UConn Starts 2026 With Two Key Pledges
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When the UConn Huskies handed the program to Jason Candle following Jim Mora’s departure, everything was volatile. The number of players entering the transfer portal increased, and decommitments followed. However, just a few days into the Candle era, that narrative has changed.
After hosting a steady wave of portal visitors during the first weekend since the window opened on January 2, UConn has already had 12 commitments. And the two new names added to the list come with the kind of gameplay the Huskies desperately need.
Kalieb Osborne | QB
Every rebuild needs a quarterback it can grow with, and Kalieb Osborne might just be that for the Huskies. Osborne is 6-foot-3, 204-pound, and is moving east to follow his Coach. He is a former Toledo Rockets star with a dual-threat profile.
Toledo QB transfer Kalieb Osborne has committed to @UConnFootball (via kaliebosbornee/IG) ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/U4G3whe2WG
— Storrs Central (@StorrsCentral) January 5, 2026
Osborne spent the 2024 season redshirting. And in 2025, after serving as Toledo’s primary backup, he went on to start a bowl game. In limited college action, he has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 427 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while adding 282 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
However, that mobility was forged long before the Toledo incident occurred. At Waterford Mott High School in Michigan, Osborne was a three-year starter who stuffed the stat sheet.
Osborne threw for 3,532 yards and 34 touchdowns, rushed for 1,865 yards and 25 more scores, and at one point ranked first nationally among high school quarterbacks in total yards.
Zy’Marion Lang| WR
Zy’Marion Lang also joins the Huskies. Lang arrives after a developmental freshman season at Toledo, where he appeared in 10 games and made the most of limited touches. He caught four passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns, including scoring plays against Duquesne and Central Michigan.
We locked🏡#Zymarionlang pic.twitter.com/ekBrJE8cOE
— Zy’marion “Li Nook” Lang (@Nook1k1) January 6, 2026
Lang, too, had a brilliant high-school career, much like Osborne. At the prep level, Lang had 37 catches for 586 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior, while also contributing defensively with 28 tackles and two interceptions.
While two commitments don’t complete a rebuild, they do signal a belief from players willing to buy into where UConn is headed, not where it has been. And with Candle setting the tempo early, this class is sure looking good.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.