Roster Preview: Defensive Front Seven
One position group might be the most talented on the team. The other is replacing two key starters from last year.
UConn’s defensive line and linebacker corps are in vastly different situations heading into the 2022 season.
The linebackers look rock-solid. Head coach Jim Mora added to what was already an area of strength with the team, taking a group that includes veterans like Jackson Mitchell, Ian Swenson, and Hunter Webb, and adding former Power 5 contributors Jackson Bouyer-Randle from Texas Tech and Marquez Bembry from Kentucky.
But in front of them, the new-look defensive line might take more time to meld. The Huskies lost a large amount of production from a defensive line that was one of the more talented units on the team in 2021, if only judged by where two of the starters ended up. Travis Jones is lighting it up so far in preseason for the Baltimore Ravens after getting drafted in the third round this April, and Lwal Uguak will be playing for rising star defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie at TCU in 2022 after entering the transfer portal in the offseason. Edge rusher Kevon Jones was penciled in as a defensive starter, but he departed the program after spring practice for undisclosed personal reasons.
Pass rushing was an issue for the Huskies’ defensive line, and will still be an area that needs improvement in 2022. UConn defensive linemen only recorded 14 sacks in 2021 per Pro Football Focus, and those returning to the unit in 2022 only accounted for four of them. The Huskies relied on their linebackers to generate pressure on the quarterback, and they very well might have to do so even more heavily in 2022.
The position group isn’t devoid of returning production, but Jim Mora is relying on a few less-proven transfers and returners to fill the gaps up front in his hybrid 3-4/3-3-5 defense. Here’s what to expect from the Huskies’ front seven in the upcoming 2022 season:
The Starters
DT: Sokoya McDuffie, Redshirt Junior, 6-5 305
Mora’s foray into the transfer portal in an attempt to replace the lost production on the defensive line landed him McDuffie from Old Dominion. McDuffie is extremely mobile for his size and should excel at eating double teams and shedding blocks on the defensive line.
From Florence, South Carolina, McDuffie got his chance to be a key contributor in 2019 after his school was one of two to cancel their 2020 seasons due to COVID. He played all 13 games at defensive tackle, racking up 28 tackles, 6.5 of them for a loss, and recorded four sacks. Both of these were good for the second-best mark on the team, impressive as he recorded just the fourth-most snaps on the team out of defensive linemen.
NT: Dalmont Gourdine, Redshirt Sophomore, 6-4 288
Gourdine arrived in Storrs in 2019 from North Charleston, SC as a three-star recruit with offers from Coastal Carolina and Nebraska, and would redshirt his freshman year. In his second year with the program, Gourdine stepped into a starting role and was a solid contributor. Alongside double team magnets Jones and Uguak, Gourdine took what came to him at nose tackle and had a solid season, with 35 tackles as an effective stop-gap.
At the same position in 2022, the UConn defense will rely on Gourdine to step up a bit to replace his two defensive line-mates. He has tremendous form getting to the ball carrier and very rarely misses a tackle, but needs to penetrate the pocket more to take that next step as a player and fill the Jones-size hole in the center of the UConn defensive line
DT: Eric Watts, Junior, 6-6 268
Eric Watts’ career arc is far too familiar to most UConn fans. Entering Storrs in 2019, Watts was expected to contribute far too much far too early as a result of heavy postseason attrition typical of the Edsall years. He played in 12 games during a 2019 season he would ideally have redshirted for and struggled somewhat. During the end of the season, though, he began to acclimate and posted solid pass-rushing performances against Temple and East Carolina.
Watts carried that momentum into 2021 where he was more of a consistent performer. He didn’t outshine Jones or Uguak, but his 23 QB pressures were the third-most on the team. To help with the Huskies’ anemic pass-rush, Watts needs to start converting those into sacks — he’ll have the license to, as the only pass-rushing specialist starter returning on the Huskies’ defensive line.
MLB: Jackson Mitchell, Junior, 6-2 227
The linebacking corps is one of the few areas of the UConn squad that comes with experience and depth, and Jackson Mitchell is a prime example of the latter. He was a 12-game starter as a true freshman in 2019 and came in third in the nation among true freshmen with 65 tackles, barely a year after playing high school football in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Mitchell continued to be a magnet for the football in 2021 after the Huskies’ off year, leading the team with 120 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, and three forced fumbles. He had standout performances against Holy Cross and UMass, adding double-digit tackle games against Purdue, Army, and Middle Tennessee. Mitchell will feature as an inside linebacker in the Huskies’ 3-4 defense, vacuuming up opposing running backs.
