University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Wrap First Week of Fall Camp
8/8/2026 7:42:00 PM | Football
STORRS, CT – The Jason Candle era for UConn football officially kicked-off this week as fall training camp go underway with the first official practices of the 2026 season.
Candle and his staff have brought plenty of new faces to Storrs as they set out prepping for the season opener just four weeks away against Lafayette at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field on September 5th.
"I think that the excitement of football is back," stated Candle while meeting the media post practice. "I mean, everything that you love about August is here and our guys are doing a really good job of trying to get acclimated to the heat. We had a really good weather week from that standpoint of things to kind of get us prepared. Four really good days in a row here and we're going to catch our breath tomorrow and plan out what next week should really look like.
"I'm cautiously optimistic of how things have been going," commented Candle. "You know, a lot of position battles, a lot of competition, and it's still the learning phase of what preseason camp is.
Brand New Era, Brand New Day in Storrs pic.twitter.com/kywnyUcarK
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) August 6, 2026
With over 80 new players on the UConn roster, fans can expect plenty of position battles during camp as the staff puts the pieces in place for the season. Included in those battles will be a competition for the starting quarterback job for 2026. UConn said goodbye to graduated starter Joe Fagnano who had a season for the record books last fall and is in NFL camp with the Baltimore Ravens this summer.
The competition to start under center figures to center around senior returner Tucker McDonald (Holden, MA) and junior transfers Jake Merklinger (Savannah, GA) and Kalieb Osborne (Pontiac, MI).
McDonald has spent his entire college career in Storrs and has seen action in five games over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. "Obviously everybody wants to win the job, everybody wants to play, but at the end of the day, the best guy's going to play," said McDonald. "The guy that's going to get out there and get wins. I would say just you have to leave it all out there and let the chips fall where they fall."
Merklinger comes to UConn after two seasons at Tenessee and was in the back-up role in 2025. He played four games for the Volunteers in 2025 and completed 13 of 24 passes for 173 yards and two scores. Merklinger talking about his time at UConn starting in the spring to the start of camp, "We had a really good winter workout, built team bonding that continued through spring ball. Everybody got better, got familiar with the playbook, and got familiar with each other. Summer, we worked really hard with coach in the weight room and continued to develop the playbook, and fall camp's off to a good start. We got a lot to get work on, a lot to fix before the season comes, but we're working really hard."
Osborne comes with Coach Candle from Toledo after two seasons. He played in seven games last fall and earned the starting role in the team's bowl appearance against Louisville. Osborne on the competition in camp, "It's going great, you know, we just push each other every day. We're not really worried about all the outside noise, you know, who's going to be the QB. We know the coaches want what's best for the team, and we know that we want what's best for the team, and we just want to win. So we just come out an compete every day, knowing that we're just getting each other better."
The practice schedule picks up again next week and the Huskies will host an open practice at the Rent next Saturday at 11 am. Parking lots open for tailgating at 9 am. Click here to claim a free ticket.
We're back at the Rent August 15!! Join us with the link below!https://t.co/x8Lc1tc8EH pic.twitter.com/uiOi87n4Sb
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) August 8, 2026
