Former UConn QB Lands with Intriguing Team in Transfer Portal
After just one season in Storrs, promising freshman UConn Huskies quarterback Cole Welliver is moving on. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound signal-caller from Flower Mound, Texas, announced via social media that he is transferring from UConn to New Mexico, leaving behind a program that had once hoped he could be its future.
COMMITTED❗️@UNMLOBOS pic.twitter.com/tz6tCumqHQ
— Cole Welliver (@ColeWelliver) May 7, 2025
Welliver saw minimal playing time during his lone year with the Huskies, completing 2-of-4 passes for 10 yards in UConn’s 63-17 win over Merrimack. Though his on-field action was brief, his potential was evident.
A three-star prospect in the 2024 class, Welliver came out of Liberty Christian High School with a sparkling résumé: 3,082 passing yards, 50 touchdowns, a perfect 14-0 season, and tutelage under former NFL great Jason Witten. Before choosing UConn, he had offers from major programs including Arizona State, Colorado, and Washington State.
Now, he heads to New Mexico, where he’ll work under offensive analyst Adam Behrends, the former head coach at Staples High School, who led the Wreckers to a state championship and No. 1 ranking in 2023. The pairing reunites two rising names with Connecticut ties in a fresh environment.
Welliver’s departure is part of a troubling trend for UConn’s quarterback room, which also saw freshman Caleb Smith enter the portal. Head coach Jim Mora’s efforts to bolster the roster through transfers and early enrollees are being tested as once-promising depth vanishes.
Still, for Welliver, this next chapter offers a clean slate and another chance to realize the high expectations placed on him coming out of high school. For UConn, it’s a reminder that in today’s college football landscape, talent can be as fleeting as exciting.
Evan Dammarell is a credentialed, award-winning sports journalist who has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA for nearly a decade right off the shores of Lake Erie. His work has appeared on Forbes, ClutchPoints, SBNation, FanSided, Heavy, The Locked On Podcast Network, and Right Down Euclid, among others. Evan is committed to his vision to go beyond the scores and so much more so that every fan can always keep up with what’s going on with their favorite teams on and off the court.