Transfers have changed the look of UConn’s receiving corp

Aug. 20—STORRS — Veteran wide receiver TJ Sheffield is on the receiving end of some hard hits on the football field.

Since arriving in Storrs, Sheffield has taken some good-natured verbal shots from two of his new UConn teammates, Skyler Bell and Nick Evers.

While at his previous stop Purdue, Sheffield played against Bell and Evers, who were both at Wisconsin.

Sheffield’s memory of the last meeting in 2022 isn’t a fond one.

“I remember that (Skyler) scored on us, actually,” Sheffield said. “Purdue, our record against Wisconsin isn’t too good. Skyler and Nick Evers definitely make sure I know that.”

Two years ago, Bell caught a 29-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in Wisconsin’s 35-24 victory over Purdue and finished with a team-high four catches for 87 yards. Sheffield had three receptions for 21 yards in the loss.

Now the two transfer receivers, along with Evers who is contending for the starting quarterback job, will be trying to inject some life into the UConn offense this season.

They are part of a major roster overhaul and talent upgrade. Coach Jim Mora and his staff brought in 50 new players, including 27 transfers.

The receivers room is loaded with transfers, including Bell, Sheffield, redshirt junior Jasaiah Gathings (Akron), redshirt freshman Shamar Porter (Kentucky) and redshirt senior Ezeriah Anderson (Campbell University). Porter sat out last season as a redshirt.

“We’ve got a lot of talent,” Bell said. “I think we’ve got a bunch of guys that can go out and play.”

While graduate student Brett Buckman, who ranked second on the team last season with 46 catches for 488 yards and two touchdowns, is the top returning receiver, Sheffield is the most experienced.

A graduate student, Sheffield will be playing his sixth and final season of college football this fall. He previously played at Purdue from 2019 to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/transfers-changed-look-uconns-receiving-003400136.html

Author : The Day, New London, Conn.

Publish date : 2024-08-21 00:34:00

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