Why Is Nobody Talking About Joe Fagnano?

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Nov 11, 2025 9:25 AM ET

I understand why UConn isn’t on everyone’s college football mind. Any independent program that isn’t named Notre Dame tends to get overlooked. But what head coach Jim Mora is accomplishing there this season is impressive, and that is in large part to quarterback Joe Fagnano.

Fagnano played his high school football in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series. He began his college career with Maine, where he signed with the Black Bears way back in 2019. In 27 games with Maine, he passed for 5,674 yards, 46 touchdowns and 12 interceptions before entering the transfer portal after the 2022 season.

Nov 8, 2025; East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies quarterback Joe Fagnano (2) throws a pass against the Duke Blue Devils in the first quarter at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

There wasn’t much (or any) attention paid to his transfer to UConn. And there wasn’t much attention paid to him on the UConn roster after he completed only 18 of 35 passes for 173 yards and one interception during the 2023 season.

But a crazy thing has happened since then. Fagnano surprisingly won the starting job during preseason camp in 2024. While he didn’t set the world on fire, he showed considerable improvement while passing for 1,631 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions for the 9-4 Huskies.

While there were expectations that he would continue to improve this season, nobody envisioned his level of production in 2025. After a thrilling 37-34 victory over Duke on Saturday, which improved the Huskies to 7-3, Fagnano has now passed for 2,840 yards, 25 touchdowns and no interceptions this season.

After completing 58.3% of his passes during the 2024 season, Fagnano is completing 68.8% in 2025. And his lack of interceptions is amazing. Over the last two seasons, Fagnano has attempted 549 passes, thrown 45 touchdowns and has only four interceptions. Yet, he continues to play extremely far from the spotlight.

Sadly, for UConn fans, and all transfer hopefuls around the country, this is Fagnano’s last season of eligibility. But for the limited time he has remaining in college, his accomplishments deserve more acknowledgement.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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