Diondre Glover, UConn’s latest cornerback commit, is a football journeyman.

It wasn’t until his junior year at Newton High in Covington, Georgia, that he made the switch from dual-threat quarterback to wide receiver and defensive back.

In his first game at corner, Glover was tasked with lining up in man coverage against the top receiver in the state. Jadon Haselwood drew comparisons to a younger version of Mike Evans at 6 feet 3, 202 pounds – about four inches taller, 20 pounds heavier than Glover – and was committed to play at Georgia.

Newton’s starter, who was meant to match up with Haselwood, couldn’t make it to the game because he had a college entry exam to take.

“They just threw me out there,” Glover said, remembering the matchup seven years later. “I held my own against him and allowed no catches. They targeted him like four, five times when they seen I was out there. I just lined it up, straight raw abilities, and from there on out, that’s when my coach started training me for corner.”

Late to the recruiting scene with his position change, Glover chose to play receiver at Division II Albany State in Georgia after he graduated from Newton in 2020 – a young future UConn men’s basketball star and NBA Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, had just finished his freshman year.

The pandemic led to Albany State cancelling its season and Glover pivoted to Independence Community College in Kansas where he switched full-time to defensive back. He transferred back up to the Division II level at Central Missouri and, in just his second year as a full-time corner, was named a D-II All-American. Looking to continue climbing the ranks, Glover needed a waiver to transfer again and Gardner Webb (N.C.) was the only Division I school that wanted to give him one.

His first year there ended before it started.

Glover was competing for a starting spot when he tore his hamstring right after the spring game in 2023. He missed that season but came back even faster and more focused than he was before. He put together the highlight tape that defensive coordinator Tim Cooper ended up showing UConn’s staff, which was also looking into a Gardner Webb defensive lineman, Marquis Black.

“We got on the phone and they got me up (to Connecticut) the next day,” Glover said. His IQ and his hunger, both fueled during the season he missed, stood out and impressed the coaches. “The place was amazing. I felt like that was the right fit and the right situation for me with two corners leaving. They wanted to bring in an old, experienced guy like me.”

Glover committed to UConn on May 2. Black committed May 11.

“It felt like I’d been grinding for so long, head down. I know I’m underrated because I know what I can really bring to the table. I know I can come to that level and really dominate and really have an opportunity to get a shot at the NFL,” Glover said. “Everything just flashed before my eyes. It felt like a relief for me because I’ve been grinding so much trying to get to that level and it’s finally here.”

UConn saw significant turnover in its defensive backfield this offseason.

Both safeties had their college eligibility expire after the Fenway Bowl – Rante Jones joined the coaching staff as a player personnel assistant and a defensive analyst, and Malik Dixon-Williams signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams. The Huskies lost a starting corner in Malcolm Bell, who transferred to Michigan State, and a rotational corner in Jarvarius Sims, who transferred to Western Michigan.

The door opened for Glover to come in and compete for a starting job immediately.

Glover sees the role in UConn’s system under defensive coordinator Matt Brock being similar to the one he had at Central Missouri, where he finished the 2022 season with 22 total tackles, 15 pass breakups and two interceptions. He had 17 tackles, 16 solo, a forced fumble and two passes defended last year at Gardner Webb.

“That’s when I had my best year, when I was in a scheme like that,” said Glover, who will enter his final year of eligibility in 2025. “Sometimes you play off, sometimes you press. You might be in cover two but you make it look like you’re in cover four, so it’s like just switching up how it looks and the scheme of it. I feel like I’m gonna be very effective. Because at the end of the day, I’m a press corner. So I like to just go up and just X one receiver out and that’s gonna be that.”

UConn’s spring portal haul totals nine

Aside from shoring up its secondary, the UConn staff was focused on bringing in depth at the receiver position during the spring transfer portal window.

The Huskies signed three receivers this month. Naiem Simmons has the most experience of the trio, as a rising senior who’s caught 111 passes for 1,704 yards and 12 touchdowns between his two years at Wagner and one at USF. Griffin Koch, a New Canaan native who spent the last two years at Kansas, decided to return to Connecticut and Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman will compete for a spot after getting limited reps at Rice.

UConn also signed Wilton native Michael Burton Jr., who played tight end at Georgetown, defensive lineman Antoine “AJ” Harris from New Mexico, linebacker Sione Moa from Weber State and punter Spencer Sullins, from Memphis. Jeremiah Lomax, a defensive back from Division II Limestone, Tashi Crofut, a long snapper from Boise State, and Diandre Harris, a DB from Georgetown, also announced their commitment to the Huskies this month.