What’s Special About UConn’s New QB? … Katie Lou Samuelson Fights Through Slump

QB Beaudry’s Transfer a Very Intriguing Add

The Story: West Florida quarterback Mike Beaudry wrote on Twitter on Sunday that he will transfer to UConn, a decision that could give the Huskies another legitimate contender to start next season after the graduation of David Pindell.

A BIG COUP: Beaudry’s case is fascinating, as the 6-foot-4, 240-pound quarterback, originally from Saskatchewan by way of Oviedo, Florida, should be eligible to play next season as a graduate transfer and could even have two years of eligibility remaining.

He redshirted in 2015, his first season, then missed all of his second season with a broken left leg. Named the starter in 2017, he led West Florida to the Division II national championship game, then injured a foot in the first quarter of the opener this past season, costing him the rest of the year.

Beaudry is on track to graduate from West Florida in May, leaving him eligible to play right away for the Huskies as a grad transfer. If he were to apply for a medical hardship waiver because of either of his injuries, the NCAA could give Beaudry a sixth season of eligibility, meaning he could be with UConn for two years.

TWO-DEEP TOO DEEP? Don’t look now, but the Huskies will have a relatively crowded and experienced quarterback room next season, with Beaudry and incoming high school senior Jack Zergiotis, a fellow Canadian, joining the program. Despite losing Pindell and Brandon Bisack to graduation and Jordan McAfee to a transfer, two others who played snaps last season — Marvin Washington and Steven Krajewski — will be back to challenge for a starting role.

Spring workouts begin a week from today, at which point the puzzle will start to be put together. Having too much depth at quarterback is a good problem for the Huskies and offensive coordinator John Dunn to have.

A WELL-BEATEN PATH: It’s no secret that Randy Edsall loves his off-the-radar recruits, and in an age when it’s becoming increasingly impossible to not be discovered, he managed to snag two players in Beaudry and Zergiotis who seem to have been hiding in plain sight.

Even more interesting is that Beaudry, should he start, would continue a UConn tradition in becoming the latest transfer quarterback-turned-success story in Storrs. Casey Cochran is the only full-time starting quarterback in the last 12 years who was recruited to the university out of high school, with Pindell following Bryant Shirreffs, Chandler Whitmer, Zach Frazer and Tyler Lorenzen. (Johnny McEntee, the starter in 2011, began his time at UConn as a walk-on.)

BOTTOM LINE: The second signing day is tomorrow, so the Huskies will still have time to add a few players, but thus far, the returns appear promising. Remember, UConn has had little to sell recruits lately aside from the chance of immediate playing time, yet it managed to snag a few veteran transfers at key positions and can continue to develop the slew of underclassmen starters thrust into action last year. We’re not overly optimistic — there’s still a ton of work to do — but Edsall & Co. appear to have played their hand well.

Samuelson Scuffs Through Shooting Slump

The Story: After making just two of her 11 shot attempts and no 3-pointers in the Huskies’ 65-55 win at Cincinnati on Saturday, senior Katie Lou Samuelson has made just 37 percent of her shots, and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc, over her last six games.

A SLIGHT DIP: Samuelson, one of the Huskies’ best shooters of all time, is averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game this season despite her recent woes because she has developed an ability to attack the rim and crash the boards. Her teammates, including Napheesa Collier, Crystal Dangerfield and Megan Walker, have helped alleviate some of the scoring burden in recent games, though the team’s combined shooting performances have also hit a bit of a snag.

Samuelson made 42.9 percent of her 3-point attempts last season, good enough to lead all of Division I, and but has made just 34.5 percent of her shots from long distance as a senior. Her 0-for-6 effort against Cincinnati was the third time this season she has failed to make a 3-pointer in a game, and oddly, for someone who knows how to find and take a quality shot, several of Samuelson’s attempts have been rushed or off target.

GENO PLAYS IT COOL: Like any basketball coach, Geno Auriemma has urged Samuelson to keep shooting because he hasn’t seen anything wrong with her shot to suggest anything is wrong. If he was worried, he wouldn’t have played her all 40 minutes on Saturday for the second consecutive game.

“Does that make her better that I get concerned?” he said after the win at Cincinnati. “Does that change anything? All that does is make me concerned. That doesn’t fix anything. That doesn’t change anything. … Right now, she’s in a not-so-good place.”

ALWAYS RELIABLE: Samuelson will always be a threat for opponents even if she’s not knocking down shots because of the way she is able to space the floor. It’s obvious she’ll find her shot at some point soon — three and a half years of success haven’t suddenly been forgotten — and when she does, she’ll provide a pick-me-up for her teammates as well.

The Huskies benefit from playing in the AAC in that they don’t have to be fully on every single game. That being the case, they’ve got one marquee opponent left on their schedule in South Carolina, which travels to Hartford next week, giving Samuelson plenty of time to get herself together before the start of the postseason.

Morning Read

HUSKIES FALL TO NO. 5: After the loss to Louisville on Thursday, the women’s basketball team tumbled to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll for their lowest standing since Feb. 12, 2007. (The Associated Press)

FEET OF STRENGTH: The Huskies’ Megan Walker and Crystal Dangerfield have bonded over their love of sneakers, with more than two dozen different pairs between them. (Hartford Courant)

NO REST FOR THE WEARY: Dangerfield, Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier have been logging heavy minutes lately, but all were adamant they’d never ask for a breather. (Journal Inquirer)

HURLEY PUTS STAMP ON PROGRAM: Benching your star player lets everyone know, just in case they forgot, that there is a new sheriff in Storrs. (Hartford Courant)

THREE JOIN MEN’S SOCCER TEAM: The Huskies added a trio of transfers: forwards Jordan Hall (Rutgers) and Ahdan Tait (Virginia) and defender Jake Dengler (Loyola Marymount). (UConnHuskies.com)