Uncertainty surrounds three UConn commits at Milford Academy

It should not come as a shock the the frequency of calls to the Milford Academy football office concerning UConn commits Jordan Fuchs, Chasz Wright and Jamar Summers have picked up since UConn cut loose head coach Paul Pasqualoni and offensive line coach George DeLeone.

"As soon as they fired Coach Pasqualoni the phone’s been ringing off the hook, they smell blood," Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick said after a 45-32 loss to the Yale junior varsity team on Sunday. "I feel bad for those guys (Pasqualoni and DeLeone), I like those guys but they never got it going."

Jordan Fuchs' father was cited as a source by multiple recruiting analysts who reported that Fuchs, a tight end who was a Division I recruit in both football and basketball at Christ the King, had decommitted from UConn.

Fuchs, who recently returned to Milford Academy after a few weeks away from the school and football program, chose his words carefully when addressing his college recruitment.

"Coach P (Pasqualoni) sent me here and he is not at UConn anymore so I don’t know what is going to happen with that," Fuchs said. "I like UConn but I don’t know. I know Coach Weist, I like him, he is a good guy and what he is trying to do but there is that possibility that he might not be there and they could bring in a new guy and he could bring in a whole bunch of guys with him so I don’t really know, I am protecting myself and keeping my options open.

"I am just seeing how this plays out because I am kind of a tricky situation."

Summers, a cornerback out of Orange, N.J., is the UConn commit who gave an emphatic "yes" when I asked if he still intends to enroll at UConn in January.

His family has a history with DeLeone as DeLeone tried to recruit Jamar's brother out of high school.

"I was disappointed, those are two guys who looked at me, saw me and evaluated me at their camp, they saw potential in me so I was disappointed," Summers said.

"I am looking forward to the competition level, the big lights, the different competition levels that are going to be coming after me."

Wright, a 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive tackle from Woodbridge, Va., admitted he is opening up his recruitment.

"Coach P is a very nice coach and I have been able to sit down and talk to him 1 on 1, my parents sat down and talked to him," Wright said. "We have had him in our hearts since I committed to UConn but it is nothing that is going to hinder me so I have to keep rolling with the punches

"The door is really open for everything because my mind is not really committed to one school right now but UConn is still at the top of my list, I haven’t put them on the back burner, I still have ties with Coach (Mike) Foley so I am not really learning towards anything right now."

Chaplick said he talks to Foley, UConn's offensive line coach every week and that UConn will take in a Milford Academy game. Since UConn has the week off between the Central Florida and Louisville games, I would expect them to make the trip to see Milford Academy play at the Army JV team on Nov. 3.

The big day, however, comes later in the month as Milford Academy runs what is now called a fall practice but is basically a combine for college coaches the Monday after Thanksgiving. If Fuchs, Summers and Wright perform as well as Chaplick expects them to then it is likely that the interest in them among FBS programs will increase dramatically.

As for the experience of playing at Milford Academy, all three seem to thriving there.

"It has been fun, it has been a new experience in my life, a new chapter in my life being that I didn’t qualify for the scholarship but know I got my head right," Summers said. "I got a bunch of guys who are hungry for scholarships who want to go to I-A and I-AA schools."

Said Wright, "It was a very good experience, especially coming out of high school especially when you think you’ve learned everything in terms of the concept of football and you come here, you are surrounded by a lot of top quality coaches you can learn a lot. I have learned a lot as far as being here as a player, as a student in the classroom, a student of the game and an all-around better man."

Fuchs tells a funny story about his reaction when UConn recruiting coordinator Jon Wholley informed him where he would be headed for prep school.

"They told me in March there was a chance I would come here and also a chance I would come straight (to UConn) in June and they told me at the last minute, I was ready for both. I knew this would be a good situation for me because I could still play without losing any eligibility for college so even if I wanted to redshirt I could so I basically would still have those four years.

