Recruiting Wrap-up 1/11: Huskies Add Two Newcomers
UConn hosted several portal recruits this week and landed two in Temple LB Tyquan King, and Central Michigan WR Chris Parker. After adding WR Caleb Burton from Auburn and with the return of Skyler Bell, the Huskies are presumably set at WR. However, adding King is a huge coup for the defense, who is looking to replace the two leading tacklers from last season in LBs Jayden McDonald (125 tackles), and Tui Faumuina-Brown (91 tackles).
King, a native of West Haven, attended HS in South Carolina, where he played LB and RB. He began his collegiate career at FCS North Carolina A&T, where he played in nine games as a freshman, totaling 33 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and three sacks. In his collegiate debut, he notched seven tackles and an interception. In his sophomore season, he led the Aggies with 93 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and an interception, before entering the portal and landing at East Carolina. In his one season with the Pirates, King played in just three games, mainly on special teams. He would land at Temple in 2024, where he got back to the production he had with NC A&T, totaling 111 tackles, six TFLs, three sacks, and a fumble recovery for the Owls, including 15 against UConn on October 5th. With one year of eligibility remaining, King should be in the running for one of the vacated starting LB spots.
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On the other side of the ball, Parker comes to Storrs from Central Michigan, where he spent four seasons. After playing sparingly in 2022, Parker broke out in 2023, catching 22 passes for a career-high 400 yards and three TDs. His 17.8 yards per catch led the team. In 2024, he played in all 12 games, starting ten, Parker caught 29 passes for 360 yards, both leading the team. He had a career-high 79 receiving yards against Ball State to go with two TDs. The WR room is now getting pretty crowded in Storrs, but may arguably have the most depth since the Dan Orlovsky days.
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