Kenji Christian’s loyalty led him to UConn, where the speedy running back is set up to thrive

EAST HARTFORD – This season is about putting it all together for UConn running back Kenji Christian. The Birmingham, Alabama native looked primed for a breakout sophomore year at North Carolina A&T in 2024 before he went down with a season-ending injury just three games in. Those three games – in which he accumulated 256 yards on 29 carries (8.8 yards per attempt) – plus the 718 rushing yards he amassed as a freshman, were enough for Jason Candle and his staff to give him a shot at Toledo. Christian fit in behind 1,000-yard rusher Chip Trayanum, now with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, and ran for 528 yards and four touchdowns on 105 carries, also catching 17 passes for 193 yards and another score. His productivity made it a no-brainer for both sides to stick together once Candle and running backs coach Nate Cole – who were together for 10 years in Toledo – decided to take the UConn job. “It was really about loyalty with me,” Christian said Saturday, after the team hosted an open practice on Rentschler Field’s perfectly-manicured grass. “They stood with me, they gave me a chance to come play for them when I left NCAT and I just feel like I developed more when I was with Coach Cole and Coach Candle… Last year was like me really being healthy for a whole season, so (I plan on) putting it all together this year.” Christian, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, is expected to be the top option in UConn’s running back room. “He’s got the ability to hit a home run,” Candle said. “He’s one of the guys on the team that can score an 80-yard touchdown. The more of those guys we have on our team, the better. So he can do it in a multitude of different ways, he catches the ball really well in the backfield. I’m not gonna sit here and claim like we taught him how to run the ball, that’s all natural ability, but I think he’s really improved in the pass protection part of things and Coach Cole’s done a great job helping him with that.” The Huskies do have a number of “those guys” with the breakout speed, which isn’t always easy to display with limited resistance in a practice setting. Veteran linebacker K’Von Sherman, another Toledo transfer who’ll be a leader of the defense, named Christian, West Virginia import Cyncir Bowers as two of his most difficult teammates to bring down. The room also includes Central Michigan transfer Trey Cornist and Syracuse transfer Jaden Hart, along with Dashun Reeder (Northwestern), Shawn Simeon (Toledo) and returner Soren Rief, a Killingly native. “We all could play,” Christian said. “We all bring something different to the table, whether it’s power, speed, our cuts, catching, anything like that, we all bring something different. We all got different types of speed.” For new coach Jason Candle, team building takes shape as the UConn football season draws near UConn’s offensive line will have to help create those openings, and while there are some experienced players in the room like returner Ty Chan and former Toledo center Terrence Moore, building the required chemistry up front hasn’t been a walk in the park. Injuries in the last week caused for some different combinations at the line of scrimmage. “You’ve got a lot of different guys and a lot of different bodies, they’re individual good players, but, much like your fist, those fingers have got to come together and they’ve got to be five as one,” Candle said. “Sometimes that rhythm is hard to capture when guys are in and out of the lineup, so we’ve got to get some guys healthy there and we’ve got to make sure we continue to work on our timing.” Even with some offensive line struggles – which gave Sherman and his defensive teammates some opportunities to shine, but also led to a number of penalties – the Huskies’ offense was noticeably more effective than it was in prior viewing periods. Quarterbacks Jake Merklinger and Kalieb Osborne both made impressive plays as their competition rages on, and the running backs were able to shake off some tackles in one of the more physical practices they’ve had this summer. “Today (was) a lot of different scenarios in practice, a lot of contact, a lot of real football,” Candle said. “We’re a long way from the finished product, but some of that’s to be expected. Some are disappointed in the way things went, others are really extremely pleased. That’s preseason camp. So we’ve got to go back and watch the tape and make sure that we do a good job telling ourselves the truth on that part of it and really start to buy into that process. Because some days it’s not going to go your way on game day, and ultimately you’ve got to fix it. So that’s where we’re at right now.”