UConn Lands Michigan Assistant for Offensive Line Role
In this story:
UConn Huskies football has addressed a major offseason priority by adding a coach with experience at one of college football’s premier programs.
The Huskies are set to bring in John Morookian from Michigan to oversee the offensive line, a move that strengthens the foundation of an offense that has driven the program’s recent surge.
With prior stops across multiple conferences and a shared history with new head coach Jason Candle, Morookian steps into Storrs prepared to maintain consistency up front.
Michigan Experience Anchors Key Staff Addition
Candle’s continued reshaping of the UConn staff has been deliberate following a wave of departures that reshuffled the program’s leadership.
The exit of head coach Jim Mora to Colorado State set off a chain reaction that included offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis accepting a role at TCU, leaving several crucial vacancies.
Among them, the offensive line position stood out as one that required both urgency and precision.
Morookian arrives from Michigan, where he worked most recently with a unit widely viewed as one of college football’s strongest.
His familiarity with elite standards goes back further than the past season. During the 2022 campaign, he served in an analytical role as Michigan’s offensive front captured the Joe Moore Award, an honor reserved for the nation’s top-performing line.
The move also reunites Morookian with Candle through a relationship built over more than a decade. As a player at Toledo, Morookian held down the right tackle spot for four seasons from 2008 through 2011 while Candle guided the offense as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.
Their paths crossed again in 2014, when Morookian returned to Toledo as a graduate assistant. That shared background provides a natural alignment in philosophy, communication, and expectations.
Morookian will also work alongside Max Wray, another former Toledo offensive line coach now on Candle’s staff, further reinforcing continuity within the system.
Development Track Record Aligns With UConn’s Offensive Success
Before returning to Michigan, he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Charlotte, initially leading the offensive tackles and tight ends before taking full control of the offensive line.
During that span, the program’s ground game improved by nearly 30 yards per outing, while the tight end position became a focal point of the passing attack.
In 2023, Colin Weber paced the team in receptions, the first tight end in school history to do so. Weber also established a single-game program benchmark for receiving yards by a tight end, posting 117 against Memphis.
His coaching journey has included roles at Findlay, Tiffin, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas and Akron, giving him exposure to a wide range of schemes and roster builds.
That experience now feeds into a UConn offense that averaged 36.9 points per game, ranking 15th nationally. As UConn looks forward, Morookian inherits a group built for continuity rather than reconstruction.
Aman Sharma is a sports writer who covers college, professional football, and basketball with an eye for detail and storytelling. With over two years of experience writing for outlets like The Sporting News, Pro Football & Sports Network, Sportskeeda, and College Football Network, he’s covered from the NFL and NBA to the NCAA and breakout athletes with a fan’s instinct and depth. Off the field, Aman is a gym and badminton enthusiast.