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Randy Edsall and his staff received two verbal commitments Tuesday as David Williams, a transfer from South Carolina, and Caleb Thomas, a defensive tackle hailing from Texas, announced their commitments to UConn.
Williams, a graduate transfer who will be eligible to play immediately, is a running back who had 187 career carries with the Gamecocks for 794 yards and five touchdowns over three seasons. He also caught 27 passes for 264 yards. He was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2013 out of Imhotep High in Philadelphia, choosing South Carolina over Ohio State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and many others.
Williams will likely be one of the featured runners in the Huskies’ backfield next year alongside game-breaking senior Arkeel Newsome.
Thomas, who will most likely be a nose guard for the Huskies, chose UConn over offers from Army and Nevada. He stands at 6-foot-1, weighing 280 pounds and is rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports. The newest addition to the UConn class of 2017 played for Mansfield High in Texas, just outside of Fort Worth.
The two future Huskies represent UConn’s 13th and 14th verbal commitments in this recruiting cycle, with five added by Edsall and his staff. National Signing Day is just over a week away, on Wednesday, February 1st.
UPDATE:
On Wednesday morning, the Huskies received another commitment from Robert King, an athlete from Philadelphia, PA. The 6-foot-2, 181 pound prospect played quarterback and defensive back in high school and could play either defensive back or wide receiver at UConn.
King is a two-star prospect according to Rivals who held offers from Army, Buffalo, Coastal Carolina, Kent State, and Temple. He committed to Temple in July but decided to re-evaluate his future after head coach Matt Rhule left for Baylor.
While King’s position is still up in the air, his offer from Coastal Carolina could provide some insight. UConn defensive backs coach Curome Cox came to Storrs from Coastal Carolina and if he was recruiting King while there, it could indicate that the Philadelphia native will play defense for the Huskies. There’s also a chance the staff at UConn doesn’t even know where he’ll play, just that he’s a great athlete who can contribute somewhere.
King is now the 14th verbal commitment for the Huskies and the sixth under Randy Edsall. With National Signing Day just a week away, the new coaching staff is starting to put together an impressive class despite the challenging circumstances.