[thesportsguru11]

Early Signing Day Recap

With the end of the early signing period, UConn snagged four more minor recruits to make eleven commits for the Class of 2022. Here are all of the prospects committed to join UConn country next fall now that we've wrapped up the in-season portion of recruiting.

If you'd like to view previous recruiting updates, you may do so by clicking on these links.
Nation's top tailback visiting UConn (Week 4)
Bye Week: First commits and more
UConn Recruiting Update 2 - mid-November

UConn Recruiting - Early Signing Day (as of December 9, 2021)
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Ashanti Swift	RB	HS	Wayne, NJ	6'1	210
Linzell Tyson	ATH	HS	Paramus, NJ	6'2	211
Morgan Bench	QB	HS	Long Branch, NJ	6'3	219
Quendon Shakespeare	OT	HS	Cranford, NJ	6'6	313
Tevari Lindsay	ATH	HS	North Haven, CT	6'4	288
Jayson Meier	ILB	HS	Sayreville, NJ	6'0	222
Avan Goulding	OLB	HS	Camden, NJ	6'2	220
Darrell Jones	ATH	HS	Ellicott City, MD	6'1	214
Kenny Graves	TE	HS	Orono, ME	6'8	242
Josh Mirvil	TE	HS	Winnsboro, LA	6'1	213
Nate Dotson	ATH	JUCO Jr	West Haven, CT	6'3	275

And below are brief bios on the four newest commits (and two misses) on UConn's recruiting board since we last checked in.

ATH Darrell Jones is likely going to slot at a skill position or in the back end as a safety. Either way, Jones has an upward climb to playing. I rate him as a fringe three-star prospect; he is a bit on the slow side and isn’t particularly good at one thing.

TE Kenny Graves is intriguing because of his size (6’8, 243). Like Jones, he is a bit slow for his position and can’t block, which will make him kind of an odd fit for the offense. His catching is solid and can be developed in time, but Graves will likely need some work before becoming an every-down contributor like a Ryne Thomas or Ja’Montres Jones.

TE Josh Mirvil is the receiver and could be a surprise in this class. He has solid catching attributes for someone of the 2-star status and has good speed and acceleration ratings for his position (70 and 80, respectively). His catch ratings are also solid across the board. What may hold Mirvil back from playing immediately, however, are his poor blocking ratings. Despite that, I've documented that UConn is set to be extremely thin at tight end next year, with no returnees at that position, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on Mirvil in fall camp next year.

ATH Nate Dotson, as is the case for most JUCO guys, is ready to play right now. It appears that Dotson could play on either side of the line; his ratings in scouting indicate he could contribute at defensive tackle right now with high 70s ratings in most of the important defensive line attributes. However, because of need on offense, I’d expect Dotson to slot in at an interior guard position and challenge for minutes, possibly at left guard where Vince Jones will be vacating his spot upon graduation.

Two major prospects UConn missed out on are defensive tackle Gander Mukachukwe (Penn State commit) and tight end Rahmel Petersen (LSU commit). Petersen is a great athlete with blocking tendencies which would have been well utilized, while Mukachukwe could have contended for reps immediately at another weaker spot on the UConn roster along the interior. However, both elected to stay closer to home, and I can't fault anyone for that. We wish them the best in their college careers.

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What’s Next?

With the early signing period behind UConn, several key battles loom into the offseason and for the February signing day. Inside linebacker Marshawn Dortch from Virginia is going to be the top priority - UConn and Alabama are locked in a close race for the four-star prospect who could be a starter next fall for the Huskies, competing alongside rising seniors Mike Hill and Alex Brown.

Athlete Tarik Madison, a three-star New Jersey product who was a late add to the board, is looking more like a gem prospect who would likely slot in at defensive tackle and be another who could contend for playing time right away.

Cornerback Curtis Tuttle is another important prospect UConn will try to snatch. The three-star prospect from North Plainfield, New Jersey is favoring Rutgers, but will be a welcome addition to a cornerback group expecting to lose key backups Kyler Parks and J.D. Rudie, as well as Shavlion Wade, widely expected to jump to the NFL at the close of the 2021 season.

Athlete Olu Wkunde, a four-star prospect from Richmond, Virginia, is still on the board, as are four star wideout Denzel Jones and three star wideout Hashante Morgan.

Other names to keep an eye on are defensive end Ontrell Jackson from New York, as well as linebackers Vasean Gatewood, three-star prospect from New Jersey (favoring Kentucky) and three-star Ohio linebacker Easton Lennox (favoring UConn slightly over Cincinnati), who could both provide depth to a thinning unit.