"When Coach Wholley told me where I was going, I Googled it and asked him where it was and I re-Googled it five times because I didn’t know where it was. Once I got there it wasn’t that bad and I am still adjusting to that."

UConn commit Fuchs back at Milford Academy

On my way to Cincinnati for tomorrow's game I heard from Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick who informed me that UConn commit Jordan Fuchs has returned to school there.

Fuchs, a promising tight end prospect who drew Division I interest in both football and basketball at Christ the King, was a full qualifier but took the postgraduate year at Milford Academy to get a little stronger and benefit from another year of playing football since he only two the sport for two years in high school.

Shortly after Paul Pasqualoni was fired I reached out to Chaplick to try to see if Fuchs and fellow UConn commits Jamar Summers and Chasz Wright were still firmly committed to UConn and that was when he told me Fuchs was no longer enrolled at Milford Academy.

Chaplick has been raving about Wright, an offensive tackle, each time I spoke to him and this morning he couldn't say enough good things about Summers who had two interceptions in the Falcons' last game giving him six this season.

Time for a Milford Academy update

Stats from Milford Academy's second game of the season have been posted.

While there are no numbers to report for offensive tackle Chasz Wright (although Milford Academy did run for 209 yards), the other two UConn commits had impact plays in the 42-20 win over Massachusetts Maritime on Sunday.

Jordan Fuchs, a tight end from Malvern, N.Y., had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown while Jamar Summers, a cornerback from East Orange, N.J., had three tackles including a tackle for a loss.

In two games Fuchs had seven catches for 94 yards while Summers has five total tackles and a fumble recovery.

Wright won't be the only offensive lineman joining the Huskies in 2014 as Timber Creek (N.J.) High's Lamont Bradford committed to UConn.

Manuel encouraged by what he has seen in preseason camp

UConn director of athletics Warde Manuel, a former defensive tackle at Michigan, makes it out to UConn practice whenever he can fit it into his schedule and he has liked what he has seen this summer.

"They are working hard, learning and preparing every day so I am excited with what I see," Manuel said after appearing at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce's August meeting. "I think the student-athletes,  they are all getting tired around this time of practicing against each other and hitting each other but the effort and what the coaches is getting them to learn is all good to see and I am really pleased with what I have seen."

While last year's team was a senior-laden squad, there are quite a few of few freshmen and sophomores in positions to see significant action this season.

"You have to step up," Manuel said. "It is the next player, the next year, the next down and you have to step up and be prepared. I am very excited with what I am seeing. What you hope to see is that talent will take over some of the learning stuff but you still have to learn. There’s no substitute for reps in practice and in games but I am very pleased with what I am seeing and very excited with how we are approaching the season and how everything is coming together."

Manuel is thrilled with the non-conference schedule which kicks off next Thursday against Towson followed by games against Maryland and Michigan before playing the road opener against Buffalo.

"That is the plan," Manuel said. "We don’t go in taking any game lightly and there are some tough opponents who are coming in and that is what our fans want to see but more importantly, that is who our student-athletes want to play against. They want to play against the best and are preparing to do that. Towson is going to be a great start to the season, they had a great season last year and we will move forward with that."

FORK UNION, MILFORD ACADEMY OPEN THIS WEEKEND
In a perfect world Jordan Fuchs, Jamar Summers, Chasz Wright, Jalan Branford and Chris Britton would be up at UConn working alongside the rest of the talented group of true freshmen.

However, there weren't enough scholarship slots for all of them so the plan is for the aforementioned quintet to spend the fall semester at prep schools before enrolling at UConn in January.

The journey begins on Saturday as Fuchs, Summers and Wright are expected to be in uniform when Milford Academy hosts Globe Institute at 4 p.m.

A source close to the situation said that Britton is expected to enroll at Fork Union and the Reading (Pa.) Eagle reported back in June that Branford was heading to Fork Union.

However, in an email to the Register Fork Union postgraduate football coach Col. John Shuman said neither player is currently in camp and therefore won't be playing in Friday's season opener against the Apprentice School.