MLB: Ian Swenson, Senior, 6-2 215
Swenson is one of the few senior starters in the whole UConn squad, making his leadership invaluable on a young football team. A converted defensive back, Swenson made his debut at the linebacker position in 2019 after a full season at safety and nickel in 2018. Even as a part of some dismal defenses, Swenson has been a solid performer wherever he’s lined up.
Swenson is a talented pass defender, always a good skill to have in the age of RPOs, and has put on the weight necessary to fight through blocks and carve out a role in his new position. He could see some time as a defensive back in the Huskies’ nickel setup, though his primary position will be as the weak-side linebacker in the 3-4 setup.
OLB: Marquez Bembry, Graduate (Kentucky), 6-3 242
In terms of stature in the game of college football, Bembry could be considered one of the biggest gets for the Huskies in the transfer portal. Originally a junior college recruit, forced to take that route as a result of a knee injury his senior year of high school, Bembry was part of three top-50 defenses in the nation during his time in Lexington. Despite making 24 game appearances in three seasons, Bembry never got an extended run as a starter and decided to enter the transfer portal.
The Wildcats’ loss is UConn’s gain, as Bembry figures to be an integral part of the 3-4 defense as an outside linebacker. The grad transfer has good size for his position and was utilized more at defensive end in his final year with the Wildcats. He’ll be used in a similar role in the Huskies’ 3-4 defense.
OLB: Brandon Bouyer-Randle, Graduate (Texas Tech), 6-2 240
Bouyer-Randle has had a long journey to Storrs. One of the top linebacker prospects in Michigan, Bouyer-Randle committed to Michigan State as a part of their class of 2016. Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Bouyer-Randle has been part of college football for the better part of the past decade, and is ready to bring that wealth of experience to Storrs.
After redshirting his freshman year at Michigan State, Bouyer-Randle was thrown directly into the mix at outside linebacker, appearing in all 13 games of his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons. Injuries limited him in 2019 at East Lansing, and he would transfer to Texas Tech, where he has played a key role in their defenses in 2020 and part of 2021, before he again was limited by injury and again transferred, this time to UConn. Like Bembry, Bouyer-Randle is a big-bodied outside linebacker who should see time pass rushing the quarterback and dropping into coverage in the Huskies’ 3-4 defense.
Off-The Bench Impact
DL: Colin McCarthy, Sophomore, 6-6 253
McCarthy is one of the few players on the Huskies’ bench with experience on the defensive line (outside of Nick Harris, a sophomore who converted to a tight end this offseason). He played 202 snaps in 2021, mostly in pass-rushing situations, and certainly took his lumps as a freshman, but has been working in with the first string in fall camp and is primed to take a bigger rotational role in the defensive line in 2022.
Outside of McCarthy, the Huskies are short on defensive line options with meaningful experience. Jelani Stafford joined the team this offseason from Youngstown State, where he was a rotational option on the defensive line as a redshirt freshman, coming on strong near the end of the year. Redshirt Freshman Pryce Yates also stands to get some in-game experience after a strong fall camp.
LB: Hunter Webb, Redshirt Junior, 6-1 224
Webb will be an invaluable rotation option for the Huskies all around the linebacking corps. The redshirt junior was a starter for most of the 2021 season and was a really solid player, racking up 59 tackles in 12 games played. Like Mitchell, he is an extremely capable run defender, able to shed a block and find the football in a way that was sorely lacking in other areas of the UConn defense last year — he failed to register a single missed tackle all season according to Pro Football Focus. There will be plenty of snaps to be had this year again, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Webb found his way back in the starting lineup by the end of the season.
With Mitchell and Swenson unavailable for portions of camp via injury, redshirt junior Jordan Morrison and redshirt sophomore Tui Faumuina-Brown found themselves getting plenty of reps in scrimmage and 11-on-11. Both Morrison and Faumuina-Brown were backups in 2021, and should both continue in their respective roles in 2022.