Storrs – UConn received signed National Letters of Intent from 13 players during the first day of the early signing period, football coach Jim Mora announced Wednesday.

Two of the signees are from Connecticut: cornerback Christopher Hudson of Windsor and St. Thomas More, and wide receiver Jackson Harper from Simsbury and Avon Old Farms, where he played for former UConn player and assistant coach Jon Wholly.

“For us, we want to build our team through recruiting high school athletes because we get to know them better before they become a part of our program and we’ll have fewer mistakes that way,” Mora said during a Zoom press conference, “But we always have to supplement through free agency, through the transfer portal.”

The Huskies expect to have additional signees to announce before the end of the early signing period, the university said in a release.

Following is a list of the incoming players (per the UConn release):

Carsten Casady: Freshman OT (6-foot-6, 270 pounds), Rolesville, N.C. (Rolesville H.S.)

Cameron Chadwick: Freshman Safety (5-10, 174), Plainfield, N.J. (Immaculata H.S.)

Nader Chirchi: Freshman TE (6-6, 248), Alexandria, Va. (Edison H.S.)

Cleto Chol: Freshman DE (6-5, 233), Salem, Mass. (Proctor Academy)

Oumar Diomande: Freshman LB (6-0, 210), Bronx, N.Y. (John F. Kennedy H.S.)

Zackary Drawdy: Freshman WR (6-1, 183), Yulee, Fla. (Yulee H.S.)

Jackson Harper: Freshman WR (6-1, 187), Simsbury (Avon Old Farms)

Christopher Hudson: Freshman CB (5-10, 172,) Windsor (St. Thomas More)

Toriyan Johnson: Freshman OT (6-7, 320), Boston (Proctor Academy)

Jarvis Jones: Freshman, WR (6-1, 168), Plainfield, N.J. (West Orange H.S.)

Brandon Kelley: Freshman DL (6-5/222), Pottstown, Pa. (Owen J. Roberts H.S.)

Tucker McDonald: Freshman QB (6-1, 189), Holden, Mass. (Wachusett H.S.)

Toluwanimi Tunde: Freshman OT (6-5, 268), Ilofa, Kwara State of Nigeria (Canada Prep Academy)