Football Recruiting: UConn Secures Three Verbal Commitments

Bob Diaco has some interesting thoughts about recruiting. He's compared it to shaving ("you need to do it every day") and it appears he is much more open to handing out scholarship offers than his predecessor.

You are going to sell a car, how many people are you going to talk to about buying it?" Diaco said. "If you want to sell one car, you have to talk to about 20 people so the recruiting board is full of guys we would really like to have. We may only have one spot so first one in ... Everybody understands the landscape, the PSA (prospective student-athletes) understand the landscape, the guardians understand the landscape and the coaches understand the landscape. This is all over the country, not just at UConn.

Diaco has been hitting the recruiting trail, hard, and it's starting to pay off as three rising seniors have committed to the University of Connecticut in the past four days. Last year, we waited until June 25th for our first commitment and didn't have three commits until late-July.

Let's take a quick look at the newest members of the UConn fam.

DT- Kevin Murphy

Kevin Murphy is a 6-foot-2, 270 pound mauler who chose UConn over offers from Cincinnati, Army, Navy and Western Michigan. In an interview with Rivals, he cited the defensive coaching staff and UConn's academics as the primary factors behind his decision. Hailing from West Chester East High School in Pennsylvania, Murphy received his offer in early April shortly after an official visit to campus.

Murphy, a 2-star recruit, will be playing Defensive Tackle and Nose Guard as he is a good fit for the middle in the defensive scheme that Bob Diaco likes to run.

Highlight Video Courtesy of Hudl

TE- Ben Hartwick

Ben Hartwick has the size at 6-foot-6 to be a difference maker on offense, and with schools such as Boston College and Rutgers kicking the tires, there was definitely some interest in his abilities. Hartwick was very impressed with UConn's facilities during his recent visit to Storrs where he also had a very productive and meaningful conversation with Bob Diaco about the direction of the program.

Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Kevin Wolthausen received the verbal commitment last night. Hartwick is a 2-star recruit from Mahwah High School in New Jersey.

After he announced his commitment on Twitter, Kevin Murphy reached out to him directly. Hashtag leadership.

Highlight Video Courtesty of Hudl

QB- Tyler Davis

UConn's Class of 2014 did not have a Quarterback, although that isn't necessarily such a bad thing with so many young QB's already on the roster. That will not be the case for the Class of 2015 as 2-star, pro-style QB Tyler Davis, from North Bellmore, New York will be joining the team in January after graduating early from Wellington C Mepham High School. He chose UConn over an offer from Old Dominion and despite interest from BC, UCF, Temple, Penn State and Maryland.

He is considered a pro-style quarterback, but with 21 rushing touchdowns last season, he can tuck and run too. At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, he has prototypical size and should be pretty tough for opposing pass-rushers to take down. As the first quarterback to commit to Bob Diaco, it will be interesting to keep an eye on his career path. It is believed that he was the top QB target for the coaching staff.

Highlight video courtesy of Hudl

UPDATE- There is a fourth commit in five days. 6-foot-5 Defensive End Philippe Okounam from Concord, New Hampshire. SNY has a good recap with highlight video.

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Overall, it looks like we've added some high character guys who are excited to be a part of the program. All recruits seem to appreciate Bob Diaco's approach and the quality of the coaching staff, facilities and academic opportunities. It's great to see people choosing UConn for the right reasons. These are all good signs and hopefully the start of a solid first recruiting class for our new head coach.

GO HUSKIES!!