Fagnano definitely played his way onto the draft boards of some NFL teams next spring.
UConn senior quarterback Joe Fagnano put together a season for the ages in 2025, at or near the top of several statistical categories right up to the end of the regular season.
With the Huskies having a bye during the final week of the campaign, he was surpassed in most categories by QBs still in action.
Still, the drum beat throughout Huskies nation – and elsewhere – calling for Fagnano to be in New York this Saturday night as a Heisman Trophy finalist. With fans having a chance to vote for their favorite candidates this year, a campaign to vote for Fagnano was launched. '
Fagnano wasn’t among the finalists announced on Monday: quarterbacks Francisco Mendoza (senior, Indiana), Diego Pavia (senior, Vanderbilt) and Julian Sayin (freshman, Ohio State), as well as running back Jeremiyah Love (junior, Notre Dame).
The Heisman Trophy Trust announced the full top 10 on Thursday night, and the list didn't include Fagnano. The remaining six in the group are:
5. Jacob Rodriguez, senior, linebacker, Texas Tech
6. Jeremiah Smith, sophomore, wide receiver, Ohio State
7. Gunner Stockton, junior, quarterback, Georgia
8. Trinidad Chambliss, junior, quarterback, Ole Miss
9. Caleb Downs, junior, safety, Ohio State
10. Haynes King, senior, quarterback, Georgia Tech
The winner will be announced in a ceremony at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday. It will air on ABC.
Fagnano finished sixth among FBS quarterbacks with 3,448 passing yards and tied for seventh-most passing touchdowns (25). He had just one interception on the regular season, the fewest in the nation, and led the Huskies to a 9-3 record.
Only Sayin, with 3,323 passing yards, finished ranked as one the top 10 quarterbacks in the nation among the Heisman finalists. Fagnano will have a chance to add to those numbers when UConn meets Army in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 27 in Boston.
What’s next for Fagnano?
A seventh-year player, Fagnano used the extra COVID season, a redshirt season and a medical redshirt. He will enter the 2026 NFL Draft in his mid-20s – much like New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, who was 25 when he was taken in the second round of the draft earlier this year.
And while Fagnano might not have been a draft candidate before the UConn season, he is now. Scouts who went to watch wide receiver Skyler Bell were plenty impressed by what they saw from the man throwing the passes his way.
At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Fagnano has NFL size, as well as accuracy. He could be a late-round draft pick or sign just after the draft as a free agent.
And he has one other option. In October, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League claimed him for their negotiation list.
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