Last week, Huskies sophomore wide receiver Dwayne Difton was granted his release and hopes to transfer to a school closer to his Florida home. Wednesday, SBNation.com reports that defensive end A.J. Portee is leaving the UConn program, too.
A little more than two weeks away from the Georgia St. Panthers football team reporting for summer school and workouts, the coaching staff has added an impact transfer from the Big East according to insider sources. Defensive end A.J. Portee was granted his release from the Connecticut Huskies and has transferred home to Georgia State.
On Monday, the Hartford Courant's Desmond Connor noted that Portee's name was missing from the Huskies final spring depth chart and noted that he'd "have to see what's up." Now we know.
If there's good news it's this: UConn is set on defense. The Huskies return every starter on its defensive line led by Jesse Joseph (ranked by ESPN.com as the Big East's third-best pass rusher). Despite performing well in spring practice there wasn't much room for Portee to move up the depth chart, which probably had something to do with his decision to transfer.
We have written previously about just how critical the Huskies' defense will be to the team's success in 2011, especially while new coach Paul Pasqualoni settles on a starting quarterback.
Because Portee plans to transfer to Georgia State, an NCAA Division I-AA school (now known as FCS), he will be eligible to play in 2011. In fact, as SB Nation Atlanta notes, Portee is expected to join the Panthers for summer workouts on June 5th. He will be an immediate contributor at strong-side defensive end or outside linebacker in the fall.
