CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. –- UConn tight end Javonte “Juice” Vereen doesn’t wear red and white stripes, but coach Jim Mora says he can be like the “Where’s Waldo?” cartoon within the Huskies’ offense.
He can easily get lost, as he showed on the UConn’s opening drive Saturday.
On 1st-and-10 from midfield, Vereen lined up offset like a fullback in the backfield. UConn ran play-action, had him run his route back across the field and the Boston College defense lost track of him. All of a sudden, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound athlete was wide open without a defender in sight, running 50 yards into the end zone with the first touchdown of his career, starting the scoring in a high-powered offensive game.
TOUCHDOWN! Juice Vereen!
Huskies take the lead 7-3. pic.twitter.com/HbqRNEDkQd
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) October 18, 2025
Vereen finished with 82 yards on four catches, later beating his man for a second touchdown from 14 yards out that helped seal UConn’s first road win over a power conference opponent since 2012.
“We brought him here to do what he did today. We knew that he was capable of that,” Mora said. “First of all, he’s a great kid, he’s a hard worker. He’s had some tough breaks early this year where he’s been open, the ball hadn’t been right or we just haven’t found him, and he stuck with it. I thought the offensive staff did a really good job today of planning some plays for him and it just broke right.
“You’re hoping for the right coverage, you’re hoping that a guy doesn’t do a great job with his eyes and those things happened for us and Juice made the plays.”
Vereen did wear red and white when he began his career at NC State, learning under former Huskies star Justin Joly in the Wolfpack’s tight end room. Like Joly, Vereen’s versatility makes opponents have to decide whether they want to treat him as a tight end or a receiver. And if the Huskies get the favorable matchup, Vereen can make it pay off.
UConn’s Brady Wayburn, left, and Shamar Porter, center, greet Juice Vereen after Vereen scored one of his two TDs in a 38-23 win at Boston College on Saturday at Chestnut Hill, Mass. (Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)
“There was a lot of weight that came off my shoulders, emotions I can’t even explain,” he said. “It’s been a long battle just to get one (touchdown) and God blessed me with two, so I’m grateful for it.”
“I know just as the competitor he is, he’s been a little frustrated not being able to get into the end zone, but I’ve been telling him, ‘Stick with me,’ and he’s saying the same thing,” said quarterback Joe Fagnano. “They come in bunches and that’s what happened today, kind of just finally fell into his hands today. He’s a great player, runs great routes, he’s a mismatch for us, I believe, and he was someone that we wanted to utilize in this game and he had a big one.”
Cam Edwards ‘is the juice’
Star running back Cam Edwards took a handoff on UConn’s second play from scrimmage, gained a yard, and didn’t have another carry in the first half. He came back after the break, took another hit and found himself on the sideline again, getting his shoulder treated by the team trainers.
Edwards made some big runs when he needed to, helping move the chains as the Huskies’ high-powered passing offense continued to do its thing to put the game away.
“Cam is a tough dude, man. You’re not gonna keep Cam Edwards down. He’s gonna take some hits and he’s gonna have to come out – shoot, on that one he said his shoulder popped out and then when the guy hit him it popped back in. He’s telling the trainers, ‘Leave me alone, I’m fine,’” Mora said. “He’s just that kind of guy. I really felt like the two runs he had that got us the first down were real momentum runs for us because he’s the juice, man. He’s the toughness on this football team. There’s a lot of tough guys, don’t get me wrong, but when he’s rolling, we kind of roll, we kind of feed off of him. There was two plays in a row where he had pretty good runs and that got us going.”
Edwards finished with 57 yards on 12 carries.
UConn has closed the gap in physicality
After Boston College beat UConn at Alumni Stadium in 2023, Mora noted the physical difference that the Eagles had as a power conference team. The BC offensive line bullied UConn with a final drive that drained the remaining seven minutes off the clock in a 21-14 Eagles’ win.
“They had invested a lot of money in their offensive line, and it showed up, you could tell. I will just say this, that we’ve had people in our program and around our program that have stepped up and helped us get in a position where we can compete for some really good football players,” Mora said. “And when we walk on the field against a team like BC, we look the part. That’s credit to our strength and conditioning staff, that’s a credit to our nutritionists, our cafeteria people, it’s a compliment to our players.
“But certainly a big part of it is the support that we’ve gotten from administration and the people that are investing their hard-earned money in this team.”
