers room is looking for.
Coming out of Miami, FL, Mendez is rated a 5.7 by Rivals, which translates to a grade of about 87. He has P4 offers from Illinois, Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Ole Miss, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, plus several other G5 offers. Mendez had 91 tackles this past season, including 66 solo, and 16 sacks for Western High in Davie. LB of course, has been a position that UConn needs to shore up the depth, and Mendez is certainly a piece they can build around. UConn is currently Mendez’ only scheduled OV.
From King George, VA, Johnson is another LB with P4 offers. So far, Maryland, Pitt, Wake Forest, and West Virginia have offered. Last season for the state runner-up King George Foxes, Johnson had 60 tackles, 29 solo, 4 sacks, and 2 INTs. He was also a RB, rushing 50 times for 501 yards. He was part of a slew of offers that went out to prospects in the Virginia area, a new recruiting area unlocked with OC Gordon Sammis and QB coach Brad Robbins. Johnson does not have any other OVs scheduled at present.
Melvin, from Brandywine, MD, is sought after, having offers from BC, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, plus several G5 offers. He has already visited BC and West Virginia, and has a visit planned for next weekend at Virginia Tech. At Gwynn Park HS, he had 64 tackles, 30 solo, and 4 sacks. At 6’4” 290, he more than has the requisite size for a DL at the FBS level. Watching his Hudl, he is hard to block and lives in the backfield.
Some potential help on the OL, Pierre is a 3 star lineman from Gaithersburg, MD. He has offers from Central Michigan, Howard, Liberty, Marshall, UMass, Monmouth, Pitt, and Towson. He was scheduled to visit Pitt last weekend, but it doesn’t look like that happened, and does not have any visits planned after this weekend. He has a little weight to add at 6’4” 250, but he has the frame certainly to build into a solid OL.
Another DL, Brown is from traditional power Valdosta HS (GA), and has offers from Arkansas State, FAU, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, JMU, Kent State, Marshall, Troy, Western Kentucky, and Western Michigan, plus some FCS offers. He had 31 tackles, including 15 solo this season, and had 10 TFLs. Brown visited Kent State last weekend, and does not have an OV scheduled for next weekend.
Johnson, attending Hamden Hall in Hamden, CT, was scheduled to visit the weekend of 5/31, but rescheduled for this week. A talented in-state WR, he has offers from Army, BC, Duke, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon State, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, and West Virginia. He has a visit set up with Duke next weekend, and was to visit Rutgers last weekend, but unclear if that visit occurred. Last season at Hamden Hall, Johnson was a touchdown magnet, notching receiving, rushing, punt return, kick return, and interception for scores. He caught 33 passes for 584 yards and 11 TDs. 247Sports analyst Greg Biggins rates him as a P4 starter, and believes if he can improve his burst and top end speed, he can be a very dangerous player. He would be a fantastic get for the Huskies, who have struggled to reel in some of the top prep talent in the state.
Click the link above to see our coverage of his commitment.