Chuck Priore and his coaching staff beat the April showers by bringing in May with much more than just flowers. In the past few weeks, the Seawolves have added three transfer students: offensive lineman James Tunstall from the University of Connecticut; Jean Constant, a graduate transfer wide receiver/kick returner from Bryant University and former three-star recruit wide receiver Brandon Benson from Southern Methodist University (SMU).
Constant, who announced his decision on twitter, is no stranger to playing in front of the crowd at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, where Stony Brook beat Bryant 50-21 in the Seawolves home opener last season. While his stats from that game — two receptions for three yards — might seem small, Constant was an award-winning player at Bryant.
Constant became the first player in Bryant history to earn All-American honors in multiple seasons, as well as first Bryant player to earn Walter Camp All-American honors and first player to earn First Team honors from STATS, proving he has what it takes to play Division One football. He leaves Bryant with 57 career kick returns for 1,694 yards, an average of 29.7 YPR, as well as 107 receptions for 1,336 yards and 15 touchdowns. Constant’s first game for the Seawolves will be the home opener at LaValle Stadium versus his former team, the Bryant Bulldogs.
Tunstall announced his decision to leave UConn just under a month ago, after only two seasons. Following a redshirt freshman season, Tunstall played in five games this past season. The offensive lineman is not the first to leave the Huskies following what SB Nation labeled, “a program that almost literally can’t get worse.” He announced his decision to transfer to Stony Brook in a mock ESPN the magazine cover on Twitter. Due to his transfer from a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) to a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Tunstall will be eligible to play immediately.
Hours before Tunstall announced he would transfer to Stony Brook, Benson announced that he too would become a Seawolf. Benson entered his name into the football transfer portal back in January, allowing all schools to contact him about transferring. He leaves the Mustangs after two seasons with the program but only nine appearances and no starts. Benson, who will also be immediately eligible, will look to prove the doubters wrong and showcase the skills that landed him numerous Division One offers.
Constant, Tunstall and Benson join an 11-man recruiting class including three-star recruits, defensive end Keith Winfrey and running back Tahshawn Brinson. The Seawolves look to build upon a 2018 season which saw them appear in the FCS playoffs, as well as have seven players invited to rookie minicamps. The school dubbed #HOWLSEA20N opens at home on Aug. 29 versus Bryant.
