When George DeLeone was stripped of his offensive coordinator title earlier this month, it was thought that a former assistant at a fellow Big East school would be brought to UConn to take over that side of the ball.
As it turns out, the thought was dead-nuts accurate.
In a press release, T.J. Weist was named by head coach Paul Pasqualoni as the Huskies’ new offensive coordinator. Weist comes to UConn from conference rival Cincinnati.
“I am very excited to join the UConn family and be part of Coach (Paul) Pasqualoni’s staff,” said Weist. “I have always had a high respect for the UConn football program from playing them for the past three years. One thing that has always struck me about the UConn team is that they have tough players, who are well coached and disciplined. As an opposing coach, you respect that and you know its starts with the head coach and his staff.
“I have followed Coach Pasqualoni’s career and have a high respect and high regard for him. He has a great knowledge of football and a high respect for the game.”
Weist spent the past three seasons at Cincinnati under Butch Jones, who left after the regular season to take the job at Tennessee. Weist was not one of the handful of assistants Jones took with him to Knoxville.
In addition to his time with the Bearcats, Weist has served on staffs at, among others, Western Kentucky (2002-09), Tulsa (1996), Michigan (1990-93) and Alabama (1988-89).
“T.J. will be a very valuable addition to what is already a very good coaching staff here at UConn,” said Pasqualoni. “He has a tremendous amount of experience at major college football programs, which will be a great asset to us. T.J. has also had recruiting responsibilities in a number of areas of the country which are key areas for us.”
(Photo credit: UConn athletics)