BELTON, Texas- The UMHB secondary has already added one Div. I transfer in Deryn Taylor for this upcoming season. A second looked to be in the cards when former Louisiana-Monroe cornerback Floyd Connell committed to the Cru back in early November. However, Connell will not be headed to Belton in the fall, as he announced Wednesday morning that he is “officially in the transfer portal” and his recruitment “is 100% open.”
The Copperas Cove, Texas product signed with Div. I ULM, a program in the Sun Belt Conference, out of high school, and appeared in nine games. The first two tackles of his collegiate career came against SEC heavyweight Texas A&M in a non-conference matchup on Sept. 15, 2018. He also had two tackles in another non-conference showdown against Ole Miss on Oct. 6 of that season.
Yet, due to off-field circumstances, he transferred to Navarro Junior College following his freshman campaign. When Navarro proved to be a bad fit, an offer from UMHB came up.
“I was talking to schools all over, schools in California, then UMHB texted me on Twitter, and I was like ‘This is from God, right here’,” said Connell in an interview with True To The Cru in November. “It was 30 minutes from where I was from, it was a no-brainer for me. They are genuine people up there [at UMHB]. They care about the athletes, the faculty, the staff. They want everyone to win. That’s what bought me, right there.”
The factors in his decision to decommit from the Cru are unclear, though it is important to note that he was never a part of the football program at UMHB. He committed in late November, and was not listed on the roster for the 2021 five-game spring season.
