UConn is welcoming another group of recruits to campus this weekend -- three more have a mid-week visit scheduled -- and new head coach Jason Candle and his staff will be looking to impress.

The prospects will be studying Candle -- and his staff, program and UConn in general -- to review what playing for the Huskies can offer them as the recruits. It isn't only the recruits making official visits who are being watched.

So let's pose this question.

Just why should a recruit pick UConn over another program?

Before we examine the pros, let's examine the issues that many will find with UConn. 

UConn football isn't for everyone. It isn't for young men who dream of playing:

For recruits who are able to look beyond the football glitz and glamour, they will find plenty of positives to spending four seasons in Storrs, Conn. Consider these:

1. Football isn't king at UConn, but it is the prince alongside the king and queen -- men's and women's basketball -- who have made Storrs known as The Basketball Capital of the World. UConn has instant name recognition, respect and prestige.

Combined, the two UConn programs have 18 national basketball championships. UCLA is second with 12 -- 10 of them won more than 50 years ago.

2. A proven path to the NFL. Candle is in his first season at UConn, replacing Jim Mora, who transformed the Huskies from an also-ran to a success. They played in bowl games in three of Mora's four seasons as head coach, and the foundation and a strong reputation have been built.

Now, enter Candle, who was the head coach for ``10 full seasons at mid-major Toledo of the Mid-American Conference.  His teams were 81-44 and played in seven bowl games; pro scouts took note. 

 As of June 2024, 36 players who were coached by Candle as either a head coach or assistant coach have played pro football. The Philadelphia Eagles made cornerback Quinyon Mitchell the first Toledo player to be selected in the first round of the draft in 31 years in 2024.

UConn shared this great statistic. Toledo is one of only 10 schools to have a player selected in the top 65 in the past three seasons.

In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren with the No. 58 pick. In 2025, the New York Giants selected Darius Alexander in the third round at No. 65.

Toledo hung with the best of the power-conference schools there. The nine other teams: Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and Texas A&M.

That's called keeping good company.

3. No, Storrs isn't a big city. It's a largely rural community with about 16,000 residents, according to the last count by the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared to say Austin, Texas, the distractions are minimal. 

But for those who want a big-city vibe, they can take a day trip to Boston. It's about a 90-minute drive from campus to the city.

4. And finally, ranking. UConn football has not been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll since 2010, but the Huskies were among the "others receiving votes" on a couple of occasions in 2025. That ended a 15-year vote drought, but that's not really the type of rankings of interest in this context.

However, when it comes to overall campus rankings, UConn fares quite favorably. In U.S. News & World Report's 2026 Best Public Colleges & Universities ranking, UConn was tied for 32nd.

Above Connecticut, and part of a three-way tie for No. 29, were Michigan State and North Carolina State. Tied with UConn was Pitt. Below the Huskies and Panthers were No. 34 Indiana -- the reigning College Football Playoff national champion -- and then at No. 36 is three-time champ Clemson.

That's also called keeping good company.

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