Jasudowich addresses decision to transfer

Freshman linebacker Cory Jasudowich sent his thoughts regarding her decision to leave UConn in an email and figured I would pass on what he had to say.

"First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank UConn, Coach Pasqualoni and the coaching staff for giving me such a great opportunity.  Unfortunately, after many sleepless nights and much soul searching, I have decided to leave UConn.  

I have struggled with this decision for more than a month now.  I have been on campus since June and unfortunately, it just didn’t feel like the right fit for me.  I am nothing but grateful for such a wonderful opportunity, however, bottom line, I have to be 110% in it, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  I cannot take a full scholarship away from another player who can be committed 110%.  I want to be fair to everyone involved, the team, the coaches and myself.  UConn has a great program with a great staff, but no matter how hard this decision is for me, I know I am making the right choice.

I am looking into other options at this point, and I am still very excited about my future.  I still very much want to play football as well as get a great education, and I am lucky enough to have a few more choices at this time.  I want to be the best I can be for myself, the college I go to and the football team I will be honored to play on."

On a personal note, I hope everything works out for Cory. I spoke to him in person when he committed and on the phone when he was playing for USA Football in the International Bowl and came away very impressed with him both times. He had no obligation to send me an email explaining why he chose to leave and in all the years I've covered UConn sports the only other transferring player who got back to me was women's basketball forward Michala Johnson who is now at Wisconsin.

Cory Jasudowich talks about commitment to UConn

Cory Jasudowich has had plenty of think about in the last two weeks.

When the Cheshire Academy linebacker/offensive guard and North Branford native committed to Boston College back in June, he couldn't wait to suit up for the Eagles.

Five months later, however, he had a change of heart and now the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Jasudowich is the latest player to commit to UConn.

When I heard about Jasudowich's commitment, I reached out to Cheshire Academy coach Dave Dykeman who let me to speak to Jasudowich before Wednesday night's Cheshire Academy practice.

"I have been talking to Coach Dykeman about it and that (UConn) was the right fit for me, the hometown school and I am a hometown kid," Jasudowich said. "It was just the fact that everything wasn’t working out with BC and I had other schools on the table. I sat down with Coach Dykeman, we talked about it and we thought UConn would be the best fit. I love that school.


"You don’t want to disrespect the school in any (way) but you have to do what is right for yourself. At the time (of his original commitment) I did love Boston College and everything like that but at the same time I had to look at what would benefit me the most in football and in academics and I thought UConn would be a better fit."

Jasudowich is being brought in as a linebacker by UConn. His natural position is middle linebacker but the Huskies are in pretty good shape at that position as sophomore Yawin Smallwood is the Huskies' leading tackler.

"I know they had a middle linebacker already," Jasudowich said. "I had talked to the recruiting coach, Coach (George) DeLeone and they are looking for linebackers. I don’t know if it is going to be middle linebacker or outside linebacker but anything I can do to help out the team I am going to do.

Jasudowich has been weighing his options for the last couple of week before finally pulling the trigger today.

"We have been talking about it and everything Boston College has to offer and I said ‘can I picture myself at this school?’ It is kind of a ride from home, two hours and I had talked to my mother. She was very excited about it because it is only about 45 minutes away from my house, she be able to see six games out of the season at home."

Jasudowich is a four-year starter on both offense and defense at Cheshire Academy. While he still keeps in touch with his friends at North Branford High School, he has no regrets about his decision to head to Cheshire Academy.

"I love it here," Jasudowich said. "I am one of the captains of the team and they watch what the captains do. If you are a lackadaisical player, your team is going to follow that. They are not going to want to play full bore all the time. I try to hit the hardest I can every play and go out with a great attitude, a big smile and ready to play every day."

Cheshire Academy is 7-1 and plays at Worcester State on Friday in the Tom Flaherty Bowl. If the Cats win, it would be the third bowl title in the last four years and would give the senior class a 30-5 record.

"It is unreal," Jasudowich said. "I find myself smiling about it every day. The fact that we have never lost on this field is unreal (with) bowl championships and everything, it gets better and better. Hopefully this Friday I will knock them out and have three rings at Cheshire Academy and it’s an unreal feeling."

Dykeman raved about the work ethic and passion Jasudowich plays with.

"He is a physical, physical linebacker who plays incredibly hard, you watch him on the field he has a motor that doesn’t stop," Dykeman said. "He plays the game with great passion. I think he is an incredible tackler which is a lost art in a lot of ways. He has been a pleasure to coach this.

"The first thing I picked up is how much he loved playing the game. He plays the game with an incredible amount of passion. Yes, he is a Division I linebacker but the kid plays Division I guard with the same sort of intensity, passion, enthusiasm, drive. It is contagious to all of those around him."