Offseason transfer movement tends to happen in small bunches. Schools usually lose a handful of players at most, either through natural attrition or the occasional massive graduate transfer surprise.

That hasn’t been the case for the Connecticut Huskies.

Twenty-five UConn players have entered the transfer portal since the start of December, per a source. In total, 26 Huskies have opted to leave the program since the start of this most recent transfer cycle, which began Oct. 15.

That’s an eye-popping number, and it’s raised a few eyebrows in the college football world. That’s only compounded when you consider the words of Huskies head coach Randy Edsall, who said on National Signing Day that he would prefer to no longer pursue players in the portal.

“I’d rather go with high school kids or junior college guys,” Edsall said per the Hartford Courant. “Guys going into the portal, to me, they’ve got issues. They’ve got issues. That’s why they’re going into the portal.”

Edsall later tried to clarify that his comments weren’t meant to reflect on his players in the portal. But some Huskies took note of their former head coach’s words. Graduate transfer offensive lineman Cam DeGeorge, a three-year starter for the Huskies, called the statement “surprising” but declined to comment further. Another former Husky, who spoke to 247Sports on the condition of anonymity due to sensitive nature of his transfer process, said Edsall often “said stuff like that.”

Either way, transfers are front and center for UConn as it enters a tenuous stage of its FBS existence. The Huskies opted to move to Big East last summer, playing their final season the AAC in 2020. This a boon for sports like basketball, which enters a stronger and more geographically sensible league. Not so much for football as the Big East does not participate in FBS competition.

Thus, UConn will compete as a FBS independent moving forward.

That’s a move fraught with concerns for the all but a small handful of programs. Notre Dame and BYU are largely successful independents thanks to the strength of their national brands. Yet even those historic programs have failed to consistently compete for championships since the Irish won their last title in 1988. UConn is nowhere near the branding powerhouse of those schools. In fact, the Huskies might be the worst team in FBS, finishing a combined 3-21 the last two seasons.

UConn can still technically compete for a College Football Playoff spot and a bowl appearance as an independent. But any chance of a conference title is now moot, which DeGeorge said factored into his transfer plans.

“Winning was a big one,” DeGeorge said. “(I’d) rather be in a conference than an independent.”

This wasn’t a universal sentiment. The other UConn player said the departure from the AAC had nothing to do with his decision to leave. “It just came down to me feeling like I needed a fresh start," he told 247Sports.

When it comes to independent status, there are two lines of thoughts with this wave of transfers: 1. The short-term impact of the move. 2. The long-term impact of going independent.

As for next season, the Huskies are losing 31 players, including graduates, from their 2019 roster. Four of the 26 transfers were starters for at least half of last season (DeGeorge, Nino Leone, Tahj Herring-Wilson, Ardell Brown). Five other transfers also started at least two games during the campaign.

That departing depth, especially along the o-line where DeGeorge and Leone were multi-year starters, is going to hurt for a team that won just two games last season. But that aspect of things is endurable. The Huskies return the 49th-most production in the FBS, per ESPN.

The issue for UConn is the perception of losing so many players to the portal and their impending independent experiment.

Connecticut is hardly a recruiting power, finishing 118th in the 2020 class rankings. With UConn’s off-field success and the departing lure of a championship goal, 247Sports recruiting analyst Brian Dohn said the Huskies will be challenged to recruit at a level that would enable even moderate independent success.

"Being an independent is not an easy path when it comes to the recruiting trail because there is no 'end game' prize of competing for a conference championship, and there are no bowl tie-ins," Dohn said. "Scheduling is also an issue. For instance, when UConn was in the AAC, it could recruit Florida and prospects and their families knew it would play at UCF and USF every other year. That is no longer the case, so it could alter recruiting areas for the Huskies. It is a tough, tough road, which is why so few schools do it."

It’s been a rough offseason for the Huskies so far. It’s unlikely that things get easier anytime soon.