Cam Hairston Is Latest UConn Football Commit
January 30, 2017

The final recruiting weekend has come and gone ahead of National Signing Day for UConn football and as expected, news of a new commit started to come in late in the weekend. That latest addition to the 2017 recruiting class came from WR Cameron Hairston, who committed to the Huskies' staff on Sunday following his visit in Storrs. 

A 6'3" WR from Lee's Summit North High School in Lee's Summit, Missouri, Hairston brings size and speed to a position group that is losing the most talented WR in program history, as Noel Thomas is hard at work preparing for the upcoming NFL Draft. Being from Missouri, Hairston, who will see his home state university visit The Rent in 2017, wasn't too familiar with the Huskies program prior to his visit this past weekend. 

"I didn't know much about UConn or even Connecticut at that," he said over the phone this evening. "Coming from Missouri, I really only knew about the basketball programs. I heard how nice the campus and facilities are and when I came up I definitely witnessed that. Meeting the coaches and the players, that did it for me, especially given the level of football that they play."

New offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee played a major role in landing Hairston, who had offers from perennial FCS power North Dakota State, as well as South Dakota State. 

"Coach Lashlee reached out to me first [from the UConn staff]," he said. "Before UConn I had a few Division II offers. This recruiting process has been very stressful, but I learned a lot. Me and my dad, we are happy that it worked out and I'm going to UConn."

Hairston talked with Lashlee about the type of offense the new staff will be running and there is certainly a fit. 

"The staff is planning on running a balanced offense, but leaning more passing," he said. "Talking to the wide receivers and the coaching staff, they said my abilities and talents fit right in."

What does Hairston do well that stands out at the position?

"I have pretty good vertical speed," said Hairston, who runs a 4.5-40. "I run track, so I can get past people. I can also high point the ball and catch it with my hands."

Hairston's senior season didn't go as well as expected record wise, but a trait stood out that has been prevalent here with the UConn program.

"Despite not playing as well as we would have liked, we were still able to play as a family," he said. "We got through it and in our senior class, there are several of us who are going to play at some good schools in college. UConn had that family feel as well. I hung out with the players and it was clear they all knew each other and they were friends."

He also had a chance to talk to head coach Randy Edsall during the visit, who talked to Hairston about what number six means to the UConn program.  

"I did talk to him for a little bit," he said. "My first impression is he has a plan. He has a plan on getting the team better and building a program. It starts with the players and the people he brought in on the coaching staff. We just talked about some small things. Then he told me about number six, that's the number I wore in high school. He told me the story about [Jasper Howard] passing away so young. I saw the number at the stadium as a memorial to remember him and he wants to make sure that the person who wears number six moving forward, stands up for the university and has the traits of good character and works hard."

MATT SCHONVISKY / SITE CREATOR