SYRACUSE, N.Y. — New Syracuse coach Fran Brown came to Connecticut to see his twin recruits, and he asked then to temporarily split up. He wanted Davien Kerr first.
“I said, ‘don’t go to prep school, come here with us for a semester,” Brown said. “Leave your brother at prep school and we’ll bring him next semester.”
Bloomfield’s Davien Kerr steps up to make big play for Syracuse; faces UConn next
After talking it over, Davien agreed. He and his brother, Davion, starred on offense for Bloomfield High’s Class S championship team and going to college together was a must for them. This season, Davion played at St. Thomas More.
“It was really difficult,” Davien said. “At first I was hesitant, because I didn’t want to leave my brother. Me and my brother had a talk and he said, ‘you should go first, do it for me.’ So I did it for him. … It’s the best decision I ever made.”
Davien started at cornerback for Syracuse last week and got a big interception at Cal. On Saturday, he led the Orange with seven tackles, six solos, as Brown, a defensive backs coach before coming to Syracuse, coached him one-on-one throughout the game
“I got made at him only once,” Brown said. “He looked at the backfield and that wasn’t his job. He was supposed to watch the tight end and (Louis Hansen) scored a touchdown.”
Playing against UConn was an emotional experience for a kid from Bloomfield.
“Very, very emotional,” Davien said. “We went to their camp, they didn’t show me any love. My brother and I were snapping. So playing them here was very emotional. Basically, they only could have taken one of us, so I was like, ‘how are you all not going to take my brother, just me.’ So I didn’t want it.”
Fagnano for UConn, for now: UConn coach Jim Mora chose Joe Fagnano to start at quarterback, citing his winning performances as a backup and Nick Evers‘ lingering foot and hip injuries. But he hinted Evers could be back to play vs. UMass next week.
“Joe’s done some really good things for us when we’ve put him in those situations,” Mora said. “We felt that was the best decision for today’s game, it means nothing going forward.” … UConn receivers Skyler Bell and T.J. Sheffield each had a career-high 10 receptions, Bell for 110 yards, Sheffield for 52. … Linebacker Jayden McDonald, transfer from Troy State, had 12 tackles and a sack to lead UConn’s defense.
.
