UConn Football: How will Huskies look in their first action since 2019?

UConn hopes year off will help find solutions on defense

When UConn last played a full season of football, it had one of the worst defenses in the entire country. Only time will tell whether the work the Huskies did in the fall will pay dividends and make them a better unit in 2021.

The defensive line is going to return loads of experience up front this season. Defensive tackle Travis Jones is one of the leaders of the team and is going to be going into his third year as a starter. Jones will be joined inside by Pierce DeVaughn, who was a reserve in 2019. On the edges, look for Kevon Jones to return to anchor one of the spots and he will be joined by 2019 backup Eric Watts. All four of these guys have experience and they should be a steady unit in 2021.

The linebackers will be headlined by the return of all three guys from 2019. Jackson Mitchell led all freshmen in 2019 with 65 tackles and he should be even better with a year of development under his belt. Notre Dame transfer DJ Morgan and Ian Swanson are going to round out the linebackers and they are going to be counted to help lead a defensive turnaround this season.

The secondary is where a lot of the defensive question marks reside. Only one starter returns and most everyone is light on experience. Myles Bell and Jeremy Lucien are slated to start at cornerback, with Diamond Harrell and Jalon Farrell will be at safety, with Harrell being the only one with starting experience.