Old Lyme High School senior Jack Giaconia was waking up to go to school three weeks ago when he got a phone call from Tim King, head football coach of the Valley Regional/Old Lyme co-op.

"He said that coach (Anthony) Poindexter (UConn's defensive coordinator) was on his way to the school (Valley Regional)," Giaconia said. "'Do you think you can make it over?'"

Giaconia is a lifelong UConn fan, so, yes, he raced over to Deep River. He signed a letter of intent on Wednesday at Old Lyme High to be a preferred walk-on for the Huskies.

"Yep, I was pretty lucky," Giaconia said. "Honestly, up to that point, I really was not sure at all where I was going to school. I had a bunch of Division III schools if I wanted to go there. I had a visit set up with Central Connecticut.

"I root for them in every sport, so I figured I might as well go there and do my part for my favorite school."

Giaconia, 6-foot-4, 330 pounds, was a four-year starter for the Warriors and played on both sides of the line. He helped the program to playoff berths in 2013-14 as well as the 2014 CIAC Class S-Large state championship, a first for the program.

"I walked in (to Old Lyme on Wednesday)," King said, "and a secretary at the front desk said, 'I'm so happy for Jack. He's such a nice kid. He's a giant teddy bear.'

"I heard that and I'm like, 'Wow'. He's a kid who at that size could be a real dink, but he's a good kid."

UConn hasn't told Giaconia whether or not he'll be starting on the offensive or defensive line. He's interested in majoring in either sports management or education, but he's pretty sure it'll be the latter.

"It's a profession that gives back, and I definitely want to give back to the game of football as a high school coach or something like that," Giaconia said. "Elementary school (would be ideal) as I really like young kids, but to coach, I'd have to go to high school."

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED