Tampering is rampant in college football and UConn head coach Jim Mora is taking a stand. He vowed on Monday to expose all of the programs who are trying to lure his players into the transfer portal, presumably with lucrative NIL deals.
This is not the first time this has happened so it will be curious to see if the 63-year-old can actually create tangible change.
Mora, in his third year with the program, led the Huskies to their first nine-win season since 2007 (!!) and its first winning season in more than a decade. UConn dominated North Carolina during the Fenway Bowl on Saturday to finish at 9-4.
Unfortunately, when a lower-level team has success in the modern era of college football and NIL, programs with more status and more money try to poach top talent from the Group of Six— or, in this case, the independents. Tampering is a bigger problem now than ever before and it has always been a problem.
Smaller schools struggle to retain their best players. Bigger schools offer those players more money to play in a better conference and compete for a national championship. It is business.
However, it is also against NCAA rules… even if they are not enforced by an incompetent governing body. Tampering is still illegal so Jim Mora issued a stern warning to anyone who tries to mess with his roster. He knows who they are and will make them pay.
A simple note to the schools and coaches that have blatantly broken NCAA rules by tampering with our players in the last 24 hours. We do know who you are, we will pursue all avenues to hold you accountable. We are excited that we’ve built a program where coaches have to cheat to beat us and we will protect that program. Think hard before you tamper with our players. #justgettingstarted
— @CoachJimMoraFB on X
Although UConn’s head coach did not reveal the teams who are tampering (yet) or the players who are getting offers to leave, we can assume. There are a few Huskies on offense who stand out above the rest.
- Sophomore running back Cam Edwards
- 146 carries, 830 yards, eight touchdowns
- Freshman running back Durell Robinson
- 107 carries, 731 yards, eight touchdowns
- Junior running back Mel Brown
- 118 carries, 673 yards, two touchdowns
- Junior wide receiver Skyler Bell
- 50 catches, 860 yards, five touchdowns
- Sophomore quarterback Nick Evers
- 97 completions, 918 yards, five touchdowns (in four games)
If we are going off of their performances in the Fenway Bowl, we can assume that Bell, Brown and Edwards are the primary targets of more lucrative programs in need of a weapon. Junior defensive end Pryce Yates could also be in that mix after being named as the defensive MVP.
Congrats to Defensive MVP, Pryce Yates! pic.twitter.com/rOKIMPanQO
— Wasabi Fenway Bowl (@FenwayBowl) December 28, 2024
Jim Mora is not going to do everything in his power to ensure that they do not enter the transfer portal. Should a team reach out to gauge their interest in leaving UConn, the head coach is going to put that team on blast.