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| UConn offensive tackle Matt Peart, who grew up rooting for the Giants will get to live his dream--assuming there is an NFL season this year. Pert was selected in the third round in an effort to beef up protection for second- year quarterback Daniel Jones. |
With college and professional sports on spiritual hold
for the foreseeable future as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL
held a “virtual draft” last week—and the results couldn’t have been sweeter for
two Connecticut-based student-athletes
UConn offensive tackle Matt Peart was selected with the 99th overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Giants on Friday night. He became the 42nd UConn player selected in the NFL Draft and the first since Foley Fatukasi was selected in the sixth round in 2018. He also became just the 12th UConn player selected in the first three rounds of the draft.
The selection marked the fifth time the Giants have drafted a UConn player, the last time being in 2015 when they took wide receiver Geremy Davis in the sixth round. Peart is the second UConn offensive lineman that the Giants have drafted in recent memory, as they took Will Beatty in the second round in 2009.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Peart moved to the Bronx with his family as a child, where he grew up a huge Giants fan. He didn’t play football until high school at The Governor's Academy in Byfield, Mass. But once he did, he excelled.
Peart was recruited by UConn and redshirted his first season (2015) to pack on the bounds and develop muscle. Starting in 2016, he went on to start all 48 games of his college career. Peart was a left tackle for his first two seasons before moving to the other side of the line and playing his final two years at right tackle. In 2019, he served as one of the Huskies’ co-captains, and was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection.
Eiselen Signed as Free Agent
Immediately after the conclusion of the draft, Yale All-American Dieter Eiselen signed a has signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Bears. A Stellenbosch, South Africa, native, Eiselen morphed from a former rugby player and Olympic weightlifter with no organized football experience into two-time Ivy League champion and now NFL player in just six years.
“Yale has helped form the foundation of my football skills which I can now bring to the NFL,” said Eiselen. “I look forward to continuing my football journey and build on those skills in Chicago as a Bear.
This past season, Eiselen started every game at left guard and made 34 starts over the course of his four-year career with the Elis. A three-time All-Ivy selection and first team All-Ivy honoree, the lineman's work in the trenches anchored an offense that ranked sixth in the nation with 38.7 points per game as well as the No. 4 passing offense in the country and No. 4 team in time of possession. Eiselen helped the Bulldogs to a No. 23/22 national FCS ranking, a 9-1 overall record and his second Ivy League Championship in three years. In addition, he racked up Associated Press, STATS and Hero Sports All-America accolades, All-ECAC and All-New England honors, and a selection to the NFLPA’s Collegiate Bowl. He was also a National Football Foundation Hampshire Academic Honor Society member.
“I am incredibly excited for Dieter, Team No. 147 and the entire Yale football family,” said head coach Tony Reno. “He has earned this opportunity with his unbelievable work ethic and preparation. We are very proud of him and excited to see him attack the NFL with his trademark passion and physicality!”
Eiselen joins linebacker Foye Oluokon and tight end Jaeden Graham of the Atlanta Falcons as current Elis in the NFL.
Husky Season Ticket Renewal Deadline Waived
The UConn athletic department announced last week that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for season ticket removals has been waived. The deadline had been set at April 20. The move is in line with the university’s recent position. Indeed, UConn president Tom Katsouleas has questioned whether the 2020 football season will be played as scheduled in the fall. College football is in a unique situation in regards to the coronavirus pandemic.
While professional sports have floated the concept of opening their seasons with players isolated from fans and playing in a few selected arenas and/or stadiums, college sports ere professional sports have kicked around plans to open back up the season in “bubbles,” so to speak, with players isolated from their friends, families, and the outside world as a whole in a single area in order to finish out their seasons, it would be impractical to think this concept could be applied to college sports. In this reporter’s opinion, however, don’t think it’s impossible for college football to consider such an option—in the Power Five conferences, at least—should the current pandemic conditions stretch into the fall.
UConn offensive tackle Matt Peart was selected with the 99th overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Giants on Friday night. He became the 42nd UConn player selected in the NFL Draft and the first since Foley Fatukasi was selected in the sixth round in 2018. He also became just the 12th UConn player selected in the first three rounds of the draft.
The selection marked the fifth time the Giants have drafted a UConn player, the last time being in 2015 when they took wide receiver Geremy Davis in the sixth round. Peart is the second UConn offensive lineman that the Giants have drafted in recent memory, as they took Will Beatty in the second round in 2009.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Peart moved to the Bronx with his family as a child, where he grew up a huge Giants fan. He didn’t play football until high school at The Governor's Academy in Byfield, Mass. But once he did, he excelled.
Peart was recruited by UConn and redshirted his first season (2015) to pack on the bounds and develop muscle. Starting in 2016, he went on to start all 48 games of his college career. Peart was a left tackle for his first two seasons before moving to the other side of the line and playing his final two years at right tackle. In 2019, he served as one of the Huskies’ co-captains, and was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection.
Eiselen Signed as Free Agent
Immediately after the conclusion of the draft, Yale All-American Dieter Eiselen signed a has signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Bears. A Stellenbosch, South Africa, native, Eiselen morphed from a former rugby player and Olympic weightlifter with no organized football experience into two-time Ivy League champion and now NFL player in just six years.
“Yale has helped form the foundation of my football skills which I can now bring to the NFL,” said Eiselen. “I look forward to continuing my football journey and build on those skills in Chicago as a Bear.
This past season, Eiselen started every game at left guard and made 34 starts over the course of his four-year career with the Elis. A three-time All-Ivy selection and first team All-Ivy honoree, the lineman's work in the trenches anchored an offense that ranked sixth in the nation with 38.7 points per game as well as the No. 4 passing offense in the country and No. 4 team in time of possession. Eiselen helped the Bulldogs to a No. 23/22 national FCS ranking, a 9-1 overall record and his second Ivy League Championship in three years. In addition, he racked up Associated Press, STATS and Hero Sports All-America accolades, All-ECAC and All-New England honors, and a selection to the NFLPA’s Collegiate Bowl. He was also a National Football Foundation Hampshire Academic Honor Society member.
“I am incredibly excited for Dieter, Team No. 147 and the entire Yale football family,” said head coach Tony Reno. “He has earned this opportunity with his unbelievable work ethic and preparation. We are very proud of him and excited to see him attack the NFL with his trademark passion and physicality!”
Eiselen joins linebacker Foye Oluokon and tight end Jaeden Graham of the Atlanta Falcons as current Elis in the NFL.
Husky Season Ticket Renewal Deadline Waived
The UConn athletic department announced last week that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for season ticket removals has been waived. The deadline had been set at April 20. The move is in line with the university’s recent position. Indeed, UConn president Tom Katsouleas has questioned whether the 2020 football season will be played as scheduled in the fall. College football is in a unique situation in regards to the coronavirus pandemic.
While professional sports have floated the concept of opening their seasons with players isolated from fans and playing in a few selected arenas and/or stadiums, college sports ere professional sports have kicked around plans to open back up the season in “bubbles,” so to speak, with players isolated from their friends, families, and the outside world as a whole in a single area in order to finish out their seasons, it would be impractical to think this concept could be applied to college sports. In this reporter’s opinion, however, don’t think it’s impossible for college football to consider such an option—in the Power Five conferences, at least—should the current pandemic conditions stretch into the fall.
—Staff Reports
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