2028 defensive back Ryan Sims is a quick rising prospect from Suffield (CT) Academy. 

He’s been hearing from schools like Rutgers, Penn State, Boston College and Massachusetts, and has also started receiving offers.

His first came from Connecticut in January, followed by Rhode Island in April. On April 11, he hit another milestone when the Orange offered for his first Power 4 offer. 

“I really enjoyed my visit,” Sims said to The Juice Online. “I’m very grateful for the Syracuse offer.”

Sims was offered during his trip to Central New York

The offer came during his visit to Syracuse for its spring game on April 11.

During his visit, he got to see campus, tour the facilities and meet with the coaching staff. One coach he spent the most time with was Stack Williams, who extended him the offer.

“I really liked coach Stack,” Sims said. “I appreciated how he took time to connect with everyone who was visiting regardless of what point they are in their recruiting process with Syracuse.”

They talked about D.A.R.T. (detailed, accountable, relentless, tough), the mantra that head coach Fran Brown has instilled in the program since he arrived at Syracuse two seasons ago. 

Sims likes the culture at Syracuse

Sims also connected with Williams on how Syracuse develops its players to compete in the ACC and also helps them to prepare for the professional ranks after that.

Among the players that Brown has coached since arriving at SU include defensive backs Justin Barrons (Dallas Cowboys), Alijah Clark (Dallas), Clarence Lewis (Dallas) and Isaiah Johnson (Miami Dolphins).

“I love the program overall and what it stands for and the culture around it,” Sims said. “Coach Stack and I got to talk more on a personal level.”

Sims is predicting a breakout 2026 season

Suffield struggled in the 2025 season, going just 1-8. But Sims has vowed a different outcome this fall.

“2025 was an adjustment season,” Sims said. “My true breakout season will be this junior year. I felt I hesitated and could’ve just stopped holding back and made way more plays.”

Sims said he’s the kind of defensive back that can be out on an island and continue to make plays.

“I am a long, patient DB,” Sims said. “I love to play the ball and make quarterbacks not want to throw my way.”

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Connecticut lawmakers will include $10.5 million for the state’s microtransit pilot program as part of the state’s upcoming budget, that’s according to State Sen. Christine Cohen, who is chair of the Transportation Committee.

“This $10.5 million provides programming in different areas across the state that really allow folks to have their independence, to travel freely to social activities, to doctors appointments, to and from work and so much more,” Cohen said.

The program, which started in 2024, has proven to be popular throughout the state, according to Cohen. The pilot program offered in 18 towns and cities across the state, operates much like Lyft and Uber, where residents can book rides with various contractors.

Transit advocates like Cohen hope the program may be expanded statewide.

They say it meets an urgent need, as many municipalities in Connecticut lack comprehensive mass transit coverage.

“My goal would really be to see these micro transit options in towns in all 169 towns eventually, so that even our most remote settings have options with respect to public transportation,” Cohen said.

Jeremy Tillinger, the director of policy at Via, a rideshare contractor with the pilot program, spoke about the service in late April. Tillinger said the program is already bringing in positive results.

“At a time when affordability and the rising cost of gas prices is on everybody’s minds, micro transit is providing an innovative, cost efficient solution for many,” Tillinger said.

Peggy Lyons, the First Selectwoman of Madison, said many of her residents want the program to continue.

Lyons said about 25,000 rides were booked for the program running in Madison, Guilford, Middletown and East Hampton last year.

“This is kind of filling in that gap and just within the way our state is structured, I think a lot of people are starting to depend on this, and they would hate to see it go,” Lyons said.

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — With a nearly party-line vote, the Connecticut State Senate gave final approval to a bill introducing new regulations on homeschooling families.

Twenty-two Democrats voted in favor, with three others joining the entire 11-member Republican caucus in opposition.

The bill that was put before senators for debate is a modified version of one that was first introduced in March, drawing a sizable protest of homeschooling families who viewed the attempt at new regulations as an afront to their autonomy.

The original legislation would have required homeschooling parents to annually provide proof that their curriculum aligned with a general set of state-mandated topics. It also included a provision requiring that parents seeking to remove their child from the public school system first be subjected to a background check of sorts in which school officials would consult the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to see if anyone in the child’s household had a history of abuse.

The legislation was introduced amidst a string of alarming headlines documenting cases of alleged child abuse and, in two cases, the deaths of children who had been removed from the public school system.

The Democrats backing the bill have pointed to these cases as illustrating the need for reform. They have also repeatedly cited a 2018 report compiled by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate which surveyed six school districts and found “that over a span of three academic years, 2013 through 2016, there were 380 students withdrawn from the six districts to be homeschooled, and that 138 of these children (36%) lived in families that were the subject of at least one prior accepted report to DCF for suspected abuse or neglect.”

Republicans largely sided with the sentiments of the homeschooling parents, who felt they were being unfairly scapegoated. They also questioned the effectiveness of the measures introduced by Democrats, arguing some of them, like the requirement to provide proof of instruction, were burdensome, while not directly addressing the issue of abuse.

In the weeks following the public hearing, Democratic leadership in the House also registered discontent with certain sections among their own ranks.

The fierce Republican opposition, paired with scattered Democratic dissent, caused House leadership to remove the curriculum portion while maintaining a DCF check before removal from public schools and a requirement that homeschooling parents annually register themselves online.

A spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that the governor is likely to sign the legislation.